Hi,

im gonna be towing my car this weekend on a large utility trailer! my cousin uses it all the time to tow his 240sx.

my question is? where do i strap the 350Z down?

1. Im thinking of mounting the tow hook in the front and using the winch on the trailer to secure the front?

2. Is it okay to get ordinary 2 inch wide nylon straps and wrap them around the OEM wheels and tie to the corners?

Of course ill have the car in gear and parking brake on! OUr car doesnt have hooks in the back does it? i know my cousins 240 does!

if anyone has pics or info on how they do go about doing this would be great?!
thanks,
- Jason

 

I think that tow hook for the front would work. On the rear, maybe hook it up to the subframe/multi-link.

 

cool...im thinking you maybe right..i may do a combo of both...

ive never towed my car before. im gonna test mount it tomorrow before my trip sat.
- j

 

I don’t trust the front tow hook. There are tow truck drivers who will not use the hook to winch the 350Z onto a flatbed.

The wheels are certainly secure.
And so is the rear axle.

 

man? i wasnt too worried about the tow hook...its mounted to the front impact beam and seams pretty solid? i was more worried about the back?

why wouldnt they use it?

- j

 

ive used the front tow hook and had no problems that thing is solid.

 

The tow hook is used to move the car a short distance on level ground: there is little resistance only the weight of the vehicle. Contact a local towing company, and ask how they secure a vehicle.

 

I used the front toe hook to pull the Z several miles in snow that was too deep for it to go in. Was pulled by an AWD BMW X3, and then by a AWD suburban when the X3 got stuck in even deeper snow... Z was stuck bad enough that the suburban had to take a run at the pull, as it could not start just pull the Z out from a stop, quite a jerk on the toe hook.

Trust me, that thing is a beast! Just make sure you pull on it straight on and not at an angle, as pulling on it at an angle you're liable to bend it.

 

i climbed under our car and found that we have a hook ring hanging down on the driverside rear! yup! its there. u pretty much have to be under the car to see it but its there. that should help me out some...

-j

 

see if you can borrow yourself some j-hooks. J hook the rear axel, lightly winch the front tow hook, then use the straps to secure the wheels. There might be some towing slots in the frame that you can use some smaller towing t-hook chains on if you don't want to j hook the axel.

 

If you check under the car, you'll find three "loops" for tying down. Two are on the subframe under the door, where the subframe rises to clear the front suspension, and there is one under the rear on the driver's side.

 

^+1 Tow hook is used to tow, not to strap down the Z on a trailer. After securing your Z, make sure you check the straps for slack. Eliminate the slack as much as possible.

BTW, what are you driving to tow both the trailer & the Z? Make sure it is equipped to tow the load of both the trailer & the Z. Otherwise, you're facing a disaster.

 

If you have a *light* trailer (ie. aluminum), you might get by with something that can handle 5000 lbs, but that's pushing it.

If you need help to move the trailer by hand, then you'll want something that can handle over 7500 lbs. Only full-size vehicles are capable of pulling the Z and anything but an aluminum trailer.