Reducing noseweight

padmiester
padmiester Forum Participant Posts: 21
edited May 2016 in Towcars & Towing #1

I have recently bought a 2013 passat saloon and have just used it to tow my sprite major down to Cornwall. The noseweight for the car and also the tow bar is 90kg so u made sure I got as close to this as possible as I was always under the impression that
the heavier the noseweight the more stable the outfit. However it pushed the back of the car right down to the point where the wheels were nearly touching the arches. I reduced the noseweight slightly to prevent any rubbing of the wheels but on the motorway
it seemed very unstable?? I know that the ideal noseweight is 5-7% of the laden weight of the van which in my case ranges from 67kg to 93kg. My question is whether reducing the noseweight down to level the car more would help stability or make things worse??
Thanks in advance

Comments

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
    1000 Comments
    edited May 2016 #2

    I think it'd make things worse ... how about spring assisters? I doubt that a 2013 car's rear springs would be goosed so soon but that's a possibilty if you regularly carry a boot full Undecided

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2016 #3

    ................. However it pushed the back of the car right down to the point where the wheels were nearly touching the arches. I reduced the noseweight slightly to prevent any rubbing of the wheels ..................

    Sounds as though there is something seriously wrong with the rear suspension of your car if the wheels are almost touching the arches. After all, the maximum allowable load on the back axle is the same regardless of whether the caravan is hitched up or not.

  • xtrailman
    xtrailman Forum Participant Posts: 559
    edited May 2016 #4

    If the suspension is ok?

    Then the rear axle limit has been exceeded, i've fitted rubber doenuts before on three hatch backs to reduce the back dropping so much, with out the rubbers i was getting as much as a 1.5" rear end sag.

    One reason why i now tow with SUV's is you tend to get higher rear axle limits, and shorter rear overhangs to the tow bar.

  • catherinef
    catherinef Forum Participant Posts: 647
    edited May 2016 #5

    Passat is an excellent towcar.  Are you sure it's got a 90 kg Nosewight?  I thought it was either 75kg or 80kgs but could be wrong.

    ive just seen a towing match report for a 2.0 TDI Passat that says its 75kgs max and 70kgs recommended.

  • xtrailman
    xtrailman Forum Participant Posts: 559
    edited May 2016 #6

    The recent models are 90kg, same as the recent Mondeo and insignia. But some eco models might have restrictions.

    Old models where 75kg, with progressve increases upto 90kg.

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2016 #7

    The max. noseweight of the Passat can't be less than 88kg because there are versions with a 2200kg max. towload. In order to get the 4% minimum noseweight required by law, the noseweight would have to be at least 88kg.

  • padmiester
    padmiester Forum Participant Posts: 21
    edited May 2016 #8

    Thanks for the replies. During normal driving car handles well and also when it has a boot full, so the suspension seems to be OK, also it's only done 40k miles so surely the shocks wouldn't have worn out already? When I was looking to buy the car I did
    an outfit match on towcar.info and it advised that although max noseweight is 90kg they advised 75kg, maybe worth trying? Lutz my car has a max tow of 1800kg so I assume I can go below 88kg.

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2016 #9

    Thanks for the replies. During normal driving car handles well and also when it has a boot full, so the suspension seems to be OK, also it's only done 40k miles so surely the shocks wouldn't have worn out already? When I was looking to buy the car I did an outfit match on towcar.info and it advised that although max noseweight is 90kg they advised 75kg, maybe worth trying? Lutz my car has a max tow of 1800kg so I assume I can go below 88kg.

    Legislation only requires the manufacturer to document that the vehicle and its towbar must be capable of taking a minimum noseweight of 4% of the maximum allowable towed load. To my knowledge, there is no UK law which says that the vehicle owner must also set the noseweight to at least 4% (in your case that would be 72kg). So as far as I know, you could even go below that if the outfit remains stable, although there must obviously be reasonable limits.

    It seems strange that the car seems to sit OK when the boot is full but not when the caravan is hitched up. The maximum rear axle load would be the same in both cases, so something doesn't add up. Either you haven't had the boot really full or the rear axle load was exceeded when the caravan was attached. Judging by your description of lack of wheel clearance when towing, it would appear to be the latter. Besides, a reduction of only about 15kg in the noseweight shouldn't make that much difference in the way the car sits.

  • DS3
    DS3 Forum Participant Posts: 108
    edited May 2016 #10

    Did you have a boot full of luggage/holiday gear too? Because the maximum luggage load includes the nose weight, so if your luggage takes up the maximum luggage allowance, bunging 90kgs of nose weight on the rear end on top will not end well.

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