Anyone Tow with a Pontiac G6?

[caboose483]

I have the Regular cab it it lacks space, passengers over 6 feet tall hit their knees on the dash. 3hrs is certainly not a long drive but doing the Toronto to Deals Gap trip in it is, the seat are not all that comfy and will give you back pain after 4 1/2 - 6hs. I also have the 2.3L so I save on gas quite a bit which is nice but it lacks some power and I need to downshift to 4th when climbing steep hills. (ex: 403 in Hamilton going towards HWY 6 for TMP trips) Plus the trucks manual transmission isn't super smooth, and no matter how slowly or perfect rev matching you do it's a slightly jerky ride when the trucks cold. I drive this truck like a sporty car, freaking tires squeal like crazy! Lots of body roll...

Extended cab FTW. It makes all the difference in the world. I had my Ranger for over 4 years, it was plenty comfortable to drive in.

Kellen's S10 was a regular cab too, so it would have been similarly uncomfortable.

[fsilva_mcl]

The upper strut mount rusting is common on Chryco minivans. Any body shop can get you supports to strengthen and reinforce them. It is such a common problem that they mount reiforcements are available inte aftermarket and are pretty cheap, in case you like the minivan and the rusty mounts are all that's stopping you from continuing it's use.

Really!?! You may have just made my day! The thing only has 238000km, and most of those kms were highway either me driving back and forth to Windsor or when my dad used it to drive 75km round trip a day for work up the 400.

Plus it's wicked being able to put the bike right into the van without a trailer.

[fsilva_mcl]

Acura RSX 4cyl 5speed for all this season and i love it. no probs, comfy, and still looks cool haha. only thing i hate is being creative with packing. genny is too big for the trailer with the bike on it so i have to keep the genny in the trunk. i tow 3hrs to cayuga through gta traffic and even around town no probs at all.

I had a Civic Si coupe earlier in the year before I sold it. I'd be more comfortable using both bikes to tow the Si than the other way around lol

[fsilva_mcl]

$50 for both left and right side caps! All I have to do is buy a rivet gun.

More money for racing! Major WIN! Thanks guys!

[boooya]

Chrysler had an extended/goodwill warranty repair on those strut towers .

[fsilva_mcl]

Chrysler had an extended/goodwill warranty repair on those strut towers .

Are you saying if I go to the dealer they will fix it for free?

This thread keeps getting better and better lol

[Sundie]

Trailer weighs right around 200 or less with 2 bikes about 1000 my car is rated at 2000

What's the trailer made of? Aluminum?

I mean, 200 sounds *really* low, considering the axle/tires/suspension is usually more than 200 just by itself.

[Sundie]

I have the Regular cab it it lacks space, passengers over 6 feet tall hit their knees on the dash.

Oh hells yeah. i have the extended cab, and i sat in a regular for about 15 seconds and went "no", but the extended is awesome.

I also have the 2.3L so I save on gas quite a bit which is nice but it lacks some power and I need to downshift to 4th when climbing steep hills. (ex: 403 in Hamilton going towards HWY 6 for TMP trips)

Yeah, i've got the 4.0 4x4 stick. I'm willing to sacrifice the fuel economy (although, i came from a 95 jetta VR6 - which got me around 10-11, and the truck does 13-14. $3/100km is not a huge jump) The only time i ever had to downshift was going up the mountain at the speed limit. I'm fairly sure that if i had been doing 120 instead of 90, i wouldn't have had to - but 90 in 5th is like 1800 rpm, and the truck just didn't feel right. Also, i weighed over 7000lbs, so that might have had something to do with it.

Plus the trucks manual transmission isn't super smooth, and no matter how slowly or perfect rev matching you do it's a slightly jerky ride when the trucks cold. I drive this truck like a sporty car, freaking tires squeal like crazy! Lots of body roll...

