Best gear to tow in

Submitted: Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 14:49
ThreadID: 100280 Views:2332 Replies:5 FollowUps:4
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Hi All
Any advice on the best gear to tow in. I have a 2012 GX 200 series towing a 2.6 -2.7 tonne van. I have heard to use S4 or S5 or just leave in drive?
Richard
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Reply By: landseka - Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 15:27

Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 15:27
Yes.

I find shorts & thongs work too....lol
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Follow Up By: Ross M - Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 17:34

Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 17:34
Aussie thongs or American thongs?
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Follow Up By: landseka - Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 18:40

Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 18:40
Ha ha, American in summer...lol
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Reply By: Racey - Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 16:14

Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 16:14
Hi Richard,
The book says S5. However, you may find S4 more beneficial at times particularly in hilly terrain and or windy conditions. In S4 you are more likely to lock-up the torque converter thus reducing the transmission temperature. Log onto the Land cruiser owners and you will find several references to towing, transmission temp, etc. Also checkout Scanguage.

The link below is 1 topic on towing. You will most likely need to become a registered user, which is painless.
Landcruiser owners Towing

Cheers
Racey
AnswerID: 503710

Reply By: olcoolone - Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 19:29

Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 at 19:29
What ever gear it is comfortable to tow in...... in a 200 series that would be somewhere between 3-5 and between 2000-3800rpm........ they have a bleep gearbox and software.
AnswerID: 503726

Follow Up By: Jeff P - Saturday, Feb 02, 2013 at 21:06

Saturday, Feb 02, 2013 at 21:06
Love it ! you said that well !
Jeff
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Reply By: Member - Wamuranman - Friday, Feb 01, 2013 at 09:45

Friday, Feb 01, 2013 at 09:45
Racey is correct - use Sports mode for towing (not Drive).
My van is a similar weight to yours.
I used S4 below 80Kph and S5 above 80 Kph.
It is important to make sure the torque converter locks up to minimise transmission heat.
Fuel usage does not seem to change much either.

Cheers



AnswerID: 503767

Follow Up By: 410 - Friday, Feb 01, 2013 at 10:13

Friday, Feb 01, 2013 at 10:13
Thankyou to all. Did the later models ( June 2012) change things in the auto so that towing could be done in Drive and they don't engage 6th gear towing or not until reaching 80 km/h ? I know to use sports mode downhill but i'm just talking about cruising along roads with minimal hills.
Thanks
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Reply By: Member - Jim - Friday, Feb 01, 2013 at 19:35

Friday, Feb 01, 2013 at 19:35
410,

To keep the gearbox temperature down use S4 or S5 and not Drive.
With Drive the gearbox will continue trying another gear and in doing so increase the internal temperatures.
If you have a scangauge you can see this in real time.
S4 on say the Pacific Hwy is OK, on some longer flatter roads S5 maybe the go.
The fuel economy is something to compare later if you try a higher gear.
Looking at the boost (on the scangauge) using S4 is the telling, generally just a couple of PSI when running on the flat, wheras a higher gear it will increase to keep up the speed and increase the fuel usage.

Regards,
Jim
AnswerID: 503807

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