Thoughts on trailer sway

[tassjo]

The problem with stiffer springs is you might find them too stiff for normal driving. An alternative is air bags which fit inside the coils and can be adjusted as needed.

being a Fairmont they had softer springs than a falcon,and yes my territory has polyair bags but only need around 10 psi for my needs

[PixieAU]

thanks for all the comments, definitely some interesting theories there and great food for thought.

i'll check the ball weight again and perhaps make some adjustments. i'm not considering changing the commodore's set-up while I have an alternative so I'll most likely just stick with the Patrol for towing

[juggernaut]

Could be something peculiar to your Commodore or maybe the Commodores IRS - possible shagged bushes in the suspension setup.

I have a Quintrex 5 metre Coast Runner with Johnson 90hp so probably a little lighter than your setup. It pulls fine with both my FG G6E turbo (IRS) and V6 Camry (solid beam axle) at highway speeds.

I haven't measured the weight over the ball but to give you an idea of the trailer setup if I climb up the back ladder of the boat wih my 120kg's it will slowly raise the jockey wheel off the ground when the o/b leg is down.

FWIW my brother has a VZ Commodore ute albeit with the solid rear axle setup and it pulls over 2 tons of cray pots on a car trailer with no probs and before this he used a VS Malloo Ute without issue. Both pulling at highway speeds. And yes I agree the VZ Commodores steering is fairly direct - but this feeling is probably exacerbated after driving a 4wd.

My closing comments on torque and hp is.....put simply, torque x rpm = hp. Therefore, for any given rpm point you dont have torque without hp, and vica versa.