So I have scanned / searched the forums for trailering and specifically tie down advice. The consensus seems to be thru the wheels or install tie down brackets on the car.

I am thinking of renting a trailer and trailering my stock 96 933TT to a DE event and was looking to understand (get schooled) on the preferred ways to tie down a 993TT.

Any advice is welcome.

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/category/TieDowns

Cheers,
Kevin

 

I've used both methods. Install the tie downs !(autometrics). I've used thru the wheel and its prone to bend wheels if you get into some rough roads especially the rears. I had a trailer decouple and bend all four BBS wheels but it stayed on the trailer with thru the wheel. So if your only goal is to keep it on the trailer both ways work.

 

Kevin,

No choice on which way is better but when you tie through the wheels the car will ride on it's regular suspension travel. When you tie onto the chassis and bind down you are limiting suspension movement. We used to tie the race cars down by the chassis to limit wear on the rodends but that really has no issue for a street type suspension. Access might be the biggest deciding factor.
Rick

 

Ditto that... There may be "ideal" ways to tie down a car, but a lot of times, especially if you rent a trailer, you may be forced into a "practical" way to tie it down. I use the through the wheels method.

Be very careful when renting a trailer. You'll almost certainly need some extra wood ramps to clear at the front, rear and middle of your car if it even slightly lowered. Basically, I'd check out the trailer first before renting it. U-Haul open trailers suck.

I rented three times and finally just bought my own. The rentals tend to be junk and waste a lot of your time getting them to work with your car.

If you can, rent a race car trailer and not the typical utility trailer that most shops rent.

 

I have zero experience with this but after asking (I bought a trailer but haven't used it yet) was told you can wreck your suspension setup if tied down by wheels.

 

Yes, if you over-tighten the straps, you could mess up your alignment. The straps should be tightened just enough to remove the slack. I've seen people go crazy with how much they tighten the straps...

Note, GT3 Cup race cars are strapped down using their wheels via factory supplied eyelets on the center wheel nut; same issue, don't overtighten...

 

i use these http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/product/214/WheelNets great product..

 

Since 1993 I have been hauling my cars (Porsches, VWs, BMWs and Corvettes) from my home in Ohio to events throughout the Great Lakes Region and as far south as Sebring, Florida. I have no exact measure of how many miles I have traversed in that time but a reasonable low ball estimate is approximately 60,000. I have long term friends who got me into motorsports who have been doing this for over 30 years. This does not make me an expert by any means but by far the majority of my friends and associates hauling vehicles (race cars, daily drivers, show cars, etc) tie them down through the wheels. The reasons for this have been nicely covered by others in this thread.

Criss-cross the straps (left front strap to right front wheel, etc, left rear strap to right rear wheel, etc) so the car can't crawl side to side and you will be fine. If you are concerned about marring the finish on the wheels place a cotton or micro fiber towel between the tie down strap and the wheel before you rachet it down. While it is usually not a problem with Porsches because of the trailing calipers in the front, some cars are tricky to thread the strap between the brake caliper and the rim. But honestly I have never experienced a problem with alignment or suspension issues using this method. Maybe I don't eat enough Wheaties or something but I can't imagine being able to tighten the straps, particularly if one criss-crosses them, to the point of bending a wheel (!) or altering the alignment.

Tighten the straps so they are uniformly taut side to side and front to rear and you will not damage anything. I pull or "pluck" the straps before I head to the track as a matter of habit. There should be a small amount of deflection when you check them (I am talking millimeters here) but they should feel crisp to the touch like the high "E" string on an acoustic guitar and never loose or flabby like the low "E" of an electric bass. The straps will all "feel" the same if I have everything set correctly.

I hope this helps a bit to alleviate your trepidation about tying down your vehicle. Have fun at the DE

 

In the rear I used the Autometric / Rennline copy tie downs. For the front, the shackle that goes to the factory tie down point looked stupid (came out in all my photos). So I used a towing T-hook into the same spot. Worked great and photos looked better.

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/product/89/Towing

 

Thanks for all the advice. Now on to the cones . . .