Why no towing with an SSEi?

Series I L27 (1992-1994 SE,SLE, SSE) & Series II L36 (1995-1999 SE, SSE, SLE) and common problems for the Series I and II L67 (all supercharged models 92-99) Including Olds 88's, Olds LSS's, Olds 98 91-96, Buick Lesabres and Park Avenue 91-96. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
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Larry Larson
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Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by Larry Larson »

Why does the owner's manual say not to tow with an SSEi? Is it that the extra load would cause the supercharger to get overworked?
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J Wikoff
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Re: Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by J Wikoff »

I always thought it was because of the higher final drive ratio would tend to strain the tranny when there's too much weight behind the car.
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Troyport
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Re: Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by Troyport »

IMHO, it's just a general rule to keep some idiot from hooking up a camper because they assume with the levelride and extra power it could handle it. Common sense plays a part here... if you just want to grab a dozen 2 x 4's twice a year with one of those toy trailers you get at Sam's club and you don't try to go 80 mph, then just pull it down into manual 3rd gear and make the trip to your local home depot and forget about it. No different than having 5 big fat-a$$es in the passenger seats.
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01bonneSC
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Re: Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by 01bonneSC »

They dont have a tow package, id never tow with something that didnt have a tow package.
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00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
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Jrs3800
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Re: Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by Jrs3800 »

Troyport wrote:IMHO, it's just a general rule to keep some idiot from hooking up a camper because they assume with the levelride and extra power it could handle it. Common sense plays a part here... if you just want to grab a dozen 2 x 4's twice a year with one of those toy trailers you get at Sam's club and you don't try to go 80 mph, then just pull it down into manual 3rd gear and make the trip to your local home depot and forget about it. No different than having 5 big fat-a$$es in the passenger seats.
I do agree with that...

The Tow package for 92-93 had HD cooling and the same Trans cooler as the SSEi...

My Van is designed to tow tho... It has Dual Trans coolers plus the massive AUX cooler I added... as well it came from the factory with a HD radiator.. The literature on the van for mine says if you have the 3800 and the 4T60E you can tow up to 3000 Lbs... I have moved as much as 4500 Lbs with it...

I do agree common sense does play a huge factor... I have seen many SSEi's with class 2 tow hitches..
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Larry Larson
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Re: Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by Larry Larson »

OK, thanks, but why is it only the SSEi they say not to tow with?
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Jrs3800
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Re: Why no towing with an SSEi?

Post by Jrs3800 »

Good question..
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