Towing with 2005 OBXT

[Vuestra Merced]

I was considering towing my other car ( E46 BMW ~ 3350 lbs ) on a
trailer ( another 350 lbs?? ) on an interstate trip with my 2005 OBXT
wagon. There will be some high altitude climbing and so forth.

Would this be too much load on either the motor ( 2.5l H4, 250HP turbo)
or the transmission?

Are OBXT transmissions beefed up versions of their OB 2.5i brethren -
capable of handling the extra torque?

TIA!

 

[Ralph E Lindberg]

I was considering towing my other car ( E46 BMW ~ 3350 lbs ) on a
trailer ( another 350 lbs?? ) on an interstate trip with my 2005 OBXT
wagon. There will be some high altitude climbing and so forth.

Would this be too much load on either the motor ( 2.5l H4, 250HP turbo)
or the transmission?

Are OBXT transmissions beefed up versions of their OB 2.5i brethren -
capable of handling the extra torque?

The ultimate authority is Subaru, a secondary is the Trailer Life
publication on tow ratings
(http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175 )

However, no were, not once, have I seen anything that says that any
Subaru can tow over 3000 lbs. Even this has "limits", since all vehicles
also have a max combined rating (vehicle+stuff+trailer). Most of the
time the tow rating asssumes that the vehicle only has a driver and no
gear. This is why most of us that tow a lot, only tow at 80% of the max
rating, ie that would mean the max I would tow would be 2400 lbs.

Doesnot look good.

Now to the other problem, I checked several sources (like
http://www.motorhomemagazine.com) and could not find any BMW's that were
designed to be towed "4 down", that is other then on a tow dolly or
trailer.

Looks even worse

--

 

[Ralph E Lindberg]

I was considering towing my other car ( E46 BMW ~ 3350 lbs ) on a
trailer ( another 350 lbs?? ) on an interstate trip with my 2005 OBXT
wagon. There will be some high altitude climbing and so forth.

Would this be too much load on either the motor ( 2.5l H4, 250HP turbo)
or the transmission?

Are OBXT transmissions beefed up versions of their OB 2.5i brethren -
capable of handling the extra torque?

PS.. tow ratings are determined by more then the engine and
transmission. Example, in 2005, when Ford increased the tow rating of
their F250 and F350 trucks they did not change the engine or
transmission, they increased the size of the frame and the size of the
brakes.

--

 

[David Patnaude]

I was considering towing my other car ( E46 BMW ~ 3350 lbs ) on a
trailer ( another 350 lbs?? ) on an interstate trip with my 2005 OBXT
wagon. There will be some high altitude climbing and so forth.

Subaru.com lists the towing capacity of this vehivle at 2,700 lbs. I am
sure that your manual states the same.

 

[Vuestra Merced]

I'll investigate alternate means then. Thanks all for replies.