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Thread: Tow Hooks Anyone?

  1. #1
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC's Avatar
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    Tow Hooks Anyone?

    Ok....bringing this post back from the grave. What do you guys think of this? Basically, to fit it to a finished car, you would have to cut and remove an 8+" portion of belly pan below the battery tray area to allow this to slide into place and sit tight up against the 1.5" square tube of the frame. Could be used on either the LH or RH rail....or both if you wanted to slot the alum out on both sides of the car. It is designed to clear the FFR splitter WITH THE HOOD OPEN OR CLOSED OR ANYWHERE IN BETWEEN.......So you can:



    1. Slide the tow hook under the front of the car so it is basically laying in position.



    2. Open the hood, reach down and lift the tow hook up and slide it onto the frame rail.



    3. Secure it by pushing two 1/2" bolts thru the holes and (I'm thinking) thread them into nuts I would weld on the opposite side. This would prevent the "ears" from wanting to bend and spread out if you side-load the tow hook. I'm thinking wrench-tightening the bolts would be a no-no......just finger snug.



    4. Close hood, hook on tow strap/chain/hook/whatever, and tow away.



    Of course, please keep in mind that this is a very rough prototype made from scraps I had laying around. The version you see here, as I said, is made to clear a front splitter. I could make a simpler and bit cheaper version for cars without a splitter as the 1.5" tube for the tow hook could extend all the way out past the front of the car with a simple loop welded on the end. With a splitter installed, when you open and close the hood, the splitter rotates down and would be hitting the tube and prevent you from getting it installed with the hood open.



    While the materials cost of this is not too terribly high, there is a lot of work in getting it jigged up properly and welded. I'm thinking price would be in the $170 range. Weight is 15 lbs. Let me know what you guys think:















    Shane Vacek
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC
    www.vraptorspeedworks.com
    Turn-key GTM, SL-C & Ultima GTR Built to Your Specs!
    Offering a full line of GTM Upgrades and Custom Parts

  2. #2
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC's Avatar
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    Shane Vacek
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC
    www.vraptorspeedworks.com
    Turn-key GTM, SL-C & Ultima GTR Built to Your Specs!
    Offering a full line of GTM Upgrades and Custom Parts

  3. #3
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    As I said on the other forum, Shane, and buyers should be aware of particulars of rules if this is being bought/sold for a sanctioned event. Some of the rules are pretty "funny" and I just don't want anyone to have to do things twice.

    If it's just to have a place to attach a wench to get the car into the trailer...looks great.
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  4. #4
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC's Avatar
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    Thanks Crash......you are exactly correct. This is not a lifting point or "official sanctioned event" compliant tow hook here. As Crash said, this is primarily a tool for towing the car onto a trailer.....pulling the car up your driveway into the garage.....possibly pulling the car out of a ditch if you have a straight shot....and are not going to try to pull the front end of the car at 90 degrees.
    Shane Vacek
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC
    www.vraptorspeedworks.com
    Turn-key GTM, SL-C & Ultima GTR Built to Your Specs!
    Offering a full line of GTM Upgrades and Custom Parts

  5. #5
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    i love the placement and design but the way your describing someone is gonna have to bolt a peice on to the frame evertime they want to use it?
    Why not just make it like they do from the factory if its possible. have it as 2 separate peices.. the tow hook itself the elongated peice...maybe made of round bar rather than square and have it with a threaded male end to screw in to the permanently fixed box and female end on the frame rail. this way all you have to do when in need is screw the hook in from under the front of the car every time you want to use it then un screw it when your done and you'll be able to open the hood of your car normally. I can take pics of how its done on my bmw m3 but i think its way nicer and convenient, let me know your thoughts if its possible.

    I'm definitely gonna take one from you shane just may have to customize it!

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    TOWHK-RED1.jpg

    pretty much like this but have the bar longer to reach back and connect it to your peice bolted on the frame rail.

  7. #7
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    on 2nd tought is having the bracket permanently on the car a bad idea because it will sit too low to the ground and we may have clearence issues... is that why your initial thoughts were to make it removeable?

  8. #8
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JLnike View Post
    on 2nd tought is having the bracket permanently on the car a bad idea because it will sit too low to the ground and we may have clearence issues... is that why your initial thoughts were to make it removeable?
    YES! With the hood hinged and designed the way it is, with the "half-moon" aluminum piece in place, the ONLY place to add in a permanent piece to screw a tow-hook into would be to run it completely under the car.......yes, losing ground clearance where you need it most......at the nose of the car. If you try to put it so the tow hook would protrude from the front of the car (thru the bodywork), the half-moon aluminum is going to hit it when you open the hood. If you go above that, you're going to have a noticable hole right in the top surface of the hood.

    That is/was the major dilema in trying to come up with a design that would work at all. My goal was to make something:

    1. Simple to manufacture to keep the costs down.

    2. As light-weight and quick and easy as possible to install/remove.

    3. Strong enough to do the job required of it.

    4. Leave the car as "unmodified" as possible, so even on a completed car, making the needed alterations to the car would not be a big deal.


    The biggest problem with all of this is the fact that the forward-most part of the chassis that is "tow-worthy" is over 30" back from the nose of the car. I do realize that this design is a compromise. If you're building a race car, you won't mind if you have a tow hook sticking out of your hood or roof full-time. I don't think the majority of GTM owners are going to go for that look. No, you are not going to find room in/on the GTM to stow this thing when not in use. No, I would not recommend you use this to lift with or drag the front of the car sideways with. It is what it is. I'm open to suggestions if you guys have a better idea. Let's face it...the market for these is pretty limited......so I can't afford to spend days and days prototyping 10 different designs to come up with something I might only sell 3 or 4 units of......unless you guys want to pay $1000 for a tow hook. ;-)
    Shane Vacek
    VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC
    www.vraptorspeedworks.com
    Turn-key GTM, SL-C & Ultima GTR Built to Your Specs!
    Offering a full line of GTM Upgrades and Custom Parts

  9. #9
    Member kabacj's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JLnike View Post
    TOWHK-RED1.jpg

    pretty much like this but have the bar longer to reach back and connect it to your peice bolted on the frame rail.
    One thing you want to beware of is tuner tow hooks that were never actually inteneded to do anything more then hang off your garden variety Honda civic and look race-car.

    I did quite a bit of research and I found these hooks to be the best. check out http://www.rennline.com/Rennline-Fol...ctinfo/E13.09/

    good part, good quality, good service.
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    XTF #2
    build start date June 19 2023

    GTM # 344
    Build Start December 2010
    First track day April 2013

  10. #10

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    For what it's worth, the back end of the Coupe also doesn't allow many mounting points for a tow hook/eye. I welded a shortened 1 1/4" I.D. trailer hitch receiver tube to the bottom of my IRS cage. I will bolt a tow hook to a 1 1/4" O.D. square steel or aluminum bar, then attach it with a garden variety hitch pin. Whether that will pass SCCA and/or NASA tech remains to be seen, and I'm not sure if the square tube would bend if the car were lifted from that point given the leverage. I can't say I'm proud to have a trailer hitch on a Coupe, but I feel better calling it a tow hook mount. I just thought I'd throw this out there in case the idea would be helpful.

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