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Old 05-01-2008, 07:41 PM   #1
HankWest
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Default Towing a small trailer with a 2.0L WRX

I have an o2 wagon. Stage 1.5. Uppipe, downpipe, midpipe, with stock catback. Everything else is stock on the car. I would like to know if anyone has used their wrx to tow a small trailer with a motorcycle or similar. I have recently aquired a small formula racecar (about 650lbs) and I would like to tow it with the wrx on a small trailer (200-300) to local autocrosses and things on occasion. I can make a trailer hitch reciever, so no worries there, mainly wondering how the suspension and drivetrain would handle it. Anyone done similar and what were your results? Thanks.

-Hank
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Old 05-01-2008, 07:47 PM   #2
BeratE
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Have not done it myself but I see guys out here trailering their carts to and from the track with their wagons
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Old 05-01-2008, 07:51 PM   #3
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ive seen sti's towing stuff, i would think you could get away w/ it as long as you drive it carefully
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Old 05-01-2008, 07:56 PM   #4
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there are plenty of owners that have had trailer hitches
bolted to rear frame. usually for towing wheel trailer.

but you should be fine. try to find a bolt on trailer hitch frame.
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Old 05-01-2008, 07:57 PM   #5
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Your owner's manual called...it wants you to open and read it. Power mods have zippo to do with what you can and can't tow, it's more of chassis design, driveline, and brakes.
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Old 05-01-2008, 08:54 PM   #6
69subaru360
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HankWest View Post
I have an o2 wagon. Stage 1.5. Uppipe, downpipe, midpipe, with stock catback. Everything else is stock on the car. I would like to know if anyone has used their wrx to tow a small trailer with a motorcycle or similar. I have recently aquired a small formula racecar (about 650lbs) and I would like to tow it with the wrx on a small trailer (200-300) to local autocrosses and things on occasion. I can make a trailer hitch reciever, so no worries there, mainly wondering how the suspension and drivetrain would handle it. Anyone done similar and what were your results? Thanks.

-Hank
The weights you listed are within the towing weights listed in the owners manual. So it should work out fine. If you've never towed anything before go slow and careful at first and give yourself lots of extra room to stop.
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Old 05-01-2008, 09:47 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jaxscuby View Post
there are plenty of owners that have had trailer hitches
bolted to rear frame.

that is actually one of the weaknesses of towing with a subaru, there really isn't a true frame in a unibody car, especially behind the rear wheels. The mount points are the weak point of any bolt on hitch for a subaru.

anyway, to the OP, i put MANY miles on my wrx in the summer towing a jet ski or two, it handles it fine. use common sense, and wire up your car for trailer lights. Even if you don't legally need them in your state, it will protect you from a ticket and possible lawsuit should someone rear end you.
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Old 05-01-2008, 10:28 PM   #8
Broxma
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I towed a 2005 Honda Shadow Areo 750 in the back of a 12(Maybe 14) foot enclose Uhaul from Denver to DC. I bought a bolt in hitch from Uhaul and I got 24 MPG average for the trip.

I had as much as 3400 pounds(GVW) in the trailer at one point and it still made it down the road. It didn't like it, but I only went a few, slow miles.

I have also towed my wifes car (VW Bug) on a flatbed for a few miles with it. The towing was done before I did any suspension mods at all.

/Brox
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Old 05-01-2008, 10:35 PM   #9
eagle98ak
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I towed my a small utility trailer with 1000lbs of my stuff when I moved from Alaska to Florida. The only adverce effect I had was accelerated wear on the rear struts.
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Old 05-01-2008, 10:53 PM   #10
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Your clutch will wear much faster too.
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Old 05-01-2008, 11:21 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle98ak View Post
I towed my a small utility trailer with 1000lbs of my stuff when I moved from Alaska to Florida. The only adverce effect I had was accelerated wear on the rear struts.
HOLY OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CONTINENT!

