waddisme

Wanting to put some tow eyes on car, just curious if this is the best route.

johninar

Not to hijack but:

Me too. I had to get towed in last outing and I didn't have any hooks. I WILL before I go out again. Any photos that folks have for the front hook would be great!

TIA,

John

Git Er Dun

Well I have them on my C4. I heard they are supposed to be for lighter cars usually (like spec Miata stuff). My C4 is 2780 pounds (wet without driver) so I figured that's light enough. I haven't had to use it to get pulled out of the sand/grass (yet) but I did get pulled backwards up a banked turn with the rear one and it held just fine.

The front one has a grade 8 bolt through the frame behind the crash support and the rear one has a grade 8 bolt through the frame where the spare tire normally is.

For my C5 I am going with Pfadt's tow hooks though. I don't know if you got REALLY sunk in the sand with a full weight car and really had to tug it out if the flexible would pull a Vette. It probably would but who knows.

2000BSME

I wouldn't have any reservations about strength. We use nylon straps to hoist and lift 50,000 lb mill parts at the steel mill. Nylon is up to the task. If the strap is worth it's weight in salt, it's probably rated for 15k+lbs and you could pull your vette out of a vat of molasses with it.

trackboss

I am the actual supplier to hardbar for those straps. I have used them on my C5 twice as well as my race car. The flatbed operator's in both cases thanked me for having a proper tow point and made quick work of the job. In my opinion they are the best solution for a tow point and that is why I make them that way.
I've done a writeup on them when I made the first set for my own car you can search under my username in this forum to look it up. It was some time ago. Maybe two years or so.

bobmoore2

I wouldn't worry about a nylon strap not being strong enough. When my C5 was towed off track in '07 (blown engine), the tow truck used a nylon strap with a hook on the end, not a chain or cable. Nylon is plenty strong enough.

I have one of the Hardbar nylon strap tow points on my C6 now. Fortunately I haven't had to use it yet.

Mine must be a newer revision than the ones shown above, because it is not as long as they are. I think it looks better, and it is easy to fold back (out of sight) when I'm not at the track. Look at the front of the car in this picture.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/phot...name/bobmoore2

johninar

I ordered mine from Gary yesterday. Does anyone have any pics or notes showing install behind front license plate cover?

TIA

waddisme

Cool - ordering mine today. I think it is one of those things that if you have it, you will never need it! Thanks.

2000BSME

more like the more you track your car the more you will need it.

Unfortunately I've needed one before, and didn't have it, .

trackboss

Every strap I have made is 12" overall. Longer lengths can be custom ordered, but 12" is the minimum.

waddisme

So you use the same strap for front and rear?

trackboss

correct

k0bun

Does the bumper need to be removed for the C6? Also, where can I order these? Front/back

RX7 KLR

We have that same one, IO Port, on both of our cars. And at least one of them has been used, well twice actually, works perfect. And being flexible they are super easy to install.

trackboss

The bumper cover needs to be removed and they attach to the actual bumper with a 1/2" bolt by drilling a hole on the bottom side of the bumper about an inch from the front. The sides of the bumper tube are open so you drop the bolt down from inside and use a wrench there to hold it. I like to use a washer under the bolt head inside there and you can also add one under the nut, but the strap mount doesn't require it. Nylock nut is also a good idea. You can locate them side to side anywhere you want. You can get them from hardbar. I just shipped my remaining sets to him this week. If there is demand I can have some more made, and if there is enough needed I could probably bring the cost down and I'm sure gary would pass that on but there is very little to be made on these with only a few sets. I actually only made them for my own car and was later asked if I could have more made available to others and that is why I supply hardbar with them. They are inexpensive as it is especially considering their usefulness when needed. When there is no tow point the tow operators often times attach the winch to the inner tie rod and the damage done far exceeds the cost of a pair of hooks many times over.
The whole reason for a flexible tow hook is to not create further damage when there is any contact with anything. Also, with a steel hook if you were to smack the car where it is mounted there is a good chance the hook would be no longer usable so back to the same problem of not having a hook. With these it would be very difficult to make them unusable in almost any case. Not to mention they don't tear up your shins when you walk by the car or smack your head when you are under it.

froggy47

I'd get a set if you can bring price down some,

I know I need them, but need tires more.

Zenak

only thing i dont like about them, is that they are not Z06 race mesh friendly. hard ones like the pheonix ones you can trim the mesh to make them work.

GettReal

My friend and I both have tow hooks ... he uses his to winch his car into his enclosed trailer... I on the other hand use them to have tow trucks drag me back to the paddock at the Glen

Point is, you will be glad you have one if you ever need it. As the tow truck driver was about to hook me up... he said, "thank god you have a tow hook, I hate dragging people by suspension parts"

And he used a nylon straps to pull me in... It was nice that there was a bit of stretch when the slack tightens up. Heres mine, its hinged and removable if I wanted to be, but I just cut out the screen and added black hose to make it look like it belongs

Those soft ones look like they would tuck behind the screens maybe, and they are for sure strong enough.

waddisme

I ordered mine yesterday. I hope I can work them in the front seeing I have Vararaam ducts there. Didn't really think about that.

k0bun

Waiting to see how things work out for you before I order mine. I have a VR too. Good luck and please post info and pics if you can.