I know a good amout of people tow their cars for road racing but how about autoX? Only track time i had was on my bike and i towed it cuz of distance(2hr drive), fatigue of riding, and "just incase".

 

I don't w2w road race, but I do autocross and drive HPDE's. I only tow HPDE's since my cars are street legal and not too uncomfortable to drive. I started towing to HPDE's about a year after getting started in them and realizing the seriousness of potential damage or wrecking the car and mechanical issues. Soon after I started towing I saw a car rollover and totalled out with luckily no injuries. Since then I have witnessed at least 3 more incidents on track with varying degrees of damage from minor fender scrapes and mostly ego to more rollovers and complete wrecks all luckliy with no to minor injury.

Although HPDE's are a safer way than public roads to learn to drive your car in a controlled high performance environment the risks are also increased and why I tow and also take safety/prep and safety equipment seriously.

**** happens and is also why I will only track a car I own outright, never anything that I may have a loan on or need insurance to repair. I've seen too many issues like this and don't care to risk it this way.

 

I've been autocrossing for many years and started trailering my car a couple of years ago. Here is what I've found and can relate at this point:

Pros:
-Saves wear and tear on the autox car, especially things like the high-zoot shocks.
-Don't have to change tires before and after the event.
-Autox car ('88 CRX in CSP) doesn't have a/c or a radio whereas the tow vehicle ('01 Durango) does.
-More room for tools, equipment, ice chest, etc.
-Less worry about breaking the car and not being able to get home or to work the next day.

Cons:
-Gas mileage: I'm happy to get 14-15 mpg, averages around 13.5 at 70 mph.
-Travel time: I typically run 70-75 while towing where I used to go "faster" when driving the autox car.
-Expense: A tow rig and trailer aren't exactly free, or cheap. With three kids I can justify owning a SUV for reasons other than towing.

Overall I'm happy with towing and will continue to for the foreseeable future.

-Brian Meyer
34 CSP

 

I started towing the car this year while still in SM trim and street legal/plated. It's now getting a makeover to EP trim, so street-driving it even to local events is no longer an option. I also got a 06 Sierra CrewCab for towing the thing and other family 'duties'.

Towing is expensive, but the piece of mind and convenience is worth it. This year i blew the motor at a National Tour event and just rolled the car onto trailer and went home. Last year we drove down to the same Tour. I cant even imagine the PITA that would have been if i'd blown the motor then...

 

I blew up a trans in at an auto-x 2 hours from the house. It is a pain in the *** to break like that believe me.

I'm about to start towing (looking at a trailer tomorrow.) The car is a PITA to drive to events, but it's no longer insured. Alabama has a insurace law so if I got caught or anything happened...

 

I started towing to autocrosses a number of years ago, though it helped that I already had a trailer and tow vehicle.

Although I am used to towing my race car (to tracks and autocrosses), I still often tow my street CRX to autocrosses. Why? Because I like to have all the conveniences of my Winnebago. It is a nice place to go when it is too hot or too cold (or too rainy).

Keith

 

i trailer mine because its turbocharged! but seriously, its the "what ifs" and all the other factors that get me to tow. plus i love my duramax truck

 

I've been having to borrow a trailer anytime i use the car on track. Turbo and road racing is just a real hard mix on parts. I could never imagine trying to drive the car to a track, race and drive back. Maybe when the car is sorted out, i could do it, but right now its just about impossible. I've killed brakes, cracked a block, destoryed tires etc...

I'm going to be biting the bullet and will pick a dodge ram and trailor in the comming months.

 

not my car on the back, but you get the idea. 20mpg stock as a rock pulling the 20' with lexus v-8s in the back.

 

I think about this everytime I hear of another HPDE accident. But then I'd have to buy a truck, a trailer, actually load the car & strap it down. Maybe next year.....

 

i tow the spec miata to wheel to wheel or if i decide to autocross it. I bought a ford van for $850 and a trailer for $1k. It gets 12 mpg which sucks royally.

 

Just about have my car ready for HPDE and Im planning on buying a truck and trailer in March/April with my bonus cash. I've been reading alot of books on it and it seems worth it. Plus my car won't be street legal so it takes away the stress and worry of getting pulled over. Car is paid for and I won't be insuring it so that money saved will probably go a long way towards paying off a used truck.

 

yeah, dont even THINK about towing with a gas truck. ive had 3 gas trucks and this is my first diesel. ill never go back. i get 19-20 mpg when im pulling a car. even my 1ton gas chevy got 10 while towing. its such a waste of money. my dad and i had a long convo about towing with diesel and thats what convinced me to get one. never made such a good decision in my life. the chevy trucks are the best in my opinion because theyre the quietest, smoothest running engines, with the least problems. the allison transmission shifts smoother than butter and can take the most abuse between the dodge and ford trucks. engine braking in tow/haul mode is perfect. can even tell that youre pulling anything. ive driven them all and i bought what i believe is the best!

