Audi A4 towing

[Cocximus]

I made this post for an audi forum but I would like some input from the TGR for my 2007 3.2 A4 quattro 6spd manual towing limitations.


The north american the curt hitch which drills in to the spare tire well has a 200LB tongue weight rating and 2000LB trailer weight capacity. That's for the 3.2 and 2.0T. There's also a curt hitch that bolts to the exhaust hangers that has the same ratings.

In europe hitches are beefy steel bars that replace the rear bumper shock absorbers and bolt in to the frame. The 3.2 has a 4409LB (1653LB), 2.0T 3306LB (1609LB), and the 1.6 3086LB (1521LB). First weight is for trailers with brakes second (weight) is unbraked trailers. The S4 and RS4 towing limit is only slightly boosted to 4630LB even though they have bigger brakes and more power.

The 3.2 and 2.0 T have the same brakes so I guess the towing rating is degraded by the engine power. The 1.6 has some other brakes that are 300MM. S4 has 345MM brakes.


In europe brakes on trailers are common, but unfortunately in north america most small and medium trailers do not have brakes. Even if I get a euro hitch I can't take advantage of the much higher towing rating because trailers don't have brakes. I don't really need to exceed the 2000LB capacity of my curt hitch, but the holes in the spare tire well concern me. Can those holes ovalize or crack? Can the tire well bend? Even with a few bikes on my bikes carrier the hitch flexes the spare tire well a bit. The bolts are tight and torqued, and as of yet nothing is bent or ovalized. I wonder if I want to tow 2000LB for a long trip should I get an euro hitch for peace of mind or my curt is fine?


I towed a uhaul 8x5x5 trailer loaded with 2200LB and it was less noticeable than I would have expected. I was still representing audi by flashing left lane hogs ar 90 . Brakes were did require a bit more pressure, but they were not underpowered. They reminded me of the B6 brakes.

Suspension dropped by less than an inch with ~190lbs tongue weight. Initially I considered buying airlift booster springs for the long haul trip, but with such a small drop and no bottoming out I don't think it would provide much benefit.


Any other tips, tricks or considerations? Should I paint it red and swap a TDI in it?

[plugboots]

Well, I’d get the euro hitch but what’s the price difference between them?


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[Cocximus]

Well, I’d get the euro hitch but what’s the price difference between them?


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With shipping it's $400ish. Not too bad. Problem is the euro hitch is incompatible with north american accessories like bike carriers. The receiver is completely different. I been considering moving to roof bike carrier rather than my hitch carrier anyways, so that's not that big of a deal. The problem with euro hitches is that their strength can also be damaging to the car in an accident. The hard steel hitch bolts right into the frame. In case of an accident there is no crush zone, so the frame will be damaged. My guess is that is part of the reason the euro hitches never made it to north america.

[toast2266]

A bit of welding would probably make your existing Curt hitch a lot less likely to bend / deform at the bolt holes.

As for towing heavier trailers without brakes, I'd mostly be worried about the trailer pushing the rear end of the car around under hard braking. The brakes on the car can be massive and powerful, but that doesn't do you any good if the trailer just breaks the back tires loose and you and up jack knifing / spinning. That'd definitely be more of an issue in any snow, or on wet roads.

[plugboots]

What about this one, seems to bolt on differently than the Curt.

Also, frankly I think you're over thinking this. Use some common sense and you'll be fine. I've had a hitch on a 2007, 2011, and now my 2018 BMW's, along with my minivan etc. and give yourself some extra space when towing don't do stupid shit, don't forget it's back there and you won't die. Of course the hitch will change the crumple zones.
I used a trailer to tow around wine tanks and pumps, and now just mostly use it for the bikes. Put the wiring plug on a long wire and wind it up and store it in the trunk so it doesn't corrode, and pull it out when needed.

[Cocximus]

@toast2266 good point about tires breaking loose. I about about having some plates welded. Dunno if that wouldn't potentially weaken the metal around the welds, plus it messes up the rustproofing. I stacked a few oversized washers when I installed my hitch to strengthen the area.

@plugboots that's pretty much the same as my curt.

Yes, I am likely way overthinking this.


Does it make my ass look big?

[sillybunt2]

Can't you also consider replacing the trailer hubs with ones that have electric brakes?

[El Chupacabra]

Euro tow ratings come with low speed limits, don't they?

Towing anything at 90mph, no matter what your tow vehicle, is stupid.

[ex-powderbroker]

are you towing a uhaul trailer or looking into a glamping setup?

[::: :::]

seems like a lot of work to tow an A4
just abandon it

[Cocximus]

The idea is to move across the continent with the U-Haul trailer.

As an alternative I saw a few very cheap pop up campers gutted shells for sale. They are not as tall, but longer and wider. Are they any good? I guess I could mod one of those for brakes.

I was totally kidding about driving that fast with it.

[Cocximus]

While on the subject of overloading the A4s, anyone here have problems with oversized cross bars and bikes hanging outside of the roof rails? I am thinking to get the old yakima round bars since I have a bunch of round bar attachments for my frontloader carriers.

[sillybunt2]

Biggest problem with oversized cross bars is whacking your head on them! I've cut them down to be flush with the roofline after getting annoyed at them sticking out.

[toast2266]

For whatever it's worth, I have round bars on mine at the moment and they're kind of annoyingly loud. About to replace them with aero bars.

[bodywhomper]

^^wrap front bars with something to disrupt airflow. I use bungee cord

[Cocximus]

Unistrut FTW. It mounts on the OEM feet just like the original cross bars. Quiet up to 140km/h

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[toast2266]

^^wrap front bars with something to disrupt airflow. I use bungee cord

Yeah, was going to try that. But the bars are ancient and pretty corroded in spots, so I figure it's time to replace them anyways. TBD whether the aero bars still need to be wrapped.