[VIRBound]

We had a customer come in that was looking for us to install his ZL1 Add Ons rear tow hook. I wasn't able to find any write ups for installation, so I wanted to share some pics for the method we used to install it. It does closely mimic ZL1 Addons recommended location, although I couldn't find the instructions online.

First up, we removed the rear bumper. To avoid risking damage to the bumper, we also removed the rear tail lights. This was relatively straight forward, with a couple sneaky screws in the wheel wells holding the bumper corners in.



Next up we picked a location for the tow hook. The customer requested that it be mounted somewhere that would allow him to keep his license plate on the car with the tow hook installed. Ideally, we would have installed this under the plate for a stealth location while on the street. The one issue we have with our current location is that it may set off the rear proximity sensor in the bumper when installed. Luckily we were able to confirm that this installation location does not set off the proximity sensor.



Once we picked a spot, we drilled holes to mount the supplied L bracket to the rear bumper beam. We positioned the L bracket on the rear of the beam to allow the pulling force of a tow truck to stress the beam rather than just the two bolts holding it in place. We also used some washers to space out the passenger side of the bracket, as the bumper beam is curved, but we want the tow hook perpendicular to the car.



After securing the L bracket, we placed a marker inside of the threaded hole, installed the bumper loosely, and marked where the center of the hole was on the back side of the bumper.



We then pulled the bumper back off, we trimmed some of the support plastics for clearance, and drilled the hole through the bumper large enough to accept the tow hook.

Once complete, we reinstalled the bumper and threaded the tow hook in. We had to completed remove the locking collar from the tow hook, and install it blind from inside of the bumper. After threading the hook in all the way, we secured the locking collar using the supplied set screw from behind the bumper.



Hope this helps someone in the future with their rear tow hook install!

[tomster]

does it mess with the back up sensor? (give false signal)

[Stephen12ZL1]

I did the centralized location for my 5th gen Z/28 under the plate. That position above was a PITA but nice result.

[VIRBound]

Originally Posted by tomster

does it mess with the back up sensor? (give false signal)

We're going to test that theory here shortly once we wrap the car up and reconnect power. My hope is that is doesn't activate unless the car is in reverse, but we'll see.

We had to compromise to keep the license plate and this was our best option we could come up with. If it trips the sensor we may have to explore options for disabling that single sensor.

[RUQWIKR]

Originally Posted by VIRBound

We're going to test that theory here shortly once we wrap the car up and reconnect power. My hope is that is doesn't activate unless the car is in reverse, but we'll see.

We had to compromise to keep the license plate and this was our best option we could come up with. If it trips the sensor we may have to explore options for disabling that single sensor.

Why not go through the license plate? We did that on our street / strip drag cars for parachute mounts with a quick release pin under the fascia. Plug painted like the license plate hole when removed.

[VIRBound]

Originally Posted by RUQWIKR

Why not go through the license plate? We did that on our street / strip drag cars for parachute mounts with a quick release pin under the fascia. Plug painted like the license plate hole when removed.

Customer request. He has a personalized plate that is the name of his charity, so he keeps it on the car even when on track.

[VIRBound]

Update: We fired the car up last night, and are happy to report that the proximity sensor is unaffected by the tow hook being installed.

[mlee]

Very nice...

Thanks for the write-up.

[seanblurr]

Could you perhaps flip that bracket upside down and utlize a center location under the license plate somewhere?

[h018871]

Sub’d for reference.
Thx for sharing

[ZL1 1LE]

Sad reminder as that car was totaled in an on track incident.

[Stefano]

Bummer, hope no one was hurt.

[LSA]

Originally Posted by ZL1 1LE

Sad reminder as that car was totaled in an on track incident.

What happened?

[ZL1 1LE]

Originally Posted by Stefano

Bummer, hope no one was hurt.

Originally Posted by LSA

What happened?

No one was hurt thankfully.

They had no clue as to what caused it. Very experienced driver etc...