GTI 7.5 - towbar?

[glee]

Thanks tigger73. That is sensible advice. My personal pref is not for roof racks because of drag at highway speeds and the height. Hoping to hear from someone with a GTI with a towbar.

[glee]

LibraR, Yes, that towbar looks very much like the one that VW dealers here fit to the GTI. It costs $2000 with the electronic black box that tells the car what is going on. They also reprogram something in the cars computer.

I ruled out buying an R for this reason also.

[glee]

Thanks gregozedobe,GTI 7.5 has towbars available. They aren't as cool as the European ones that fold up when not in use. Apparently the European ones don't comply with the ADR or Standards. The ones that are approved here look virtually identical to the one fitted in the Youtube video linked in another post in this thread. It has a square tube sticking out the back.

[Talbs]

AFAIK VW haven't certified any towbars as ADR compliant for the Golf R, not sure about the GTI. Obviously you could fit one designed for regular Golfs (with perhaps some fiddling with bumpers & valances, & possibly exhausts), but that won't make it legal for towing (maybe OK just for bike racks ? )

Rarely am I comfortable hearing 'no' from dealers in Australia when there were options available in Europe.
So found an Australian company making ADR compliant bars (Goose neck -removable, euro style) for the Golf R and fitted it to my MY16.
Company was Brisbane but ship Aust wide.
Additionally I noted that within the Engineering menu (green) or OBDEleven that there are in fact trailer hitch options ie installed, removable etc to manage sensors I assume.
Could locate company and send pics if required

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[LibraR]

Keen to see who that is if Brisbane based

[Talbs]

Keen to see who that is if Brisbane based

Hope this helps.
Shop | Towbars Australia

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[LibraR]

Hope this helps.
Shop | Towbars Australia

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Excellent, thanks for that. Great to see an option for the R

[jimmyjamesred]

I have a tow bar on my MK7 GTI. Same as you I just use it for a bike rack. Never towed a trailer with it. I had mine fitted by the dealer so can’t comment on any performance changes. The hitch is the removable type and I leave it in the garage with the bike rack when not in use. When the lights from the bike rack are connected it deactivates the rear reversing sensors and the radar thing that detects a car passing as you reverse from a car space and blind spot sensors. Only issue I have is that I have to manually reactivate blind spot and the reversing radar after I take the rack off.

[syncro]

Rarely am I comfortable hearing 'no' from dealers in Australia when there were options available in Europe.
So found an Australian company making ADR compliant bars (Goose neck -removable, euro style) for the Golf R and fitted it to my MY16.
Company was Brisbane but ship Aust wide.
Additionally I noted that within the Engineering menu (green) or OBDEleven that there are in fact trailer hitch options ie installed, removable etc to manage sensors I assume.

These are genuine VW towbars made by Westfalia Germany and they do comply with ADRs. The crap that VW sell in Australia are just cheap ones from NZ.

[clio]

I have a Westfalia towbar on my Mk7 GTI. Completely invisible when not in use. It tows a 6x4 trailer well for light/medium duties.
I installed it myself and coded it using an OBD Eleven. The factory wiring harness already had a connector behind the (left) tail light housing to plug the Westfalia control module straight into. ie: it was plug and play with no cutting/splicing required. #winning.
Once it was plugged in there was no need for any further wiring in the car - the factory harness takes it from the rear tail light to the rest of the car. There was however one other connector to plug in below the steering wheel.
When the trailer is plugged in it shows a trailer image on the centre display panel. It also gives additional indicator lights on the dash to show that the trailer lights are working. Plus it enables stability control to factor in the trailer in the event of an uncontrolled situation. It's a system that has been well thought out. All up the cost was circa $700-800, however I also purchased a rear oem diffuser sourced from Europe at a cost of ~$300. It looks meaner than the Australian fitted diffuser and is better suited to the Westfalia towbar (this oem diffuser is recommended in the Westfalia instructions). I tried to source this item from a local VW dealership but they were clueless, insisting that no such part existed. Anyhow, I'm not a mechanic but I am quite familiar with the process involved so if there are any questions I might be of some assistance.