NEW tow hitch option for the Ti
 

When I bought my Ti I had the intention of towing my bike to the track. I searched quickly and saw that there were hitches available so I though no problem. The problems arose when I actually tried ordering a hitch. The hitch I wanted is the curt 11175, because it is hidden. There might be another available but I wanted the hidden receiver tube.
I googled the part and found multiple places that supposedly had it, so I placed the order. A few days later I receive a call saying that they don't have it and it is NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. I was like oh great! But there might be some place that might have one sitting on their shelf collecting dust somewhere, so I searched again. Next I tried ebay, there is a listing but they didn't have it either. It would have been fine except I waited over a week for my refund. During that week I found that Bav auto had it, so I called them to confirm that they physically had it in stock. The sales rep assured me that it was in stock and it was on clearance for half price! I said ok order it, if it's in stock. The next day I get a call, from the manager no less saying it was not in stock and they can't get it. I specifically told the sales guy my whole drawn out story of how I didn't want this exact situation to happen. I would have been fine if they just said they didn't have it, I would have moved on. The sales guy says he would check stock for me, apparently this did not happen so I was furious because now I have $500 pending refund from two places!
Now I was out of options. Last option was to have one made, I happen to have a blacksmith at my job who can weld one for me. He says no problem, and I got the measurements from Curt for him. He tells me it would be easier if I could order the draw bar pre manufactured because he was unsure of the material used, and didn't want to make one and it broke on me. So upon looking for the part he needs I find another model hitch that looks a lot like the hitch I need! I tell the blacksmith this and I show him the pics of it, he says that it would be much easier tweaking this hitch to fit rather than building one from scratch. So I ordered this hitch and I took some measurements when it arrived. The measurements are so close that I could have sworn it was from the same jig.
We are going to install it tomorrow so I will post a full write up for those interested. Excuse the rant, I was just frustrated with the whole sales process.

ok so the hitch is done! here's the skinny. The hitch for a Ti is part number 11175, the hitch I used and modified to fit was the Curt 11748 for a 96-02 Z3 convertible. This makes sense as they both share the same rear sub-frame and suspension type. I ended up finding it cheapest from advanced auto parts on the internet for $213 shipped! I paid for two day shipping so it ended up a little more.
I was able to fit the main cross tube with the receiver in with no modifications, it bolted up perfect. the longitudinal support beam needed to be cut at the front mounting plate and rewelded. The fitting and rewelding cost me an additional $80. if you look at the images of both hitches they look about 90% identical, even the hardware is the same.

ti hitch
 

Hey BoostLee, I just stumbled on your post as I am desperately looking for a hitch, having the same problem you mention with dealers supposedly having the part and then not having it.

Do you have pics and procedure of your install? I don't quite get the part you had to re-weld.

Thanks for the input.

Sorry for the late response. The piece that needs to be rewelded is the long plate that goes from front to back, it attaches to the main support which goes left to right. It forms a T.

so the only way to have a bike rack receiver is ...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cht-11175
plus
http://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/...FRFp7AodIBwA0g