Quick question...

Are tow hooks a requirement for your car to attend track days?

I'm in Southern California, if that matters.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Vinh

 

Track days means HPDE? Generally yes. You should get a package in the mail with all the details.

Autocross? Generally no. Check club rules.

 

thanks for the resource. i checked HPDE website and they just STRONGLY recommend tow hooks.

if you don't have tow hooks, the tow crew will latch on to any other part of the car in the event your car needs to be towed.

i ask this question because my Kenstyle front bumper covers up the tow hook.

i'll guess rather than modifying or buying a new bumper, i'll hope my car never needs to be towed

 

Summit Point, WV. 11/2004

There are usually plenty of soft runoff areas around the course. They stop the car, but are difficult to get out of on your own. I would prefer that the truck did not hook to one of the axles. Its something to consider.

 

Most of the HPDE sponsors do have a requirement that you have a tow hook installed on your car when you leave the paddock for the track. (check the websites of Speedventures, Trackmasters Racing and others, or the rules that the tracks themselves lay out when they rent the day. That way, if you do go OTE, the truck can yank you out asap and everybody else can keep running. The sessions are timed, usually in 20 to 25 minute increments. If you go flying off track in a section that requires them to shut down the track, (and for your safety, just note that if you went off there, the chances are pretty good that somebody else could do exactly the same thing and wind up exactly in the same spot....on top of you!) and you do not have your hook already screwed in, it may take them quite a while to get that in...........especially if you were a dufus and left it in your supplies box at the paddock so that somebody has to fetch it for you. And everybody in the group now hates your fuzzy butt because they paid $250 ($350 if it is Laguna Seca or Sears Point) to get five run sessions in and you just blitzed one of the sessions for the whole group. ("pssst...see that guy? He is the SFB in the pimp bodied car that left his tow hook in the paddock! You distract him while I **** in his gas tank.")

If you are going to run a "designer" bumper or splitter, skirts or underbody diffusers, you would be well advised to think about welding a hook someplace underneath that can be used safely, front and rear, for the emergency truck to snap hook on to and pull you out. Because they ARE going to yank you out of there, fast, and they will not be accountable to you for damage (read your event contract and waiver).

If the sponsor has a website they will post their rules and those often include tow hook protocol.

The new layout for Laguna Seca, because of the increased super bike utilization, has new safety layouts, including LOTS of "kitty litter" pits that were not present. That pea gravel stuff is designed to collect you and absorb energy so that you don't go skipping into the wall, or back across the track surface into the path of another racer. You go down to the axles almost instantly, and there is NO getting out. So quick extrication is a must for the event to go smoothly.

This type of safety feature in track upgrades is likely to become more frequent, not less, and therefore the tow hook rule is to be of increasing importance.


You will note in all of the pictures of my car on track that the tow hook is already mounted in place....this one is entering the "bus stop" turn at Buttonwillow Raceway. (Always remember when prepping your car and doing your lug nut torque, to give the tow hook a check for tightness too...don't want to be dropping that torpedo out there either if popularity is any concern!)

Have a great event and a great time!

 

The Z comes with a removable front tow hook and a permanent rear tow hook. Just screw in the front tow hook when you get to the track.

 

thanks for the comments. i will see what can be done about the tow hooks.

Eagle1...does the G35 come with rear tow hook?

 

I sure did not see one. I have two strap down eye hooks for the trailer tie down that VRT put on for me, but otherwise, no.

 

I bet the rear tow on the G is just like the Z. It is on the driver side under/behind the rear bumper. Take a look, you can see it is lower than the bumper so a cable can be hooked to it. Just about every car has a tow hook on the front and rear.

 

Are there any aftermarket tow hooks for those with bodykits?

 

There are tons of aftermarket tow hooks. Google or Ebay are your friends.

 

Yeah I looked on ebay but I only saw ones that said for Honda's.