Notices
Series I Tech Garage The place to discuss anything technical about the RX-8 that doesn't fit into any of the categories below.

wheel hop

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Rate Thread
 
Old 01-30-2008, 08:43 PM
  #1  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Question wheel hop

hey guys im trying to reduce wheel hop in my 8....it gets really annoying sometimes, i was told a stiffer rear sway bar may do the trick and plan on buying one this weekend(TANABE)....is this the right thing to do or is their another route i should take.....im not an autoxer or anything i just like to get my rotor on sometimes, if you know what i mean, and i always seem to hop in 1st gear and at the beginning of 2nd......thanks
Old 01-30-2008, 08:47 PM
  #2  
ಠ_ಠ
 
Socket7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Under the Dumbarton Bridge
Posts: 2,228
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
let your clutch out slower and punch it AFTER your foot is off the clutch.

Also, what RPM are you launching from?

Last edited by Socket7; 01-30-2008 at 08:51 PM.
Old 01-30-2008, 08:52 PM
  #3  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
i know how to feather the clutch but dont like doing it.....i was hoping there was more of a constant solution for the 8
edit: i usually launch at 7k and get constant 2.1-2.2 60ft.....but thats only when i test my car at the strip.....i always smell a little clutch aterwards though....im just hoping for a way to reduce the wheel hop a mechanically, constant way....is the sway bar the right choice

Last edited by chancejat; 01-30-2008 at 08:59 PM.
Old 01-30-2008, 08:59 PM
  #4  
ಠ_ಠ
 
Socket7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Under the Dumbarton Bridge
Posts: 2,228
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Well I suppose you could just keep popping the clutch till your dif or first gear explodes

In my opinion, the problem is in your driving style not in the car. Listen to what the car is telling you. If the wheels are hopping, you are applying to much power to quickly. A smooth gear change is almost always going to be faster then rushing it.

The RPM drop between first and second is about 2000 RPM, Practice your rev matching and you can eliminate the wheel hop and still release the clutch very quickly.

If you are launching from 7K, you absolutely must feather the clutch, and you will be taking several thousand miles off its lifespan every time you do it.

Last edited by Socket7; 01-30-2008 at 09:01 PM.
Old 01-30-2008, 09:21 PM
  #5  
RX-8s Official Cool Guy
 
HiTMaNN's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 2,150
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Originally Posted by Socket7

If you are launching from 7K, you absolutely must feather the clutch, and you will be taking several thousand miles off its lifespan every time you do it.
+1
Old 01-30-2008, 09:21 PM
  #6  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
so is a sway bar a waste....
Old 01-30-2008, 09:26 PM
  #7  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Socket7
If you are launching from 7K, you absolutely must feather the clutch, and you will be taking several thousand miles off its lifespan every time you do it.
Its not like i launch at 7k at every stop light ive probably done it 8-9 times, only at the track though, so i can get decent respectable times, still would like to know if a sway bar or another item will stop the hop....i assure i know how to drive my car , and as previously said i would prefer not to have to feather the clutch......
Old 01-30-2008, 10:19 PM
  #8  
ಠ_ಠ
 
Socket7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Under the Dumbarton Bridge
Posts: 2,228
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
I'm no suspension expert, but it's my understanding that sway bars prevent the body from flexing and eliminate body roll on corners.

Unless you're launching yourself in a corner, I don't see how it could help, but I could be wrong.

Launching your car at 7K is not necessarily bad, but you will burn your clutch out faster if you do it. If you've got money to spare, replacing clutches frequently is no big deal.

If you cant afford to replace clutches frequently, the solution is to stop launching the car, not get off the clutch faster. By releasing the clutch faster all you are doing is kicking your gearbox and Dif in the nuts with 200HP, and that will cost you several thousand dollars to replace instead of several hundred, and it shouldn't be covered under warranty either, because it qualifies as abuse.

I know you don't want to feather the clutch, probably as much as I don't want to drive the speed limit, but I do, because the consequences of not doing so are more then can afford to pay.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. The 8 has a soul. Listen to what your car is telling you and it will reward you for it.

One more thing, you ARE disabling your traction control when you launch the car right?
Old 01-30-2008, 11:15 PM
  #9  
Mu ha.. ha...
 
