Pulling Bike with WRX

bkent136
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bkent136
Edited Date/Time 10/24/2014 5:33pm
Does anyone on here have a Subaru WRX or a car like it that they use to get to the track? If so, what kind of trailer and hitch do you use? I'm thinking of trading my Toyota Tacoma truck in for a WRX and was trying to find the best way to get to the track. Any info or pics would be useful!

Thanks,

bkent136
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jonathan.leedy 10/21/2014 7:35pm
10/21/2014 7:35pm
I haul with my '10 GTI, i believe it's a Curt hitch. I've towed my 250F +downhill bike + weekend's worth of gear for ~220 miles before with no problems, while getting 28mpg.

Just be careful with trailer selection. Luckily my ancient trailer stays pretty balanced even with 3 bikes on it it has just enough tongue weight.

Are you looking for a hatchback or sedan? I would recommend the hatchback for utility, and looks :D.
JB 19
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JB 19 10/21/2014 8:06pm
10/21/2014 8:06pm
I towed my 04 CRF450 on an open trailer back in 04' with my 02' WRX. I had a bigger turbo and all the stuff to go with it, but I had a map set up on my UTEC that had like 5 degrees of timing pulled from all RPM's for motor saftey. I got a lot thumbs up when pulling into tracks.

I'll try to dig up a pic of the setup.
garth720
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garth720 10/21/2014 8:22pm
10/21/2014 8:22pm Edited Date/Time 10/21/2014 8:23pm
Came out of lurking to answer this. I tow with a WRX, just use a basic 6x4 trailer. It tows fine, but I wouldn't want to tow a box trailer or anything too heavy with it though, you'd need to stay on boost way too much. No problems passing though haha.

Biggest issue is lack of space to race days etc. You need to load up the back seat as well as the boot.

Best picture I can find with the car in it. Sorry, not all that good, it gives you an idea though.



The Shop

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garth720
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garth720 10/22/2014 2:13am
10/22/2014 2:13am
Yeah it is. It changed ownership a year or so back though, its called Moto X Central now. It's improved a lot since Kimmy had it.
Spydee
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Spydee 10/22/2014 2:22am
10/22/2014 2:22am Edited Date/Time 10/22/2014 2:26am
I've been in two minds about putting a tow bar on my Scooby for years now. For one they look ugly as hell, but I guess you can fork out on detachable tow bars, but there really isn't a lot of room in the classic either... though I do have full leather in mine so last thing I want to do is tear that up.

Anyway, are you thinking of getting the blob eye (2000-2002) or the bug eye (2002-2005) model? I'd go for the latter if I were you mate..
tuz371
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tuz371 10/22/2014 5:10am
10/22/2014 5:10am Edited Date/Time 10/22/2014 5:31am
Check the owner's manual / online specifications and go from there.

Hitches are available for cars that are not designed for towing. I was looking at buying a brand nes 2009 Scion B. There was not towing information but hitches are available for it. The resident tuner at the local Scion dealer said the transmission has taller gear ratios that aren't meant for torque and towing. I could hitch the car but would be bad news for the transmisison.

Don't have Subaru but I have towed using my 2009 Toyota Matrix S (2.4L with 5 speed manual). Says in the owner's manual it can tow up 1,500 lbs. The Matrix transmission is geared a lot like a pick-up, 1st gear is almost useless when empty. I can pull away from a stop on small inclines in 2nd gear without riding the clutch. 1st gear really only comes into play on steeper starts or when towing / full car of family and gear.

Put a Hidden Hitch on the Matrix (1" receiver) and use my old Northern Tool 4 x 8 foldable trailer (from about 1995).

Maiden voyage I loaded the trailer with:
- 2002 Honda CRF 450
- 55 gallon drum with wash water
- pressure washer
- 5 gal. gas can (full)
- Sears plastic tool tote (about 30 lbs.)
and put me (225 lbs.), easy-up, riding gear, stand, lawn chair and medium cooler in the car.

Got on a limited access highway with some steep grades (6-7%) and set the cruise control at 65 mph. The car had no trouble pulling the hills in cruise mode in 5th. Just put enough weight on the tongue and you should be good to go, as long as your car was designe to pull the load.

