Miksta

Hi guys

How much weight is it safe to tow with the M5 using the original towbar?

An Autotrailer with a saloon car perhaps?

(trying to find excuses to keep her obviously)

Cheers

Miksta

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E34 M5 3.8 Touring 1993, Daytona Violet - SOLD
E60 530d 2004, Carbonschwarz Metallic

GeorgeK

I have pulled a trailer with different Porsches on it several times with no ill effects. Heaviest car was about 1300Kgs. Ours is a '95 M5T.

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GeorgeK

stevie sam

Doesn't it tell you in the handbook Mik..or am I dreamin again

IvanDias

It is normally recommended, but not a legal requirement, that you limit the towing gross weight to a maximum of 85% of the towing vehicles weight.


You can exceed this, up to the maximum towing weight specified by the towing cars manufacturer, but for safety, the 85% rule is good for an unbraked trailer.



The law changed in 1997 with respect to the catagories specified within the standard UK car driving license. The government website is not easy reading.

As far as I can make out, they changed the licensing after 1st Jan 1997.

If you have a post 1st Jan 1997 license, you do not have catagory B+E, you only get B which means you can drive up to:

A 3500kg vehicle with up to eight seats, with a 750kg maximum trailer.

A vehicle and trailer, where the total combination of the trailer, its load to be carried, plus the maximum legal laden weight of the towing car (even if you are alone so it's not at this) is no more than 3500kg.

That means that most people with a license issued after 1996 will not be allowed to drive a car towing another car on a trailer, unless the car being towed is very light.

(Eg, an E34 M5 weighs about 1750kg, so the max laden weight, I'd guess five passengers at over 120kg each, means roughly 2350kg+, add a trailer, (250kg?), leaves only 900kg for the car. Doh!)






Pre 1997 licences have catagory B+E and retain it, so can drive "Combinations of vehicles consisting of a vehicle in category B and a trailer, where the combination does not come within category B" which isn't very helpful with regards to maximum weight, but presumably the C1E catagory kicks in with it's pre 1997 8250kg maximum weight total. But, also note the caveat that the total weight being towed, trailer plus load, must not be more than the unladen weight of the towing car.

That means that basically you can't tow an E34 with another E34 unless you've stripped more than the weight of the trailer out of the car being trailered about!



Regards

Ivan

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Miksta

Thanks for the comments.....I have a license to drive vehicles of more than 3500kg with trailer, so I am more concerned with what is legal or recommended with regards to using the M5T as a tow car with a Autotrailer and a 1300kg track car.

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E34 M5 3.8 Touring 1993, Daytona Violet - SOLD
E60 530d 2004, Carbonschwarz Metallic

Elekta

Isn't there a sticker right where the latch grabs load area in the wagon? This is what was in the back of my 530iT at the base where the hatch grabs the bottom


If 1500kgs is the max recommended towing for the 3.0 v8, I imagine the S38 can do at least the same.

Stevie

With standard rear suspension on an M5 or M5T max permissible towing weight is officialy 1400kgs. In gemany it is however possible to have that raised up to 1900kg. Kons has been spotted pulling 2000kg plus.

stamdard max towing weights:
e34 M5 all: 1400kg
e34 540i <12/94: 1600kg
e34 540i 01/95>: 1900kg

530iXT, the top sticker says a tongue weight of over 50kg is required when tralering over 1500kg. The bottom sticker says max permissible tongue weight is 75kg. The stickers say nothing about max permissible towing weight.

Elekta

Can the 3.0 litre HP18 combo pull 1600kg then too?

Miksta

Cool thanks thats very useful

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E34 M5 3.8 Touring 1993, Daytona Violet - SOLD
E60 530d 2004, Carbonschwarz Metallic

t651

Is there a specific reason why the 95 540's could tow more?
What did they have that gave them more towing capacity?

Stevie

Nothing technical, just a change in German regulation or difference in TUV approval. I'd have to look up and scan my 1995 e34 catalog for the rest of the weights, 540i and M5 are the only ones I know off the top of my head.