how harmful is it to tow a car

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
The best way to tow out a stuck vehicle is to have said stuck vehicle in neutral and the driver steer with the other vehicle that's pulling them out.

The hardest part with modern cars is finding something solid to hook onto!


I disagree with this statement. The best way is to have the stuck vehicle spin its tires a bit and straight as possible also once it gets the tug to get out also. This eliminates the stress on both vehicles and a slight tug seems all a stuck vehicle mostly needs. I pulled a F350 2wd dually off the road out with a WRX with Nokian tires this way.

The key is tugging very gently.



I don't trust the other driver not to either rear end me or get scared and jam the breaks.

Typically I'm yanking out one of my 2wd pickups that gets stuck in some mud, and the vehicle doing the yanking is usually vastly larger, ie a tri axle.

In such a case its very easy to break things on a light duty truck that's getting yanked.

 

[bowlofturtle]

When you guys are talking about mounting points. Wouldn't the factory tow hook spot be more then good?

Maybe location isn't the best. I think my camry and maxima has a rear hook. My lancer has a front hook. My G35 has that slot behind the plate where you screw in a tow hook.

These points were BUILT for towing was it not?

I have those yellow tow straps around in my trunk and i just about it about it today, if was i help a buddy out of a ditch or something like that would there be damage.

 

[meep]

yes they are built for them. some vehicles place them better than others. the problem arises when the cable has to wrap under some plastic, or other part. some hooks allow free straight-line path out from under the car, but not all.

example--- jeep grand cherokee, gen 1 (ZJ). stuck it a rut, whole car slid off the trail, right side swamped to the door handle, left side high and dry. Had to go beneath a lot of mud just to find metal. NO HOOKS in the back of that thing!. Wrapped around the frame rails that lead to the bumper... but the plastic comes down lower than the frame rails by 2". he didn't want to pay for a tow (and may have been private property, too). so his options were, do it with friends, or pay for a tow but perhaps run into some trouble. I don't know. he didn't want to pay for a tow, and after a few minutes of realizing this may mess up some plastic in his car he's had a week, he decided it was time--- the water was creeping into the carpet. When that line tightened, it distorted the plastic. as the vehicle yawed while it came out, that cable tore through all of the paint in a 10" stretch and broke several plastic mounting snaps. He was a little saddened by that. When we pulled the cables off, we still couldn't find a better place to attach.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

There are slots in the unibody of most vehicles that can be used with a special hook.

I have recovered a few Jeeps with a tow strap around the axle. Good idea? No. But when someone decided to bury their jeep up to the doors in mud and has no tow points ... not much you can do. Throw them the strap and tell them to hook it up.

My Cherokee was like that when I got it. No points at all.

I now have a recovery bumper with heavy duty unibody tie-in brackets and a class 3 hitch.

Have used both pretty extensively. Unfortunately, because *I* got stuck off road.

 

[meep]

Miller88, LOL!

 

[Artem]

I towed a 97 Honda Prelude with my 2007 Honda Civic Si with a 2.0L engine and 6 speed manual for a good 20 miles on the highway doing 75mph in 5th gear @ about 5,500rpm. Seemed fine, like I wasn't even pulling a 3,000 car behind me.

The only struggle it had was around town after we got off the highway. Starting off from a stand still was tricky but I simply revved it much higher then I normally do and dumped the clutch.

The UOA after this activity didn't show anything that the previous UOA showed. Same wear rates.

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I towed a 97 Honda Prelude with my 2007 Honda Civic Si with a 2.0L engine and 6 speed manual for a good 20 miles on the highway doing 75mph in 5th gear @ about 5,500rpm. Seemed fine, like I wasn't even pulling a 3,000 car behind me.

The only struggle it had was around town after we got off the highway. Starting off from a stand still was tricky but I simply revved it much higher then I normally do and dumped the clutch.

The UOA after this activity didn't show anything that the previous UOA showed. Same wear rates.



You must have had a lot of faith in the driver of the prelude. Doing 75 mph while towing that doesn't sound wise.

 

[Artem]

My wife was driving the Prelude when the newly installed timing belt SNAPPED (a plastic cover was rubbing on it for a few hundred miles)

There was very minimal traffic at that time and I wanted to get home quickly. Doing 55mph while everyone around you is doing 80 didn't sound good to me, so I was doing the speed limit and flowing with traffic. Had the wife on the phone the entire time, telling her to brake when needed, to slow me down and keep tension on the rope at all times. Worked like a charm.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I pulled another cherokee with mine on the highway and on a boulevard. Taking off wasn't too bad (I have auto transmisison), it was remembering that my towee had no power brakes

 

[bowlofturtle]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I towed a 97 Honda Prelude with my 2007 Honda Civic Si with a 2.0L engine and 6 speed manual for a good 20 miles on the highway doing 75mph in 5th gear @ about 5,500rpm. Seemed fine, like I wasn't even pulling a 3,000 car behind me.

The only struggle it had was around town after we got off the highway. Starting off from a stand still was tricky but I simply revved it much higher then I normally do and dumped the clutch.

The UOA after this activity didn't show anything that the previous UOA showed. Same wear rates.

This was what i was thinking when i posted this. Maybe a little less length and not at 70mph. I would assume the prelude is heavier then your civic by a few pounds.