abiasin Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 hi guys just wondering how a mazda 3 sp23 would go towing my light boat of approx 500 kg + trailer weight. any help would be appreciated in deciding next company car as im sick of big cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1990 Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 My mate chris has a mazda 3 sp23 5 speed manuel. He has decked it out to be a hotted up little fast four, sound system, mag wheels, suspension, tv's, neons soon to be getting it supercharged . About 1 month ago he had to transport a $#!tload of cinder blocks and he filled the back of his car up to the windows, anywhere he could put a block he put one there, there was about (guesstimate) 400-450kg's of cinder blocks and the car handld really well, wasnt sluggish or anything. If you would like some pictures of it, just ask me and i will post them up. cheers james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domza Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Redbook says you can tow up to 900kg braked and 550 kg not braked so i would go for it. Personally i wouldn't tow anything un-braked in that car, as the weight will put alot of strain on the cars brakes especially down hills and don't back down to close to the water. redbook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted July 18, 2007 Author Share Posted July 18, 2007 (edited) My mate chris has a mazda 3 sp23 5 speed manuel. He has decked it out to be a hotted up little fast four, sound system, mag wheels, suspension, tv's, neons soon to be getting it supercharged . About 1 month ago he had to transport a $#!tload of cinder blocks and he filled the back of his car up to the windows, anywhere he could put a block he put one there, there was about (guesstimate) 400-450kg's of cinder blocks and the car handld really well, wasnt sluggish or anything. If you would like some pictures of it, just ask me and i will post them up. cheers james cheers james i would like to see the photos pm me if you like mate. i really like the drive they offer and they are nice and stylish. Redbook says you can tow up to 900kg braked and 550 kg not braked so i would go for it. Personally i wouldn't tow anything un-braked in that car, as the weight will put alot of strain on the cars brakes especially down hills and don't back down to close to the water. thanks dom, i read that as well and i think ill get away with it but wanted to double check what other raiders thought as there may be experience out there i dont have. should be ok unbraked as i only travel m4, m7 and m2 so not any hard braking 99 percent of the time and only take it slow anyways. Edited July 18, 2007 by Kingies till i die Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingrod Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 as i only travel m4, m7 and m2 so not any hard braking 99 percent of the time and only take it slow anyways. Remember that you are travelling at a higher average speed on these roads and emergency braking happens on any road. Im towing up near the capacity of my Commodore ute, so im definatly not in a postion to have a go at anybody for towing near max weight, so dont take my comment the wrong way. A Subaru Forester might be an alternative. Still get the apparent imported quality and the bonus of all wheel drive. The Mazda would probably be more fun to drive and few $K cheaper Id say. What ever you do make sure that its legal. Over 750kg you need brakes on the trailer in NSW. If your trailer has a fair bit of towball weight the suspension might sag a bit, but the SP23 might have a firmer sporty set up. I was borrowing a 1.8 manual Holden Astra CD from work for about a year. 2002 model. I felt that it wouldn't tow very well at all if that gives you any comparison. It was a brilliant car to drive though. cheers Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted July 18, 2007 Author Share Posted July 18, 2007 Remember that you are travelling at a higher average speed on these roads and emergency braking happens on any road. Im towing up near the capacity of my Commodore ute, so im definatly not in a postion to have a go at anybody for towing near max weight, so dont take my comment the wrong way. A Subaru Forester might be an alternative. Still get the apparent imported quality and the bonus of all wheel drive. The Mazda would probably be more fun to drive and few $K cheaper Id say. What ever you do make sure that its legal. Over 750kg you need brakes on the trailer in NSW. If your trailer has a fair bit of towball weight the suspension might sag a bit, but the SP23 might have a firmer sporty set up. I was borrowing a 1.8 manual Holden Astra CD from work for about a year. 2002 model. I felt that it wouldn't tow very well at all if that gives you any comparison. It was a brilliant car to drive though. cheers Rod thanks for the concern mate, i was looking at the forrester and to get anywhere near the options in the mazda you need to spend close to 40g. the sp23 has a 2.3 litre engine so it should have the grunt to pull the boat along and has reasonably large brakes for a small car. my boat isnt heavey enough to need brakes on the trailer. i was reading an article last night on mazda 3 and towing caravans in europe where the van weighed around 1125 kg and the sp23 got 4 out of five overall. i think i should be right providing i dont upgrade the boat to a larger one, which wqont be happening anymore due to a new