Hope this helps.
tuz371
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tuz371 10/22/2014 5:30am
10/22/2014 5:30am
Some poor photos of what I have.








MxKing809
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MxKing809 10/22/2014 8:08am
10/22/2014 8:08am
I put my bike on the wife's Ford Escape. It's rated for 3500 lbs tow capacity, so I could pull a 6x12 enclosed trailer no problem.



FGR01
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FGR01 10/22/2014 8:16am
10/22/2014 8:16am
I pulled a small trailer with 1 or 2 bikes with 4-banger cars for years. No problem. Don't try to go fast up big hills and be careful of overloading the brakes when stopping. Biggest thing with the WRX will be to stay out of the boost. You can easily over heat the turbo and cook the oil if you keep your foot mashed to the floor up a long grade or constantly jump in the boost with that extra weight back there.
ridinbeast932 10/22/2014 9:57am
10/22/2014 9:57am
I pull a 4'X7' harbor freight trailer with my stage 2 04 WRX and you can barely tell it's there. About to swap it out for my 07 Sti, can't wait to see the looks I get!

Using a Curt hitch.
Mx4life320
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Mx4life320 10/22/2014 12:46pm
10/22/2014 12:46pm
Tacoma vs WRX doubt there is a big difference fuel mileage.
But I got a jetta TDI, The my man is the way to go, WIth one bike on the back i get 35 MPGs,
With two it drops to 28 MPGs.
Running a 3 rail trailer, with a Curt trailer hitch on my car.


mjskier
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mjskier 10/22/2014 1:02pm
10/22/2014 1:02pm
I have put a hidden hitch on my Forester (essentially the same chassis as the Impreza)
It's been a while, so I don't remember the exact model, but I think it is something like this:
http://www.autoanything.com/towing/61A3372A0A0.aspx

It is pretty invisible when not in use:



I pull a somewhat beat up foldable 3-rail trailer. You can hardly tell it is there. Bike plus trailer is probably the same weight as a fat passenger.

Titan1
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Titan1 10/22/2014 1:38pm
10/22/2014 1:38pm
Mx4life320 wrote:
Tacoma vs WRX doubt there is a big difference fuel mileage. But I got a jetta TDI, The my man is the way to go, WIth...
Tacoma vs WRX doubt there is a big difference fuel mileage.
But I got a jetta TDI, The my man is the way to go, WIth one bike on the back i get 35 MPGs,
With two it drops to 28 MPGs.
Running a 3 rail trailer, with a Curt trailer hitch on my car.


I've got a TDI Golf...LOVE IT! 40+MPG without a trailer...35 MPG with one bike, 28-30 MPG with two, and about 22-25 MPG with three (that's with three riders in the car, plus all of our gear)...

I'd get one of these (TDI VW) rather than the turbo WRX...
hvaughn88
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hvaughn88 10/22/2014 1:52pm
10/22/2014 1:52pm
Sort of off-topic here, but do any of you guys have Subaru Crosstreks? Gonna be in the market in the next year for a new work vehicle and have been considering those. Need something with good gas mileage but enough ground clearance to go down some logging roads and what not. These seem like a good candidate but I've never had a Subaru so I don't really know much about them.
bkent136
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bkent136 10/22/2014 7:40pm
10/22/2014 7:40pm
Spydee wrote:
I've been in two minds about putting a tow bar on my Scooby for years now. For one they look ugly as hell, but I guess...
I've been in two minds about putting a tow bar on my Scooby for years now. For one they look ugly as hell, but I guess you can fork out on detachable tow bars, but there really isn't a lot of room in the classic either... though I do have full leather in mine so last thing I want to do is tear that up.

