Trailering an R8

[rmicroys]

My R8 is likely to arrive in the winter in the next couple weeks, and I'll be having to pick it up in my enclosed racecar trailer such as not to subject her to the salty roads. I'm just wondering if it has good hook holes in the chassis, or am I going to need some kind of loops, or other tiedown straps other than just plain old regular car tiedowns. Some cars I find have no good reinforced chassis points to put the hook in. Sometimes I find the hooks on my straps are a little big, and one needs a special j-hook to use them (which I don't have). Comments?

[MotherTucker]

I have trailered mine a lot. There are absolutely no tie-down hooks on an R8. The underside is like a Ferrari, completely covered in aero/noise covers.

I called my dealer and asked them, and they called Audi to find out for sure. The answer was to use straps on the wheels. They said to NOT use straps on the lower control arms, that may bend them and knock the wheels out of alignment. The lower control arms are those aliminum triangular pieces that connect the wheels to tthe chassis.

Ideally, you would use short U-shaped straps over each tire. My trailer has a smooth bed, so I can't do that; there are no tie-down points under both sides of each tire. What I do is put straps thru all 4 wheels, and ratchet them down fairly tightly. I also attach the toe hook (it's stored in the trunk), and use a 5th strap to keep it from rolling backwards. You don't want to pull down on the tow hook, only pull straight forward. See the owner's manual for instructions for attaching the tow hook.

mt

[rmicroys]

That's what I figured. Through the wheels. "That was easy." Thanks!

[wyoaudi]

I tow my Porsche and other cars a lot in my covered car trailer and when I used the wheel spokes it caused rub marks on the spokes. I use the front tow hook with a winch I have and put loops through the front wheels loosely as a back-up so it will not rub the spokes on the wheels. For the back tiedowns I have hooks that bolt to the wheel lugs ( performance parts for Porsche sells them). A good welding shop could make you some. This is what I am going to do when I get my V10. I also use front and back wheel chocks but they can slip out. Good Luck, Will.

[MotherTucker]

Will -

I agree, you are right about the rub marks. I cut the toes off of old pairs of socks, and put those on the tie-down straps, and position those on the straps where they rub against the wheel. Works for me.

The custom bolt in the wheel lugs sounds like a great idea. I'll have to look into that...

mt

[desperado]

Here is another thread about trailering. www.r8talk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2932

The over-the-wheel setup I mention there continues to work very well for me. We use the through-the-rim method with fleece sleeves on the straps on the TT because it sits next to the wheel wells in the trailer and putting the over-the-wheel straps on is a PITA, but then we do have dedicated track wheels so we are not as concerned about the rubbing.

Are these the wheel lug tie-downs you refer to? The R8 is so wide, it would be tough to get it past the trailer's wheel well with anything sticking very far beyond the edge of the rim. If it doesn't project past the rim then the strap will still rub on the wheel or on the body in an enclosed trailer due to the tight confines.

[rmicroys]

Considering it's probably never going to see the inside of the trailer for a long time after the first trip to get it home, I think I'll just lay some cotton detailing towels through the spokes first. I'm not about to drop a pile of coin on a couple gadgets just to tow her once. Thanks for the advice on keeping the wheels scratch free. I've done this a lot before - but for racecars with wheels that one doesn't really need to keep looking new.

[OEMplus.com]

We have worked with customers for more permanent solutions, but towels under the straps will certainly work if you're just taking her for a single ride.

[mngolfer]

My dealer agreed to deliver my car in a enclosed trailer at no cost if there was snow on the ground the day of pickup. Check with your dealer and let them worry about the delivery.

[rmicroys]

We have worked with customers for more permanent solutions, but towels under the straps will certainly work if you're just taking her for a single ride.

Pretty much. I don't want the dealer to even bother driving the car down the road to fill it with gas. I just want them to PDI the car and open the garage bay door so I can back up the trailer to it. Once the roads are nice, the first place the car gets driven is to Gold Wing Auto Care for the clearshield and the tint. Well, maybe the gas station first if she's near empty, but a jerry can with some Sunoco 94 can also fix that problem too.

On that note, when filling an R8 from empty, does it have any quirks like the 996 C4S that if you don't fill it completely to full that the gas gauge can't figure out how much fuel is in the car? I've done that at the track, just chucked a 25l can of fuel in to the C4S and then we had no idea how much fuel we had left in the car until it was filled to the top...

My dealer agreed to deliver my car in a enclosed trailer at no cost if there was snow on the ground the day of pickup. Check with your dealer and let them worry about the delivery.

No sweat... the dealership is 15 minutes from my house, and I have the truck and trailer... not a big deal at all for me.