I'm trailering my Z to the track nowadays, since it is no longer really street-legal and frankly, more dangerous to drive on LA streets then on the track. With my 8-point cage, I feel like my head would crack like an egg if someone hit me. Anyway, to the point. Where is the best place to tie down the rear of the car to my trailer. I've criss-crossed through the lower control arms and also I've tried through the wheels. I've had some people say never use the control arms and others say never use the wheels to tie down the rear. In the front I use wheel nets to secure the wheels, but I feel I need a solid part of the car to tie-down in the rear, so it doesn't bounce when I hit bumps. Its an open hauler btw. Please, anyone with any suggestions?

 

I always use two in back and cross them - that way it you hit a bump it doesn't jump from one side to the other.
I use the rear tow point for the driver side. The passenger side is a bit more difficult and I haven't found a good place. I usually use strap it around the lower control arm (the one that the spring rest on) by the connection to the wheel. I figure that if it can hold the weight of the car, then it should keep the car from moving on the trailer.
Yet, if anyone has a better place on the passenger side I would love to hear it!

 

I've been using the wheels on both the Z and the miata. Need to be careful about sharp edges on the wheels, but if you realize that all the dynamic loads the car takes on the track are transmitted through the wheels, they seem like a safe place to me... Like MoodDude said, I always use two, and crisscross them. Kind of hard for me to explain, but I'll try:

Basically, I run the tie down from the trailer d-ring forward (lets say from the right side), loop it through the passenger side wheel, then bring it back to the drivers side trailer d-ring. Get all the tie downs good and snugged down. Drive 5-10 miles, pull over and snug 'em all down. That's really the best tip I've received about trailering - make sure you stop 5-15 miles after you start, and re-snug all the tie downs.

ahm

 

Thanks MoodDude, thats what the majority of people I talked to believed. They figured with off-road excursions and rumble strips, If I haven't had an issue with my rear lower control arms yet at the track, then they should work as tie down points as well, but I would just like a couple others to chime in with their opinions. Some of my drift buddies use the rear wheels as attachments, but I think my car bounces around a lot more. I need more opinions!!

 

thanks Amolaver, thats what I did last time I took it for an alignment, it didn't feel as 'stuck' to the trailer as when using the control arms. More opinions please. Oh, and do you guys leave the car in gear and the parking brake on?

 

well...that makes sense if you tie down the LCA's, you're likely compressing the shocks/springs. the car will be more 'directly' connected to the trailer. however, i prefer to let the z's suspension work - consequently, the car does 'move'. i put that in quotes because the tires don't ever move. not an inch. however, going over expansion joints, you can see the car absorb the hit through its suspension. IMO, that's better than beating up the trailer and car. since the car-hauler trailers usually tie down to LCA's and the like, i believe either way is safe.

i do leave it in 1st gear and the e-brake on.

ahm

 

Ok, thanks Amolaver. Anyone tell you that keeping it in first gear would wear on our transmissions? I've been to this site about mustangs called Corner-Carvers and they speak a lot about different trailering aspects, but I'm assuming that our cars are different and thats why I want to spark some consensus on how people trailer their 350z's. Guess there are only a couple that do on this site

Thanks for all your info!

 

I have a utility trailer that has side railing that i use to haul the z around on. i want to one day get a car trailer.

I drive the Z up the trailer and then use th tow hook as a back up in the front!

I have these really long 3 inch wide nylon straps that i send through the front left wheel under the car all the way to the front right wheel then i attach the clip angle end to the trailer beams and ratchet down tight.

I do the same for the back!

it makes a big "U" shape in the front and back!

Then i get 2 2x4 boards and set them down between the tires and the frame of the trailer and if the car does inch over a bit the TIRE only hits the 2x4 and forces the car to stay straight in the trailer. it works quite well!

I then winch down on the front tow hook with my manual winch in the front and the car doesnt go anywhere!
- J

 

I generally avoid tying down a car by just the wheels. I don't like all the sprung weight moving around. I've driven behind a BMW M3 on an open trailer that was tied down by only the wheels. Over a rough patch on the way to Pahrump the car and the trailer got into some sympathic oscillations and the BMW bottomed hard front and back a few times. At the track the driver found that one of the rear shocks had blown as a result of the bottoming. He went home.

 

I used an axle strap and looped it around the rear of the subframe on the passenger side, then attached the tie down to the axle strap. On the driver side I used the stock tow point. But this was on a car with a single exit exhaust, it may not work as well for you if the exhaust is in the way on the passenger side.

 

I use the axle straps through the wheels in the front and rear. Crossing, as mentioned above, does help the car from walking side to side. Car in gear and eBrake on. Never had any issues with alignment, etc... For what it's worth, these are the same procedures recommend by Trailex Aluminum Trailer Company who has been in the towing business for over 40 years.

Happy Towing!
Jason

HendersonMotorsports.com

 

thanks guys...hhhmmm, through the wheels, huh Jason H?, no bouncing all over the place?

 

Get 4 t-hooks and use the factory tie down points located in frame rails (for lack of a better term) just aft of the front tires and just forward of the rear tires. I do this all the time when I take the Z to autoXes... No chance of bending anything.

I personally would never tie down the car using either the wheels or suspension members. The chance of doing some damage to the handling of the car by bending suspension parts is too great.

 

Kirkster, anyway to show me the tie down points just in front of the rear wheels? Excuse my ignorance, but what are "t-Hooks"? Thanks a lot!!

 

We do the same as Jason Henderson except we dont bother to cross tie. We have towed thousands of miles, the latest a round trip of 2,176 miles from Arlington, Va. to the Runoffs in Topeka, Kansas and havent had any problems. On our Camaro we used to tie to the axels in the rear and suspension on the front.

 

Here is a link to the t hook.

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/sc...?idproduct=106

I will try and take a picture tomorrow...

 

Wanted to resurrect this old thread to get more ideas on strapping down my car on a trailer. My car is lowered and it's difficult to find space underneath. My only other tie down points are using the tires or the wheels.

TIRE STRAPS
http://truckntow.com/pc-10518-147167...n-systems.aspx

WHEEL STRAPS
http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/pr...1/PackageDeals

Has anyone used either one -- any comments?

 

In the rear we've been wrapping the axle straps around the thick rear subframe arms. We've got a custom exhaust, so nothing is in the way. We've got to route it around the diff cooler and wiring, and we 'X' them as well. We're still looking for a good front mounting point, although I've got to have a look at the locations for the T hooks in the AM.

-Rich

 

YOU DONT NEED TO GO OUT AND BUY WHEEL STRAPS LIKE THAT, cause they can get pricey..

I just got regular heavy duty ratcheting straps and then made my own wheel protecting sleeve out of old towel. (you can buy some padded material from any walmart fabric section) and made the sleeves to protect the wheels...

then i went to home depot and bought D-link and put the Dlink on first, then the sleave at the end where the tire is going to be secured....looped it through the 350z wheel and hooked it back to itself on the D-link.

then i just simply ratchet the other end to a point on my trailer...

its much cheaper to do then buying wheel straps....
- J

 

I just strap each wheel down individually with a ratchet and 3,000 pound hauling straps, i have 5 D-rings on the trailer, 2 back, 3 up front. we hit some pretty heavy-duty bumps on I-40 coming back from Nashville and it didnt move an inch (only had about an inch of room on the passenger side)