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#1
08-13-2003, 03:09 PM
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Towing capacity of a 91 Civic wagon??
Hello,
My first post here, and I desparately need some information. We just had a baby, and bought an old shitbox (but in great shape) 91 wagon for the extra couple of doors; our 2000 hatchback just doesn't cut it for car seats. My question is this: I work construction and will be on the road this summer, and so my family can come with me we're looking at purchasing a little trailer. The car already has the right ball for the hitch, and the trailer weighs 2000lb (gross). I think that the car will be able to pull the trailer safely, but I'm not sure. Anybody know for sure?? No positive hits on a google search, so I'm hoping you folks can help me out. Thanks in advance! 
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#2
08-13-2003, 03:13 PM
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2000lbs? damn ... does gross mean like total weight?
What you will want to do is find out the GAWR (or some shit like that) rating for your car, i got no idea where to find this, but i will look around a bit. Sastanley tows a boat with his 91 dx sedan, with his entire family in the car and says it does fine ... i dunno what the boat weighs though.
__________________
 AF Bay Area Crew 97 Toyota T100 xcab 3.4l v6 5spd 2wd
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#3
08-13-2003, 03:40 PM
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Ok,
The GVWR is 1510kg (~3300lb), and the GAWR is 790(f) and 745(r). So can I assume that I can tow 790+745=1535kg or roughly 3400lb??? What's the difference between GVWR and GAWR? From the acronym I'd assume it's Gross Vehicle Weight Restriction and Gross Axle Weight Restriction? P.S. Gross=total
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#4
08-13-2003, 03:54 PM
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UH....the hitch I installed and use has a 2000 lbs. capacity...the largest boat and trailer I have towed is about 1200lbs all up (boat at 700, trailer at ~300, gear ~200)...you can DEFINITELY tell it is there behind you, and it doesn't go anywhere fast...although I did still get 27 MPG (while my buddy in his Suburban with same type of boat got his usual 15 lol), but I had to turn off the A/C on hills, or accelerating into traffic, whereas he didn't even know his boat was there
 Small sail boats (especially a 19' Lightning since they sit low in their trailers and stay in the cars slipstream) are easy to tow...once you are up to speed the thing handles great. The key is to keep the tongue weight light so your rear-end doesn't sag and reduce traction up front. I've also towed a utility trailer (when my buddy lost the ball off his Blazer on the side of the road - the mighty Civic to the rescue!!!  )with a load of lumber (est. weight 1000lbs.) and it was fine, however, the sheer windage of the big-ass trailer and the stand-up ramp they have made things pretty slow with only 92HP....Anything above 45MPH or so required no 5th gear usage, and significant lead-foot action (moreso than usual highway cruising) to overcome the windage  However, I dunno if the stock brakes and the suspension/frame will handle much over 2000 lbs. safely...I don't think unibody frames are ever gonna be strong enough for anything other than a Class I hitch. (if I have my facts straight, that is a 2000 lbs. with 200 lbs. tongue rating)  Welcome to the board tho... 
__________________
-Shawn '91 Civic DX sedan DOHC ZC, I,H,E, urethane bushings and mount inserts, rock chipped hood, some rust, stock steelies, nice comfy Integra seats, and the A/C works! What else could you want from an 18 year old car with 241,000 miles? Working on getting the Si tranny in now 
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#5
08-13-2003, 04:14 PM
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ZC is new terminology for me (sorry, I'm not much of a car guy
 ). Sounds like some sort of stabilizer in the suspension, but I dunno. When you say don't weigh down the tongue, I'm assuming that means keep the trailer weight distributed towards the rear of the trailer, ko-rekt? Thanks for the welcome, and the info. Keep it coming! 
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#6
08-13-2003, 04:23 PM
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Yes...exactly...I usually keep the tongue weight on the trailer light enough I can pick it up and lay it on the ball with minimal effort (one-armed and not really stressing), so the back-end of the car doesn't sag, and #1-look funny, #2-reduce traction to front drive wheels, & #3 scrape shit in the back of the car namely my exhaust
 The ZC is a DOHC 130 HP motor that bolts into our cars and our transmissions imported from Japan that came in 4th gen Civic's and CRXs, but wasn't available in the States. It was called the "Si" trim in Japan, while we got the SOHC d16a6 motor with only 108hp as our "Si". Since you are new to the 88-91 Civics, you probably have no clue what all this means, and that's OK. When you have some time, go check out a site like this - http://hybrid2.honda-perf.org/tech/4gtech.html - that helps to explain what us crazy enthusiasts do for more power in our little Civics  The stock motor in the DX/LX in the US is a d15b2 with 92 HP, my current motor with 214,996 miles on it, so I am gonna like my 40HP upgrade
__________________
-Shawn '91 Civic DX sedan DOHC ZC, I,H,E, urethane bushings and mount inserts, rock chipped hood, some rust, stock steelies, nice comfy Integra seats, and the A/C works! What else could you want from an 18 year old car with 241,000 miles? Working on getting the Si tranny in now
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#7
08-13-2003, 07:35 PM
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from what i hear and have seen, 750lbs is the max to be towing with a 91 civic.
__________________
Name: Scott Stable Of Cars I have Owned: 1991 Honda CRX 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 2003 Honda Accord 1998 Chrysler Concorde 2007 Honda Civic 1997 Toyota Camry 1995 Saturn SC2 1996 Ford Taurus 1991 GMC Sierra 2002 Daewoo Leganza 1999 Dodge Ram 2007 Honda CR-V 2003 BMW 325i
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#8
08-13-2003, 10:26 PM
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Thanks for the info, y'all.
Sounds like we'd be pushing (or blowing the doors off ) the boundaries of safety if we chose to tow that trailer with whitie. Too bad, but good to know. Now, on to Plan B... 
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#9
08-13-2003, 11:18 PM
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haha nice, feel free to stick around the 4th gen board though... we generally are a nice bunch of ppls
__________________
90- crx si w/ a D16a Vtec and a few goodies, oh and 60k miles on it heh
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#10
08-14-2003, 12:10 AM
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sorry didnt really read all your guys writing and shit too much for me, i just wanted to comment that i towed my 90 hatch dx at its full curb weight with my 91 hatch si, i was quite impressed with its performance, woop woop!
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Keep it real, and share the knowledge.....  Say NO to Primer!!
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#11
08-14-2003, 08:46 AM
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Quote:
- that's freakin' awesome!!! Did u do that with a car dolly (front wheels of towed vehicle off the ground??) or a full double-axle trailer with the whole car on it? 
__________________
-Shawn '91 Civic DX sedan DOHC ZC, I,H,E, urethane bushings and mount inserts, rock chipped hood, some rust, stock steelies, nice comfy Integra seats, and the A/C works! What else could you want from an 18 year old car with 241,000 miles? Working on getting the Si tranny in now
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