Rear Tow hook or strap

[VictorH]

Bumper Cover Off! Lots of little fasteners, small 7mm bolts and clips holding the rear bumper cover on. It's not that difficult, I did it alone, but just take your time and it comes off. Did I mention there are lots of clips, bolts and detents holding the bumper cover on? Take your time, it works out.
Diff cooler is small, but it seems to do the job, I've never had diff temp warning go off on track.

Last picture is body seam cut-out to prevent the passenger side exhaust valve connector from shorting out on the body. Did that shortly after purchase in 2021.

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[VictorH]

A little more progress. Picture of crash bar within the "cradle" of the rear bumper cover, unfortunately that picture is upside-down.
License plate from over where it would be on the front-side for reference and then mock up of where the tow strap ends up being, obviously in reverse since it's going to be outside the bumper cover. When done it will tuck-up under the license plate, so should be mostly or completely invisible when not in use.
Last picture is the crash bar drilled through top and bottom. Will require 3" bolt and the nut fits fine in that area between the upper and lower part of the crash bar.

 

[rocsteady]

Appreciate the pics to follow along. Plan to do this at some point. Have to build up the patience for that rear bumper fascia removal though.

 

[Boyd]

Appreciate the pics to follow along. Plan to do this at some point. Have to build up the patience for that rear bumper fascia removal though.

Ehhhh... it's no big deal. Nothing but clips and screws and 1 electrical connector. Pulling on the panels to unhook the clips can be a bit daunting the first time.

 

[GTP]

Ehhhh... it's no big deal. Nothing but clips and screws and 1 electrical connector. Pulling on the panels to unhook the clips can be a bit daunting the first time.

I have seen one clip crack, so I would not attempt this in cool temperature.

 

[VictorH]

Little update
Found a nice flanged 1/2 x3" bolt at my local hardware store. Ideal length would be 2 3/4" as I had to trim 1/4" off to have it fit without being too long.
Pictures of inside bumper cover plastic trimming locations to get the crash bar to sit flush in the bumper cover cradle as the tow strap bracket overhangs the crash bar by just a little bit.
Next part will be a little more nerve-wracking as it's the part where I have to cut through the bumper cover to feed the tow strap through.
Also, maybe not absolutely necessary, it's been hard to find a flange or rectangular grommet to fit the opening to outside as I'd like the cover material not to rub on the nylon strapping and cause fraying, again not very likely but I like to do it really nice and be done with it.

Not sure why my pictures are being rotated as I upload them, but for orientation the little peg that's all by itself inside the plastic square is toward the TOP of the bumper cover and it's the middle of the bumper cover.

 

[VictorH]

Getting close to point of no return. Had to provide some extra clearance, which is pictured below so that the crash bar sits absolutely flat, which it now does. The upper plastic box, with the solitary peg has to be cut free and trimmed to clear the bracket and since it has no fixation to the bumper cover I'll just silicone or glue it in place once I'm done.
I don't think it really helps anything but the crash-bar cradle is removable with 4 retainer clips, but if you do that you lose all points of reference.
Tried to give close up of crash bar with tow strap in place but it requires a close up and just doesn't turn out good with the phone camera.

 

[VictorH]

Down to reassembly now
Marked where the slot should be, drilled holes at the ends of where the slot would be, then cut out slot, sanded it a bit, test fit and now ready to go (after I get it all back together). I think I'm going to ditch the rubber flange idea.

 

[VictorH]

Final Product
Bumper cover is back on, that part is not difficult at all (it's easy) and fit is still like completely OEM.
Generally when I run track, I either remove license plate or tape over numbers. Taping is simpler as you can take off the tape for a run to off-site gas station if needed.
Now I'll have to run with plate off. I'll try to figure out some sort of quick release set-up for the plate or at least maybe Riv-Nut the the license plate holes, so the screw holes don't wear out. Anyone have any other ideas?
Why no plate or covered when on track? Well, almost everyone runs video now, myself included, and from folks posting their runs on-line to insurance companies getting info on their clients as to track use (almost always excluded anyway, "event on any racing surface"), or folks posting "incidents" it's best to have plate covered or off.
Happy with the overall install. It's probably a 2/10 on the difficulty scale. Took me total about 6 hours, but if I was running a shop doing this I think this is a 2-2.5hr install for someone with experience.

 

[GTP]

...
Why no plate or covered when on track? Well, almost everyone runs video now, myself included, and from folks posting their runs on-line to insurance companies getting info on their clients as to track use (almost always excluded anyway, "event on any racing surface"), or folks posting "incidents" it's best to have plate covered or off.
...

Everyone knows their street insurance won't cover track mishaps, so why bother with the license plate?
If you want coverage against track mishaps you buy track day insurance. What am I missing here?

 

[robvas]

Is that going to pull up on the bumper cover when you put tension on the strap?

 

[Biggsy]

Everyone knows their street insurance won't cover track mishaps, so why bother with the license plate?
If you want coverage against track mishaps you buy track day insurance. What am I missing here?

I have read cases where street insurance providers check some event entry registrations to see if they have any of their customers attending. They can find visual proof and cancel your insurance. It has happened a few times. I don’t blame people for hiding their plates.

 

[GTP]

I have read cases where street insurance providers check some event entry registrations to see if they have any of their customers attending. They can find visual proof and cancel your insurance. It has happened a few times. I don’t blame people for hiding their plates.

Ok, but I can't possibly fathom how they have time for that.

 

[Biggsy]

Ok, but I can't possibly fathom how they have time for that.

I can’t either but if it’s happened to others then clearly they have enough time.
I remember reading about it years ago so I don’t have a link.

 

[VictorH]

Is that going to pull up on the bumper cover when you put tension on the strap?

No, the strap mount is on the top of the crash bar which is in level alignment with the slot (lots of pictures of that part above) and of course the strap. Any tension goes directly to the mount through the flange bolt to the crash bar. Bumper cover does not participate in any of that.

I guess if someone tried to lift the car by the tow strap, that almost certainly would cause trouble with not just the bumper cover but maybe the crash-bar itself (the bolts are NOT heavy duty).

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