I have a ba series 1 xr6t that's lowered. It says im right on the capacity to tow my van at 2300kg. But it doeant feel like its pulling that well and struggles. Is this because my car is lowered and has 19 inch rims? What are the implications.  I get nervous towing it.

Edited December 2, 20187 yr by MARLY

Manual or Auto?

I've got a BA Mk1 owners manual lying around - auto is limited to 1600kg regardless of the tow pack that is fitted.

Auto

no wonder it is struggling. 

oops.

So who could I go to for expert advice on whether to tow or not.  No wonder you struggle is really not the advice I was looking for, but thanks for your input

If the rated limit is 1600kg and you are trying to tow 2300kg, what advice are you looking for?

This seems to be two issues here, or indeed with any vehicle that will tow a heavy load.

 

The first one is getting the car to handle towing without destroying the driveline and brakes and the second is getting the car stable while towing.

 

A BA falcon has a very long first gear and isn't suited for towing. A lowered car isn't suitable for towing. Using a vehicle that weighs less than the trailer is a bad idea. 

 

You can get around some of this but using a falcon for towing a heavy caravan isn't the best idea. Sure you can do it, but a heavy 4x4 will handle it a lot better.

 

Depending on what kind of towing you want to do, you could fit a trans cooler, swap the diff ratio, raise the rear suspension or fit airbags and tune the engine and gearbox. You might wanna swap the wheels over to 17's to make it more comfortable. There are towing stabilizer thingies and have a look into ball weight and van balance etc.

 

Work out what you need to do for stopping your van. Do you need a better brake controller? Does your caravan need better brakes? Does your car need a brake upgrade? Have you got a runaway system in place in the van? 

 

This is something that you need to understand for yourself so get googling!

 

Getting towing advice from a primarily performance oriented forum might yield some results but a caravan forum would have better results I reckon. 

 

Anyhow, hopefully that gives you some direction.