Tow hitch for M3? Anyone done this?

[///MD]

I have a trailer for my track tires and want to hitch it to the car so I can load all my gear on it and tow it to the track. Has anyone done this or know of a tow hitch that is adequate for a light trailer and is NOT DISFIGURING? I would like to be able to remove it relatively easily when not in use. I thought about fabricating one but if there is one out there, better to not reinvent the wheel.
THANKS!

[Kevlar]

There is trailer hitch available but it requires manhandling and cutting the rear valance. I forgot the name of the company... when I saw it, I really didn't want to put it on my car... it just didn't look right.

[Matt M.]

You want a Da'Lan hitch.

http://www.tunnellracing.com/HITCH/dalan.html

- -Matt

[BJO]

hey bill, you went and got a trailer? which one did you get? i've looked at a few, but i'm not that hardcore yet my gf gets scared everytime i see a car at the auto-x with one.

[///MD]

Matt,
You are Da'Man!
Thanks for the tip!

BJ,
Yeah I got a trailer from a guy I met at the last DE. He has Porsche 944's and just got a full car trailer. So he sold his old tire trailer to me for $75. Couldn't pass up the deal. I am getting sucked in...it never ends....

[BJO]

damn, $75! that's too good to pass up. is it a plain-jane trailer or a fancy aluminum custom made trailer?

[///MD]

Nah, nothing fancy, just plain. I do have plans to fix it up a little though.

[M3Wayne]

I have a Da'Lan trailer hitch and a small trailer that I made based on the Harbor Freight $200 trailer (it ran about $350 total) and have had no problems with it. The hitch requires you to cut out a small piece on the bottom of your rear valiance that is not visable unless you are under the car. I just take out the hitch so all you see normally is the receiver. I have tested it up to 110 MPH with cruising speeds of 90 on long drives to tracks. You can look here for pictures of the hitch install:
http://www.waynemiller.com/m3/
and here for pictures of the trailer:
http://64.14.56.30/m3/trailer/

In the last picture on the first link, those aren't some fancy lights at the bottom - those are my laser jammers that you can only see active through the digital camera.

[///MD]

Wayne,
You got a sweet setup! not to mention the trailer too! Your trailer looks identical to mine except for larger diameter wheels and the color. Mine is black. I also put a plywood base and am making a trough for the tires. May I ask some questions:
did you get the hitch through Bimmerhaus?
What kind of box did you get and where did you find it?
Any advantage to having the tires forward and box at the rear?
Do the mounting bolt heads inside the spare tire well make contact with the spare tire rim and scratch it all up? What is that round shell thing you have in the tire well?
How did you hook up the electrical feeds?
Lastly, how does the laser jammer work? got em on the front too?
Great links, thanks for the info! Maybe see you at the track someday?
-Bill

[M3Wayne]

Bill,

> Did you get the hitch through Bimmerhaus?
No, I got my hitch from www.hitchmasters.com. I think that the current price there is around $230 and I was recently told that someone found it elsewhere for about $200 so just search for Da'Lan hitches.

> What kind of box did you get and where did you find it?
The box is a "Tough Box" and I got it at Home Depot. I got the one with the built-in lock but I don't even use that lock as I have common keyed locks and I put 2 on the box (1 per side), 1 on the tire wire chain and 1 on the hitch. Those are also available at Home Depot.

> Any advantage to having the tires forward and box at the rear?
Not really. I usually saw it this way on most track trailers. I guessed that this would lead to a good weight distribution and it worked out well but I don't think that it matters.

> Do the mounting bolt heads inside the spare tire well make contact with the spare tire rim and scratch it all up?
No but the tire does rub on them (there is no damage though) and sits that 1/4" higher due to them sticking up. I have 8.5" rims all around, including the spare, so my trunk mat sits a little bit up from flat now but not enough to bother me.

> What is that round shell thing you have in the tire well?
Part of the 96+ emissions stuff. I don't know what it does.

> How did you hook up the electrical feeds?
I used a Draw-Tite #18187 ModuLite trailer light power module. This one requires you to tap into the battery directly (which is right there so that isn't a problem) and uses its own power rather than the power from the car. I have the wiring colors if you need them.

> Lastly, how does the laser jammer work? got em on the front too?
That was my old laser jammer (the Blinder M-06) and I have replaced it with the Blinder M-10 because I crashed my car at Pocono Raceway. I have friends that have them and SWEAR that they work. I really can't say for sure but with the NJ police now starting to use laser, I may find out. I mounted the new ones in my grill and will take a picture today. They are only in the front and they don't make you invisible - they just give you time to slow down and then the instructions even say to shut off the system so as to not raise suspicions.

In other news, I actually used to know someone from the "Little Apple" and I still have the Jensen-Healey (there's a second E in Healey) that my dad bought in 1975. I am putting it together after a 5+ year engine rebuild that is a long story but I should easily have 250 HP out of it now (with the electronic fuel injection that I am adding to it).

-Wayne

[///MD]

Wayne,
Thanks for the answers. I got a quote from Bimmerhaus for $208 and change.
I will order one this week. Bummer about Pocono shunt. Is the damage in the pic from that incident? I hope that's all that happened.
Good eyes; I forgot the extra "e" in my sig. I knew the Lotus engines were strong, but I never thought you could get 250 HP out of it! I don't have the Jensen anymore, sold it long time ago.
Happy 4th!
-Bill

[hccyong]

There is trailer hitch available but it requires manhandling and cutting the rear valance.

BMW has valences that have cutouts for hitches.

[M3Wayne]

That's interesting that BMW already makes valiences with the cutouts but I don't think that they will work correctly with the Da'Lan hitch. Well, work correctly isn't the correct term because it will work but it won't look right. The hitch is made to stick out below the level of the valience so the removable center section will allow you not cut out that little piece but you would always have to have the center section removed and then the hitch would be about an inch below the level of the cutout so it will look funny. The center cutout would be great with a hitch that sat up higher that would allow it to be hidden by the removable center section. I am not the most anal person (by far) when it comes to modifying my car but the piece that you cut out is completely hidden from sight and nobody would ever know that it was done (even if you remove the hitch) unless the car was up on a lift.

[hccyong]

OK, yeah, the cutout valence wouldn't look right. It's probably designed for a BMW hitch.

[Jim O.]

I've had the Da'Lan hitch on my car for several years. As M3Wayne says, cutting the valance is no big deal. It's on the bottom of the car, so there's no way to see it unless the car is up on a lift, or you're lying on the ground looking up. The piece that you have to remove is fairly small - maybe 1/2" by 4" or so.

So yeah, the car show/concours crowd may sneer at you, but you'll get major cred with the track guys....

Jim

[///MD]

Thanks for all the replies and info.
The cheapest i found was $189 at http://www.Bageco.com if anyone else is interested.
Interesting to see the OEM hitch cutout valence on the ETK. No part number in the listings though. Hmmm. That's OK I wouldn't need it anyway. Now all I need are wheels for my R1's...