Chewbacca

Check my signature, then add a '91 305TBI Camaro RS and a '68 Camaro 327. The '96 and '91 were bought new.

The first instance was an attempt to "shoot" across a busy concrete intersection. The second was at Atco Raceway.

I might add that I rarely get wheel hop now using quality shocks (first revalved Bilsteins and now Koni SAs). This despite the fact the car is lowered a good bit via a Ground Control kit (thereby jacking up the antisquat geometry).

I currently put a whopping 267 hp to the rear wheels of my '96. I can assure you that the engine is stock.

In just the last year or so of autocrossing I have personally witnessed two separate stock engined 4th gen Camaros wheel hop to the point of one breaking a stock torque arm and the other a stock ring and pinion on unprepared (not sticky) surfaces.

Various comparably powered IRS cars (read: Corvettes, Mustang Cobras and GTOs) have broken nothing in my presence.

I am not saying IRS cars never wheel hop or break parts. I'm simply saying that a solid axle is not the panacea some here make it out to be.

Full disclosure: Aside from the wife's vehicles, I have owned nothing but live axle vehicles (Three Camaros, two trucks). With that said, I have without a doubt bought my last live axle car. These things have their place and it is under the rear of a pickup.

greg_nate

Didn't GTOs have wheelhop issues as well?

rlchv70

Here's what causes wheel hop:

Suspensions tend to compress under acceleration. This is called squat.

On hard acceleration, the suspension compresses very quickly. The suspension has inertia and continues compressing the spring. Once the suspension stops moving, the stored spring energy is greater than the forces due to squat, and the suspension moves back down, past the point of equilibrium. The process then starts over again. Weak suspension bushings and control arms will exagerate the problem.

There are several ways to correct it.

Stiffer bushings and control arms will help, but won't solve the problem.

Stiffer shocks will control the oscillations at the expense of ride comfort and/or handling balance.

Stiffer springs will often prevent wheel hop since the inertia won't be able to overcome the spring force. This also will be at the expense of ride comfort and/or handling balance.

There is also a characteristic that can be designed into suspension called anti-squat. However, this is often also at the expense of ride comfort. You can even design a suspension that LIFTS during acceleration. You may see some drag racing suspensions do this.

Independent rear suspesions INHERENTLY have less anti-squat than solid axle vehicles. This is one of the reasons drag cars don't use independent rears.

The moral of the story is that life is full of compromises.

Randy

rlchv70

Yes, and air bags or stiffer rear springs seem to eliminate it.

VladimirSteel

the 97 s10 4 banger im driving now, wheelhops bad enough that it has knocked several interior pieces off, including the rearview mirror. Its stock with a whopping 120hp

Bob Cosby

Neither my 99 T/A nor our 85 Z28 had wheelhop problems. At all.

Contrast that with the stock IRS in my 99 Cobra and 04 Cobra . Both had very noticeable wheelhop issues (especially the 99). Both were fixed with a live axle.

Yes, live axles can and will experience wheel hop under certain conditions. However, it is has been my experience that it is much more prevelant in an IRS-equipped vehicle.

BTW, I don't "drive on the internet" - rather, that is actual observation. Yours may be different.

Toukijin

Does the Vette suffer from wheel hop?

notgetleft

I've owned 3 Z28s, 79, 85, and 92. The 79 and 92 both woudl get wheelhop. The 85 had a one-legger and so was limited in how hard it could hit the suspension which probably saved it. All were automatics too.

The GTO has wheelhop. It's the worst starting out in the burnout box at the track, if i blow my rear, that's where it will die no doubt. It's actually not real bad off the line, it will usually sit down go up in smoke smoothly if i hit it too hard rather than hop, this is with street tires though. The other bad time, and generally only time i get it on the street is on a 1-2 shift. If i shift spiritedly, but not powershift it's the worst. While it spins worse if i powershift, it doesn't tend to hop as bad. My best guess is a fast powershift keeps the suspension compressed so it doesn't lose control. A lift throttle, but fast shift lets it sit up and then slam back down and all hell breaks loose. Springs and shocks are in this cars future.

Dave89IROC

yes, BAD

5thgen69camaro

You know its a shame that there isnt a way to stiffen the rear suspension upon weight transfer that happens under hard acceleration. Either electronically or mechanically. I really like the idea of IRS...

RussStang

I have known guys who have had this problem on live axle cars. To my understanding, and this in only with what my limited personal experience around live axle cars that wheelhop is, when a live axle winds up and comes down on launch, it hits a hell of a lot harder than a wheel hopping IRS car.

Z284ever

First off, I'm not willing to give up IRS....no way.
Second, I can induce wheelhop on live axle cars, like my 5 speed IROC as well. In fact, I bought a set of 1LE control arms, (which have firmer bushings), about 15 years or so ago, as a fix . They're still sitting on a shelf in my basement though .

Anyway, it's not so much the wheelhop itself, as the unbelievable ease in which it can be induced that bugs me.

Apparently, as was explained to me, this is due to energy being transmitted out of phase to the rear wheels. It's possible to mitigate on Sigma, (although, not eliminate), even by stiffening things as far removed from the rear suspension as the motor mounts.

Anyway, wheelhop sucks. I'm sure the load leveling rear Novimat shocks don't help matters much either.

5thgen69camaro

Well if youre refering to leaf spring cars, the pinion climbs the gears under hard acceleration causing the front of the gearbox to go up towar the bottom of the car. This winds up the leaves making them look like an S It winds up until the leaves are completely loaded and then springs forward unloading the pressure causing the wheels to hop not just spin only for it to load up again starting the process over. This is why traction bars go to the front of the axle along the leaves. When the pinion tries to climb the gears with them, the leaves try to load up, but the traction bars grab the front of the leaves, and keep the leaves from turning into an S. Wheel hop is gone...

5thgen69camaro

Neither am I

Bob Cosby

Second off, I'm not willing to give up a live axle.

Well, I'd much prefer one. That is, of course, a personal preference/bias.