MazdaSpeed3 Towing Hitch

The hitches take a beating in shipping. The box mine arrived in was pretty trashed but the hitch was pristine. Being such a strong product to begin with, it's pretty unlikely that it could sustain sufficient damage to render it useless.
 
pmeilakjr said:
It is always nice when an install goes as planned. Glad Curt was able to help you out without sending it back.

With your bare hands - Nice.

Cheers!

Peter
Click to expand...

I put one end in the vice, and pushed on the other end (with my bare hands) to straighten it.
 
I just got all my equipment ready to haul my dirt bike around with me. I ended up going with a class III hitch that is well hidden done by a local custom trailer shop. the bike ramp that attaches to the hitch is made of strong aluminum. The back end is dropped significanly, oh well!

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I think my hitch-mount bike carrier weighs more than yours with your bike on it. I think I'll do a small trailer.

BTW, what rims are those?
 
Man, doing this kind of s*** is just plain dumb. This vehicle isn't rated to tow anything, and the load limits on the vehicle are somewhere around 850 pounds. Not only does this assume that the total load will ONLY be suspended BETWEEN BOTH AXLES, but it assumes that the total load will be SPLIT between two axles. You're going to overload the back axle of your vehicle doing stuff like this, and if you ever haul 4 people plus bike, you're going to be pushing the limits of your tire's load limits.
 
happy and angry said:
Man, doing this kind of s*** is just plain dumb. This vehicle isn't rated to tow anything, and the load limits on the vehicle are somewhere around 850 pounds. Not only does this assume that the total load will ONLY be suspended BETWEEN BOTH AXLES, but it assumes that the total load will be SPLIT between two axles. You're going to overload the back axle of your vehicle doing stuff like this, and if you ever haul 4 people plus bike, you're going to be pushing the limits of your tire's load limits.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. People in europe drive small cars, they tow trailers and such just fine.

You can buy hitches for vauxhall/opel corsa's (chevy, chevy here) all day long without issue.
 

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meha11 said:
I respectfully disagree. People in europe drive small cars, they tow trailers and such just fine.

You can buy hitches for vauxhall/opel corsa's (chevy, chevy here) all day long without issue.
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This is not towing, this is sticking 200+ pounds of motorcycle 24" behind the car. This is all tongue weight and is going to bend or break fasteners or welds and dump a nice bike on a freeway somewhere. Think of it as over 400 foot pounds of torque on the hitch mount BEFORE a bump is encountered.
-enganear
 
enganear said:
This is not towing, this is sticking 200+ pounds of motorcycle 24" behind the car. This is all tongue weight and is going to bend or break fasteners or welds and dump a nice bike on a freeway somewhere. Think of it as over 400 foot pounds of torque on the hitch mount BEFORE a bump is encountered.
-enganear
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(iagree)

A class I hitch is only rated for 200lbs tongue weight and I have a feeling a class III hitch on this car is going to exceed the limits of the (sheet) metal it's mounted to. I think a small t-bar trailer would be a smarter way to go for carrying a motorcycle.

But hey... whatever people want to do.
 
mcspeed said:
Installed the Curt 11384 hitch. Was the easiest install of a hitch yet and I've done a half dozen or more. Couple tips I found that will help my fellow Speed 3'ers:
Tools:
18mm Socket
1/2" drill bit
Screwdriver
Ratchet (preferably 1/2 drive so you can pull tight)
Extension

The way to fish with supplied wire is to route the spiral end through the hole then out the end you fish from ,then screw the bolt on and pull it thru. On the horizontal bolts, fish thru end of bumper beam.

On the horizontal bolts, hold it in position with a screwdriver through the existing hole in the frame to keep it from falling thru when screwing the nut on.

I needed no cutting and followed the directions with ease. The hitch is barely visible.
Click to expand...

I'm just installing my hitch and this thing gets fastened to the bumper!!!!!(nailbyt)
Is the bumper strong enough to support the weight of the hitch, rack, and 2 bikes? (huh)
The hitch on my Miata was bolted to the frame...thats the way it should be...

Anyone have a long term review they can post and see if there is any long term damage...?

Thanks!!
 
I'd also like to see some long-term reviews. Hopefully someone will respond.

Did you install the Curt hitch? It fastens to the bumper?

AutoXRacer said:
I'm just installing my hitch and this thing gets fastened to the bumper!!!!!(nailbyt)
Is the bumper strong enough to support the weight of the hitch, rack, and 2 bikes? (huh)
The hitch on my Miata was bolted to the frame...thats the way it should be...

Anyone have a long term review they can post and see if there is any long term damage...?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
 
don_o said:
I'd also like to see some long-term reviews. Hopefully someone will respond.

Did you install the Curt hitch? It fastens to the bumper?
Click to expand...

Yep, I installed the Curt #11384... It was the one that was recommended on this thread since it fits our MS3. I'll take some pictures of it this weekend...

Yes, the hitch mounts to the bumper... There is an aluminum-or something similar-reinforcement bumper/bar that mounts to the frame of the car that supports the back side of the poly-urethane bumper...
 
Last edited:
Hitch

Look back at post #33, that was my original install with pictures. Used it a bunch of times over the past few months and still love it. The Thule T2 is also great. My Turner weighs around 33 lbs and my specialized weighs about 28 lbs. No problems.

Cheers

Peter.
 
pmeilakjr said:
Look back at post #33, that was my original install with pictures. Used it a bunch of times over the past few months and still love it. The Thule T2 is also great. My Turner weighs around 33 lbs and my specialized weighs about 28 lbs. No problems.

Cheers

Peter.
Click to expand...

Have you checked underneath the car to make sure you haven't had any shearing of the bolt holes? Do you typically carry two bikes at a time?

Do you remember when you installed the hitch whether the bolts lined up perfectly or was it a little off until you started tightening them...

My hitch was not flush against the bumper during the install; until I torqued all the bolts. (dunno)
 
Thanks for the response! It's good to hear that you haven't had any problems. Does your bike ever get hit with rocks or does it sit high enough to avoid them? I also ride a Turner 5.5 spot. Yours looks like a RFX?

--
Don

pmeilakjr said:
Look back at post #33, that was my original install with pictures. Used it a bunch of times over the past few months and still love it. The Thule T2 is also great. My Turner weighs around 33 lbs and my specialized weighs about 28 lbs. No problems.

Cheers

Peter.
Click to expand...
 
does it really only take about 20 min to install a hitch on the ms3? How much cutting is required on the plastic undertray?

I'm getting ready to move, and I believe I can get by with a small uhaul trailer instead of renting a truck. For $160 I can buy a hitch, install it and rent a trailer for 3 days. Versus paying $500 to rent a truck and car hauler. I estimate that the loaded weight of the trailer would be 1000-1200 lbs.

Assuming the trailer is loaded properly, does anyone foresee any issues with that sort of weight? I am using synthetic oil, only mod is cobb sri, and once my 400 mile trip is over I'll only use the hitch for a track trailer maybe 3-4 times a year
 
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