Fitting Tow Bar on VW R32

[WhyME]

I know this sounds really stupid, but is it possible to fit tow bar onto R32 which one can remove at will?

 

[syntax]

yes....next?

 

[HapticSimian]

If I recall the R32's manual explicitly states that the vehicle isn't suitable for towing. I'm not at all 100% sure about this, but I kinda half remember something to that effect.

Most likely something to do with the central exhausts, which one could easily circumvent, but I do remember a sad story about an M3 belonging to a colleague of my dad's many years back. Fitted a towbar, against dealer advice, and subsequently sat with a bill for a R20k-odd to repair a sagged boot... Admittedly towing wasn't limited to a Venter, but still...

 

[syntax]

If I recall the R32's manual explicitly states that the vehicle isn't suitable for towing. I'm not at all 100% sure about this, but I kinda half remember something to that effect.

Most likely something to do with the central exhausts, which one could easily circumvent, but I do remember a sad story about an M3 belonging to a colleague of my dad's many years back. Fitted a towbar, against dealer advice, and subsequently sat with a bill for a R20k-odd to repair a sagged boot... Admittedly towing wasn't limited to a Venter, but still...

hmmm, u may have a point

 

[Nocturnity]

Probably the same reason my Coupe states it's not made for towing. I think it has something to do with the suspension setup of the car.

 

[Tacet]

One of my friends drive a Focus ST, and he was also strongly advised not to fit a towbar.

 

[bboy]

it seems to be advised that lots of the turbo cars do not tow, opel coupe, focus st, audi s3 etc etc.
but i'd imagine the r32's haldex system (awd) is also not setup to handle it, and that is not cheap to fix!

 

[bboy]

or 4 motion, or whatever it is

 

[Messugga]

it seems to be advised that lots of the turbo cars do not tow, opel coupe, focus st, audi s3 etc etc.
but i'd imagine the r32's haldex system (awd) is also not setup to handle it, and that is not cheap to fix!

Turbo engines don't handle the extra load for extended periods of time well, so that's probably it.

 

[HapticSimian]

Turbo engines don't handle the extra load for extended periods of time well, so that's probably it.

Not as a given though. For every turbo-charged car where the manufacturer advises against towing, there are 100s where it's a non-issue.

 

[WhyME]

Thanks for replies guys. I drive GTi fitted with R32 bumper and exhaust system. I only need to fit the tow bar to drag around my quad bike. I take note of the advice about turbo cars not being able to handle towing, but is it practically possible to fit tow bar, when u ha?ve R32 bumper .

Towing quad bike will it put that much strain on the car?

 

[HapticSimian]

The R32 exhaust system has a fairly substantial silencer right behind the bumper, doesn't it? Man, my VW memories are fading fast...

I suspect you might need to revert back to the stock bumper & exhaust, and unless you're going to be towing at 180km/h I wouldn't worry about any extra strain.

 

[Messugga]

Not as a given though. For every turbo-charged car where the manufacturer advises against towing, there are 100s where it's a non-issue.

True, especially considering bakkies and such are often turbo diesel. Then I guess it's safer to say so-called performance cars with turbo's shouldn't tow?

 

[HapticSimian]

True, especially considering bakkies and such are often turbo diesel. Then I guess it's safer to say so-called performance cars with turbo's shouldn't tow?

...for whatever reason the individual manufacturer decides so, yes. I don't think there's a single universally applicable reason. For instance I know in the case of the S3 you lose about 15 or 20% boot space over the vanilla models because of the Quattro-hardware at the back. The reason you can't have a towbar fitted to an S3 might have something to do with that.

All purely thumbsucking, of course...

 

[WhyME]

Guess I need to save up for small cheap bakkie