Long term prognosis of a 4 cylinder tow vechicle

[Bird]

Tail wagging the dog is not something that is enjoyable

Remember this? Legal yes, common sense no

best 30mins of their camping life.

[BigBlock1DT6]

Tail wagging the dog is not something that is enjoyable

Remember this? Legal yes, common sense no

that would be a perfect example as to why the 60/40 method also should be applied at all times

what a shame that is a brand new van they just picked up 30 minutes earlier

the worse one i saw was one that killed the whole family and it turned out to be manufactures fault
the van was rear end heavy from scratch before they even loaded it up

  

[Redback]

My opinion is really a common sense thing, towing anything at the max capacity of the tow vehicle regardless of the vehicle is asking for trouble, in one off siTuations it is probably, but all the time, it's gotta be bad for any 4WD.

This setup is 2900kg towed by a 3.0 Isuzu, with a max tow capacity of 3000kg, you make up your own mind whether this is OK for the long term of the engine or not.



Baz.

[D4D]

Nothing to do with the engine, more to do with handling in that example. The yanks use F350s on their fifth wheelers for a reason...

[noel_w]

This setup is 2900kg towed by a 3.0 Isuzu, with a max tow capacity of 3000kg, you make up your own mind whether this is OK for the long term of the engine or not.



Baz.

That is way crazy, that is in the realms of an F250 at least. It's not only the safety of the car in question, its the safety of other road users as well. That is why I will not tow my Trackie Safari with my Forester as I think it is too heavy for it even though it would be legal. It only goes behind the trol. Horses for coarses.
There has to be some sense in this even if the manufacturers think it is OK.
Let sanity prevail or else let natural selection take its role.
 

[shanegtr]

My opinion is really a common sense thing, towing anything at the max capacity of the tow vehicle regardless of the vehicle is asking for trouble, in one off siTuations it is probably, but all the time, it's gotta be bad for any 4WD.

This setup is 2900kg towed by a 3.0 Isuzu, with a max tow capacity of 3000kg, you make up your own mind whether this is OK for the long term of the engine or not.



Baz.

Whilst I think that van is a little on the heavy side for the D-max, with weight being equal I'd rather the 5th wheel option as opposed to the standard tow ball in regards to towing stability

[noel_w]

he has mentioned a lot of people are not happy with towing the larger vans with utes and Prado size 4wd's, despite the vans being within the towing capacity of the vehicles.

I've been thinking about this topic for a while and while parked at the kids soccer match the other day I had my GQ next to a new Prado. The GQ looked small in comparison so I had a look for specs.
Prado (3L Diesel)                           GQ Patrol (4.2 Diesel specs)
Width  1885mm               Width  1930mm
Length  4930mm              Length 4810mm
Height  1890                   Height 1825mm
Kerb W  2345                  Kerb W 2115
Tow 2500Kg                    Tow 2500Kg
I have always classed the Prado as mid sized and the patrol as large size. Just shows how we (me) can be led astray.

[WilSurf]

After all the reading of these pots, I decided to go for 2x4 cylindes = V8. 

[Bird]

This setup is 2900kg towed by a 3.0 Isuzu, with a max tow capacity of 3000kg, you make up your own mind whether this is OK for the long term of the engine or not.

doesnt look like much mother earth under that front right tyre either.

Towball weight is over-rated.

[Patr80l]

I've been thinking about this topic for a while and while parked at the kids soccer match the other day I had my GQ next to a new Prado. The GQ looked small in comparison so I had a look for specs.
Prado (3L Diesel)                           GQ Patrol (4.2 Diesel specs)
Width  1885mm               Width  1930mm
Length  4930mm              Length 4810mm
Height  1890                   Height 1825mm
Kerb W  2345                  Kerb W 2115
Tow 2500Kg                    Tow 2500Kg
I have always classed the Prado as mid sized and the patrol as large size. Just shows how we (me) can be led astray.

...and my Touareg, which looks a lot smaller than it really is and has independant rear suspension, can tow 3500kg.
(well there was that Jumbo jet too, but that was with a couple of tonnes of ballast and a V10 TDI)

[Jason B]

There is a difference between these power and torque figures.  When people quote figures what you are comparing is the peak figures only which doesn't reflect the true characteristics of the engine.  Put both of the above vehicles on the same dyno and compare the resulting graphs.  What you actually need to compare is the area beneath the graphs, which is effectively the available power and torque from zero rpms to redline.  What you will find is that the smaller 4cyl diesel engines torque will be very "peaky", and will need to be revved out to reach it's maximum torque.

In comparison the bigger engine will likley be making 80% of it's available torque just off idle and maximum torque between 1800-2000rpm.  Big flat torque curves.  Hence why people refer to them "lazy" diesel engines.

For interests sake Mainey, on your vehicle, what does the manufacturer specify the RPM at peak power and torque?

I agree with this.

Having had, Prado TD's (120's), 80 series 1hdt crusers, 1HZ 80's and 100's, Nissan 3.0TD's and currently a 70 series TD V8 cruiser and a Holden Adventra 5.7lt V8 and Nissan X trail TD (2lt), I can contest that whilst modern diesel's have come along way, displacement still makes a big difference. And big displacement in a modern diesel engine is even better, take the 200 series TD V8 for example.

The specs on the sales sheets are for pub drag racing rights only. The difference between a small displacement engine and a large one needs to be experienced from the drivers seat. It is more relaxed less peaky power.


Regards

Jas