318ti Trailer Hitches . . . not that hard to find
 

As you know, years ago Da'Lan made a tow hitch specifically for the 318ti, and then for some reason stopped making it. Since then it seems that every other Ti guy out there is looking for a hitch with no luck. I've seen numerous threads of people asking for a hitch option without anyone presenting a solution . . . Well, here it is.

It turns out that the Curt Z3 hitch # 11748 is a perfect fit! I ended up ordering one off of ebay for about $257.00.

http://www.curtmfg.com/part/11748

I originally expected that I would have to modify it in some way but it ended up fitting perfectly! Here is a copy of the installation instructions to help explain the installation steps:

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb924600.jpg

Installation is pretty basic: You'll want to loosen each rear torx bumper bolt from the underside of the left and right bumper shocks. The bolts should drop straight out. Then you just slide the bumper back to allow you to get each horizontal bumper strut (as illustrated in the instructions above). You really do need to do this in order to get any tooling up there at all. From this point its easy, just set each end of the hitch on top of the bumper strut bars, slide the u-bolts around the bumper strut and through the hitch, secure with the nuts, and put the bumper back on. The only tricky part of the install is attaching the tail bracket to the trunk cross beam. There is no internal access through the top side of the trunk to get inside the cross beam (like whats pictured above). Instead I drilled holes all the way through the bottom of the cross beam and through the trunk into the car. I used my own 4" bolts to pass through a small 3x5 steel plate I used inside the trunk as a washer, through the cross beam and out through the underside of the car. They I used 2 more regular washers and lock nuts on the underside of the car. All in all I'm very happy with how it turned out. The hitch seems plenty sturdy and will allow me to easily pull my race trailer to the track.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9c2a6598.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...psa5c8a246.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4858d2c3.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...psa609dcc4.jpg


Now everyone can stop hunting for one and just go get one.

Yup. what he said. Bolts that go inside bumper to bumper struts are difficult to get tight, you have to get the right length bolts for the unibody.. but after the drilling and grinding, IT fit and the inverted hitch works !

Guys, quit wasting your time putting a hitch on a Ti. Go out & buy a used Silverado pickup. Just kidding,
Stu

Hitch
 

But when you put the bike carrier in it the bikes scrape on the ground.

Just kidding

Z3 hitch
 

Will this fit the TI?

Found a used 318TI specific hitch for $150.
Can't wait to get it and install.:smile:

I have just pulled one off my 318ti in preparation for racing it so if anyone in the UK needs a towbar for the a e36 ti let me know!

Got it today and had the rear part installed on the rear bumper.
The front brace is a little tricky so it has to wait until I can drill two holes close to the diff.

This is an old thread, but I am considering this.

My question is how heavy can we pull?

My TI is an automatic and I would like to tow my very light track motorcycle, so the weight would be minimal, but still I would like to have an idea of the safe range with trailer weight included.

Towing capacity is 2810 lbs including trailer according to:

http://m.mynrma.com.au/motoring-serv...ws/bmw/179.htm

THANKS!

Hello All - new to this forum, glad to have found it!

My first question - does this hitch fit on a 2 door? Looking under the car it would seem that the spare wheel would be in the way, and I can't tell if the pictures above show a wheel.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.