 

I don't tow. I drive my wheel-to-wheel race car to events. I bought the deluxe CAA membership so I can get 4 free 100-mile tows per year (for aboutr 100$ per year). Many of the events I did were within 100 miles of where I live, although I have driven from Montreal to Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. I had the car towed home from Tremblant and Trois-Rivieres after engine failures in 2005 using the CAA card, so the plan worked great.

Pros of driving to the event:

-use less gas
-better average speed
-generally more pleasant drive
-not nerve-wracking or dangerous
-save 1000's of dollars by not buying a truck and trailer

CONS:
-the hassle of keeping your race car street legal and insured
-changing tires (small hassle, 20 minute job each time)
-if the car breaks more than 100 miles from home, figuring out what to do with it (never happened yet)

 

If towing performance is the primary concern, diesel is definitely the way to go.

But my criteria for a tow vehicle was: safety, cost, depreciation, and reliability.
Hence I bought a Toyota Tundra.

YMMV.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WWDTrackRacer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If towing performance is the primary concern, diesel is definitely the way to go.

But my criteria for a tow vehicle was: safety, cost, depreciation, and reliability.
Hence I bought a Toyota Tundra.

YMMV.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i bet your tundra cost more than my chevy, but yours is a much more comfortable ride.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2SLO &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah, dont even THINK about towing with a gas truck... </TD></TR></TABLE>

... if you do nothing but tow a trailer every day. Not everyone has a spare $40K for a turbo diesel. Plus, if it's your primary transportation, trying to park in shopping center parking lots, crappy mileage and "truck-like" handling don't make for a great commuter.

For the rest of us we do the best we can. I will make due towing my Mini with my V6 Toyota. Is it rolling perfection? No, it's a compromise. And yes I thought about it; a huge expensive truck that's used for its intended purpose four times a year doesn't earn its keep the rest of the year.

I guess I get a little bent when someone says something in absolute it's-this-or-nothing terms.

 

i didnt drop 40k for this truck. im 21 yrs old. i only paid 20 for this thing. it drives great, handles better than the other 2 half tons i had and the 1 ton i had too. gets 20mpg, 6ft bed makes it easy to park. and i only tow a couple cars a month! ive had it all for daily drivers, sedans, trucks, coupes, and this truck IS compromise.

 

I still drive it to and from events... our tracks used to only be about 15 and 40 miles from me, but those got shut down, so now it's 140 and 200 miles, or going even further out of state. It definately saves me money on a tow vehicle, trailer, and gas. However, the downside is that I end up skipping events when there is/was an issue that causes me to not have my normal level of confidence in the car's reliability. I only made it to two events this year, and ended up having to miss one that I had free entry to.


Modified by Weston at 8:23 PM 8/21/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2SLO &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah, dont even THINK about towing with a gas truck. ive had 3 gas trucks and this is my first diesel. ill never go back. i get 19-20 mpg when im pulling a car. even my 1ton gas chevy got 10 while towing. its such a waste of money. my dad and i had a long convo about towing with diesel and thats what convinced me to get one. never made such a good decision in my life. the chevy trucks are the best in my opinion because theyre the quietest, smoothest running engines, with the least problems. the allison transmission shifts smoother than butter and can take the most abuse between the dodge and ford trucks. engine braking in tow/haul mode is perfect. can even tell that youre pulling anything. ive driven them all and i bought what i believe is the best! </TD></TR></TABLE>

In the towing world diesel is the best, but I don't want to drive a diesel day in/out and I only tow maybe once a month so I settled for an F-150 with a 5.4L. I just towed the car hauler today and it pulled it fine at 65-70 mph. It won't accelerate anywhere near what a diesel could do nor get the fuel economy, but it gets the job done.

 

ford's new 6.4L clean diesel sounds interesting. should be right around the time i'm in the market for a truck (next year), but i'm worried that it'll be even more finicky than the 6.0 psd...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ford's new 6.4L clean diesel sounds interesting. should be right around the time i'm in the market for a truck (next year), but i'm worried that it'll be even more finicky than the 6.0 psd...</TD></TR></TABLE>

its a ford. what do you expect?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gearz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've been autocrossing for many years and started trailering my car a couple of years ago. Here is what I've found and can relate at this point:

Pros:
-Saves wear and tear on the autox car, especially things like the high-zoot shocks.
-Don't have to change tires before and after the event.
-Autox car ('88 CRX in CSP) doesn't have a/c or a radio whereas the tow vehicle ('01 Durango) does.
-More room for tools, equipment, ice chest, etc.
-Less worry about breaking the car and not being able to get home or to work the next day.

Cons:
-Gas mileage: I'm happy to get 14-15 mpg, averages around 13.5 at 70 mph.
-Travel time: I typically run 70-75 while towing where I used to go "faster" when driving the autox car.
-Expense: A tow rig and trailer aren't exactly free, or cheap. With three kids I can justify owning a SUV for reasons other than towing.

Overall I'm happy with towing and will continue to for the foreseeable future.

-Brian Meyer
34 CSP</TD></TR></TABLE>


Ditto.... 88 rex and all just no Durango..