car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deek Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Mate, I have a VW Golf Turbo Diesel and it can tow up to 1,800kg braked. Not bad for a 1.9 litre. Maybe you could look at a VW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylo Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 500 kilos is only 5 big blokes .. if you look at it that way ... Sure it is not exactly the same, but that should give you an idea as to whether the car can handle it or not - answer being yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caine1 Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) deek is on the money. VW diesel is the GO...far better quality and cheaper to run Edited July 19, 2007 by catch-22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 What is the budget on the company car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUFFO Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Redbook says you can tow up to 900kg braked and 550 kg not braked so i would go for it. Personally i wouldn't tow anything un-braked in that car, as the weight will put alot of strain on the cars brakes especially down hills and don't back down to close to the water. redbook REDBOOK IS A GREAT SITE EVEN IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING OR SELLING. SUFFO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Share Posted July 20, 2007 What is the budget on the company car? im on a car allowance which will enable around 35k in car on road. i really like the mazda, especially after test driviing it a couple of times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger_shark Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 im on a car allowance which will enable around 35k in car on road. i really like the mazda, especially after test driviing it a couple of times. You should have a look at some small AWD's.... CRV, RAV4, Vitara. etc... Ive seen some tough v8's even get stuck at the bottom of some ramps because on the lack of traction. It was at a very slippery ramp though, alot of ppl get away with 2WD and its not like your boat is the titanic. so should be all good. You should go up to auto city (crn of Great Western HWY and Carlise Ave) and take one for test drive. They are just around the corner from you so go and hook the boat up and see how it goes. I love the look of them mazda 3's, all the best with your hunting.... Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Share Posted July 20, 2007 You should have a look at some small AWD's.... CRV, RAV4, Vitara. etc... Ive seen some tough v8's even get stuck at the bottom of some ramps because on the lack of traction. It was at a very slippery ramp though, alot of ppl get away with 2WD and its not like your boat is the titanic. so should be all good. You should go up to auto city (crn of Great Western HWY and Carlise Ave) and take one for test drive. They are just around the corner from you so go and hook the boat up and see how it goes. I love the look of them mazda 3's, all the best with your hunting.... Paul. cheers mate thats a good idea never thought of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1990 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Here is some picks of the mazda 3. cheers james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 nice car, how much is he asking out of curiousity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Mc Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I wouldn't be as worried about the total towing capacity as the ability to pull the weight up a slippery ramp. In an ideal world you wouldn't have to ever get your rear wheels wet but that just isn't always possible with the change in tides and the different slopes on ramps. Even if you managed to find one ramp that was steep enough to always keep your rear wheels dry, the ramp could be wet by rain. I don't know but are they rear wheel drive or front. If they are front wheel drive I would be more nervous. I am no expert but that is how I would see it. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 I wouldn't be as worried about the total towing capacity as the ability to pull the weight up a slippery ramp. In an ideal world you wouldn't have to ever get your rear wheels wet but that just isn't always possible with the change in tides and the different slopes on ramps. Even if you managed to find one ramp that was steep enough to always keep your rear wheels dry, the ramp could be wet by rain. I don't know but are they rear wheel drive or front. If they are front wheel drive I would be more nervous. I am no expert but that is how I would see it. Cheers i got sick of umming and ahhing so i put a deposit on a new vz ute. problems solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightmanager Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Good call , I think the rice grinder would have struggled a bit. Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1990 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 (edited) i got sick of umming and ahhing so i put a deposit on a new vz ute. problems solved. Mate awsum choice, very nice utes. If you had an f250 you would have to worry about a thing Not sure on asking price but i ave heard he has had a few people offer 22k. If you would like his phone number to ask him any question just ask me. cheers james Edited August 3, 2007 by james1990 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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