barrybell

I found this on a Z Club site, thought it interesting, just wanted to share
it with everybody. Give it a read and make your choose on towing.

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Hook Me Up



If your 350Z ever requires towing, there are a couple of very important requirements that must be met.

1st: Use a rollback/flatbed type wrecker only.

2nd: To avoid damage to the front suspension, you must employ the tow hook, which is stored next to jack. The tow hook screws into a hole in the center of the grill, directly below the Nissan emblem. If you live in a state that requires a front tag, it will have to be removed first.

Michael McGinnis
Banzai Motorworks

The following was submited by email from Michael Lindgren, Bob Hinson Towing, Inc. Englewood, CO. Thank you!

Quick note on the "hook me up" section. To be perfectly blunt, the advice to use a flatbed tow truck and the front mounted hook can and will cause damage to the vehicle. Think it through for a second and it becomes obvious. A flat bed truck's bed comes back and down to for a ramp, and a wench is used with dual hooks to pull the vehicle onto the ramp/bed. After securing the car the whole bed (w/ car) is raised back to the original position.

Here's the problem with the front hook. When you first hook it up, the wench is slightly higher than the mount, which over a ten to twenty foot distance is fine. But as the car is pulled up towards the wench, the pulling becomes more angled as the the car approaches the wench(which is "ground level" on the bed) until it even exceeds 45 degrees, sometimes becoming almost vertical. At this extreme of an angle, it pulls the front of the car down(and the screwed in hook), more than likely causing damage to the hook, body, and suspension. To secure a vehicle on a flat bed, chains are also connected to a rear point of the car, and tightened untill the car begins to come down on the suspension. This put's an extreme pressure on the car, and is only safe for the frame or suspension. Even the owner's manual states that the scew in hook is only for freeing a stuck vehicle (such as mud, ditch or snow bank). It is even stong enough for flat towing, such as being towed behind another vehicle (obviously another passenger vehicle) just not a tow truck. Add that with the time it takes to take off a license plate, find the hook, screw it in, and then use it...hey, we're always in a hurry to get broken cars off the road.

The reason I know this, is that I am in fact a flatbed tow driver, and some BMWs have this option. After damaging a pricy BMW(and having to pay for it), I've sworn never to hook to a front screw-in hook again. Most new cars (80's on) have tow "slots" on the bottom of the cars which are usually on the frame, but always strong enough for towing and securing a vehicle on a flatbed. The few that don't (and most that do have the slots) are hooked on the front A arms which are more than stong enough to support the weight of the car, even if it has to be dragged for some distance. If for some reason the arms arn't strong enough to support such activity, the manufacturer places warnings stamped into the metal for us drivers.

On a flat bed, cars are pulled as far forward as possible to help maintain control and steering while driving the truck. Also it is normal for a car to sink down on its suspension when it is secured with rear chains (required). this does not in any way cause damage to the car. It's just like having a lot of weight in the car, or going over a bump. If it dosen't sink down a little bit, the car will bouce around over bumps and around corners...this is also more likely to cause damage than tightening it down.

Point is, please don't tell a driver to use such a hook, he know's what he's doing. Even if the car has been in an accident, the driver will do anything in his power not to damage the vehicle further. Plus I'd hate to see any Z car damaged in anyway, from the 240 all the way up to the 350(let alone my beloved 280Z). And if the driver damages your car on the way to a garage, have them write up that damage was caused by the tow, and then go after the tow company...they're required to pay for any damage that could have been avoided. Please also keep in mind that if you roll over the car, we have to roll it back over to get it on its wheels...we can't help that damage, and will not pay for it...you do want it towed don't you?

Michael Lindgren
Bob Hinson Towing, Inc.
Englewood, CO

WayneTN

So, basically the thing to do if you break down on the highway is:

Don't use the tow hook The driver should know how to tow the Z safely, so just let him do it. Is that how you see it?

Does the 350 have tow slots?

WayneTN