Just installed a set of eBay tow hooks on my ride. For those that aren't familiar, SCCA requires 2" ID hooks front and rear to pull your car out of gravel traps, sand traps, etc. If you do any sort of track stuff, they're a good idea so the towing vehicle has a good and obvious place to latch onto your car. Remember that once it's stuck in the pea gravel, anything more than a few inches below the bumper may be inaccessible.

These hooks swivel, so they swing down and won't bust your shins when you walk by. The rear one is welded to the OEM rear hook, which is very robust to begin with. For the front, I fabbed a structure out of 1/2" mild steel, which is attached with the two upper bolts for the OEM tow loop and a big 3/4" bolt through the OEM tow loop slot. It feels very solid. Most tow hooks can't be used as tie-downs, since the vertical load would bend them, but I think these are beefy enough to serve double duty.

 

Those are mighty swanky.

On the subject of SCCA legal tow hooks, I got a set from these guys. Not nearly as bling, but cheap and bolt it. Also suitable for tieing the car down.

 

^^niice.

 

Those are nice -- didn't know they were available for FBs. With 3/16" steel construction they should be nice & strong.

 

Nice job on the fab work. I need to do something on the widebody, you may have solved my problem. The front hook will be a little rough on the paint, but it's a race car. You could coat it in Plasti-Dip, it comes in red and several other colors.

 

Thanks. After reading your reply a few times, I understand your concern. You're guessing that the loops swing freely -- they don't. There's enough pre-load on the two big socket head cap screws that it takes a few pounds of force to move them. I also put silicone in the threads to give it a viscous feel. They won't swing back and forth and muss paint.

 

I had to cut my front ones off to mount the front air dam of the widebody. It's a pita not having a front hook when I need to move the wb around when it's non-op. Removed the main rear one to clean up the the look, wasn't one of my better ideas in retrospect.

 

Do you have pics? At one point, I was considering a nylon web style attached to the front cross tube. I figure you could attach it like a seatbelt to a roll cage. The ring on the business end can be zip-tied or velcroed out of the way, so it comes free when needed. The downside to this is it may not clear the lower lip of your front airdam for tie-down duty.

Here's a link to a BMW part: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...hParamCat=Body

 

Pics are in the widebody thread at the bottom of my sig. I thought about a web strap on the front after watching some of the races on TV and noticed them. Not convinced the round bar in the front will sustain a hard jerk when getting pulled out. I have seen them bent on 7s before and the only way they could have been bent in that manner was by hooking up to it and pulling the car. The strap would need to be off to one side and it would not work as a tie down on mine for sure with the air dam and underpan.

 

Nice looking ride -- I like the flat black. It looks sinister and reminds me of the old school modded muscle cars, which were often gray or black primer.

If the strap is relatively elastic (and most of them are), I would think the cross-tube would be OK. I could see a chain, however, on a really stuck car bending it, especially if there is slack in it. Also factor in that a track days tow vehicle won't be in as much of a hurry and will probably take more TLC with your car. Either way, that location doesn't look as cool, and won't work as a tiedown.

 

I have a feeling like this is going to be the new "thing"

 

lol ... I think elwood has been opening up many windows for us since he started posted more and more

 

Thanks -- that's the nicest thing anybody's said to me all day .

 

After the turbo motor goes in, I'm going to install one of the shocktower mounted tow points... You have to cut a slot in the hood for it to pass through, but It's up high, and if you need to, you could pick the car up too!!!

 

I read a thread on an SCCA site written by a tow vehicle operator that warned against high mounted tow hooks. His warning was for the ones up high on the A-pillar, or even the roof, but you should know the risk anyway . . .

His experience was that he hooked up to a car that was stuck in a gravel trap. The tow hook was up near the roof on the A-pillar. He began towing it, and didn't notice that the nose of the car had dug into the gravel, and the rear of the car was lifting high in the air -- about to do an endover. I think he heard the screams of onlookers before he flipped the car on the roof, but you get the point -- lower is better. He opined that no tow hooks should be mounted above the bumper.

This guy has campaigned to have the rule book changed. If you google "tow hook", it'll appear.