Car kerb weight

Heethers
Heethers Forum Participant Posts: 641
500 Comments
edited February 2016 in Towcars & Towing #1

l am thinking of buying a GX4 2016 outlander the weight of the car stated by Mitsibushi is 1610kg my max laden weight of my 2015 Lunar Clubman SB is 1450 kg giving it a 90% match. My question the kerb weight of the outlander is 1610 with nothing in it, so if l add 160 kg for the wife and l that would make the car roughly 1770 kg which would then give about  a 84% match making it within the clubs guide lines for towing. Am l correct or am l missing something

Comments

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2016 #2

    Are you sure that the kerbweight of the particular Outlander that you are intending to purchase is 1610kg? Actually, very few car manufacturers specify the kerbweight of their models even though they may call is as such. In most cases they specify the MIRO with content as defined in the respective EU directive as that is a figure that is universally accepted worldwide (there is no legal definition of kerbweight). For a start the definition of MIRO includes a slightly different content to what is normally understood under kerbweight. Secondly, MIRO is for a basic vehicle without any factory-fitted options that the customer may have specified. In the case of my car for example, the quoted MIRO is 85kg less than the actual weight of the vehicle as specified under item 13.2 of the Certificate of Conformity.

    Kerbweight is understood to include a full tank and no occupants in the vehicle. MIRO includes a 90% full tank and a 75kg allowance for the driver and sundry items.

    So, it's really up to you whether you want to use the kerbweight figure, the MIRO or the actual weight to calculate your weight ratio.

  • Kerry Watkins
    Kerry Watkins Forum Participant Posts: 325
    100 Comments
    edited February 2016 #3

    I put the car on a public weighbridge with 90% full tank and hen added 75kg and worked back from there. I could then look at caravans that would be suitable to tow.

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2016 #4

    I put the car on a public weighbridge with 90% full tank and hen added 75kg and worked back from there. I could then look at caravans that would be suitable to tow.

    That would, of course, be the actual weight that you would be using to calculate the weight ratio and not the kerbweight.

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,582 ✭✭✭✭
    1000 Comments Photogenic
    edited February 2016 #5

    With the Outlander I would not worry. The 85%figure is for those new to towing and allows for the fact that not all gow cars are equal but yours is very good and you have experience. For experienced drivers the figure can be increased but not beyond the
    kerb weight although I would say 90% is quite good but I would draw the line at 95%.

    The whole theory is based on kerbweight and assumes most cars are loaded beyond this so you are not changing this by adding passengers or whatever. At the end of the day though the heavier the tow car the better.

  • Heethers
    Heethers Forum Participant Posts: 641
    500 Comments
    edited February 2016 #6

    Thanks for the info, l have been towing for 20 years in total 5 of which were in the eighties l have towed mainly eith a shogun and few times with a rover 75. Mitsibushi state in the tech spec that the new outlander diesil is 1610 Kg so that's what l caculated
    it on which came to 90%, What Tow Car matching service calculated a lot lower than that but l think that was based on the 2012 model which was a lot heavier. l am sure l will notice some difference from the shogun to the outlander l will let you know later
    in the year when we change.

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