GEN 2 Towing Track Car with 2019 Raptor - Need some help

[carbondan]

Don’t be afraid to use tow/haul mode, manually lock out gears, and downshift for yourself as needed.

As any Billy Big Rigger worth his salt will tell you, your gearing is your first set of brakes. The service brakes are secondary.

Absolutely. I like to set it in tow haul straight away, 4A for wet pavement, and 2A for dry so far seems to work good. Lock gears to 7 max (both towing and normal day to day use), might allow it to run up to 10th during those hour-long straight stretches of i5).
On my way down from Stevens pass I kept it in 3rd around 4K-ish RPM which kept my speed real steady and manageable as it was coming down a roughly 7% icy grade and for the most part prevented me from touching my brakes.

The one thing I worry about is having the trailer whip around on my as I decelerate, I try to be as smooth as humanly possible with all of my inputs (good practice for the track too!) but I just don't know the limits of this setup and am doing my best to stay well within them.

One thing I've found curious is why tow-haul doesn't firm up the suspension into 'Sport' level or full stiff?
When I was hauling the trailer empty and being bounced around like crazy, setting to sport mode made a dramatic difference, albeit with too jarring of shifts.
Full stiff suspension + buttery shifts with extra engine braking would be a great combo as far as I can tell.

 

[911 Crazy]

Enclosed is coming for sure in a year or two. Want to get something quick and simple for now until both track cars are stolen and then it will be very little hassle. Then as I get more experience settling with insurance companies, I'll get a purpose-built custom enclosed trailer (hopefully with a V8 2022 Raptor!)

FIFY

 

[carbondan]

FIFY

Can you elaborate?
Suggesting the car on the trailer will be damaged from road debris? Or that it'll be stolen due to being out in plain view?

 

[911 Crazy]

Can you elaborate?
Suggesting the car on the trailer will be damaged from road debris? Or that it'll be stolen due to being out in plain view?

I use to race often at VIR and everyone eventually ends up with an enclosed trailer. I was running a Trailex for awhile but was only towing a 944 TurboS. You're talking Cup car? Why would you EVER not have that in an enclosed trailer?

 

[carbondan]

Follow up:

The whole thing was an absolutely smashing success. Couldn't be happier with how it all turned out.
Event was possibly the most fun I've had in my life.
Thanks for the suggestions all!

Truck pulled beautifully. Not a hint of sway. Brakes were strong. Engine was strong.
Pulled the entire time in sport mode, 4A, normal steering, ~525 LB tongue weight, ~5150 LB trailer weight. 45 PSI rear tires, 40 PSI fronts cold. 45 PSI trailer tires cold.
Basically maxed out payload.
Going through the mountains I used the gears manually to tune in the appropriate amount of engine braking, though the raptor's ECU was doing an excellent job on its own in auto mode.

 

[adllewis42]

Glad it worked out well for you but why not use Tow/Haul mode? Why Sport mode?

 

[carbondan]

I was getting a hint of porpoising in tow mode, due to maxed out payload and tongue weight. Sport mode firms up the shocks and really dialed that vertical bounce right out.

 

[Badgertits]

I use to race often at VIR and everyone eventually ends up with an enclosed trailer. I was running a Trailex for awhile but was only towing a 944 TurboS. You're talking Cup car? Why would you EVER not have that in an enclosed trailer?

racing something you either hadn’t committed to or couldn’t afford IF what could happen on track did happen on track.

If you’re going to track a car-and I don’t give a F if it’s a mclaren or a mustang- you do so knowing full well it could go bye bye. A car you run on a race track on the reg is no different than a snowmobile or a hunting quad - it’s a tool for a job- 4 wheels going fast as cheaply/easily as your budget can afford- period. If it’s more than that to ya you either got the wrong car or the wrong hobby.

Most of the time, when a lot of euro car owners come to this realization I either see them in vettes, Porsche’s, or no longer at the track lol

 

[SSWIM]

racing something you either hadn’t committed to or couldn’t afford IF what could happen on track did happen on track.

If you’re going to track a car-and I don’t give a F if it’s a mclaren or a mustang- you do so knowing full well it could go bye bye. A car you run on a race track on the reg is no different than a snowmobile or a hunting quad - it’s a tool for a job- 4 wheels going fast as cheaply/easily as your budget can afford- period. If it’s more than that to ya you either got the wrong car or the wrong hobby.

Most of the time, when a lot of euro car owners come to this realization I either see them in vettes, Porsche’s, or no longer at the track lol

What has this got to do with transporting in an enclosed trailer. Race car or not, it is something of value. I wouldn’t trailer a GT3RS on an open trailer either. Don’t care wether I run the snot out of it or not. I transport snowmobiles in an enclosed trailer. Is that wrong? No. I trailer my desert car in an enclosed if the weather is nasty. Same for the SXSs. No bash intended, just a little curious as to your reasoning.

Sam

 

[Badgertits]

What has this got to do with transporting in an enclosed trailer. Race car or not, it is something of value. I wouldn’t trailer a GT3RS on an open trailer either. Don’t care wether I run the snot out of it or not. I transport snowmobiles in an enclosed trailer. Is that wrong? No. I trailer my desert car in an enclosed if the weather is nasty. Same for the SXSs. No bash intended, just a little curious as to your reasoning.

Sam

snowmobiles make sense- it’s COLD when you’re using em, cars get nasty at the track as it is right!? So what difference does it make taking it to/from track in open or enclosed trailer? I guess that’s my point- I’d go w/ a cheaper/lighter trailer that I could use for other stuff besides moving a car from A to B