accord euro towing, impact on handling?

[jwesterway]

Just looking at getting a jet ski and want to know about experiences of putting the honda dealer supplied and fitted tow kit for the 07 euro. I dont want to get it on my car if it will handle like crap while towing, i know its only a small object but still... dont want to spend $575 to get them to fit this thing if when i use it the car sucks a bucket of fuel down and handles like crap.

Anyone with a tow kit on their euro and can shed some light on this for me?

Thanks.

[Min988]

I have a 04 Euro (Auto) with a dealer fitted towbar, I used it to tow a trailer with about 200kg of stuff in sometimes, it makes the car a little less responsive but overall its not really noticeable. Revs a bit higher (about 500rpm @ 60km) than usual but I haven't driven very far with it on, so I haven't really be able to notice a large fuel usage increase.

[assailant]

I have a 04 Euro (Auto) with a dealer fitted towbar,

likewise.. i havent used mine yet though.

[Merlin086]

I use a aftermarket Haymen Reese towbar.

Cost $300 fitted. Honda dealer wanted $750!
Looks better than many dealer fitted bars I've seen.

I pull a 280 kg box trailer with either a 2 quads or a 200L drum of salt water.
Total weight <500kg.

Tows pretty well, no drama handling wise, and probably only steep hills making a diff. to fuel consumption.

[Suntzu]

Thats a great price on a towbar.I just emailed the Haymen Reese dealer in canberra for a price.

Do you know how much the towbar weighs?

The book for the euro says it can only tow 500kgs which is very conservative. My new CRV is only rated at 600kgs and its a 1700kg vehicle.

Normally most cars can tow 750kg unbraked. Not sure why its set so low.

[Merlin086]

Thats a great price on a towbar.I just emailed the Haymen Reese dealer in canberra for a price.

Do you know how much the towbar weighs?

The book for the euro says it can only tow 500kgs which is very conservative. My new CRV is only rated at 600kgs and its a 1700kg vehicle.

Normally most cars can tow 750kg unbraked. Not sure why its set so low.

Don't know the weight of the bar but I use to always use 6's & V8 for towing, so yeh, 500kg unbraked is a bit of a restriction but I suppose it is related to tow vehicle weight, engine size (nm) and chassis/no chassis.

[Suntzu]

Bugger , just got off the phone they want $391 to buy/install the Haymen Reese towbar in canberra. Dunno what the extra $90 is for.
Wonder if I can fit it myself......cant be that hard.

They told me the bar was 15kgs??? That sound right?

[Merlin086]

Bugger , just got off the phone they want $391 to buy/install the Haymen Reese towbar in canberra. Dunno what the extra $90 is for.
Wonder if I can fit it myself......cant be that hard.

They told me the bar was 15kgs??? That sound right?

Extra must be in the labour.
The guy that fitted mine on the Gold coast use to work for haymen reese, did a top job and took about 1.5 hrs from memory.

If you are familiar with removing the bumper and can handle the wiring, you should be OK with instal.

15kg sounds about right for weight, heavy duty little sucker!

I got the guy to leave my plug on a long cable in the boot, so I keep it coiled
up with the spare, so no unsightly socket outside.
I have seen both OEM and aftermarket installations with the skirt cut around the bar to clear the tongue plate. Don't let them cut your skirt as it can easily bow up the 10mm required to clear the tongue plate, and looks fine from the back.

[tron07]

jwesterway...

This thread covers the towing issues pretty well...
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82903