Tie-down attach points?
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From: The Armpit of Florida
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: South of the pier, Huntington Beach, CA
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Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Milwaukee
Try this, it has worked for me for over 20,000 miles of towing with no ill effects on alignment.
Front:
You need 2 ratcheting tiedowns with hooks and 2 axle straps with D rings on each end, preferably with abrasion sleeves.
Wrap the axle straps around each lower control arm, and snap the tie down hook through both D rings of the axle strap. I recommend criss-crossing the tiedowns to your trailer tiedowns, like Krazik mentioned. It will help keep the car from shifting side to side. I kind of give the wheel a bear hug while doing this and look through the spokes of the wheel to position the axle strap and D rings.
Rear:
I bought a 3" wide tow strap, but I forget how long. The store probably only had one length. I heated up a piece of sheet metal with a propane torch and used it to cut the loops off the ends & fuse the ends at the same time. I then removed the straps from two 3" ratcheting tiedowns and loaded the strap onto one of them. This next part is going to be a bit difficult to explain without a picture.
I feed the free end of the strap over the large lower tube of the rear subframe, but inside the upside down U channel that runs left to right at the rear of the subframe. Feed the strap across and over the other lower subframe tube. Cross the strap back over the other end (to form the X, like in front) and load the free end onto the remaining ratchet and crank it down. This strap rubs a bit, and I replace it every 2 years.
I've seen others use axle straps in the rear around the location I mentioned where the lower subframe tube meets the cross wise U channel. I cannot do this because of the geometry of my Veilside exhaust and the locations of my trailer tiedowns cause the exhaust to be pushed up into the car.
Hope that helps,
Steve
Front:
You need 2 ratcheting tiedowns with hooks and 2 axle straps with D rings on each end, preferably with abrasion sleeves.
Wrap the axle straps around each lower control arm, and snap the tie down hook through both D rings of the axle strap. I recommend criss-crossing the tiedowns to your trailer tiedowns, like Krazik mentioned. It will help keep the car from shifting side to side. I kind of give the wheel a bear hug while doing this and look through the spokes of the wheel to position the axle strap and D rings.
Rear:
I bought a 3" wide tow strap, but I forget how long. The store probably only had one length. I heated up a piece of sheet metal with a propane torch and used it to cut the loops off the ends & fuse the ends at the same time. I then removed the straps from two 3" ratcheting tiedowns and loaded the strap onto one of them. This next part is going to be a bit difficult to explain without a picture.
I feed the free end of the strap over the large lower tube of the rear subframe, but inside the upside down U channel that runs left to right at the rear of the subframe. Feed the strap across and over the other lower subframe tube. Cross the strap back over the other end (to form the X, like in front) and load the free end onto the remaining ratchet and crank it down. This strap rubs a bit, and I replace it every 2 years.
I've seen others use axle straps in the rear around the location I mentioned where the lower subframe tube meets the cross wise U channel. I cannot do this because of the geometry of my Veilside exhaust and the locations of my trailer tiedowns cause the exhaust to be pushed up into the car.
Hope that helps,
Steve
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From: Upland, CA
You should have looked at mine this weekend! All you need to do is reach under the car, just inside of the jacking points. You'll find either a rubber plug or a rounded rectangular holde about an inch long and a half inch wide. Slide the t-hook into the hole the only way it will go in, then rotate it 90 degrees.
I would not suggest using the r-hook, as it is much narrower than the t-hook and could conceivably fall out if the tie-down slackens just a little bit.
I would not suggest using the r-hook, as it is much narrower than the t-hook and could conceivably fall out if the tie-down slackens just a little bit.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 17,004
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From: Santa Cruz, CA, US
Originally posted by payneinthe
I would not suggest using the r-hook, as it is much narrower than the t-hook and could conceivably fall out if the tie-down slackens just a little bit.
I would not suggest using the r-hook, as it is much narrower than the t-hook and could conceivably fall out if the tie-down slackens just a little bit.
For the R hooks too come out you need to have slack in the lines, it then would have to move forward to clear the "hook" on the front of the ring, then swing down then twist to come out. Thats an action that isn't too likely to happen where as the T hooks just need to twist.
I have had a tie down come off on the trailer side and the hook never came out, despite my car rolling 4-5" back and forth every time I accelerated or braked.
They're far more secure than the T hooks. I'm thinking you haven't used the R hooks.
-Ry