Webz

I am looking to put a front tow hook on my C6. All ones I have found on the market seem to mount to the front frame/bumper member and appear to only bolt thru 1 wall of the tube. Although the picture below is not my car, it is a C6 and shows how thin the front frame member is. I am concerned that this tube is so thin that mounting and subsequently towing from a tow hook mounted as suggested would cause frame damage (additional or otherwise). What has been your experience with this and/or additions to strengthen the installation?

Thanks!

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Webz

Anyone???

trackboss

Bolting to the top or bottom of the bumper is perfectly acceptable and plenty strong. If you were to make some super stout connection to the frame and damage was caused it would be a problem. The bumper is an easily repairable/disposable part and does not defnine any critical geometry. That is also the reason I only use soft hooks.

-V

Dirty Howie

I'm sorry, but what is a soft hook ??


DH

trackboss

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...nt-for-c5.html

ghoffman

It is really the way to go, that way you can't punch others and potentially injure them (and yourself). I have Vageli"s on my website in both red and black. It really is a nice way to go for almost all years Corvettes.
http://hardbarusa.com/hardbar/produc...roducts_id=118

MySR71

But with soft tow hooks, don't you have to be very careful with how big the slot through the body work is and what direction they pull? Otherwise, if they pull from the side or at too steep of an angle and your hole isn't big enough, the strap will put pressure on the body work (front or rear fascia). Is this right or am I missing something?

To make the hard tow hook mount stronger, you could use really long bolts and go through the top and bottom of the bumper beam rather than just the top.

Maybe both soft and hard tow hooks/straps have their drawbacks.....

trackboss

In the photos you can see there is plenty of room for misalignment from the vehicle. In general you want to pull as straight as possible. Hard hooks will either bend themselves or bend whatever they are attached to. They also cause damage, in addition to being destroyed, if any contact is made.
Whatever you choose its best to have something installed before ever venturing out on a road coarse. While a race car has a cage so it can usually be pulled in many different places if a hook is not available a street car cannot and some serious damage can result in a pull.

MySR71

Agreed. Mine were sitting on my living room floor when I needed them last summer.

Dreamin

Trackboss or Gary... what kind of testing have you done on this strap?
Is 1 bolt strong enough to handle pulling the car out of a sand trap?

trackboss

I've never had to test. The most I've done is pull it up on the trailer with the winch. I can assure you one bolt is enough as long as there is a washer inside the bumper. The bumper will probably deform before the bolt will break.

trackboss

Thankfully, I've never had to test. The most I've done is pull it up on the trailer with the winch. I can assure you one bolt is enough as long as there is a washer inside the bumper. The bumper will probably deform before the bolt will break.

trackboss

No need to make it more complicated than it needs to be. Just keep in mind everything is only as strong as its weakest link. Often times that weakness will prevent further/more costly damage.