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GT350 Tow Hook ideas

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Re: Tow Hook ideas

krt22 said:
Any idea where this one bolts too? Hard to tell with the terrible pictures

http://shopdusolddesigns.com/products/2015-mustang-tow-hook-kit

I went this route. Bolts to the two pairs of inner bumper support mounts. It is not straight forward on the GT350, but in the end I am happy with the result. I have provided feedback to Dusold, they should have a better fit for the GT350 soon.
Full write up with pics coming soon.
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

Hello Gentlemen,

I have enjoyed this thread as a guest.
I have settled on a solution that works for me, for now. And, just in time for my first ever track school and track day with the Nor Cal Shelby Club.
My going in position was that I would not cut or drill any painted panel. I'm not a racer, this is primarily a street machine.

In the process, I also talked to Canepa, in Scotts Valley, CA (they have an outstanding cars and coffee / shop and museum open-house, if you're within 200miles, divert and check it out!) They do not intend to track their '15 GT350R (tragic!), but it they do, they will fab a ring for the strut towers which would require the hood to be open.

I contacted Dusold Design regarding their GT tow hook.
http://shopdusolddesigns.com/products/2015-mustang-tow-hook-kit
Aaron was very helpful. The tow hook assembly arrived quickly, and the workmanship was nice. Lacking was any instructions or pictures.
I looked into the job myself, and it was way more than I am currently equipped to deal with, so I took it to a local specialty shop.
Thanks for the pics, StigsBaldBrother!

The spacing of the 4 inner bump support bolt is common between the GT and the GT350. However, the GT350 bumper and or bumper cover is wider than the GT, so the hook mount was too high for the lower grill.
Since we had parts in hand, the shop fabled a short adaptor to lower the attachment point by 1". I relayed this information to Aaron at Dusold Design, so GT350 compatible hook mounts should be available soon.

IMG_0039_zpsnwqn6gmx.jpg.html

IMG_0008_zpsqvipypav.jpg.html


In the end, the crossbars go behind the bumper, through existing holes in the radiator shroud, we removed a small X from the lower grill ($220 replacement part from Ford) and a thin plastic support fin in the lower part of the radiator shroud. The shop seemed satisfied that the hook would be adequate for whatever may arise.

IMG_0011_zpstf1xwxmj.jpg.html


Also, I have a place to mount my front license plate if I care to do so.

Cheers!
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

VoodooGT said:
Hello Gentlemen,

I have enjoyed this thread as a guest.
I have settled on a solution that works for me, for now. And, just in time for my first ever track school and track day with the Nor Cal Shelby Club.
My going in position was that I would not cut or drill any painted panel. I'm not a racer, this is primarily a street machine.

In the process, I also talked to Canepa, in Scotts Valley, CA (they have an outstanding cars and coffee / shop and museum open-house, if you're within 200miles, divert and check it out!) They do not intend to track their '15 GT350R (tragic!), but it they do, they will fab a ring for the strut towers which would require the hood to be open.

I contacted Dusold Design regarding their GT tow hook.
http://shopdusolddesigns.com/products/2015-mustang-tow-hook-kit
Aaron was very helpful. The tow hook assembly arrived quickly, and the workmanship was nice. Lacking was any instructions or pictures.
I looked into the job myself, and it was way more than I am currently equipped to deal with, so I took it to a local specialty shop.
Thanks for the pics, StigsBaldBrother!

The spacing of the 4 inner bump support bolt is common between the GT and the GT350. However, the GT350 bumper and or bumper cover is wider than the GT, so the hook mount was too high for the lower grill.
Since we had parts in hand, the shop fabled a short adaptor to lower the attachment point by 1". I relayed this information to Aaron at Dusold Design, so GT350 compatible hook mounts should be available soon.

IMG_0039_zpsnwqn6gmx.jpg.html

IMG_0008_zpsqvipypav.jpg.html


In the end, the crossbars go behind the bumper, through existing holes in the radiator shroud, we removed a small X from the lower grill ($220 replacement part from Ford) and a thin plastic support fin in the lower part of the radiator shroud. The shop seemed satisfied that the hook would be adequate for whatever may arise.

IMG_0011_zpstf1xwxmj.jpg.html


Also, I have a place to mount my front license plate if I care to do so.

Cheers!
Nice! Anxious to see there GT350 ready version.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,530
5,247
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
Re: Tow Hook ideas

I am not an engineer but I see a lot of angles which will put stress on the tubing and likely fail.

Has this system been tested?

A single pipe which meet meet below the center with an additional drop to the attachment point for the hook? I see this bending if your car is in the kitty litter.

