Post your tow strap/hook setup

[Vettel-ish]

Boss 302S front

View attachment 90730I still want one of those. Next car

 

[bronco100]

Steeda front bar setup. How quickly would this straight up snap off?

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Ironically many aftermarket companies are suggesting high tensile strength nylon or other fabric style straps since some folks have had metal ones snapped when drug out of areas from the side ( due to how the car was beached ). Whereas the tow strap is flexible it can be pulled straight back or from the side much easier. Keep in mind the same type products are what you tie down your car in/on your trailer, and a track tow vehicle will use a longer similar strap to pull you out of the area you are stuck.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Bill

Agree the metal units sometimes break under tow. Usually the tow hooks which have a single center bolt/shaft. Keep in mind the soft straps may not break but will break away most soft body work that is between the point of attachment on the frame and the tow rig. Which is best? A solid steel unit which extends part the bumper like the units made by Blowfish racing or ford racing.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

They are both secured similarly but I even noticed quite a few Pro teams using the straps, and two of my friends are using them on their GT3s. Each is hooked with metal supports and shafts, just the end portion of each ( strap or hook ) would extend beyond the bumper. I actually ordered one for my with the chrome stainless ring and it was suggested I get a strap style or the one piece metal style ( often called Nascar style ). So the ones that are solid , like you are discussing , are likely the best to use along with the straps. The ones that hang down , swiveling up and down were the ones suggested were not the most optimal. So, I discussed with a friend of mine who builds race cars and he is using more staps now, or solid metal hooks that do not swivel , as that requires a second section, and that is what could break.

 

[GAR944]

Steeda front bar setup. How quickly would this straight up snap off?

View attachment 93011

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I'd be more concerned about the orientation of the bolting attachment, first tug in that and it's going to bend changing the exit point of the the strap and potentially damaging bodywork. To be honest I'd be looking to see if you could wrap the strap to the bar direct line you would with a harness to a roll cage. Would have to add some slide stops to keep it in the location. The bonus is you are pulling through the strength of the 4 bolts rather than the single which isn't ideal. Compare the thread size of a factory tow hook to that if the single crash bar bolt. It was designed to hold a piece of steel to the chassis, not potentially get yanked on by a stuck car in a sand trap. Compare it to a 4wd recovery point mount caus that's what you are asking it to do. Have personally ripped an eye bolt off a vehicle that was being used as a tow point, told them it wasn't going to hold as it was being used in the wrong orientation, ended up wrapping the recovery strap around the solid rear axle. Recovery points in my opinion need to be over engineered, plenty of people injured recovering 4wds with inadequate equipment.

 

[bronco100]

I'd be more concerned about the orientation of the bolting attachment, first tug in that and it's going to bend changing the exit point of the the strap and potentially damaging bodywork. To be honest I'd be looking to see if you could wrap the strap to the bar direct line you would with a harness to a roll cage. Would have to add some slide stops to keep it in the location. The bonus is you are pulling through the strength of the 4 bolts rather than the single which isn't ideal. Compare the thread size of a factory tow hook to that if the single crash bar bolt. It was designed to hold a piece of steel to the chassis, not potentially get yanked on by a stuck car in a sand trap. Compare it to a 4wd recovery point mount caus that's what you are asking it to do. Have personally ripped an eye bolt off a vehicle that was being used as a tow point, told them it wasn't going to hold as it was being used in the wrong orientation, ended up wrapping the recovery strap around the solid rear axle. Recovery points in my opinion need to be over engineered, plenty of people injured recovering 4wds with inadequate equipment.

Good idea about wrapping around the bar if possible.

 

[GAR944]

This picture was annoying me and it finally hit the right trigger. Just in case this method is used, please follow the correct 3 bar wrapping procedure. It needs to be run back through another time to lock it into place.

 

[TMSBOSS]

View attachment 93078
This picture was annoying me and it finally hit the right trigger. Just in case this method is used, please follow the correct 3 bar wrapping procedure. It needs to be run back through another time to lock it into place.


View attachment 93079

My question with the strap you mentioned was this. Why use the metal fastener at all? Simply wrap the strap around the round bumper bar.

 

[GAR944]

My question with the strap you mentioned was this. Why use the metal fastener at all? Simply wrap the strap around the round bumper bar.

That was my suggestion earlier, ditch the bolted tag a wrap around the bar. Still need the 3 bar buckle to create a loop from the flat strap. Was concerned that it wasn't fitted off correctly and could still slide through the buckle under load.

 

[PGBarkley]

That single point hardware mount makes me cringe, not knowing what the metal composition is. If it didn't fail at first use, I certainly wouldn't reuse it. Judging by the pictures, I think it would work best to either rotate the mount tab 180* or mount it on the bolt above and then follow the wrap procedure in the following comments. If anything just use the bolted tab as a way to keep the tow strap located at a certain point on the bar, but that's just my observation.

I'd really be interested to know what that mount tab is made out of.

 

[mavisky]

Would not trust that mounting solution for anything other than maybe a flat tow within the paddock.