Hi folks,

Is anybody pulling a 26-30ft ski boat with their 2004+ S4? Is this a bad idea (why)?

Is anybody doing this now? I'd assume the Quattro and Power would make it easy to do this, but who knows...

Thx,

Stieger

Few things right of the bat with cars and towing... never tow anyhting over the wieght of the car.

But in the long run, if u just need to move the boat once. for liek 10 miles or something i bet it wouldnt be a huge issue. but if u plan on like a road trip or doing it on a regular basis.... i would just go buy an old beat F-150.

26-30 ft ski boat??? thats a pretty effing big ski boat.. what the hell are you running a scarab??

S4 + towing = no no

lol, i bet if you do this for a while your tranny will be hating you. If its a short trip, then maybe you can manage, but dont plan on this for the long haul.

plz dont tow anything with an Audi :(

I still cant fathom a ski boat that big..i dont think they exist...

Also putting a hitch under the S4 will look like crap. About 20 years ago I put a hitch on my Toyota MR2 and towed my 13 Foot Boston Whaler, It look retarded and was very dangerous on the highway and felt like trailer was going to flip my car

even if you could tow a boat with an S4, you'd need at least a classIII hitch assembly for something that size. it would look like ass with a 2" receiver hanging out past the bumper.

towing weight is on the VIN plate, I hate the towbar idea because you get knee capped when you walk past and forget its there[:@]

might bea bit sketchy even tho you got a pretty powerful car... thats a big boat

Just don't do it![:@]

I just don't see why anyone would use a S4 for that...

I know this is an old thread, but I think this is very possible. (not ideal as a daily towing vehicle, but on occasion for short distances...no issues.

http://eurohitch.es/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

Euro hitch has hidden hitches. very common in UK...I would say if you have trailer brakes you will be fine. Any car can tow at least 80% of it's weight but the bigger question is can you stop. The other thing to consider is the tongue weight. You can get air bladders that can be inserted in the springs to keep the rear up.

This guy has the hidden hitch and air bladders on his passat. http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/TDInewguy/?start=40 (http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/TDInewguy/?start=40)

The main reason we don't see more people towing with cars and wagons in the states is marketing...the US arms of the car companies want to sell you big SUV's.

Rent a truck with a tow hitch for 40 to 75 bucks a day, you don't need to put wear and tear on the audi, plus the audi S4 was NEVER designed to tow boats for a living...

I hope you have some good brakes to stop......

Powerwise I'm sure your fine, but another thing to look at is your suspension. I could be wrong, but when i had a Dakota RT that had like 300-350 lbft of torque, it only had like 1200 lb tow rating. I remember reading it was becasuse of how the suspension was set up. I'm sure the audi engineering gods never imagined anyone trying to tow a battleship.

Marty

you guys are nuts, that would be a great way to ruin your brakes and mess up alot of things in alignment. Pull a boat with something that has a real frame. I tow a 3500lb boat with my V6 SOHC Explorer and it still is a daunting task at times....

I can almost guarantee you will bottom out your suspension. The engine isnt an issue, but the car has nothing else on it to support the weight of a boat. I would in a boat yard all summer constantly hauling around $200k+ boats. You'd be surprised how much a one ton truck lowers when you hook up a 30ft Formula. If you have a ski boat over 26' i'm assuming its an X80 (28') which are triple axle and weigh a TON.