Need help... can I 4 down tow a Mazda Miata???

Remco too says no to four down towing.

http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php

I would not call this the ultimate source, but at a glance, it appears there were no Mazda products on their list in 2013.
2013 dinghy guide

According to this none are.
https://images.goodsam.com/newmotorhome/towguides/2013DinghyGuide.pdf

Desert Captain wrote:
I have an opportunity to purchase a nice little 2013 Miata and if I can make the 4 down towing equation work without having to reinvent the wheel and would like to go forward. I have seen lots of folks towing them 4 down but Blue Ox, Roadmaster and Trailer all have said no go. I spoke to a tech at the Mazda dealership and he said no problem with the 6 speech manual trans, just make sure you are in neutral and you're good to go?

If you or anyone you know tows a Miata please enlighten me as to what set up you/they have. Any tips pro or con would be appreciated. I have gone 6.5 years with no toad for 24' Nexus C but for a number of reason I am now open to pursuing this option. TIA.

:C

I once checked on the Miata for towing, and IIRC, the six speed gearbox uses pressurized oil in the gearbox, so I'd do some serious checking before I towed it.

Sometimes the techs make mistakes on some pretty big issues.

Perhaps there's someone in the Dinghy forum.

Owners manual says no. Miata forum says yes from several people with direct experience. It differs with 5 or 6 speed and year of manufacturing. Some suggest putting it in or on trailer.

Thanks for the timely replies. I know a lot of folks tow them but as noted above the towability is probably contingent upon the model year and trans. When I called Mazda they said their owners manual was a one size fits all publication. The prohibition therein on towing was referring to the models with an auto trans though it did not so state.

Guess I will give up on this one... too bad it was a fun little car to drive and would tow like a dream being so sleek, low and light.

Thanks again.

:C

fj12ryder wrote:
I once checked on the Miata for towing, and IIRC, the six speed gearbox uses pressurized oil in the gearbox, so I'd do some serious checking before I towed it.

Where does the pressure come from ? Not the engine.

I dunno, it was what recalled, no guarantee as to the correctness, that's why I said IIRC. Because I could absolutely wrong. It's been some time back, that is why I hedged.

It seemed like there was a pressure fed supply to the higher gears, and it was driven off the input from the engine. No engine drive meant no spinning pump.

But like I said several years back and not positive about this. Could be a faulty memory, it's happened before.

Well Captain, If you Really want to tow it and not worry, find a mechanic that knows the cars and tell him that you want to add a DC lube pump. This is how Whosit makes autotrans cars towable 4-down. I am pretty sure it could be done to a Miata as well.

Then there is the report on one of the forums that I read of a sighting of a small rear drive with the rear wheels on the dolly and the front on the ground....

Speaking of which and as a refugee from the Detroit engineering labs, there are more than a few manual trans cars that cannot be towed (long, fast, hard) with the drive wheels on the ground. This is simply because the gearbox has a lube path that passes lube up the geartrain. It is all run by the rotation of the prop shaft. If you talk to the people that designed these things, you would know it was an art.

Matt