Tow Report

[RonB]

My Vibe GT wasn't doing that well at the autocross, and in the stock class it was tearing the edges of the new tires pretty badly. So, I've been on the lookout for something cheap enough to use as an autocross toy.

Yesterday I found it, and tonight I drug it home:

IMG_20170417_212645s.jpg (116.06 KiB) Viewed 1524 times

I was totally impressed by the Vibe GT as a tow vehicle. It made the 56 mile freeway trip in 5th gear with the cruise set at 65, staying within +/- 0.5 MPH of the set point. Coolant temp varied from 185 to 190. The only complaint the car made was pulling away from a stop up the hill from the seller's house. Fuel economy dropped from my normal freeway commute 28.8 to 25.9 (only half the tank was towing, and half that was empty).

The Miata was adjusted on the trailer to give very close to 200 pounds tongue weight, and it was as stable as could be.

I wouldn't want to do this every day, but on occasion it can work very well.

[RonB]

Went to autocross today. My tow vehicle did very well, and so did my race car:


I did find out that it would start to wiggle if I went much above 65. That's with about 8% tongue weight.

For legality and safety, I added electric brakes and a car safety chain to the trailer.

[jayoldschool]

What's the Vibe's tow rating?

[korax234]

What's the Vibe's tow rating?

A lot less than a Miata. But I would seriously consider getting like a Chevy Colorado or something to tow with.
I also towed about 1600lbs and it could do it just fine but an emergency stop would have been BAD.

The difference is the trailer I was towing weighed about 1200lbs and it was 18' long looked funny as heck.

But you are well about 2000lbs. Awesome to see someone towing with it though.

[treesleavedents]

I was always under the impression that the tongue weight should be more like 15-20% to increase stability. I wonder if the rig would wiggle less with a bit more tongue weight?