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TheCowboy

Tow vehicle options

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This may have been covered off previous but I am looking for a wagon to tow the track car, been looking at a 335i or 535i wagon. Would these tow a car ok fine? And how big of a difference will it make between the n54 and n55 (may end up tuning etc) but need something as reliable as a turbo car can be (I get maintenance costs etc will be higher) just looking for any feedback on these options? Cheers

Sam

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I have looked at them. Not a fan of the V8s and prefer to be lower to the ground so looking at the wagons

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N55 less tunable but probably more reliable. F11 doesn't feel that quick but the e91 335i facelift is probably the sweetspot. F31 335i are hard to find.

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I am finding that f31 aren't very common. Are the n54 actually unreliable? Seems to be a lot of fresh import n54 335i, are they worth avoiding?

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There's plenty of F31 335d's on tardme atm, they'd have no problem towing! coils and plugs aren't cheap on the n54, turbo wastegates can go and potentially a fair bit of deferred mantainance as they're now 12-13 years old. the ones that have been in nz for a little while are liable to have been thrashed... 

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So would you reccomend a fresh import n54 335i? Or avoid them? 

How are the 335i hybrid versions in the f30-f31?

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Probably someone who's owned an N54 powered car might be able to give you more insight? @KwS

I'd personally steer clear of the Activehybrid - seems like something that'd expensively bork itself. There's a reason the x35i versions sell for more than the Activehybrid.

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Mine didnt have a towbar and tbh it would've been the worst car to tow anything heavy with. Very thirsty, and the power came on with a huge whack. It would tow, but it'd be on boost all the time and traction would be an issue. I'd go with a diesel for towing.

I feel that even a 330i would be better for towing just due to not having boost and having a nice linear power/torque curve.

Edited by KwS

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Will have to look into that, or maybe the X3/X5 will have to be a option. Did you find the n54 motor to be reliable enough? Any thoughts on the fresh import n54 X35i vehicles? 

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Check on the 3 series tow rating. Pretty sure it would be over the limit.

5 series or X5 if you want a BMW tow vehicle. Get the official tow kit which is vastly superior to any NZ aftermarket kit I have seen.

Expect bushes to have a short life.

Get self leveling suspension if available.

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Any idea if these fresh imports are any good? Have previously had singapore import Subaru etc and were all dogs. How are these fresh Japan imports? But am thinking 5 series is the way to go

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2 hours ago, TheCowboy said:

Will have to look into that, or maybe the X3/X5 will have to be a option. Did you find the n54 motor to be reliable enough? Any thoughts on the fresh import n54 X35i vehicles? 

My N54 had a huge amount of work done before I got it, so no, i wouldn't consider them reliable. It had the turbos, injectors, coils, HPFP, LPFP all replaced.

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Damn. I had heard n55 was a big improvement but seems to be only used for a few years

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Best BMW tow car I had was my E60 530D.  With a heavy Hirepool trailer and a full weight E30, the E60 barely noticed it.

10.5L/100km from Wellington to Auckland.

The best tow car I had was my fathers Merc E55 AMG.  It actually didn't care there was something attached to it.  I did stupid things like destroying an SS Holden racing onto the motorway with my E30 series car being towed along.  But 27L/100kms haha.

 

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Ive got a F25 X3 Xdrive 35i (N55) for sale if you're interested. You will need to install your own towbar though.

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The torque delivery and economy (under load) would make me steer towards diesel for a tow wagon every time.

My E46 330d with 600kg+ trailer and E30 behind it was nice to drive. The engines have come a long way since then as well with 2nd and 3rd gen common rail injection.

X5 is a great tow wagon, but depends how often you tow as to whether it outweighs the day to day use priorities.

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Best thing I ever did was ditch petrol tow vehicles (X5 v8, Cayenne V8) and get a diesel X5. Self leveling suspension, trailer sway control, outstanding economy. It has no issues keeping up. Generally towing around 2 ton. 

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Diesel 5 series or x5 for sure. E60s are cheap now

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