Would something like a 330d or 335d be ok for occasionally towing a s14a to track days etc?
I have licence from early 1990's which i'm told makes a difference but have never had a trailer before so don't know the in and outs of it.
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Would something like a 330d or 335d be ok for occasionally towing a s14a to track days etc?
I have licence from early 1990's which i'm told makes a difference but have never had a trailer before so don't know the in and outs of it.
sounds like you have a 'grandad rights' licence so you can drive anything upto about 8 tonne. 1997 is the year they changed it so you had to take a test to be able to tow.
https://towcar.info/GB/towing.php
something like this should help.
most brian james clubman type trailers would be about 400kg to 600kg. what does your Nissan weigh?
Great, thanks think a S14a is about 1260kg
I would highly doubt it. The combined weight of the car and trailer may exceed the max of that tow vehicle making it really sketchy. If stuff goes wrong you could be looking at a ton of points on your licence
From memory the 3 series has a 1.8 ton limit. Most trailers that are big enough to carry an sx are 600kg+
You’d be better off with a 5 series.
Regarding the license.. you’re pre 97 so can drive up to 7.5 tons as long as the trailer etc is within the capacity of the vehicle.
I know people who have towed s14's with 330d's, but I agree with this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chriscooke
OK great thanks, I prefer the look of the 5 series, you just can't get it with Xdrive.
The law changed a few years ago so anyone with any car licence can tow up to the towing limit of the car doing the towing, as long as the train weight (car + trailer) doesn’t exceed 3.5 ton. For example my old 330d touring could tow up to 1900kg. So as long as the car weighed no more than 1600kg and the combined weight of the trailer plus the car on it weighed no more than 1900kg it was legal.
On your licence with “grandfather rights” you’ll be absolutely fine since you’re legal up to 7.5 ton. A decent Brian James trailer big enough to carry an S14 will weigh about 800kg, so your total trailer weight will be just over 2000kg. So just check what the max towing weight of the car is obviously. A modern 335d will have a towing weight higher than that I would think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by handsomedez
It’s the mam of the car and the trailers you need to look at. If the mam exceeds 3.5ton you can’t tow it.
Yeah that’s the one, the MAM or “train weight”. Although if you passed your test before ‘97 or ‘98 then you’re allowed a MAM up to 7.5 ton.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chriscooke
Then you need to check the plate on the trailer to make sure it’s able to carry the weight of the car etc.
We’ve just bought the longest tri-axle tilt-bed Brian James trailer at work to tow behind our land cruiser to deliver cars up to Ford Tourneo size.
So i passed my test early 90's so as long as the car tow weight is sufficient for the track car and trailer, and the trailer load weight is sufficient for the track car, then I am ok?
Legally is different to safe. You can almost certainly create a legal combination with a 3-series that you would be licenced to drive but, IMO, a 3-series would not be an enjoyable car to tow a14a with even on a 4-wheel trailer. If you wanted to avoid a twitchy ring and do it more than once, deffo go for a bigger car than a 3-series.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottie