djbarber

Does anyone know if the 2005 TSX has the same undercarriage configuration as the '04? I have an '05 TSX and would like to confirm if the '06 drawtite hitch will fit on my car.

jihan3

I installed the Draw-Tite hitch yesterday. Here's some pictures of what it looks like:







The horizontal bar is directly underneath the bottom of the rear bumper (with a centimeter or so of clearance) - so it's more visible than I'd like.

I installed a Hidden-Hitch on my girlfriend's RSX last year, and it's already rusting. My hitch already had some rust spots when UPS delivered it. So I sprayed my hitch with Rustoleum Rust Reformer before installing. Hopefully that will help control the rust.

Each of the exhaust heat shields are mounted with 4 bolts, but the hitch blocks one of them. The instructions explicitly say that positioned properly, all 4 bolts should fit - but I couldn't fit it in. I'm not too concerned about it, since each heat shield feels pretty solid with the 3 other bolts holding it in place. Here's pictures of the two that don't fit:




I have an 04 TSX, so it's possible that the 4th head shield bolt is drilled in a slightly different location on the 06 (this hitch is listed specifically for the 06 TSX and not the 04 or 05), and this is the source of incompatibility. But I'm guessing that it's my fault for not getting the bolt to fit, not the hitch's .

rastaman

I have to say that this hitch does not look too good. I really have to work on a picture of my hitch to show you how good it looks.

jihan3

Yeah, I'm not jumping in joy about how it looks either. The Hidden-Hitch that I installed on an RSX was more recessed and far less obvious than this one.

For anyone thinking that the Hidden-Hitch for the TSX might look better than the Draw-Tite that I installed, they appear to be identical (from the hitch installation manuals and from the pictures in this thread: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30999).

IMO, the hitch would look a lot better if they located the transverse bar a little farther ahead in the car to help it hide a bit. I think the reason they didn't do this was because they wanted to maintain access to the rear tow hook/rear jacking point. So maybe it was an issue of form vs. function.

Oh well - I'm just happy to finally have a hitch

waterrockets

Yeah, I like how the accord hitch uses the tow hook to support the hitch. The only crossmember is a 1/4" thick flat bar that's way under there (a foot or more back).

helraiser

This is mine. Euro hidden hitch made by honda for the Euro Accord:

San-AnT

where did you get that? how much? details...

waterrockets

It's from Europe, and meet European standards. Bike racks and such sold in the US would not work with it.

Besides, it's like this huge penis looking thing.

helraiser

Hahahah... funny. I asked the dealer when I got the specs/before buying it if it could be used here and I got the okay. Now unless the service manager lied to me thus rendering them liable for any issues...

The tongue (your huge penis) is detachable and takes all of 1 min to attach/detach and when you've got a trailer on it there's no difference between that and one of these other hidden hitches as all you're gonna see is the trailer and safety chains attached to the car.

Anyway, the price on it was fairly steep, about GBP250 for the unit then shipping from GB. The guys here mounted it w/o a problem though.

The ball's a 2" ball and I've used it to tow mid-sized U-haul trailers and most recently an open aired trailer with my motorbike on it.

Some ppl may not like the way it looks and that's their opinion, i got it cuz I really didn't like the so-called "hidden hitch" that we have as it's not truly hidden - this one is. I say again, would you rather see this big metal bar underneath letting ppl know you have htich or just a slight bubble/cover that could be for anything?

Also, you're right, north american style bike racks won't work with it as they need the north american style hitches. You'll have to figure out what you want and go from there. I can fit my bike in the car w/o doing any damage. Tight fit but for the amount I go biking I can put up with it.

waterrockets

I think it looks nice enough, and I know it's a receiver, which is cool. Looks like a better design than most here, but it does look a little phallic without a trailer on it.

The issue is that the receiver is nearly vertical, and US bike racks assume a horizontal receiver. If you look at the undercarriage photo, you can see what I mean.

helraiser

Heh yup... luckily I don't drive around with the receiver on and no trailer. Bike racks definitely wouldn't work as you nee dthe horizontal one like you mentioned. I didn't need a bike rack so it's all good.

waterrockets

So is it a metric ball or an English ball? (Measured in mm or inches?)

Or was the shop saying that's what's the same between the US and Europe?

helraiser

2" ball, same as US. There's different size balls that you can get, smartass!

Xtremespeed2102

sleepytrousers, does your hitch stick out as much as jihan3's hitch does?

and jihan3, does your hitch really stick that far out. it seems out of the bunch ive seen on here this one sticks out the most. you think there would be a way to move it further back or is that all it allows you to do?

jihan3

There's no way to move it further back without significantly modifying the hitch. There are a handful of holes in the rail that the hitch is bolted to, so it would be relatively easy to drill new holes in the hitch and bolt it further back - BUT - you can't bolt it further back because the tow hook is in the way (it's directly behind the bar).

I'd estimate that the receiver on my hitch is less than a foot off the ground, so there's not much room to work with in terms of mounting the hitch lower (to get it underneath the tow hook). I'm using the hitch to haul bikes, and I have to drive up a ramp to get into my parking garage - so ground clearance is an issue for me. My TSX is lowered about half an inch on the ASPEC suspension kit.

