406 HDI90 towing 950kg max weight - Chip it or not?

[Chris_374245539]

This is very much a 'budget end' of the market question. Has anyone towed similar to us ('99 406/'92 Elddis Whisp 450EB - 950kg max weight) with an HDI90? Is 90hp enough to get up motorway inclines in relative comfort? Has anyone fitted a tuning box or chip to get 110+hp and was it any good? Many thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Garfield]

We towed a similar caravan with a 405 tdi 90hp then with a 110hp Sharan which then went on to tow a 20'twin axle quite adequately, what you regard as adequate obviously depends on your definition of the word bearing in mind that I'm not the only one who remembers family holidays in a 1.6 73hp petrol Cortina with caravan in tow!

 

[AlfromYC]

We towed an Elddis wisp 510 cd (1050kg max) with a 83bhp Diesel vectra for a year. Down to 3rd on steep hills reving like hell, but did cruise ok in 5th on the flat.

I would try it std, then if its no good get the tuning box.

We have a galaxy TDi now, so that should have no probs pulling 1050 kg.

 

[Rich]

I should think you will be OK. 90BHP is only part of the equation. It also depends on torque.. In fact torque is the thing you need the most of. Adding a chip will make the car feel better and will add more of both power and torque. It is purely down to feel and your preference. I have just added a Chip to our 105BHP Renault RX4. With it beoing a small 4x4 it is heavy and not as strong as I would like.So I fitted a chip which was also adjustable so I could fine tune the power output. It was supposed to bring it up to 130BHP but after some more tuning I think it is possibly just over 140BHP. The car is quicker and pulls like I want it to. There is one other bonus, about 8 more Miles to the gallon!! Because it has more torque I can over take easier on the road and it does not need a down shift to keep going on hills. I have not tested it with a van yet but the difference was stunning. The whole car feels stronger and easier to drive smoothly.

If the car feels like it needs more power then I do not see a down side to having it chipped as long as you buy a quality product and not a cheap eBay rip off box of wires.

 

[Iain]

Pulled 990Kg and then 1130Kg with the 90bhp HDi unit in a 307. It was absolutely fine. Held its speed on most motorway inclines.

 

[Angus1]

Had a pre-HDI 406 turbo-diesel once (92bhp) which towed OK.

We did Yorkshire to Scottish Highlands 4-up, van,awning all the usual with no problems. So you may have to come down a gear on long inclines, so what? Just how much of a rush will you be in?

It may not be everyones idea of a perfect match, but you`ve got more than enough to be comfortable and safe, which is a pretty good starting point.

Give it a fair try before spending money on something you may not need.

 

[tjambarker]

The standard advice for this as I recall is to have 40bhp/ton. With your van at 950 and, again as I recall, your car weighing in at around 1350kg you have something like 39bhp/ton. I tow at around that ratio with no problems.

The only additional thing to consider is the gear ratios I use a 4x4 which has ratios for this sort of work where your car is likely to be geared slightly higher. All that means is where I can probably get away with 4th you'll end up dropping it into 3rd.

 

[Chris_374245539]

The standard advice for this as I recall is to have 40bhp/ton. With your van at 950 and, again as I recall, your car weighing in at around 1350kg you have something like 39bhp/ton. I tow at around that ratio with no problems.

The only additional thing to consider is the gear ratios I use a 4x4 which has ratios for this sort of work where your car is likely to be geared slightly higher. All that means is where I can probably get away with 4th you'll end up dropping it into 3rd.

Thanks for your replies - plenty of sensible advice there. One of the other threads mentioned a website (http://www.whattowcar.com)which helps a lot. Whilst not 100% accurate you can get a good feel for how an outfit will perform. The 90hp combination gets an 'ok' and the 110hp gets a 'good' rating. So, I'll be trying my 406 as it is and if it needs a bit more oomph the wallet will have to come out for a tuning box.

 

[WelshRebel]

I tow an Abbey Aventura 325 with a 406 HDi 110 and this seems to cope well

Nick