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Installing towing eyes/straps
voucht - 22/10/23 at 09:51 AM

Good morning all,

I have a Haynes Roadster and I need to install front and rear towing eyes or straps to comply with regulations.

Has anyone done that on a "seven-like"?
Where are the best locations?
How do you attach it to the châssis? (I'd like to avoid welding as the chassis is powder coated)

Thank you in advance for your input, ideas, pictures and sharing your experience.


adithorp - 22/10/23 at 02:58 PM

I made weld in, top hat threaded bosses and fitted them through the front crossmember and rear diff frame. Those are both 50×25 on the fury, so plenty of tube to put them in.


nick205 - 23/10/23 at 10:56 AM

Didn't fit any to my MK Indy.

The towing straps I've seen on the market usually seem designed to attach to exitisting towing eyes/points on tin tops. IMHO I'd go for welded in securely fixed towing straps. To prevent any risk of them sliding around when the car's being pulled out of a gravel trap at a race track. Nothing worse than having come off the track then having the car's bodywork damaged by moving tow straps.


loggyboy - 23/10/23 at 03:05 PM

What regs? MSUK?

If so most scrutineers are happy to have a tow label pointing to the chassis (or cage), just have a look at the 750mc series.

https://www.750mc.co.uk/formulae/locost/gallery/photos,2022-locost-silverstone-national-jon-elsey_1299.htm


adithorp - 23/10/23 at 07:58 PM

Given French location it's probably not MSUK


voucht - 24/10/23 at 06:13 PM

Thank you for all you replies.

@nick205: the strap I was referring to is not a strap to tow the car, like the ones with hooks you attach between the "tower" and the "towee". It is a strap mostly used on racing cars, bolted to the chassis just like safety belts or safety harnesses are. example here:
linky

@loggyboy, as adithorp noticed, I'm now back in France, and the regs I need to comply with are French ones. Actually, to have my car registered in France, I need to take a series of tests, and some of them take place on a dyno bench. The company that is the only one certified to make these tests in France requires the cars to be fitted with front and rear attach points like towing hooks/rings/eye you find on road cars. And I don't have some on my car registered in Sweden as there was no use for them there.

Thank you.


adithorp - 24/10/23 at 09:47 PM

After I'd fitted the treaded bushes to my chassis, I made treaded tubes to match a tow eye from the scrappers. The threads vary but I think the one I got was m16 but watch out for lefthand threaded ones as you'll struggle to find a tap. Then I welded those tubes to a bars and bolted them to the chassis. I can now screw standard type eyes in.


nick205 - 25/10/23 at 07:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by voucht
Thank you for all you replies.

@nick205: the strap I was referring to is not a strap to tow the car, like the ones with hooks you attach between the "tower" and the "towee". It is a strap mostly used on racing cars, bolted to the chassis just like safety belts or safety harnesses are. example here:
linky





voucht

tow-strap-nick205
tow-strap-nick205


Exactly what I meant - it needs bolting firmly to the chassis, not allowed to slide around.


jps - 26/10/23 at 01:40 PM

For competition purposes, this is another thing I wish i'd planned for before I painted the chassis...

Sylvain, for your purposes is it possible to just bolt it onto a lower suspension bracket - i.e. where the wishbones mount onto the chassis?

I understand that, if the car is deep in gravel/missing a wheel or two - and is being dragged out by rope secured off a suspension bracket - it might bend it - but not sure the stresses are the same for a dyno?


peter030371 - 28/10/23 at 07:35 PM

Not sure if this helps but it might give you some ideas. I made up a pair of these clamps out of thick steel with high grade bolts (because I had them). The stainless sleeves are a little smaller than the chassis rails.

Clamp
Clamp


The are clamped tight on the front and rear chassis rails with the straps held up out the way by heavy duty velcro. When needed a quick pull releases them ready to use.

Front
Front
Front


Rear
Rear
Rear


There are more pictures in my photo archive on here.

They have not been used in real anger yet but I can pull the car quite happily with a climbing sling through them.

The velcro is now multiple track days and a season sprinting old with zero issue. It keeps the straps put of the way very well.


nick205 - 30/10/23 at 08:34 AM

quote:
Originally posted by peter030371
Not sure if this helps but it might give you some ideas. I made up a pair of these clamps out of thick steel with high grade bolts (because I had them). The stainless sleeves are a little smaller than the chassis rails.

Clamp
Clamp


The are clamped tight on the front and rear chassis rails with the straps held up out the way by heavy duty velcro. When needed a quick pull releases them ready to use.

Front
Front
Front


Rear
Rear
Rear


There are more pictures in my photo archive on here.

They have not been used in real anger yet but I can pull the car quite happily with a climbing sling through them.

The velcro is now multiple track days and a season sprinting old with zero issue. It keeps the straps put of the way very well.




Tidy solution and avoids having to weld to an already painted/powder coated chassis.