Anyway, are you thinking of getting the blob eye (2000-2002) or the bug eye (2002-2005) model? I'd go for the latter if I were you mate..
it's gonna be the 2015
BobPA
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BobPA 10/22/2014 10:03pm
10/22/2014 10:03pm


You're good to go

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Spydee
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Spydee 10/22/2014 11:57pm
10/22/2014 11:57pm
bkent136 wrote:
it's gonna be the 2015
Sweeeet! Make sure you put some pics up when you get it.
racer495a
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racer495a 10/23/2014 7:22am
10/23/2014 7:22am
I've got a 2015 rex that I put a hidden hitch on. It's a pretty good process to install but nice once installed.
Bike Rat
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Bike Rat 10/23/2014 9:10am
10/23/2014 9:10am
BobPA wrote:
[URL=http://s817.photobucket.com/user/btf454/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/31719774-4A4F-42B8-BDE1-8EF741A2A311_zpstzj0txmg.jpg.html][IMG]http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz99/btf454/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/31719774-4A4F-42B8-BDE1-8EF741A2A311_zpstzj0txmg.jpg[/IMG][/URL] You're good to go


You're good to go
Nice Rx 7!
Boarddesign
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Boarddesign 10/23/2014 10:18am
10/23/2014 10:18am
hvaughn88 wrote:
Sort of off-topic here, but do any of you guys have Subaru Crosstreks? Gonna be in the market in the next year for a new work...
Sort of off-topic here, but do any of you guys have Subaru Crosstreks? Gonna be in the market in the next year for a new work vehicle and have been considering those. Need something with good gas mileage but enough ground clearance to go down some logging roads and what not. These seem like a good candidate but I've never had a Subaru so I don't really know much about them.
I haven't seen the vehicle you are talking about but I've owned a few Subaru's and I can tell you they are bullet proof. They are fantastic drivers and super reliable. My Mom has done nothing but change oil / regular maint and has 250,000 and drives like new, the first one I bought had 180,000 and I drove the wheels of it for a long time. I bought a '07 Turbo legacy wagon and that was my favorite car I have ever owned, it was FANTASTIC!! I now have a TDI Jetta which is ok but gets unreal gas MPG and a F250 quad cab long bed 4X4 that I use am a moto vehicle... not so much on MPG there though!
mxman
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mxman 10/23/2014 12:05pm
10/23/2014 12:05pm


Never a problem...... Of course I go through tires, chains and sprockets every other week LMAO
Madmax31
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Madmax31 10/23/2014 12:54pm
10/23/2014 12:54pm
I've seen a guy pulling about an 8' long enclosed trailer with a VW Passat.
Tarz483
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Tarz483 10/23/2014 4:07pm
10/23/2014 4:07pm
Speaking of towing I saw a guy towing a car with a caravan the other day . seems like a big job for a Lil van

bkent136
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bkent136 10/23/2014 9:06pm
10/23/2014 9:06pm
racer495a wrote:
I've got a 2015 rex that I put a hidden hitch on. It's a pretty good process to install but nice once installed.
how much was it? and do you have a link to what it is exactly?
racer495a
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racer495a 10/24/2014 12:01pm
10/24/2014 12:01pm Edited Date/Time 10/24/2014 12:02pm
racer495a wrote:
I've got a 2015 rex that I put a hidden hitch on. It's a pretty good process to install but nice once installed.
bkent136 wrote:
how much was it? and do you have a link to what it is exactly?
Here is the link. Free shipping, no tax. I purchased a light kit for a 2012+ regular impreza sedan and it was plug and play. It took me about 4 hours, directions were good and it wasn't terribly difficult, just time consuming. Super heavy duty, almost overkill I would say. If you search around there is an installation video on their website.

https://shop.tlcentral.com/store/pc/2015+-Subaru-WRX-WRX-STI-Invisi-Tra…
Frailey46
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Frailey46 10/24/2014 5:33pm
10/24/2014 5:33pm
I have a Focus ST and use the Curt hitch with a small trailer. Works great. And you can't hardly tell the thing is back there. Though people like to give me shit thinking its a regular Focus like "How does that thing pull? haha" They usually shut up once they look inside and see the 6-speed and Recaros.
jpbova
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jpbova 9/20/2016 5:02am
9/20/2016 5:02am
MxKing809 wrote:
I put my bike on the wife's Ford Escape. It's rated for 3500 lbs tow capacity, so I could pull a 6x12 enclosed trailer no problem...
I put my bike on the wife's Ford Escape. It's rated for 3500 lbs tow capacity, so I could pull a 6x12 enclosed trailer no problem.



I sent you a PM. Curious about your set up

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