The impossible is possible. 996 towbar finished.
Discussion
Well it is done, actually has been done quite a while but I've been to busy to actually post.
As can be seen it fits all the design parameters perfectly, drops down underneath bumper, totally invisible when the ball is not fitted, requires no modifications to the exhaust/body/bumper.
I won't pretend it was easy, there were some teething issues, at the end of the day Mr Porsche never really planned anyone to fit a towbar, however it has come out really well, it uses all factory holes, keeps a brace bar in place across the rear legs just as original, providing an equal or higher level of strength in accident and torsional rigidity than the original brace/crash bar, the towball is totally removable, and a simple 10 second job to fit or remove, and it tows well (sorry I mean carries my cycle rack well).
One negative in my mind being a picky bugger is that the towing eye is now redundant, However obviously there is the towbar to use instead. I am just a perfectionist. Maybe the next one we'll try to incorporate it.
Took about a day to make the basic frame up, with another day fettling to get it perfect.
Pics.
As can be seen it fits all the design parameters perfectly, drops down underneath bumper, totally invisible when the ball is not fitted, requires no modifications to the exhaust/body/bumper.
I won't pretend it was easy, there were some teething issues, at the end of the day Mr Porsche never really planned anyone to fit a towbar, however it has come out really well, it uses all factory holes, keeps a brace bar in place across the rear legs just as original, providing an equal or higher level of strength in accident and torsional rigidity than the original brace/crash bar, the towball is totally removable, and a simple 10 second job to fit or remove, and it tows well (sorry I mean carries my cycle rack well).
One negative in my mind being a picky bugger is that the towing eye is now redundant, However obviously there is the towbar to use instead. I am just a perfectionist. Maybe the next one we'll try to incorporate it.
Took about a day to make the basic frame up, with another day fettling to get it perfect.
Pics.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Can we have a photo of the underneath please to see how it was done? Ta 
No you can't! 
I am afraid father is one of the dark side that tows the damned things. However as you can probably tell by his list of cars used for towing at least they do get a move on. Still doesn't excuse the fact though.
Never mind the wave runner it will be seeing my race car on trailer!
Yeah you could always get towbars for the wet cars, I had a towbar on my 924, was always tricky on the aircooled though, although they are available for impact bumper cars. The killer with 911's are there are so many variants, this towbar would fit on any 996 and probably 997 chassis but might not clear the bumpers or exhausts on some of those cars, meaning a redesign, i think this is probably the main reason no-one makes one for them. However from the point of view of a handmade towbar it makes little difference.
Don't fit it to the motor please. Just think about the torsional and longitudinal forces acting on the engine and gearbox mounts. Before you even start considering long term stress effects on the engine block. A chap on here recently had a block break up just because a mount had broken on him a few months ago and it had stressed an oil pipe in the block.
However a 964 wouldn't be too hard to make a towbar for, it would be easier if you had the cup pipe fitted as this would give more room. It would be tight to say the least to fit one with the standard back box.
However a 964 wouldn't be too hard to make a towbar for, it would be easier if you had the cup pipe fitted as this would give more room. It would be tight to say the least to fit one with the standard back box.
How does it look shi te? You can't see it when it isn't fitted? Yet another great open minded viewpoint 
And 911's make good towcars actually, if you plonked a heavy load in a normal cars rear then yes you would have an issue but 911's don't sit down at the back due to the engine because the suspension on the rear is far stiffer than most cars. Hence there is LESS effect from the trailer.
And people who worry about loads placed on drive trains really don't understand engineering at all. You wouldn't consider the same worries if the same enginer were fitted to a luxury model with another half ton of extra's, or a sports model with extra downforce aids creating drag, the strain a trailer puts on the system provided it is loaded properly and driven with a bit of sympathy is about nil.
