Are there hitches for 2009 Series 2 RX8? I see a bunch that are for series 1. Has anyone successfully installed a hitch on their car? Any advice is welcomed.

 

What are you planning on towing?

 

A motorcycle on a trailer, about 700lbs

 

Presumably whatever you find will attach the same way as the S1 hitch (frame rails and trunk pan). If that's the case, be careful with it.

Several of us found that the Curt hitch (even with the steel reinforcement plate) will slowly tear the bottom out of the trunk pan at the attachment points.

I just pulled my hitch yesterday to swap my exhaust and found the same damage and I've only used mine to pull a small Horrible Freight utility trailer with a set of tires + jack and stands.

 

Not the answer I was hoping to hear. Do you have any pictures of the damage? How does the hitch attach to the car? I've never pulled the bumper off so have no idea what's going on underneath. Are there differences between S1 and S2 underneath the bumper? Obviously the bumper is different

 

There is some information in this thread:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-ex...-hitch-258801/

 

I'll try to get photos this weekend.

The hitch attaches at four points.
The first two are at the ends of the frame rails behind the rear suspension. The second two are at the back of the trunk pan beneath the jack storage location.

Here's the installation instructions with diagrams...
https://www.hitchweb.com/related/11472.pdf

The tearing is happening around the existing holes in the trunk pan. There's a 1/4" steel plate above the pan and the carriage bolts pass through that, through the pan, and through the hitch before being secured by nuts.

The fact that the damage is happening around the factory holes and not the support plate makes me think it's happening due to upward forces (catching it on steep driveways or poor trailer load distribution or something).

 

I researched this a bit when thinking about getting a bicycle rack for the car a few years ago. I don't remember the details, but I do remember coming away thinking it's NOT a good idea to mount a rear rack on the car. A hitch? No way I'd even consider it. The car was simply not designed to pull things. Period.

 

Only way I can justify keeping the 8 if I was able to tow my motorcycle with it

 

I took some photos of the damage over the weekend.

After looking more closely, I definitely think that this was caused by upward forces and could have been avoided or at least minimized by having reinforcement plates on the top and bottom of the trunk pan.

 

I see, on Curt's website it explicitly mentions up to 2008 which is not 2009. I have seen a couple S2 with a hitch. One is the blue RX8 R3 with a 3R motorcycle on it. It's definitely doable, I would be able to install bolt on kits but that's about it.

 

Any chance you're anywhere near Chicago?

I'm not planning on reinstalling my hitch so I'd let it go for cheap if want to come get it.

 

Isn't yours for Series 1? I'm located in Philadelphia

 

I doubt the frame rails and trunk pan have moved much. The big issue will probably be the exhaust and rear bumper fascia.

 

and how much the frame points are designed to take a hitch. The owners manual for S1 ans S2 both say DO NOT TOW. No Mazdaspeed parts exist for Mazda S1/S2 tow hitch or frame kits to allow for a hitch.

WW

 

What kit is it?

 

IIRC, there was a dealer option for S1 RX-8's in Europe.

 

ive seen that too, just need to either find a kit or have someone custom build one