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Talk me into tow hooks

Hack

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I've been looking at the ZL-1 Add-ons Mustang tow hooks. I've never gone off track and needed to be pulled back on track, but people say you really should have something. I realize I'm being cheap, but they seem too expensive to me. So, do I really need these? Is there a better / preferred brand choice?
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MaskedRacerX

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Umm, did you score another GT? It would appear so from your sig, well, where the hell have I been? Congrats :)
 

Ewheels

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Hopefully you will never have to use them but in the case you do go off track and need to be towed in, would you rather them hook onto a designated tow hook or your bumper or random suspension parts? $200-ish tow hook or new bumper and potentially new suspension components? When you think of it that way, the answer becomes pretty clear.

ZL1 is good, I personally have Vorshlag's tow hooks. Both are good construction. I could be wrong, but I don't believe ZL1 makes a rear hook. Vorshlag's rear is nice cause you don't have to cut anything or remove your license plate.
 
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Hack

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Umm, did you score another GT? It would appear so from your sig, well, where the hell have I been? Congrats :)
Yup! And thanks! I didn't really make a big deal about it on here. I've been looking for a long time. After I bought the Z06 last year I ended up disliking that car a lot compared to the GT350 - especially on track. Decided not to spend the $$ to try to get another GT350 at this time. I wanted a Boss 302 but they are a little flashy for me and they cost more than I wanted to pay. This car still has some warranty. And it was exactly what I wanted. Base car with PP1 being the only option. So I'm busy figuring out how to harden up a PP1 for the track.

Hopefully you will never have to use them but in the case you do go off track and need to be towed in, would you rather them hook onto a designated tow hook or your bumper or random suspension parts? $200-ish tow hook or new bumper and potentially new suspension components? When you think of it that way, the answer becomes pretty clear.

ZL1 is good, I personally have Vorshlag's tow hooks. Both are good construction. I could be wrong, but I don't believe ZL1 makes a rear hook. Vorshlag's rear is nice cause you don't have to cut anything or remove your license plate.
I think ZL1 has a rear hook but you have to make a hole in the rear somewhere, I believe. I will look at the Vorshlag offering. Thanks!
 

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Hack

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I have a full write up and install guide of the Vorshlag hooks in my build thread if you're curious.
I found it and I thought it was good. Thank you for taking the time to do the write up. I think Vorshlag is probably the way I'm going to go.
 

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If you are doing a track day with my, I definitely want YOU to have tow hooks ;)

We had a Camaro go into the gravel in the session before me , and lost 20 minutes because he didn't have tow hooks .
 
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JohnD

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Does it make the car faster? No? Then it isn't going on my car.
 

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Does it make the car faster? No? Then it isn't going on my car.
you won't even make it out of the pits with most go-fast organizations if you don't have tow hooks, so they definitely make your car faster ;)
 

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I've been looking at the ZL-1 Add-ons Mustang tow hooks. I've never gone off track and needed to be pulled back on track, but people say you really should have something. I realize I'm being cheap, but they seem too expensive to me. So, do I really need these? Is there a better / preferred brand choice?
A buddy of mine has a GT350 and he had an unexpected off track excursion a couple of years ago. The tow truck showed up, hooked up and proceeded to pull the front fascia right off the car! The driver didn't know where to place the hook and chose poorly.

My buddy has a tow hook now.

I chose the ZL1 addons tow hook for my S550 because it fits nicely and doesn't stick straight out like a tongue. It is also designed well and even has a little pad on the bottom of the hook so it doesn't ding up your bumper. Luckily I have not had to use it. <knock on wood!>

Update: I added a photo of my S550 so you can see how the tow hook looks on the front.

Screen Shot 2021-01-03 at 10.22.13 PM (2).png
 
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1 old racer

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I used Ford performance tow hooks front and rear. The rear is positioned in the reverse light housing that I modified so that there would be a enclosed housing behind the hook and installed some L.E.D.'s for reverse lights. The front was very easy. Just remove some material from the lower grill and it was that easy. I could have done a better job on the front but I knew I was going to be replacing the grill soon. Now I can get a very precise location measurement to install in in my new aftermarket grill set. Anyway here are a couple of pics of the hooks.
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fatbillybob

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You need something just in case or you will get an A piller wrap. If you don't track often but need something just in case I did this for a single trackday before I converted to racecar. Use cable lock wraped at passenger front.
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XeninWorX

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Talk you into tow hooks? Okay I’ll give it a shot.

They’re always hard and never get soft. They have a loop for “fun” and can be even more “exciting” with lubricant:yawn:.

Convinced you yet?
 

lizardman

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So I was at Putnam last year and blew a clutch. The tow truck arrived and we hooked the strap to the shock tower brace. Lowered the hood and he pulled me all the way to the truck and trailer. Fished a broken strap between the bumper and front fascia and wenched it on to the trailer. I was lucky. That strap could have caught in a bind on to the hood latch and turned my hood into a twisted wreck of metal. A $1200 mistake, losing the clutch was all my fault, could have easily turned into $3000. So do you need a tow hook? I hope you never do. I wish I had one.
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