Any flat pull stats?
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

VoodooBOSS said:
Do you have any photos of the hook installed on your 350?
Done.

TMSBOSS said:
I am not an engineer but I see a lot of angles which will put stress on the tubing and likely fail.

Has this system been tested?

A single pipe which meet meet below the center with an additional drop to the attachment point for the hook? I see this bending if your car is in the kitty litter.

Any flat pull stats?

Dusold tracks and autocrosses their car extensively. I asked if they had any real world experience and they haven't answered.
The fab shop that did the installation for me, Borelli Motorsports in San Jose, CA was comfortable that it should be up to the task, specifically about a pull onto a flatbed, they said, "No Problem".
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,530
5,247
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
Re: Tow Hook ideas

VoodooGT said:
Done.

Dusold tracks and autocrosses their car extensively. I asked if they had any real world experience and they haven't answered.
The fab shop that did the installation for me, Borelli Motorsports in San Jose, CA was comfortable that it should be up to the task, specifically about a pull onto a flatbed, they said, "No Problem".

That system should hold up to a pull onto a trailer. A pull onto a trailer will be the lightest load applied. Get stuck in kitty litter and the load will easily be greater than the weight of the car.

I would be great if this worked. I would hope they can provide testing before folks drop coin and have to Field Test the hook.
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

TMSBOSS said:
That system should hold up to a pull onto a trailer. A pull onto a trailer will be the lightest load applied. Get stuck in kitty litter and the load will easily be greater than the weight of the car.

I would be great if this worked. I would hope they can provide testing before folks drop coin and have to Field Test the hook.
Agreed
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

As an engineer, the Dusold design one makes me very nervous. It will have a very large deflection and high stress if you're not pulling on it perfectly straight. I know my tows back to the pits were not gentle.

I did make some very significant progress on mine this weekend. Just have to weld it up and send it out for paint. I have to update my FEA, but it should be good for a pull of 4000lbs +/- 45 degrees laterally and +/- 30 degrees vertically. If there's enough interest, I can make some more.

IMG_20160416_172500029_HDR_zpsegatg9ne.jpg

It's shown with the Ford Racing tow loop, which is too large to fit without hitting the bumper. I'm making a smaller tow loop that won't hit. And, just like the Ford Racing one, will be very easily removed for those of us who don't like driving around the street with a large red tow hook.
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

pufferfish said:
If y'all wanna get a little angry today...

Here is the cover for a screw in loop on EU cars:
20160423_162204_zpszkp0vkgi.jpg

What is the design for the attachment point behind the cover? I made up a Y shape bridle strap for pulling it into my trailer with some D rings and twisted hooks from US Cargo Control but it would be hell to get those attached to the car in some gravel pit...actually would be impossible. It's enough work to get it attached for pulling it into the trailer. It's funny but FORD shows one in the owner's manual but they don't give you one with the car....WTF :eek:
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

While at the IMSA race this weekend I talked to Multimatic about what they are using for tow hooks. The two original cars built last year and currently running in IMSA use the steel bumper up front and have mounts welded to the bumper. No surprise there. They did tell me they had to shave a bit of the foam from inside the bumper cover and didn't see any reason why a steel one wouldn't fit our cars. So maybe the European bumper would work if you could get your hands on one.

The good news is they are developing a new car for a certain race team and said they used the aluminum bumper. What they did was drill out part of the middle of the bumper and inserted spools to make it stronger. They heliarc welded the spools in place and added additional supports. They thought the bumper would be plenty strong for pulling the race cars out of any sand traps. I'll see if I can get some photos.

I think boxing in the aluminum bumper on the passenger side and adding a mount below the bumper might work. This eliminates any flex or bending from mounting in the middle. I'd use a BMW style tow hook which can be easily removed and installed. This would only make a small hole in the plastic grille. Too bad the stock aluminum is so expensive otherwise I'd order one up and give it a go. From the photos it looks like there's room to do this in that location.

@StigsBaldBrother do you have an update on your progress? Yours looks promising.

@VoodooGT yours mounted very cleanly. Did you have to make any modifications to make it fit properly?
 
Re: Tow Hook ideas

With no easy bolt on solution for the front I'm looking at buying this strap and mounting it to the strut tower brace on the passenger side. I'd loop one end through the other as close to the bolts as possible and then use a break away zip tie to gather up the excess so if it ever needed to be used it could be accessed easily. The longer strap would keep any hook or strap from a tow truck away from the car. Not the best solution and not to be used to winch the car onto a trailer but it would be better than nothing.

@Moto

https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-02612-Lift-Sling/dp/B00I5HRFYY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

41yUNWbtFwL.jpg
 

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