Opinions on car for towing.

[LS1UTE]

Guys,

Looking for a VT-VY wagon as a general run-around but also to do some towing. Ill be towing occasionally a car to drags and also ski boat up the Murray.

My question is would you by a later model V6 (VY - nicer looking, lower klm) or earlier V8 (VT-VX - more power, higher klm). Have towed car/boat with supercharged 6 in VX and that went ok but never towed with a standard 6.

Its not something you can road test when buying a car so opinions appreciated. :thumbsup:

[EXCESSV]

i would go for the VY mate.

i used to tow a my 3 seater jetski which gets close to 500km with full tank fuel, anchors, trailer, etc VT V6 bog stock and it did it without any problems.
the 4.2L EFI patrol doesnt have the acceleration that the VT had...

[Swordie]

The VY V6 has a max towed mass (trailer plus load) of 2100kg. The Ski boat sounds like no problems. The drag car depends on how much it weighs. What do other people use to tow their drag cars?

[vh-holden]

I've towed the vh motorkhana special behind my vs v6. then again, the vh had no weight in it.

I also towed a vk on a trailer about 100km with the vs. Car went very smoothly and stayed at about 1/3 on the temp guage. it wasn't a fast journey but did it none the less. the trailer was a bit out of whack and would sway at about 80km/hr.

a mate towed the vh on the same trailer and he said it swayed even worse on his car.

as long as the trailer is good i reckon it is fine.

[Boom]

To do it right (legally) the weight of the trailer and its load must be less than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle. I think there is another rule if there are electric brakes fitted. If the trailer is swaying the two main remedies are usually to move the weight on the trailer further forward or failing that check the spring bushes. These are often overlooked and if worn, will cause swaying.

[Dane005]

I've towed a Malibu Ski boat quite a bit behind my vt exec wagon. I think it weighs in at about 1500kgs. Does the trick. If towing is only going to be an occasional thing I'd go the VY.

[matthewfnorbert]

make sure the tranny and oil are in tip top condition ...

[GETUTED]

adventra :teach:

[JBonDSS]

Either will tow a car ok, the V8 will do it much more comfortably, would recommend the same height spring just 30% stiffer & depending on how regularly you'll tow a car, put in the poly air bags, this will keep the car flatter when you have a big load on, your & other road users safety

[57NIT]

Either will tow a car ok, the V8 will do it much more comfortably, would recommend the same height spring just 30% stiffer & depending on how regularly you'll tow a car, put in the poly air bags, this will keep the car flatter when you have a big load on, your & other road users safety

Good point about the springs and air bags. Also a nice big trans cooler is very good cheap insurance for the trans.

A 6 would be fine also. Think about less insurance, rego running costs. It would be a lot easier to find a good low k VY (ex fleet) than a VT-X V8, more to choose from. My VY V6 tows a camper (1200kg) no probs. Has the heavy duty tow bar from holden, stiffer springs in rear and a nice big trans cooler.

[hsv-105]

I've had a couple of tow cars over the years including an F250 and Jeep Grand Cherokee but when it comes to the crunch nothing beats a Turbo Deisel Landcruiser in my opinion.
Fully loaded with a 2500kg Malibu,5 Blokes and all the gear for a weekend away and she just purs along at 110km on cruise control all day long.
I've towed the cars around behind it aswell which with the trailer fully loaded is near on 3500kg and it still does it easy.

[LS1UTE]

Thanks for the replies !

I guess ill look for a V6 VY, its only going to be a car to drive to work and tow occasionally so it should do the job just fine.

Ill still have an LS1 for the weekends though :thumbsup: