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towbar question

Discuss your latest mods or ideas, and anything to do with the BMW X5 (E53).
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Jayx5
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towbar question

Post by Jayx5 » Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:51 pm

Evening all, my father in law recently fitted a witter fixed tow bar to his x5, after his first trip he noticed the caravan was nose high and after measuring the height of the ball realised it was about 60mm to high ( should be 435mm to the centre of the ball approx from the ground)  he's is 500 mm! Could anyone with a fixed tow bar measure there's ? I measured my oem towbar and it's exactly 435mm. He rung witter about it and there a bit confused and have asked there technical department to look into it!
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gmc15
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Re: towbar question

Post by gmc15 » Thu Apr 24, 2014 2:48 pm

You can fix a drop plate behind the ball to reduce the height to how it should be. I know this does not answer your question directly, but it is an easy fix.
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shadrack
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Re: towbar question

Post by shadrack » Thu Apr 24, 2014 7:41 pm

is the car standard height? the first e53 i bought had been heightened in the same way i lowered my second, i also lowered my first but only to the height it should have been
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Jayx5
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Re: towbar question

Post by Jayx5 » Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:00 pm

Yep it's standard height. Witter have said they designed it on a x5 with full air suspension and the car should lower it's self to the right height when the car picks up speed!  does this happen on x5S with full air suspension?
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X5Sport
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Re: towbar question

Post by X5Sport » Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:04 pm

Might need a proper trailer module fitted?  Has it now got one?  The module certainly integrates with the self-levelling susp, stability system and the lights/rear PDC.

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Re: towbar question

Post by shadrack » Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:13 pm

[quote="X5Sport"]
Might need a proper trailer module fitted?  Has it now got one?  The module certainly integrates with the self-levelling susp, stability system and the lights/rear PDC.

Richard
[/quote]

i never had a proper trailer module on either x5 i had towbars on both
current: 2016 Vw Crafter
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Re: towbar question

Post by X5Sport » Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:53 pm

'Twas only a thought...... :)
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Re: towbar question

Post by Jayx5 » Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:09 pm

He fitted it with the proper module etc. The tech bloke at witter seems to think they may have made their bars  wrong! Whoops
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Re: towbar question

Post by X5Sport » Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:04 pm

Oops!!  That's a bit of an error.  One hopes it was a bad batch rather than all of them.  Perhaps a good reason to stick with the Westfalia OEM choice.

I remember once buying a towbar for my trusty (later rusty) MK 3 Cavalier and finding it did not use the factory points and effectively reduced the height under the car by 2 inches!  It went back, and a Witter OEM one went on.

Richard
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