Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info - General Forum

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Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:29 PM
Well i am just wondering who uses their Jbody to tow any thing with... It might be a bit much but i am wondering if my Sunfire would be able to tow either my Yamaha Raptor (ATV.. weights about 420-450lbs+small trailer) or my Yamaha R6 (380-400lbs)

i have seen Jbodies towing small trailers around town but just wanted to see if any of you guy use yours to tow... and where did you get the towing stuff put on.. (maybe shoot up some pictures if you can)

My only problem i see is my Gravana Coilovers may not up to the task as power is no issue ( ill post the new power numbers soon for the twin charged car ) but i use my car for lots of roads trips, normally with me and 2 other people in the car plus all our stuff (about 700-800lbs in total) so i don't see why i couldn't tow a trailer + bike or atv..






The First Twin Charged jbody
blue car (R.I.P) - 240whp @7psi..
silver car - 305whp 315lbs.tq @15psi (91 Octane) or 420whp & 425lbs.TQ @20psi (94 octane+Alcohol Injection)
All dynos run on a Mustang dyno

Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:48 PM
Here's some info (with pics)

http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=7&i=322367&t=322367#322367



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:53 PM








Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 6:55 AM
I've been towing my jet ski for 3 years now with no problems, and I'm on AGX's and Eibach pro kit springs.


Car is for Sale!Supercharger kit is for sale!
Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 8:15 AM
My buddy James will be seen towing his sailboat throughout summer, I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 400lbs+, 5 speed Eco kicking ass-


That was with Sportline's and Koni Yellows and he never had an issue, so with stiff Gravanas I say go for it.



Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 5:28 PM
It looks like you've got the power to do it. If your car is manual though, avoid starting uphill like the plague. Your clutch will hate you.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 6:07 PM
Car pictured above has over 150,000 miles on it right now....stock clutch...and yes it's an '03 LS Sport. He's a driving fool, granted he hasn't been towing boats for 150,000 miles but you get the gist.





Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 7:16 PM
wow joe, that pic is well... just freaky. lol



Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 8:48 PM
Joe Schulte wrote:My buddy James will be seen towing his sailboat throughout summer, I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 400lbs+, 5 speed Eco kicking ass-


That was with Sportline's and Koni Yellows and he never had an issue, so with stiff Gravanas I say go for it.



that would have been cool as an ad for the cavy ... or even in the dealer brochures


]
Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:32 AM
Well my only problem now is.. i don't think its going to fit because of my RK sport rear lip... and the Trans Am exhaust might get in the way too

here is what I am talking about.. you can see the lip comes down about 2" down from the Stock bumper... and i think the towing gear tucks up like .5 - 1" down from the OEM bumper.. as well I am not sure if my tail pipes would get in the way or not...









The First Twin Charged jbody
blue car (R.I.P) - 240whp @7psi..
silver car - 305whp 315lbs.tq @15psi (91 Octane) or 420whp & 425lbs.TQ @20psi (94 octane+Alcohol Injection)
All dynos run on a Mustang dyno
Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:12 AM
Too close to call, I know it barely cleared his LS Sport bumper which on the 03+ sits what seems to be just as low as your RK lip. The Sunfire bumper always seems to go up higher in the middle versus the Cavalier's.

I honestly would say you'd be close, but it may clear.





Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:32 PM
Joe Schulte wrote:Too close to call, I know it barely cleared his LS Sport bumper which on the 03+ sits what seems to be just as low as your RK lip. The Sunfire bumper always seems to go up higher in the middle versus the Cavalier's.

I honestly would say you'd be close, but it may clear.


what about the tail pipes? think they would gett in the way?



The First Twin Charged jbody
blue car (R.I.P) - 240whp @7psi..
silver car - 305whp 315lbs.tq @15psi (91 Octane) or 420whp & 425lbs.TQ @20psi (94 octane+Alcohol Injection)
All dynos run on a Mustang dyno

Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Saturday, January 19, 2008 3:27 PM
I only have a stock 2.2 with 5 speed in my 02 Sunfire, and I use it to pull my 16 foot boat. It's not entirely happy about it on the larger hills, unless I run higher octane gas (to allow it to advance the timing more under heavy load without backing off). As long as I'm easy on the clutch on take-off, I think I'll still be okay. I've been towing about 1000km per year for the past 5 summers now without problem. Current mileage on the car is 204,000km.
As for the hitch, I have a Reece Hidden Hitch (class 1). Bumper clearance may be a problem, as mine is pretty close being stock. Other hitches may be different. It only comes down low in the middle though, so the exhaust shouldn't be an issue. It may be in your way somewhat trying to bolt things in place, but shouldn't interfere with the fit.
The biggest thing you'll probably notice is braking. Keep your distance, as the extra weight seems to push the brakes on these cars to the limit. At least you aren't looking at anything too heavy.
With nothing in it, my boat weighs about 350 pounds, the motor is 145, and the battery and fuel together are probably another 75. I would guess at the trailer being about 250, so total should be around 820 pounds. It's when we load all of my family's stuff for a week at the cottage in there, and put 4 of us in the car that it gets more "interesting"...
I'll try to attach a photo. I haven't done it before, so I'm somewhat doubtful it will work.

Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Sunday, January 20, 2008 12:58 PM
u could try a reverse drop down hitch. basically instead of using a normal tongue and ball use one that drops down just upside down we did that to my cuz mini truck it wouldnt clear his roll pan.



Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Monday, January 21, 2008 12:00 AM
John S wrote:I only have a stock 2.2 with 5 speed in my 02 Sunfire, and I use it to pull my 16 foot boat. It's not entirely happy about it on the larger hills, unless I run higher octane gas (to allow it to advance the timing more under heavy load without backing off). As long as I'm easy on the clutch on take-off, I think I'll still be okay. I've been towing about 1000km per year for the past 5 summers now without problem. Current mileage on the car is 204,000km.
As for the hitch, I have a Reece Hidden Hitch (class 1). Bumper clearance may be a problem, as mine is pretty close being stock. Other hitches may be different. It only comes down low in the middle though, so the exhaust shouldn't be an issue. It may be in your way somewhat trying to bolt things in place, but shouldn't interfere with the fit.
The biggest thing you'll probably notice is braking. Keep your distance, as the extra weight seems to push the brakes on these cars to the limit. At least you aren't looking at anything too heavy.
With nothing in it, my boat weighs about 350 pounds, the motor is 145, and the battery and fuel together are probably another 75. I would guess at the trailer being about 250, so total should be around 820 pounds. It's when we load all of my family's stuff for a week at the cottage in there, and put 4 of us in the car that it gets more "interesting"...
I'll try to attach a photo. I haven't done it before, so I'm somewhat doubtful it will work.

I'd love to see a picture of this!




Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Monday, January 21, 2008 11:21 AM
here is a picture of my car 2 summers ago, i have a u-haul hitch it barely clears the stock bumper. I normally tow a 12' boat with a 5 1/2 horse outboard. Fully loaded its like 350-400 i think. Ive also pulled a riding lawn mover and a trailer with 3 couches on it. lol




Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Monday, January 21, 2008 3:15 PM
I can't find clear instructions on how to post the image to appear here.
Where I tried to post my image, there is a small icon there. If I right click on it and choose to view the image, then the page comes up.
If someone could direct me to a page that tells how to do this properly, I would appreciate it. I've never really tried posting any images online - only through e-mail. I'm getting a bit frustrated trying to figure out what is probably a very simple thing.
Thanks,
John
Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Monday, January 21, 2008 6:23 PM
E-mail it to me, schulte2003@yahoo.com and I'll host it and post it in this topic for you.





Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Monday, January 21, 2008 7:21 PM
John S wrote:I can't find clear instructions on how to post the image to appear here.
Where I tried to post my image, there is a small icon there. If I right click on it and choose to view the image, then the page comes up.
If someone could direct me to a page that tells how to do this properly, I would appreciate it. I've never really tried posting any images online - only through e-mail. I'm getting a bit frustrated trying to figure out what is probably a very simple thing.
Thanks,
John


Problem w/ your pic link is that it doesn't end in a standard picture format (.jpg, .gif, etc.), but rather this:

HH2006/photo#5157335074268312610

So here's your pic (click for full-size)



I'd go to Photobucket and upload there. It gives you a forum friendly link when you're done.

and here is a brief how-to as to posting pics









Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Saturday, January 26, 2008 5:29 AM
Love the hauling pics
Kinda makes me feel better about going about towing stuff with my Outback if I see a Cav do it!




Re: Who uses their Jbody to tow? im looking for some info
Saturday, January 26, 2008 12:39 PM
Here's my Cav (completely stock) with the Trailer and Wheeler, it's an Eco, with a 5-speed, I've had no problems towing, I can really feel the weight in the back though (sluggish acceleration and stuff), I usually take it very easy when towing, I also give myself lots of time to brake......





Mike.

visit my cardomain site
http://www.cardomain.com/id/mike03redcav
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