Razz1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cali
Posts: 14,361
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Launching at 7k and hopping is not the fastest way down the track.
Old 01-31-2008, 07:01 AM
  #10  
Registered
iTrader: (1)
 
r0tor's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 3,754
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
wheel hop on our cars is a rear suspension geometry issue... sway bars and shocks can help mask the problem
Old 01-31-2008, 07:10 AM
  #11  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
^^^thanks^^^
of course i turned the trac off......and i love mask...
Old 01-31-2008, 11:16 AM
  #12  
Registered
iTrader: (3)
 
Macius8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: chicago
Posts: 436
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have read it a few times on this forum that stiffer sway bars do help the problem. I hardly ever launch the car from that high but ocasionally I happen to do so. One of the reasons I bought this car was to have some fun. I belive a sports car is designed to take some abuse, if it cant its not a sports car or someone designed a shitty car. Wheel hop really gets annoying when its wet also.
Old 01-31-2008, 11:42 AM
  #13  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
i agree^^^my car even hops in the rain....
Old 02-10-2008, 05:28 PM
  #14  
Registered
 
Scottyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
chancejat - Did replacing the rear sway bar reduce your wheel hop?
Old 02-10-2008, 06:18 PM
  #15  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
its on its way....i bought a progress technology sway bar.....everyone says its the same as agency powers but cheaper....ill probably install it next weekend....and ill let you know
Old 02-10-2008, 06:32 PM
  #16  
Boosted Kiwi
iTrader: (2)
 
Brettus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Y-cat-o NZ
Posts: 20,525
Received 1,492 Likes on 840 Posts
I would have thought stiffer shocks would have more effect on wheel hop than a sway bar
Old 02-10-2008, 06:47 PM
  #17  
Registered
 
Scottyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks chancejat. Let me know.

I have also read that installing a rear strut tower brace is helpful. Staticlag said he has no wheelhop with RB sway bars and Greddy rear strut bar.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ar+strut+tower

I'm kind of cheap, so I would like to buy just what would be the most effective.
Old 02-10-2008, 06:54 PM
  #18  
Drive it like u stole it!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
chancejat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: mobile, al
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
yeah i hear the strut bar works too....but i heard more people saying sway than strut bar...but i think i will eventually combo both.....
Old 02-10-2008, 10:59 PM
  #19  
The Professor
 
staticlag's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 3,479
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Lol, Yeah I honestly can't remember the last time I've had any wheelhop. Just squats and does an actual burnout.

Click on the link in my sig to see what I'm running
Old 02-10-2008, 11:19 PM
  #20  
Out of NYC
iTrader: (1)
 
nycgps's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 19,881
Received 32 Likes on 30 Posts
Originally Posted by Macius8
I have read it a few times on this forum that stiffer sway bars do help the problem. I hardly ever launch the car from that high but ocasionally I happen to do so. One of the reasons I bought this car was to have some fun. I belive a sports car is designed to take some abuse, if it cant its not a sports car or someone designed a shitty car. Wheel hop really gets annoying when its wet also.
Sports car is designed to be driven by people who knows how to take advantage of it. NOT ABUSE !
Old 02-10-2008, 11:30 PM
  #21  
Zoom-Freakin'-Zoom
iTrader: (5)
 
swoope's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: orlando, fl
Posts: 14,602
Received 35 Likes on 31 Posts
Originally Posted by Charles R. Hill
My RB rear swaybar eliminated the wheelhop on reasonable surfaces, even with the nitrous shot. That's how the discussion of wheelhop elimination got started........3 years ago.

I also hold my RPMs at 5,000 and when I launch I mash the gas pedal while letting up on the clutch pedal(not "drop" though) and by the time the clutch locks up I am at 7,000 RPMs. No problem with my diff nor tranny that wasn't my own fault.
interesting,

as mine went away with springs and shocks.. stock sways.. still on till next weekend.

and i use the same system of feathering the clutch as you..

beers
Old 02-10-2008, 11:38 PM
  #22  
Modulated Moderator
iTrader: (3)
 
dannobre's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Smallville
Posts: 13,718
Received 334 Likes on 289 Posts
Tires
Old 02-10-2008, 11:52 PM
  #23  
Former Owner
 
SoFL_RX8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 774
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Stickier Tires + Correct Launch = consistant 2.1-2.0 60ft with no suspension upgrades


I done probably about 50 or so (at least) 1/8 miles passes in my 8, and Ill tell you right now, the only things you need to adjust to eliminate wheel hop is:

1) your left foot
2) your right foot

The ONLY thing that might need changing from stock is a meatier tire, 245/40/18 instead of 225. That brought my ET's down from 9.3 to 9.1 and reduced my 60ft by .05-.1

And BTW, I never once dropped the clutch at 7k to get those 60ft times. 5k-5.5k RPM is plenty to get this car moving right, even with 275's in the rear, trust me.
Old 02-11-2008, 12:15 AM
  #24  
Zoom-Freakin'-Zoom
iTrader: (5)
 
swoope's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: orlando, fl
Posts: 14,602
Received 35 Likes on 31 Posts
Originally Posted by dannobre
Tires
road temp.

beers
Old 02-11-2008, 12:16 AM
  #25  
Modulated Moderator
iTrader: (3)
 
dannobre's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Smallville
Posts: 13,718
Received 334 Likes on 289 Posts
^^ Still tires

( couldn't help it )


You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Rating: 0 votes,  average.

Quick Reply: wheel hop



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:03 PM.