Being towed in your Corrado. Feasible?

[aclwalker 3]

Hi all, I've got a thread running in the engine section about how my VR6 has dumped all its coolant on the road due to a burst crack pipe. I live in a flat and park the car on the public road, round the corner and up a hill from my house, so it's not very convenient to work on it there. Coupled with the Glasgow weather (currently pishing with rain) and the fact that it's parked 200 yards from my flat (up two floors!) and I don't have access to all the tools and stuff at my dad's, I'm seriously considering getting him to tow me to his house where we can have some shelter and hot tea, courtesy of mum, while we're waiting for the rain to go off.

 

I've done a search and all I can find is info on people towing OTHER cars with a Corrado, not posts on being towed IN your Corrado.

 

I know the steering is VERY heavy on a sleeping Corrado, so I just wanted to know if anyone has any experience of being towed IN their Corrado. Is it feasible?

 

I am considering buying this: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/tb-2s-towing-bar-with-spring-damper

as I've been towed in my old Golf with a rope and it's very scary.

 

Is it possible to steer a Corrado while being towed?

 

I've got the advantage (!) that I was recently made redundant and my dad is retired, so we can pick and choose the quietest time to do the towing and do these repairs at our leisure (almost).

 

Any advice gratefully received. Thanks.

[coolrado 0]

yep its fine to be towed in, just make sure your key is in the ignition and the steering lock is off, make sure your tyres are properly inflated which will make it a bit easier to steer, remember the brakes will be pants without the servo (although you shouldnt need them much with a solid brace), and its usually worth covering the handbrake just in case.

 

 

they are a bit heavy to tow though, a mate of mine tried towing mine with his girlfiends fiat punto hgt 1.8 and couldnt get up the small hill out of the car park, , we used my dads volvo in the end.

 

it might also be worth getting some duck tape to hold the tow eye cover down as it can be snapped off by the brace when you turn.

 

make sure you use the chunky round bar tow eye, the other one is only really meant as a tie down for when its on a transporter.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Yes you can steer a corrado whilst being towed, but it can be hard work but not impossible. I had to have my 2ltr 8v towed and had no problems, cant see it being much different from a VR apart from the weight. But im sure the car towing you rado is perfectly capable of towing.

 

Id never tow a car with just a rope, id always use a tow bar because it keeps the cars a safe distance apart and theres no chance of it snapping. You'll find the tow bar does rub the front bumper above the towing eye, but if you put a cloth between the bumper and bar it should mark the paint.

 

EDIT - sorry Coolrado beat me to it.

[aclwalker 3]

Thanks for the advice and the extremely quick response. I'm a bit worried now though as my dad's car is a 2002 1.6 Golf (16V). I wonder if it'll cope with it. The only tricky bit will be the hill where my parents live, but if we get a run at it it'll hopefully be alright.

 

Having said that, we managed to tow my old 1.3 MkII Golf with a 1.3 Polo and the old Golf was a heavy beast.

[coolrado 0]

the problem with the punto wasnt the lack of power it was the lack of weight, as soon as it got to the hill the wheels on the punto just span (it was quite wet) as long as you have'nt got any massive hills to get up the golf should be ok.

[aclwalker 3]

the problem with the punto wasnt the lack of power it was the lack of weight, as soon as it got to the hill the wheels on the punto just span (it was quite wet) as long as you have'nt got any massive hills to get up the golf should be ok.

I thought that's what you'd say.

 

I don't think the hill will be a problem, as there's two ways round it (it's a no through road on a loop and one way round has no junctions to worry about).

 

Thanks again.

[davidwort 0]

Screwfix also do that towbar, might be nearer to you than a machine mart branch?

I've been towed about 10 miles in the Corrado, heavy and it's quite stressfull with a rope! so I'd definately get a bar.

[Adz The Rat 0]

I really really hate being in a car being towed!!

Dont think I would trust a rope towing my VR

[VR6 South 0]

Find a friend who is a member of a breakdown service :)

[Supercharged 2]

I think it's illegal to use a rope too these days?

[yeti 0]

i got my vr towed when my alarm decided to immobilise the car despite what the remaote was telling it to do, we used a strap like you would use with ratchets to keep loads on a trailor and it worked fine, but if you have a small steering wheel fitted, swap for the normal cos manuvering a vr at low speeds with a 300mm one aint fun!!, other than that just keep your eye out for hazards, take your time and if you do have problems with hills with a fwd car turn the towing car around and attach it so you can reverse up the hill and pull the corrado, more torque and the driving wheels have the weight acting upon them

[TimothyClaypole 0]

Towed my VR6 with my Dad's Polo (1.6). :lol: about 4 miles.

 

Thought it was hard work until we got home and he told me he'd had his foot on the brakes just in case we needed to stop... :roll:

[oldskoolkool 0]

been towed twice in my valver hehe was fun the first time, i say fun i mean scary as the person towing was my dad in his audi s2 and hes got a big right foot :lol: theres a long straight to my house and you guesed it we hit 50 and its a single track lol :(

 

and the secon time was my mate when i snaped my tow eye cover wished id seen this post first :| and the bar fell of and he dint notice as he was in his 20v coupe lol i was left in the road untill he reliased lol

 

not fun!!

[tankybaby 0]

I was towed 30 MILES with a rope in my old Vauxhall Frontera by my dad once when my fuel pipe burst! was one of the most un-nerving experiences of my life!!

It was getting dark aswell, bad times lol

[aclwalker 3]

Well, I bought the Clarke tow bar (with damping spring) from Machine Mart and got towed over on Sunday, in the rain. It was well worth the £23.48.

 

It was quite tricky to get the ends of the bar into the towing eyes, but I managed it eventually. The only slight problem is that most of the paint on the towing eye has come off now, even though I tried to wrap a cloth round it to protect it.