Towing with a mk1

[Night Runner]

Afternoon all,

I need to tow a punto about 3 miles, can I do this with my mk1 1.8?

Will I die?

Thanks

[J-Tuner]

I would have thought you would be ok as long as you tow sensibly. You might have a stinky clutch at times

[Night Runner]

Ha ha, the good thing is that it's all level/down hill.

We'd be going very early when traffic is low too.

Where is best to attach the rope? I hear that the eyes on the back can be a tad weak sometimes - this true?

[mgrays]

I would tie one eye at rear to one that aligned it on the front of the towed car and tow gently (as you should aways anyway) away. If you keep a look ahead and shift down then you should be able to keep clutch happy enough.

The rear eyes do not like too much side load ..hence do not loop a rope between them. Oh and the opposite side to the exhaust so that tow rope does not get too hot if possible.

[MX-5 Lazza]

If you are using a rope, does the driver of the vehicle being towed have experience? Driving a towed vehicle is an important job and at least as difficult as the driving car. The towed drivers job is to keep the rope tight at all times and should do most of the braking coming up to junctions. I normally try to keep my foot lightly on the brake so I can react and brake lightly every time the towing car changes gear or lifts off to keep the rope tight. When approaching a junction the towing driver should pretty much just cover the brake (to put the brake lights on) but not do any real braking, the towed car should do most of the braking.

Keep the rope tight and keep everything smooth and there won't be a problem. The only thing that will cause a rope to break is if you let it go slack for a moment. The sudden tug when the driving car takes up the slack can snap the rope and also won't do the MX5 chassis any good.