Hello crowd,
wanted to share a project that I've just finished. This is a 100% aircraft grade titanium (6al-4v) tow hook for my C7. There are some retailers that sell a "titanium" tow hook, but all of them have aluminum D rings (and probably a steel cross pin). I wanted to make one fully in titanium. I also anodized it these colors (can do other colors too). What do you guys think? I am not selling it as I only made it for my car, but what would people be willing to pay for these? This is all made of billet titanium.

 

Very nice job but I really dont see you making much money at all on these if you count in for your time, Unless you could do better on the time to price to what you can sell them for to what they are selling for new from a vendor in here. But with that said a very nice job on it man... Robert

 

Very nice looking work.

6AL4V?

How did you finish the screw-in part? And how did you finish the (I assume aluminum) ring to that nice purple color? Commercial anodizing?

I don't think there's any money to be had with those sorts of accessories, especially ones made so nicely.

Lastly, I would design the head of the cross-bolt to lie flush against the surface of the "horseshoe", and not have it stick out.

 

Beautiful part.

Americans will only want to pay the Chinese price.

 

He stated it was a 100% titanium tow hook.

 

Yes, this is 100% titanium. The ones for sale seem to all have aluminum d-rings and steel pins (likely for ease of manufacturing). My goal was to make a 100% titanium part. And yes, this is a grade 5 6AL4V. I anodized this myself also. Blue is at 86volts and gold is at 55volts.

oh, and the cross pin does not stick out. Once it's on the car the cross pin screws in and hides completely within the ring.

 

Professional + look !!!

 

Great looking piece

 

that's awesome. I want one.

 

What did it cost you? Since you are not going into production.

 

NIce, but YOU are the one who knows what it cost to make and what your time is worth... not us. So, decide on a price you can live with and see if there's a market, much like with everything else.

 

Very nice!

 

Why would anyone who doesn't put their car on a track want and/or need one of these? I've seen some cars around San Antonio with these hanging out of their front end & my first thought is ...."Damn, I guess you need something to attach a tow chain to when it quits running, LOL".

Same thought I have when I see all the "fake off-road pick-ups with 100 lb. shackle's painted red on them".

unless you're tracking a car...........these things tell me that you're waiting on a break down!

Not being negative...........to each his own!
Just ol' H'flys 22 cents worth!

 

Cool, thanks -- that's a really nice job you did.

 

I have one on my car, never tracked it (yet)

I put the hook on the front after I had my car rolled back when up on my race ramps. There is no way to block or lock the front wheels when on the ramps (insufficient space to block the wheel from behind), short of wedging something between the brake pedal and the seat, and I did that, but it wasn't enough. When you jack up the rear and the rear tires get air, you just lost your driveline lock (car in gear) and emergency brake.

Now, before I do anything to the car on the ramps, I have an anchor in the wall in front of my car that I ratchet-strap to the tow hook on the front of my car. It doesn't need to hold the weight of the car, it just needs to prevent the car from overcoming the static friction force. With this technique I've had zero problems.

None of this will matter when I get my lift installed later this year, but for now and the last 2 years, this has worked well...

(I'd like one of these hooks because it is awesome, simple as that)

 

Thank you all for the compliments.

The reality is - there is no "need" for it to be titanium. You can buy one from ZL1 add-ons for under a 100$. I will be made of steel. Simple and reliable. But, I personally like to work with titanium, as it is the "space age" metal in my head. I like the fact that is it as strong as steel at 45% less weight. I like that I can anodize it different colors, yet it does not oxidize otherwise. I like that you can easily weld it with TIG. It is also very temperamental to machine, and love that I can say that I can machine it. So in summary, I like and appreciate titanium for what it is.

 

^^^
Perfect reasons for the project.

 

Your product looks great but maybe I can give you some more info that can help you make more money off of this. (I'm a structural eng. in the steel fabrication/erection business with a background in metallurgy)

Titanium alloyed with vanadium and aluminum have extremely high tensile/yield strength per unit weight but they have some inherent weakness as well: price, shear strength, modulus of elasticity and galling.

Shear strength: Your pin and d-ring are two components that will experience shear. Titanium alloys are not the material you want to use in shear unless you are absolutely constrained by weight.
Modulus of Elasticity: Titaniums and their alloys experience more elongation per unit stress and they rupture with less warning than a carbon steel would. So if you take a rod of the same length and area and apply the same tensile load on a titanium alloy and a carbon steel, the titanium alloy will experience more deformation even though it will yield/rupture at a higher load.
Galling: Titaniums can be extremely annoying as contact surfaces. If you put it in contact with another titanium (Or aluminum or stainless steel) they have a bad habit of seizing up. If you combine this with the low shear strength, it makes the material unappealing for use as a pin/d-ring.

I'm not sure what you'd be welding on the tow hook but TIG welding is an extremely expensive production process. Low production rates and high costs of labor are a tough pill to swallow. Throw in the price of the material and you're spending a ton of excess money in manufacturing to get the same use as low carbon steel. This is primarily why all of these incredible materials (TiAlV, Carbon Fiber, etc) keep being introduction but they lack versatility and value in most cases to replace low carbon steel. Steel has extremely high tensile/shear strength, it's stiff, it can elongate around 20% before rupture, it's easy to weld using low cost processes like SMAW or GMAW and compared to most of the other materials, it costs peanuts. As long as you put a rust inhibiting finish on it - you're golden.

In addition, you're going to be making these tow hooks to fit the threads that the car already comes with. That means you won't even be able to utilize the strength/weight advantage because you'll end up making a rod of the same diameter. It'll be a little bit lighter but the advantage is lost unless you add more production time and costs by tapering the rod beyond the threads.

 

^^ Very educational post! Thank you!
Luckily I am not designing a Starship here. I am sure you are correct in relative terms, but In my application i am only concerned about absolute values. If the part stays below the yield threshold then everyone is happy.
As far as TIG goes, what i mean is that i can weld titanium easily in general (not the towhook).

 

No problem. Yield is ok, rupture is dangerous. Shear rupture always carries a much higher safety factor.

In that case, my only suggestion would be to use a steel pin. It's so easy to seize these surfaces and the pin will be the weakest point in shear.