And 911's make good towcars actually, if you plonked a heavy load in a normal cars rear then yes you would have an issue but 911's don't sit down at the back due to the engine because the suspension on the rear is far stiffer than most cars. Hence there is LESS effect from the trailer.And people who worry about loads placed on drive trains really don't understand engineering at all. You wouldn't consider the same worries if the same enginer were fitted to a luxury model with another half ton of extra's, or a sports model with extra downforce aids creating drag, the strain a trailer puts on the system provided it is loaded properly and driven with a bit of sympathy is about nil.
I have read and understood your posts, your just wrong thats all!
How did you work out that stiff springs don't help the situation? Let me explain in "simple" terms for you.
Cars tow trailers. A fact i think most of us will agree on. Most of these cars are front engined.
Wherever the engine is placed in the car the spring and shock absorbers have to be stronger than the other end to counter the increased weight. As an example look at a car with the engine removed. Or a very heavy load in the boot.
Cars generally sit horizontal. Or as close that it doesn't matter.
Putting a trailer on a car pushes the back end down slightly. This is particularly noticeable on front engined "soft" cars i.e. not 4wd's as the rear suspension is designed to support the body only. 4WD's are generally designed with towing in mind so the rears are much beefed up.
The stiffer suspension is the less effect a weight placed on the suspension will have on the attitude of the car (in relation to springs not shocks).
Ergo. the best car for towing and not having it's bum drag along the floor is a car with stiff rear suspension. I present you a 911.
Further more I find your posting attitude offensive. Your clearly one of those people who loves to sit behind his keyboard ridiculing other peoples achievements without thought to the fact that other peoples needs are different to your own. The 996 is a car, it isn't a godly icon, fitting a towbar to it isn't sacrilege, it is the solution to a problem where my father want't to go on holiday down the south of france in his nice car, but can't afford to stop in hotels, and for some weird reason ( I will agree with anyone that caravanning is a sad hobby) enjoys caravanning. Hence he can use the 996 and go on holiday.
How did you work out that stiff springs don't help the situation? Let me explain in "simple" terms for you.
Cars tow trailers. A fact i think most of us will agree on. Most of these cars are front engined.
Wherever the engine is placed in the car the spring and shock absorbers have to be stronger than the other end to counter the increased weight. As an example look at a car with the engine removed. Or a very heavy load in the boot.
Cars generally sit horizontal. Or as close that it doesn't matter.
Putting a trailer on a car pushes the back end down slightly. This is particularly noticeable on front engined "soft" cars i.e. not 4wd's as the rear suspension is designed to support the body only. 4WD's are generally designed with towing in mind so the rears are much beefed up.
The stiffer suspension is the less effect a weight placed on the suspension will have on the attitude of the car (in relation to springs not shocks).
Ergo. the best car for towing and not having it's bum drag along the floor is a car with stiff rear suspension. I present you a 911.
Further more I find your posting attitude offensive. Your clearly one of those people who loves to sit behind his keyboard ridiculing other peoples achievements without thought to the fact that other peoples needs are different to your own. The 996 is a car, it isn't a godly icon, fitting a towbar to it isn't sacrilege, it is the solution to a problem where my father want't to go on holiday down the south of france in his nice car, but can't afford to stop in hotels, and for some weird reason ( I will agree with anyone that caravanning is a sad hobby) enjoys caravanning. Hence he can use the 996 and go on holiday.
I honestly don't know if there are I can't imagine there are as there is just no factory support for towbars on these cars (I imagine Mr Ferrari never envisaged a 360 towing either!) But as a rough guide the car will tow a brian james trailer with a smallish car (MGB) without issues or a small to mid caravan. I wouldn't tow a trailer with large-4wd or a big caravan with anything other than a large 4wd anyway, so the car really tows as well as anything else medium to large powerful car wise.
The other towcars have been a z3 2.8 and a 1990's merc sl 2.8
The other towcars have been a z3 2.8 and a 1990's merc sl 2.8
Of course it needed adjustments. This is real engineering making something from scratch. And if you load a trailer with half a ton of nose weight then your car has my sympathy! I can lift the drawbar of my trailer when it is loaded so working on the theory I can lift about 80kg I wouldn't feel guilty about putting 80kg in my boot.
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