jmauld

Is there a published towing capacity for the Protege 5? Can you pull a jetski with it?

I almost have my fiance convinced into trading her CR-V for a Protege 5 and this could be the deciding factor.

Thanks
Jason

JJB

The manual states that the Protege5 should not be using for towing.

conton

Yeah. They say no towing, yet there is a nice neat spot to bolt on a class 1 hitch. The p5, mp3, 3rd genes should tow 1000+-pounds on a single place trailer just fine.

They have to say no towing mostly for legal reasons I would guess. It's not an "intended use" for the car, and they probably have done minimal testing for that application. So they can make no guarantees. The manual isn't going to say, "you can tow, just be careful and don't tow too much." Its much easier to say no towing.

I put a drawtite class1 hitch on my car and it does just fine with small loads. Motorcycle, band equipment, furniture, etc...

I've had a hitch on all my cars and never had a problem. You just have to be reasonable with what you tow and realize that its not a truck. If you have an automatic and intend on towing watch out for overdrive usage. Lower speeds and over hilly terain the car will shift up, down, up down...that's no good for tyranny

conton

drawtite and others make direct bolt on hitches for the protege. I don't know about the mp5 though? Just check cole muffler or look on the net

RebelRacing

When the manufacturer lists in the owners manual not to use the car for towing could be for a few reasons...
1. Generally speaking the clutch in an import car (especially Asian models) isn't very big.
2. The brakes could be insufficient to tow. I would never trust the 9.3"(?) front disc and "Bottle Cap" sized rear drums on my car. Just be causious with brakes you might wish they were better when it's to late!
3. Cooling could be an issue, especially in an automatic transmission car. Most all towing applications for automatics I would suggest a tranny cooler (if it's even available). Most automatic transmissions will tow a higher capacity over a manual type because automatics just "slip off" any excess power through the torque converter...this causes a lot of heat though.
4. Finally one of the biggest reasons is the unit-body construction dosen't put up with the stress as well. Most unit-body cars are not designed with towing in mind(take a look under a Dodge Caravan (circa 1990) and tell me you wouldn't laugh at the thought!).

These are some things to keep in mind or ask a good mechanic or other of sorts. Trailering can be very dangerous and is actully more unsafe with lighter loads(heavier loads track better behind the tow vehicle).

conton

It's true that a uni-body in a car isn't the best situation for towing, but the protege's have a nice beefy place specifically to bolt on a hitch. As another example...The VW Jetta manual says that its okay to tow light loads. The Protege setup is WAY more robust than the VW jetta's setup where you have to drill holes and cob it up with steel plates.

I don't know about the LX or lower. But the ES breaks should be more than up to the task as long as they aren't abused. As far as amount of breaking power/vehicle weight. The ES breaks are better than most trucks in my opinion. I have had 3 cars and 4 trucks in my life and have towed with all of them. My new ES and my old Jetta were some of the best towers of the bunch.(for light loads)

I had a 94 S-10 V6 pickup. Although technically the frame and tranny could much higher loads, the thing towed like crap. The motor had an awful power curve, and the breaks sucked.

But I do agree about the auto tranny. An oil cooler is always a good option. You could probably cram a small universal fit in somewhere. The biggest thing is to watch out for poor overdrive usage while towing, don't tow to much and just go easy.

jmauld

Thanks for information. We're most likely going to get a Protege5 after we sell her CR-V. We've test drove the car several times and love it more with each drive.

An automatic transmission isn't an option for me, so hopefully the 5spd can withstand the load of a jetski.

I can't wait to get one of these cars. :-)

conton

Good luck! They are a kick A*s little car. The 5 speed is one of the most crisp tranny's I have ever sampled.

Pro5 will tow a single jetski like its not even there.

Good luck and let us know how you make out!!