No idea why this thought just popped into my head, and I hope I dont break down now! But... how does Mr. AA/RAC get the car onto a truck (if you _really_ break it) when you have a lip spoiler? For example, I have an MRO air dam and I am sure it must get in the way of the towing hook (although I have not checked).


Maybe this old picture will help show the difference?

 

he will rip it off
only know coz i wrote my car off in november and he ripped my front bumper off to get it on

 

Yeah but it was already damaged I presume. They will sometimes say they can't take the car anywhere if they can't get it on the trailer.

 

bit of a difficult one. but if its a recovery ie a breakdown in a SAFE place, ie your not causing an obstruction on a highway, i believe they are liable for any damage caused. My classic was very low with a lip spoiler on and they managed to recover that on the back of a flatbed no problem, was close, but it went on.

If however you have crashed and causing a disruption on the highway, or your being lifted for illegaly parking for example, they can use nessasary means to remove the car, if that involves the car being damaged, tough luck im affraid


john

 

Hmmm, I know in my case the MRO just came with a handful of self tapers. When it was fitted maybe some glue would have gone on as well? I may have a look and see if I can spot the screw heads. Although a screwdriver with enough tourque on a handle that will need to be an inch long to get underneath could be interesting!

 

cant get a clear idea of how low yours is mate, but it doesnt look any lower than mine was.

its probably more dependant on the extra length the lip spoiler ads on, ie, from the point of contact the tyres have on the road to the leading edge of the bumper.

john

 

Molds... I've got an MRO splitter on my V.2 with Ohlins lowered suspension (much lower than yours). My engine went bang a few months back and had to get a flat bed out to collect me.

All he did was to step on the cable right next to the splitter while using the remote control for the winch! Hope that answers your question!! It's do-able!!

 

there is an attatment on the truck the recovered my FTO thinking about it, a little split eye boltthat kept the cable pretty much on the floor...

 

my v6 sti lip just caught on the tow line when the bloke pulled the car up onto the flat bed, and the v6sti lip is about the smallest one available.

the bloke had to add some padding to stop it marking the paint

 

Provided the conditions were suitable (ie not on hard shoulder etc) couldn't they pull the car on backwards..?

 

You should be fine with that the way it is, I had an ST24 that was sat an inch off the floor, it fitted on the truck fine. If there is a problem its a 10minute job to whip the bumper off anyway if push comes to shove

 

STi6 front splitter on my classic. To get it on a flatbed truck, I had to push/crank it forward on the starter motor so that the rope could be attached safely without damaging anything.

 

My sti 4 lip went on to a flatbed ok, all he had to do was put a couple of planks under the front wheels

 

mine has had to go on the recovery trucks twice now relatively recently.. I have the same splitter as pictured at the top. The first time a normal recovery truck came out and they requested a flatbed truck to come out.. The flatbed part came right down flat on the ground and so the car went on fine.. The flatbed then raised up on to the back of the truck no problem.. The second time a normal flatbed came out (blown engine this time) and the driver was really good.. He put a steel cable through the foglight hole and linked it on near the wheel (i have a front mount and no foglights anymore, don't know if this affected it) but unfortunatly it still caught going onto the truck and marked the underside of the splitter.. I didn't really mind as you can't see the damage unless your under the car and im sure i'll get it fixed at some point further down the line.. So with the aa.. they got it spot on one time with no probs and then rather than learning how to do it.. they subcontracted the second time and didn't do such a good job.. i guess the best way round it is just to either take off the bumper or carry a bit of wood to raise the front end of the car

 

You need to make sure you tell the recovery people to bring out some blocks as the car is lowered/modified. Its easier with the big flatbeds than the smaller ones.

Also if your tow ring is obscured at the front then car should go on rear first. I had some amateur AA contractor damage the paintwork on my bumper/splitter due to the tow ring being partially covered at the front and the **** insisting on putting it on front first.

 

Problem with that is it would probably the rub on the tarmac as the rear gets higher the front gets lower.

It depends alot on the type of truck and the experience of the operator.I Drive a steep angled recovery truck which has a high load capacity.Ideal for small vans and that type of stuff,When it comes to low cars i have real problems with it.If i tell you my 2002 sti with no body modifications will ONLY just go on it with the lip just touching as its pulled up that will tell you how steep it is. Yet Many have bodies that will come right off and almost flat onto the floor these days Ideal for low cars but no good for much else in the recovery buisness as they have very low load capacity.And i dont mean vechicle carring capacity its about how much weight the hydraulics can pull back onto the lorry chassis.

All in all it shouldnt be a problem provided the operator has the right equipment and a couple of planks of wood.lol

 

From my only tow truck experience a damaged lip would have been the last of my worries - the rest of the car was a wreck...

 

Its not always that easy if its that low then pulling it on a lorry backwards will cause the front lip to scrap along the tarmac,And then theres the issue of safety you cant do this on motorways,one way streets and that kind of stuff.