This thread has pictures of the same hitch, including one showing the mounting bolts: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30999

On another note, my new bike rack arrived today. I'll show it off with a few pictures later this week

Xtremespeed2102

hmph...what rack did you go wtih?

jihan3

The 1up Ultra Rack: http://www.1upusa.com/1upusarackhome.htm

I have a Yakima BigHorn also, which I used on my girlfriend's RSX. Not a big fan of it though, because my mountain bike is small framed and doesn't work well with the racks that hang bikes by the top tube.

Hopefully I'll be happy with the 1up. Interestingly, there's a "fold-up" feature - which might enable it to work with the near vertical euro hitch receiver.

Xtremespeed2102

hmph, have you seen the yakima hook up?
a freind of mine has it and its the best rack ive seen, and at my shop we sell all kinds of racks.

really easy to put the bikes in and keep them there.
http://yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=102

i wanted to get the
http://yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=29
just becuase i believe it has more options, tho i doubt ill cary more than two bikes.
that and its more widely used than the 1 and 1/4 inch

waterrockets

You know, I was thinking of cutting off the tow hook for my custom hitch. If you did that, and drilled new holes, you could probably move it quite a bit forward.

You can get an angle grinder from Harbor Freight for $9.99 on sale that will take that hook off in about 45 seconds. Just, ummm, don't grind the tank

I still think I'm going to make a hitch that clamps the tow hook like the Accord hitch does...

Xtremespeed2102

oh, the toe hook is the reason why i cant move this thing back????
i thought it was just the holes.
and i dont think its a great idea to grind that tow hook off, i would think that it would be stonger than the hitch

jihan3

I did consider the Hook Up - as well as the SportWorks/Thule T2. I didn't get those for two main reasons: (1) I wanted to avoid rust and (2) the 1up rack is easier to store. The 1up rack is all aluminum/stainless steel so it will never rust. Also, it folds up nicely so I can store it easily in my (small) apartment on campus.

About the hitch:

I went road biking this evening, and took the opportunity to use the hitch/rack for the first time. Much to my dismay, I found that the receiver wasn't welded on straight by the hitch manufacturer. When mounted, the bike rack is slightly tilted towards the left and points a little to the right. Doesn't affect functionality, but I'm going to let the vendor hear it. I may take the opportunity to grind off the welds on the 1 1/4" receiver and weld on a 2" one.

I did measure the ground clearance with a single road bike on my rack: the bottom of the receiver is a scant 10 inches off the ground on flat ground (the bike rack + bike shift the weight distribution of the car towards the back, lowering it). There was about 2 inches of clearance to the ground when I drove out of my underground parking garage.

Finally, about the conspicuousness of the hitch:

I honestly don't think it visually sticks out that much. It's pretty low to the ground, and I spray painted it flat black. But I acknowledge that I'm biased because it's on my car

jihan3

Here's a picture of the rack:



And here's a picture of what's in the way of the transverse bar:

Xtremespeed2102

hmph you need to take pictures... and this is starting to seem like i might just be better off welding my own stuff up. i wanted a two inch hitch anyway, tho im starting to think it might be a bit too noticble.

not sure yet.



-----edit-----

wow shoulda checked my mail before clicking save

Xtremespeed2102

no dead centter back pictures?

jihan3

Heh... I wasn't going to post pictures, but decided to after the post.

Let me know if you guys want to see pictures at other angles or anything else.

I'll post a center picture soon

Xtremespeed2102

im curious about the hitch the most, beucase im thinking im going to hafta borrow a tig welder for this since my rommates mig welder doesnt use gas and looks nasty

jihan3

Is this what you're looking for:

Xtremespeed2102

the top one just not as dark,
the bottom one is the one thats getting me nervous about it sticking out far, but i know from looking at it ass end you can barely see the reflectors so thats sorta reassuring almost?

stock exhuast im assuming correct?

jihan3

Yeah, stock exhaust.

It's dark in my garage and my camera has a weak flash - the top picture was the best I could get. I'll take another picture outside tomorrow and post it here.

Xtremespeed2102

awesomeo..... flat black looks good

jihan3

Here's pictures from directly in back:

Xtremespeed2102

thanks!

its not as noticible since its black and the colors blend. though it does stick out a bit, i could just be a bit anal

i wonder how it would blend with a SSM.

i think i might wind up going for this some time soon, just hafta wait for the 2007 stumpjumper to come out, then the purchases can begin

djbarber

Rastaman, any update on those pics of the Toronto hitch?

rastaman

I have the pictures and will try to post them right now.

rastaman

I took some pictures of what it looks like but I have to say that the pictures make my hitch stick out more that what it seems like. i think I have focused on the hitch some much to capture the actual hitch that it seems to be protruding out quite a bit.

I seem to be having a problem on posting the picture on this form. Can I get any help? I have them in a JPEG format on one of my drives.

Xtremespeed2102

imageshack.us is your freind. upload them then link to them through the forum. basically if u have some other place to host them it works there aswell

rastaman

Picture (testing to see if it works)

rastaman

Thanks for showing me how to post a picture.

rastaman

Now I have the ability to show you the pictures of my custom made hitch.





If anyone wants information on where I got this done, you can look at my previous posts or I can tell you the info again.

rastaman

As you can tell from the side picture that I posted, the hitch does not protrude out too much. I had to take the picture with an angle that points more toward the under carriage of the car than head on or above. This is the best way that you would be able to see the hitch. Otherwise, it is difficult to see in any other angle.

I hope this helps.