Well... It's a truck. When i was looking around at them (and basically, i wanted a small 5 speed extended cab truck with a 6 foot bed) (i also wanted diesel, but that was a non-starter <sigh>) The thing i noticed after checking out almost all the offerings was that the Ranger drove like a truck, and was simple. Everything else drove like a jacked up car, and was more concerned with ride quality and comforts than carrying capacity and toughness - not the right attitude for a truck, in my opinion.

Extended cab FTW. It makes all the difference in the world. I had my Ranger for over 4 years, it was plenty comfortable to drive in.

Testify!

[Sky_high]

To jack the thread....anyone tow a trailer with a car that has a high pressure turbo? (found in certain Subaru's, Mazdaspeed's, GTI's, Saab's, Volvo's, etc...)

[spazio10]

I had a Civic Si coupe earlier in the year before I sold it. I'd be more comfortable using both bikes to tow the Si than the other way around lol

Haha that would be interesting. mine is 160hp and i barely feel the weight, just a little on breaking.

whats the second bike?

[dvu3]

I had Honda Civic SI 5spd with a 350lbs utility trailer for my R6. After one year I had to install a completely new transmission. will never do that again.

[kellen]

extended cab ftw. It makes all the difference in the world. I had my ranger for over 4 years, it was plenty comfortable to drive in.

Kellen's s10 was a regular cab too, so it would have been similarly uncomfortable.

i75 ftl!

[CDN zx6r]

Have you ever seen these trailers? I stumbled on them on another thread on the forum. They look great for towing with a small vehicle, and when you're not using it, it won't take up much room. I think you will be more than fine towing with the Pontiac G6. As long as you don't try to tow too much weight. I've seen similar sized vehicles towing great big tent trailers loaded down with bicycles, canoes and other heavy camping gear. You should be fine with a couple of sport-bikes and gear. Good luck!


http://trailerinabag.com/index.html

[Brian P]

To jack the thread....anyone tow a trailer with a car that has a high pressure turbo? (found in certain Subaru's, Mazdaspeed's, GTI's, Saab's, Volvo's, etc...)

My late model TDI has a regulated boost pressure of about 1.2 bar (18 psi) above atmospheric, and it has been fine. The issue isn't really the pressure ratio of the turbo, but rather whether the operating conditions (temperature and pressure) cause the rated continuous mechanical and thermal limits of the turbo to be exceeded, but that's engineering information not generally available to the public. If your car is stock, it's probably capable of producing maximum power continuously. If it has been hot-rodded - which is common and easy on electronically controlled turbo engines! - then it's anybody's guess. Websites dedicated to the particular vehicle in question will probably be able to address whether towing is asking for trouble or not. A turbo gas engine puts a lot more thermal stress on a turbo than a non-hot-rodded turbo diesel does. The turbo in my TDI neither has nor needs water cooling. (by the way, the one in question is a variable-vane-geometry BorgWarner BV39 - stock turbo on a Mk5 VW TDI)

If in doubt, install a boost gauge and stay out of the high pressure region when towing.

[omnivore]

Just about All late TDi's since 99 have switched to the GArrett VNT design chrysler first employed in 1989/90 in their VNT Shelby Daytona and CSX Shelby "Shadow".

Some newer ones from Borg Warner have shown up as well, but operate the same. They flow well, but have more instances than the Garretts of boost spikes temporarily sending the car into limp mode and lighting the check engine light.

[funrider]

My late model TDI has a regulated boost pressure of about 1.2 bar (18 psi) above atmospheric, blah blah blah... If it has been hot-rodded - which is common and easy on electronically controlled turbo engines then it's anybody's guess blah blah blah... the turbo in my TDI neither has nor needs water cooling blah blah blah
If in doubt, install a boost gauge and stay out of the high pressure region when towing blah blah blah.

When I have to replace my car at some point (I drive them into the dirt) I'm calling you for advice...so far my low pressure turbo 2003 V70 2.5 AWD T (rated 3300 lbs towing with North America specs!) is doing fine towing about 2000 lbs but very thirsty with a trailer and two bikes. See post #73 onwards to see what folks are using as tow vehicles. To the OP, see http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...03#post1316903