Towing Mirrors

[Andyoak21]

Just realised when I towed our caravan for its service, just thinking what towing mirrors people have for their new superbs as hopefully will have kind soon and going away at Easter so will need some hoping mine will be ok. What do others use?

Edited 16 January, 2016 by Andyoak21

[Andyoak21]

Anyone able to help as my current ones don't fit and need some for thursday

[unclerichy]

I have Milenco Aeros from my old Superb and they look as if they may fit though I haven't tested yet.  On my old Superb I clamped them at the bottom of the mirror surround rather than the top.

 

I'll check tomorrow as I may be taking the 'van for a test tow when I've finished washing it.

[unclerichy]

Test fitted to the driver's side mirror this morning and no trouble at all. I had to adjust the position of the clamps on the bar as the S3 mirror isn't as wide.

 

 

 

[Steevie Wonder]

I'm watching this with interest, as I will be using my Superb to tow our van (twin axle 1800kg).

Mine will be the L&K estate 190tdi DSG 4x4.

I'll be interested to now how well it pulls/handles with a van on the back.

Steve.

[handyandy79]

Glowing report on the 150 TDI SE Business in Practical Caravan May edition. 5 stars. Interestingly the photos show Milenco Grand Aero's mounted to the top of the Superbs mirrors. 

[unclerichy]

Long winded-post ahead   .  In summary: mirrors had to go on top in the end. 280 4x4 tows like a dream - 'what caravan?'.

 

 

Contrary to my earlier "the Milenco Aero fit ok at the bottom of the mirror housing" post, it would appear that they don't.  The driver side mirror was fine and clamped on without a problem.  The passenger side was another story even though I could see no difference between either the towing mirror clamps or the mirror housing.  There's a small moulding underneath that runs the width of the mirror housing and, for some inexplicable reason, the clamps kept slipping off this at the slightest twist of the towing mirror head.  Oddly, the same moulding is on the driver side mirror and the clamps never slipped at all.

 

I didn't want to risk the passenger side mirror flying off at speed so I mounted them both to the top of the mirrors, carefully avoiding scratches to the paint, and they were problem free after that.  There's enough space between the mirror glass and the housing to accommodate the clamp and, as the S3 mirrors are smaller, they don't impair vision as they did with the S2.

 

Onto towing then...

 

My S3 is a 280 hatchback with the factory fitted towbar.  The first thing I noticed after I'd attached the caravan was how much further off the ground the ball was compared to the S2.  I think this is for two reasons 1) the Witter detachable flange on my S2 was quite low to the ground anyway (though still in the 'legal' height range) and 2) the supension on this model doesn't sink as much with weight on the towbar.  As I'd not loaded the 'van completely the noseweight was around 85Kg.  The second thing I noticed was the much smaller distance between the hitch head and the bumper after hitching up.  Be careful when un-hitching as the head will easily catch the bumper if you don't pull forward a little after stopping.

 

The tow itself felt great.  I never found towing with the S2 (a 170 DSG estate) stressful but the S3 truly felt like I wasn't towing at all (and I was, the white box in my rear view mirror wasn't just a transit van).

 

The diesel S2 was the only car I'd ever towed with and the change from diesel to petrol resulted in a few more revs at a given speed (3rd gear for 30mph for example) but I put that down to a cold engine as a few minutes later it was no longer hanging onto gears and I was hitting 6th at 50mph on the flat.

 

There are a few junctions on my test route that I'd normally have to be careful setting off from due to loose chippings.  I found the S2 could be a little light at the front with only a 75kg noseweight and I'd get a bit of wheel slippage when setting off from those junctions if I didn't set off slowly.  Not so with the 4x4 of course; not one ounce of wheel spin even when I tried setting off in a more energetic manner.

 

Getting up to speed from rest was no problem at all, even though the 280 has the same torque as the 170 the extra BHP meant that there was no drama when accelerating hard.  For a laugh I tried sport mode on a twisty back road when it switched from 30 to 60 (50 when towing) and that really did put a smile on my face and an ever diminishing Honda Civic in my mirrors.  :clap:

 

The car is clever enough to detect if you've not latched the towbar correctly when starting up and a bright orange "check towbar!" warning appeared on screen when I tried with it hanging loose.  There was also a loud bing and a warning message about the rear assist being disabled after I hitched up.

 

I must admit I'm comparing apples with slightly different apples here - 280 petrol vs 190 diesel and 1350kg single axle 'van vs 1800kg twin axle, however the extra torque of the 190 and the 4x4 should result in drama free towing.

 

One final thought - I could have sworn that I'd read that towing turned off the stop-start but it activated and the engine stopped when I had to wait to cross a dual carriageway.

[Andyoak21]

Well I purchased some milenco aero mirrors today and they fit like a dream on top not bottom due to ridge on mirrors also might hit door when mirrors fold when locking on bottom. Also converted van to 13 pin electrics instead of twin as did not like look of adapters. Was hoping to take van for a test tow but not got round to it will have to wait till Thursday when we're of for a few days in van. Did test electrics and all worked even by accident tested trailer alarm as unplugged van when car locked and alarm went off. Just need to rub hitch surface of so hitch is pads on bare metal. Then ready to go, can't wait.

Edited 19 March, 2016 by Andyoak21