I probably would have shipped it. What did that take you? 4 days? 5 days? Not worth the time or money to drive that IMO.
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Old 05-02-2008, 03:04 AM   #12
HankWest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Unabomber View Post
Your owner's manual called...it wants you to open and read it. Power mods have zippo to do with what you can and can't tow, it's more of chassis design, driveline, and brakes.
My original post also called....it would like you to reread it. Reading the owners manual tells me zippo about what I was interested in finding out. I didn't ask "can I tow a trailer with my wrx?" or "I wonder what subaru rates the car as being able to handle for maximum towing capacity"? I said that I would like to tow a trailer and I simply asked if anyone had any experience towing a similar setup and what their impressions were of how the car handled it. I was more interested in what to expect than can it be done. As far as power mods go, I realize on this car that the engine is not going to ultimately be the limiting factor in what it can or cant tow. As mentioned, chassis design, suspension, brakes etc. will become a problem before engine power. I listed my cars current state of tune because it absolutely does impact the towing experience even though it may not increase the maximum capacity. While maybe not terribly noticeable, a car that makes more torque and at a lower, more usable for towing, rpm range will be different to tow with than a completely stock car. Similarly a car with upgraded suspension components likely wont sag or bounce as bad as my worn out stock suspension. I didn't say my car is mad fast and can tow a 50' triple axle race trailer because I gotz a tight downpipe yo. I gave information that I believed to be relative and in doing so desired to gain the input of others with a similar setup.

I just think it's funny that anytime someone asks for advice or opinions they get jumped on to read the stickies or use the search button. I understand getting frustrated when the same question comes up repeatedly, but seriously thats the point of a discussion forum. Sharing experiences and ideas and learning from others.

That said, thank you everyone for the help. Hearing people tell what they have towed, what type of fuel mileage they got, potential accelerated wear items, etc. is EXACTLY what I was trying to obtain by starting this thread in the first place.
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Old 05-02-2008, 04:36 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dubya-R-ex View Post
HOLY OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CONTINENT!

I probably would have shipped it. What did that take you? 4 days? 5 days? Not worth the time or money to drive that IMO.

I live in Ak and have driven out on the ALCAN (albeit only to the northwest) but it is worthwhile to see parts of the country (and Canada) that you otherwise really wouldn't. It sounds like an awesome trip successfully executed.

Then again on the other hand holy hell thats allot of seat time!!!.
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Old 05-02-2008, 06:33 AM   #14
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1. Welcome to the internet, enjoy yourself and don't be serious.
2. Your question has zippo to do with 2.0l TECHNICAL as this question should be in general.
3. I'm allowing it to stay here as the 2.0l is a little slow this past day.
4. Remember...it's the internet...if you want Christian replies, you may freely post in the Newbies forum where Christian replies are mandatory. In the 2.0l forum, hating to a degree is allowed, my reply was decidedly mild.
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Old 05-02-2008, 10:00 AM   #15
WRC51
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I drove my Stage 2 WRX from northern Alberta to Halifax, Nova Scotia towing a U haul with about 1000 lbs in it. The brakes & fuel economy were the worst part.
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Old 05-02-2008, 11:14 AM   #16
HankWest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Unabomber View Post
1. Welcome to the internet, enjoy yourself and don't be serious.
2. Your question has zippo to do with 2.0l TECHNICAL as this question should be in general.
3. I'm allowing it to stay here as the 2.0l is a little slow this past day.
4. Remember...it's the internet...if you want Christian replies, you may freely post in the Newbies forum where Christian replies are mandatory. In the 2.0l forum, hating to a degree is allowed, my reply was decidedly mild.
Then you are decidedly an internet moderator. What was I thinking. No one would mistake my nasioc post count for my phone number so obviously I suck at life. Thank you SOOOO much for ALLOWING a question posted by me, a mere mortal, to remain in your holy presence. I guess I should stick to the newbie section where I will be buffered from all those elite people out there that know so much about everything that they think they have an excuse to be rude and make "Un-Christian" replies.

Ahhh yes, the internet. Welcome to life's great little equalizer. Where everyone makes six figure salaries, has chiseled abs, dates supermodels, drives exotic cars, and is an undeniable expert on all matters of life. A place where no one gets picked last in gym class. A place where the biggest losers in life are all self proclaimed rockstars. I spend a good amount of time on several other (mainly miata) forums for work and subaru guys are way more fun. Just don't tell anyone I said so or I might lose my job. I love it that people feel so proud and think they are so freakin rad because they have nothing better to do than sit on their computers all day and further demonstrate the depths of their vast knowledge and understanding to us other lesser beings.

