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AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
4/12/23 9:18 a.m.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Came here to say S10 / Sonoma ZQ8 4.3/5MT.

IIRC the manual was rated to tow 3500, whereas the automatic was rated at 5000. 

but to address Curtis' imagination question:  it was like driving a small truck with a manual.  if you can tolerate the solid axle on leaf springs with an empty bed, it's all good.  I should have kept mine.  With a mild LS, it would have been wonderful.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
4/12/23 9:20 a.m.

In reply to Slippery :

I love me some N52

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
4/12/23 9:22 a.m.

IIRC, Adrian towed a popup camper over half the country with his C30, and that had a manual.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ UltimaDork
4/12/23 9:28 a.m.

I was breifly semi-obsessed with finding a Cayenne GTS 6 speed for this purpose, but then I thought about maintaining it.

dps214
dps214 SuperDork
4/12/23 9:35 a.m.

Aside from purchase price, the biggest issue with the porsches is they all require high octane fuel which gets expensive real fast for towing. I have my suspicions that the base models at least would be fine on 87 octane but it feels risky especially for "heavy duty" use. Both the cayenne and macan are basically VWs underneath, and most of the base model engines are VW as well. Of course it's not exactly clear if that's better or worse for maintenance and reliability than being all porsche.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
4/12/23 9:55 a.m.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

I absolutely loved mine.  More than enough oomph from the 4.3, the 4L60E was overkill in that application, and the suspension was actually quite nicely done for a factory offering.  The only thing I towed with it was a 3500 lb boat, and a U-haul trailer that I'm guessing was 4500 or more.  Did nicely.

Oddly, the ZQ8 I had replaced an 80s S10 with an LS/T56.  I left the 185mm rubber on it to save the 7.5" axle, so stabbing the throttle at 60 could send you sideways.

MrStickShift
MrStickShift Reader
4/12/23 12:00 p.m.

 99-07 F-250/F-350 with a manual? My dad has an 03 with the 6.0 and it's a manual, and for a truck it's actually kinda enjoyable. I know it's also probably a little big for what your looking for.

Tom1200
Tom1200 UberDork
4/12/23 12:56 p.m.

In reply to MrStickShift :

Words cannot describe how much I loathe full size pick ups as daily drivers. 

Tom1200
Tom1200 UberDork
4/12/23 12:56 p.m.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

I was breifly semi-obsessed with finding a Cayenne GTS 6 speed for this purpose, but then I thought about maintaining it.

This is my concern as well.

mtn
mtn MegaDork
4/12/23 1:16 p.m.

New Ford Bronco has at least 3300 IIRC. Convertible + Manual = Fun

Jeep Gladiator should be at least 4k. Convertible + Manual + Pickup = Fun. It isn't full size!

 

amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter)
amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) SuperDork
4/12/23 1:33 p.m.

Using the Right tool for the job makes things easier. Keep the van for towing and other household dirty tasks. Get a fun car for the other tasks. 

Tom1200
Tom1200 UberDork
4/12/23 3:36 p.m.
amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) said:

Using the Right tool for the job makes things easier. Keep the van for towing and other household dirty tasks. Get a fun car for the other tasks. 

This is the current situation but I naively believe I can get down to one street car and one race car.

Ideally if I sold the Datsun & the F500 and got a Lotus 7-esque car I could tow with the Subaru.

Ian F (Forum Supporter)
Ian F (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
4/12/23 3:57 p.m.
Tom1200 said:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

I was breifly semi-obsessed with finding a Cayenne GTS 6 speed for this purpose, but then I thought about maintaining it.

This is my concern as well.

The gas mileage is not great either: 11/17.

I did fine one in OH for $30K.  I wish it were almost any color other than white...

But it does have three pedals...

(un?)Fortunately, the other GTS on Autotrader listed for $15K is an automatic wrongly listed as a manual version.  Otherwise, I might be in trouble.

There is a correctly listed black one for $56K, but half the miles of the white one.

And those are the only three GTS models on Autotrader in the country listed with a manual transmission.

For autocross, I've seen F500's towed with almost anything, including a '02 STX-prepped WRX.

thatsnowinnebago
thatsnowinnebago UberDork
4/12/23 4:17 p.m.

Pro4 X or Off-road Xterra/Frontier can be had with a 6-speed. They come with e-lockers for your off-road fun. 260 hp/280 ft lbs from the VQ40. 70hp and 30 ft lbs more than the ZQ8.

Tom1200
Tom1200 UberDork
4/12/23 11:57 p.m.
thatsnowinnebago said:

Pro4 X or Off-road Xterra/Frontier can be had with a 6-speed. They come with e-lockers for your off-road fun. 260 hp/280 ft lbs from the VQ40. 70hp and 30 ft lbs more than the ZQ8.

Yes but they suck on road. I have a stupid fast open class enduro for off road fun.

ClearWaterMS
ClearWaterMS Reader
4/13/23 1:29 p.m.

it's a full size pickup but the v10 viper truck from dodge?

its old now but 3rd gen 4runner (95-02)

Toyota FJ cruiser

 

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
4/13/23 1:33 p.m.
Tom1200 said:
thatsnowinnebago said:

Pro4 X or Off-road Xterra/Frontier can be had with a 6-speed. They come with e-lockers for your off-road fun. 260 hp/280 ft lbs from the VQ40. 70hp and 30 ft lbs more than the ZQ8.

Yes but they suck on road. I have a stupid fast open class enduro for off road fun.

The Focus RS is rated to tow 2000lb.

The S60R is basically an RS without the fancy diff or harsh ride, you know laugh  (ok they are not THAT related)

Tom1200
Tom1200 UberDork
4/13/23 1:56 p.m.
ClearWaterMS said:

it's a full size pickup but the v10 viper truck from dodge?

its old now but 3rd gen 4runner (95-02)

Toyota FJ cruiser

 

I loathe driving pick ups as daily drivers............so these would never work.

mtn
mtn MegaDork
4/13/23 2:03 p.m.

Bending the rules here a tiny bit... 

The Dodge Challenger has a towing capacity of only 1,000lbs. Considering it is on a shortened platform of the Magnum, which could be had with 3,800lbs towing capacity, we can assume that the towing capacity is so low because of lawyers. Especially when we look at the other components involved, namely the Mercedes S class front suspension and E class rear suspension (I could be mistaken on that), and a for our purposes, a tremac manual that has been in vehicles with big towing capacity numbers - at least in other countries. 

 

So, despite what that book in the glovebox says, depending on how you would use it for towing, the Challenger may be an option. But I don't know how many came with a manual, I'm sure it was very few and very high price, and the packages may make it worse or impossible for towing. 

 

A similar story, though much uglier but likely slightly better for towing, for the Chevy SSR. 

thatsnowinnebago
thatsnowinnebago UberDork
4/13/23 4:54 p.m.

In reply to Tom1200 :

Fair enough. It's hard to beat a dirtbike for fun off the pavement. 

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