Metal tow straps

[mattnoss]

Are these mandatory now or can we still use fabric ones?

[Kraken]

In the yearbook they are still recommended but not mandatory but of course individual series may stipulate that they are mandatory.

[Drumroll]

mattnoss said:

Are these mandatory now or can we still use fabric ones?

Doesn't really matter if what they are connected too isn't strong enough

[mattnoss]

Thank you information Kraken, appreciated.

Drumroll said:

Doesn't really matter if what they are connected too isn't strong enough

I see there’s still plenty of people on Pistonheads who have nothing worthwhile to contribute to a thread.

[Drumroll]

mattnoss said:

Thank you information Kraken, appreciated.

Drumroll said:

Doesn't really matter if what they are connected too isn't strong enough

I see there’s still plenty of people on Pistonheads who have nothing worthwhile to contribute to a thread.

Seen it (having actually done recoveries on circuits and rallies) too many times where the connection to the car just isn't strong enough. But if that contributes nothing I am really sorry (not)

[ribiero]

probably not worth a new thread, but... 2019 4 hooks on tin tops? is it a thing or will I get away with the 2 I already have that went through scroots fine in 2018.

[Drumroll]

Is it worth the risk? Spend your money to get to a meeting only to have it rejected by the scrutineers. Does your series have a dedicated scrutineer? ask them.

The reason behind it is it gives the recovery guys more options when recovering cars.

[Kraken]

Like I said in the first reply it's a recommended rather than mandatory to have four wire tow points in the blue book but it all depends on what your individual series rules say. My car has had them since the idea was first floated as it was a new build at the time. I find it odd that I've seen several new build cars with just two point cloth straps since. It's obviously going to be mandatory at some point so why not do it when you have a chance with a new build or a rebuild etc?

[Graham]

IIRC they made it mandatory then had to back track very quickly when the realisation that its impossible on some cars to do it..

I can bolt a wire towing loop to all four corners of my car but its going to pull straight out of the fibreglass if you try and use it.

only a central front and rear work on my car..

the only problem with the webbing straps was a lot of them are knackered after being dragged along the circuit.. its an easy scruit check i dont see the need to change, after all half the recovery units use straps not wire

[mmm-five]

Drumroll said:

Seen it (having actually done recoveries on circuits and rallies) too many times where the connection to the car just isn't strong enough. But if that contributes nothing I am really sorry (not)

Been there too, when the front clamshell of a car has been torn off when the tow truck pulls away as the owner has just run a fabric strap around a bumper stay.

Once the bumper was off, the chain was just wrapped around the bumper cross-member and car towed back to the paddock.

I blame scrutineering as much as the owner though.

[Kraken]

Graham said:

IIRC they made it mandatory then had to back track very quickly when the realisation that its impossible on some cars to do it..

I can bolt a wire towing loop to all four corners of my car but its going to pull straight out of the fibreglass if you try and use it.

only a central front and rear work on my car..

the only problem with the webbing straps was a lot of them are knackered after being dragged along the circuit.. its an easy scruit check i dont see the need to change, after all half the recovery units use straps not wire

Absolutely no reason why they couldn't make it mandatory for the majority of club cars racing these days which are production based saloon and hatchbacks. I also think they could be made to work on most other cars with a bit of work. After all I can't think of many cars that don't have some sort of space frame or chassis somewhere near each corner.

I expect the recovery units regularly replace their straps. Cloth straps degrade over time and there is no current way of lifing them. Given that I know people who hadn't their extinguisher serviced in over 10 years its unlikely Motorsport UK could rely on competitors inspecting and changing their straps.

[Dan BSCS]

Kraken said:

Graham said:

IIRC they made it mandatory then had to back track very quickly when the realisation that its impossible on some cars to do it..

I can bolt a wire towing loop to all four corners of my car but its going to pull straight out of the fibreglass if you try and use it.

only a central front and rear work on my car..

the only problem with the webbing straps was a lot of them are knackered after being dragged along the circuit.. its an easy scruit check i dont see the need to change, after all half the recovery units use straps not wire

Absolutely no reason why they couldn't make it mandatory for the majority of club cars racing these days which are production based saloon and hatchbacks. I also think they could be made to work on most other cars with a bit of work. After all I can't think of many cars that don't have some sort of space frame or chassis somewhere near each corner.

I expect the recovery units regularly replace their straps. Cloth straps degrade over time and there is no current way of lifing them. Given that I know people who hadn't their extinguisher serviced in over 10 years its unlikely Motorsport UK could rely on competitors inspecting and changing their straps.

I disagree, and agree with Graham.

And I see no reason to make only wire loops mandatory. What is wrong with solid steel towing eyes like on the Ginetta G50 for instance? They don’t degrade.

I think even straps are fine and just need to be checked in scrutineering the same way harness straps are. It’s just common sense.

/2p

Dan

Edited by Dan BSCS on Friday 22 February 22:31

[Kraken]

You're missing the fact that it's not just wire straps. It's four of them rather than two. Solid towing eyes are far more likely to be deformed and therefore useless in a crash IMO.

Scrutineers barely have time to check the cars as it is already without having to do pull tests to determine if the stitching on a cloth strap has degraded or not.

[Dan BSCS]

Kraken said:

You're missing the fact that it's not just wire straps. It's four of them rather than two. Solid towing eyes are far more likely to be deformed and therefore useless in a crash IMO.

Scrutineers barely have time to check the cars as it is already without having to do pull tests to determine if the stitching on a cloth strap has degraded or not.

The Ginetta solid towing eyes are retractable into the crash structure and are far less likely to be deformed.

Wire loops are not the best the answer for every car. Fair enough for production based saloons where you have solid metal on all four corners but as Graham has already stated, this is simply not practical or even possible on many sports cars out there racing.

You try bolting for wire loops to solid points on the chassis of a Lotus Elise, for instance.

There’s a very good reason the MSA quickly backtracked from making this mandatory.

Dan

[mat205125]

Kraken said:

You're missing the fact that it's not just wire straps. It's four of them rather than two. Solid towing eyes are far more likely to be deformed and therefore useless in a crash IMO.

Scrutineers barely have time to check the cars as it is already without having to do pull tests to determine if the stitching on a cloth strap has degraded or not.

Solid towing eyes could also be "weaponised" if one were so inclined. Pretty easy to see a competitors radiator being damaged by one.

Fabric towing straps are OK, however if a rally car has gone off the road and into a ditch on it's side, it's not going to be adequate to pull the car out.

The mounting point on the car, as has already been mentioned, is just as important as whatever strap is being used anyway.