1st gen vs 2nd gen FX towing differences?

F

Fx35SP

Member
Car
2012 FX35
Name
Sean
I have been browsing the forums trying to see what the deal is with the 1st and 2nd gen fx’s and their towing capacities.

1st gen: 3500lb
2nd gen: 2000lb

did Infiniti really make this much of a change to the body to reduce the tow rating by 1500lbs? I am looking to put a motorcycle hauler on my 2012. Tongue weight will be around 250lbs including the carrier. That would put it at 50lbs more than the 2nd gen Max tongue. Assuming I have a class iii hitch, What kind of risks am I looking at where?

part of me thinks Infiniti kept everything the same from 1st gen, body/frame wise and purposely lowered the 35’s tow capacity in order to sell more fx50’s.

any insight?
Thanks
 
I don’t know much about the 1st gen, but the 2nd gen had two ratings.

2,000 lbs for the V6
3,500 lbs for the V8

maybe gen 1 had different ratings by engine as well?
 
Banjos-n-Beer said:
I don’t know much about the 1st gen, but the 2nd gen had two ratings.

2,000 lbs for the V6
3,500 lbs for the V8

maybe gen 1 had different ratings by engine as well?
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I just don’t see what they could have done to take 1500lbs off the v6 tow capacity for gen2 compared to the gen1.

I’ll never tow a trailer with it but carrying my dirtbike on the hitch would put me over the Max tongue. I was searching through some Infiniti docs and from 2009-2010 it showed the v6 with a class 1 hitch which is 2000lbs tow and 200lbs tongue. In 2011-2012, they stopped showing this info.

Also was looking at a magazine review online for 2011 and it showed the tow package option came with a class 2 hitch which would be 3000lbs/300lb tongue. I wouldn’t think Infiniti would put a bigger hitch on knowing it was more than the car could “handle”.

which adds to my assumption that they lowered the v6 tow capacity on paper just to help boost the v8 sales.

I saw an fx owner (2010 v6) towing a 5500lb boat and it seemed like it did well. Definitely not the smartest thing but only makes me think having 250lb of tongue weight won’t be a huge deal assuming I get a class 3 hitch. I have a welder and could even add reinforcement bars on the inner most sides of the hitch.
 
Well, towing is about more than just pulling. Braking is probably more important. Could it be brake size related? The V8s have bigger sets I believe. At least the calipers are different.

I can think of other reasons that would persuade them to change the rating as well.

These type of questions do pique my interest so I’m curious as well…
 
Banjos-n-Beer said:
Well, towing is about more than just pulling. Braking is probably more important. Could it be brake size related? The V8s have bigger sets I believe. At least the calipers are different.

I can think of other reasons that would persuade them to change the rating as well.

These type of questions do pique my interest so I’m curious as well…
Click to expand...

yeah the v8’s have bigger brakes but I don’t think there was a braking change between the gen1 and gen2 v6. I also saw a guy in Canada post his manual and it said USA fx 2000lb tow capacity and Canada 3500lb, for the v6. I’m almost 100% certain there was no difference between the USA and CAN fx’s. Especially not enough to reduce the tow capacity by 40%.

it must come down to us regulations and the need to create more demand for the v8
 
I believe tow ratings can vary because of other predictable factors such as average highway speeds. I think you’ll find European models get a higher tow rating for a certain country because they don’t have American type highways where people go 70+ mph.

Not sure of all the specifics, but I’m pretty sure my previous CX5 had a higher tow rating in Europe than here in the USA for the same vehicle.
 
Banjos-n-Beer said:
I believe tow ratings can vary because of other predictable factors such as average highway speeds. I think you’ll find European models get a higher tow rating for a certain country because they don’t have American type highways where people go 70+ mph.

Not sure of all the specifics, but I’m pretty sure my previous CX5 had a higher tow rating in Europe than here in the USA for the same vehicle.
Click to expand...
This definitely makes sense. It seems like it’s not really about the frame strength but more so the strength of the braking/driveline components. For the 2nd gen they did make the unibody/frame stronger and more ridgid as well.
 
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