Kidding aside, I apologize for putting this in the wrong section. I was mainly curious about how the 2.0l drivetrain wrx handles towing about 1000 lbs so I figured this would be an appropriate place. I imagine an N/A suby or STI respond quite differently to towing. The general section seems to get too general sometimes and I imagined it would turn into a "well my ford truck can tow more than your chevy truck and your sti combined" "no way yo, my sti has a stage 6.379er protune from Ricky Bobby motorsports and a ssautochrome carbon fiber intercooler and a K&N decal and a custom ported blow off valve and those little bullet hole stickers so it could even tow your mom AND your girlfriend up a hill in the snow" type of thread. Please feel free to move it or whatever if that is in fact the correct location.

Thanks again for the help unabomber......and of course all you regular guys too. Haha. Please get started on the "unabomber, what your wrx/sti can and cant tow manifesto." If that was available, then I wouldn't have had to ask all this to start with. From what you guys have said, It sounds like I will be all set to do what I need as far as towing my little car goes and I now know what to keep an eye on while driving and maintaining the vehicle. I love the utility and versatility the wrx (especially the wagon) offers. Take care guys.

-Hank
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Old 05-02-2008, 01:06 PM   #17
bign
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less typing more towing, and god help you if your little race car has the engine from my stolen R1
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Old 05-02-2008, 01:14 PM   #18
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Towed a 2000lbs uhaul box with my NA. Balancing and tongue weight is the key, once that was set, no problem cruising at 70mph on the highway. Backing up was both hell and fun, braking got significantly worse, and so did gas mileage. No dramatic moments whatsoever. Enjoy!
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Old 07-29-2009, 11:18 AM   #19
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Giving this a bump as I've been thinking about picking up a small 5x8 enclosed trailer, something like this:

http://albany.craigslist.org/mcy/1286397343.html

I'm not sure of the weight of this one, but they seem to average 800 - 900 lbs. I'd then be putting in ~300lbs of stuff in there (racing kart). I know the max rated on the WRX is 1,000lbs without brakes... would this be pushing things too much?

Also, any hitch recommendations? I'm running the stock exhaust.
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Old 07-29-2009, 12:17 PM   #20
Haelan
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Rated for 2,000 lbs towing capacity for the 2002's: http://www.cars101.com/subwarr.html#capacity

It's not really recommended nor is it discouraged. As long as trailer brakes are used it's 2,000 lbs.
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Old 07-29-2009, 12:29 PM   #21
TimStevens
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I'm not sure that this trailer has brakes, though... would all enclosed trailers of this size have them? Also, how difficult is it to wire a car up to control electric brakes?

<--- towing n00b
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Old 07-29-2009, 01:11 PM   #22
Haelan
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Originally Posted by TimStevens View Post
I'm not sure that this trailer has brakes, though... would all enclosed trailers of this size have them? Also, how difficult is it to wire a car up to control electric brakes?

<--- towing n00b
I think as long as you took it easy on the transmission you won't have a problem either way. As for the wiring I'm not sure either....that would be a topic for the electrical forum.
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Old 07-29-2009, 01:39 PM   #23
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wiring up is easy... Trailer brakes, although technically required, are tough to find on light duty trailers. I personally pull around 1700 pounds of jetboat 2-4 times a week, and have done 300+ mile road trips with it behind my wrx.

Common sense, and drive like a grandma. Extreme defensive driving, as a heavy trailer will slide a vehicle if you nail the brakes. And keep your revs up, small displacement engines, especially ones with turbos, suck at low end torque.
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Old 07-29-2009, 06:51 PM   #24
69subaru360
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I've done 1100-1200 lbs without trailer brakes. No problems at all, barely even knew the trailer was there. I do have EBC redstuff pads and powerslot rotors so that does help a bit with stopping. I also have coilovers and big swaybars so the trailer really doesn't sway around much.
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Old 07-29-2009, 07:06 PM   #25
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i do a single place wave runner and i have done my own 5plug harness w/ modulite.
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