Monaro VXR Towing Eye fitted

[IanLWarrington]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post this to help anyone who's wanting to consider getting a tow point fitted (the post I currently have running doesn't include the tow hook in the subject line).

In a nutshell, had a tow eye fitted last week and I'm very pleased at how discrete it is. I had it done professionally and there was quite a bit of fabrication and welding required to ensure a reasonable chance of a working solution.

Here's a couple of pics of the finished article and I'll post some of the bracket weld when I find them (the garage took and sent me some - they look a bit 'brutal' but the job cleaned up very nicely).

I should add, this is one modification where I won't be saying "I can't wait to use it".

I was bothered though that if I broke down (or decide to do a track day and need to get towed back to the pits) my bumper would get damaged so I thought I'd remove some of that risk. I'm not fooling myself that it will get me out of a deep ditch - but it has been successfully 'road tested'.!

Regards,

Ian

[IanLWarrington]

garyv8tiger said:

where is the middle of your bumber?

Don't start Gary.

It's a trick of the light.

Already been though the discussion.

See http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

(Hope you are well)

Ian

[IanLWarrington]

captainblakk said:

Cracking idea, been thinking of rigging up an eye at the front at least on my R8, be interested to see how it's been fabricated, guess the Aussies make such reliable cars they never saw the need to fit them

Here you go ...







You can imagine that I picked it up with a little trepidation after they sent me these in the middle of the job. See them towing it to make sure it doesn't bend anything!

[IanLWarrington]

fastbikes76 said:

Whaaaaaat ! So the R8 doesnt have one either ? Thats bonkers that Vx bring a car over specing it to be EU compliant but forget an all important Towing eye

I didn't know that either - I just assumed it would have been an omission that was resolved.

Shucks.

Ian

[IanLWarrington]

wormus said:

You would have been better off putting it on the back. You cannot tow them forwards or it buggers the gearbox. Should be towed backwards with the back wheels off the ground. Or you can put it on the back of a lorry.

Edited by wormus on Sunday 23 March 17:50

Don't think it was viable without cutting through the rear bumper - and that wasn't an option I would have been happy with. It's only intended for use in an emergency however (to get on a truck or back to pits) - would such a short distance (taken carefully) really damage the diff?

I understand that for anything longer it would be a drive decouple.

(Towing backwards, how would that work with the steering?)

At the end of the day, I'd rather have one and avoid damaging the bumper. I've seen the pain that that can cause recently in postings.

[IanLWarrington]

ARAF said:

Worse still, both the Monaro VXR and the VXR8 have bumpers that hang lower than anything that can be strapped to underneath. When our VXR8 was recovered, a few of the plastic fittings popped out underneath.

Hi Araf - that's what I'm trying to avoid - did they tow your car then - and how did this affect the differential?

Kind regards

Ian

[IanLWarrington]

THUNDER STORM said:

I think the first time it is towed will be when the Power Steering cooler pipe bursts due to rust, as seen on your photos. Dont like picking faults on mates cars, but it may save you breaking down.


Ade

No offence taken Ade - it does look a bit crusty. I don't see how towing could affect it as the bracket is not connected at all.. But worth getting the rusty pipe replaced - I didn't know what it did BTW.

[IanLWarrington]

MyM8V8 said:

So you would bugger your gearbox by knocking out of cog and freewheeling down the road then?
( I think that is to do with auto's)

BTW Nice job Ian

Thank you Gareth. Much appreciated.

Edited by MyM8V8 on Thursday 24th July 18:56

[IanLWarrington]

MyM8V8 said:

So you would bugger your gearbox by knocking out of cog and freewheeling down the road then?
( I think that is to do with auto's)

BTW Nice job Ian

Thank you Gareth. Much appreciated.

Edited by MyM8V8 on Thursday 24th July 18:56

[IanLWarrington]

ARAF said:

Autos used to always recommend keeping the speed down to 30mph. It was a heat issue, as much as anything else.

Just to clarify, it's only intended to get it back to the pits in the event that I might take it on a track - or to get it onto a low loader without damaging the bumper - a la horror stories. Think I said on a previous posting, it's really for my peace of mind. I hope it never gets used!

Oh - and it look pretty tidy. :-)

[IanLWarrington]

raving said:

Hey Raving - never mind trying to scare the living daylights out of me - reply to my PMs.



Please .....

[IanLWarrington]

swiftstuff said:

Superb! Any idea which car make and model the towing eye belongs to? Should I wish to fabricate something similar...

I believe the bits were 'salvaged' from a Vauxhall (keep it in the family). Have to say ... I cheated and had it done by MW Performance in Chester. Marc, the owner, designed it. It might have actually been from more than one car though. The orange tag on the screw/bolt/eye says GM.

Here are a few pics that might help with the scaling.

[IanLWarrington]

raving said:

None received

Hi Raving - would you mind sending me a PM so that I have your correct details - mine are obviously not getting through.



Thank you

Ian