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So I have pretty extensive mods to my TA's motor, but the suspension is bone stock on 150k+ miles. I try not to launch it often because it has the stock rear end too. But when I do load it up and launch, the thing feels like it's DRIVING DOWN FREAKING STAIRS!!! It is extremely violent and must be dealt with at once. This is my primary objective.
Honestly, I haven't given any other thought to my car's suspension beyond "hey, it would be nice to drop it and tighten it up." I know nothing, but after browsing this sub, I'm thinking shocks and springs and I'm getting real excited for what these mods can do for a car. It does feel loose as **** going into turns and at high speeds (neo-Boss 302 got the best of me despite similar power) and maneuvering in general. I have no trust or respect for my car in that regard. HAHA! So, now's the time...
As you know, like with everything cars, there are a bazillion choices for parts and I don't know what I'm doing. With this post I'm appealing to the higher F-body gods and the wise LS council to please nurture me and navigate me to the best fitments. Car is a weekender with a sprinkle of street racey stuff thrown in when I'm feeling frisky, no 1/4 track action so far, maybe after rear end gets upgraded. I'm running Toyo 315's out back and 275's up front mounted to 17"s. I'm not afraid of a rough ride and ground clearance shouldn't be an issue as long as it's reasonable. I don't want to get very spendy, but would like to make any changes worthwhile and done right the 1st time. I did see Koni stuff is on sale 20% off at Tirerack right now, but there are several options even just there.
Wheel hop breaks stuff! My biggest fear when I first got my old car.
After my initial mods it was recommended to me that I install a torque arm. I went with BMR. That solved my wheel hop issues. I had kyb agx shocks (not the best). Keep in mind if you plan on upgrading your rear end that not all aftermarket torque arms are compatible.
I had wheel hop so bad that it broke my trans. I bought a set of UMI’s tubular rear lower control arms with poly bushings and now the hop is gone. All of the suspension manufactures sell them for around $110.
I don't know what "extensive mods to the engine" means but even on a stock car I would relocate the TA off of the transmission trail shaft. It sounds like you are on the right path though. A shock and spring refresh will do wonders. I also would recommend a TA and a TA relocation bracket. Ussually that will clean up a lot of wheel hop issues. If you are thinking of switching rear end at some point go ahead and and get an adjustable TA so you don't have to re-buy later. I'm a big fan of removing as much stamped steel as possible back there. New LCAs are a nice inexpensive upgrade.
So I have pretty extensive mods to my TA's motor, but the suspension is bone stock on 150k+ miles. I try not to launch it often because it has the stock rear end too. But when I do load it up and launch, the thing feels like it's DRIVING DOWN FREAKING STAIRS!!! It is extremely violent and must be dealt with at once. This is my primary objective.
Honestly, I haven't given any other thought to my car's suspension beyond "hey, it would be nice to drop it and tighten it up." I know nothing, but after browsing this sub, I'm thinking shocks and springs and I'm getting real excited for what these mods can do for a car. It does feel loose as **** going into turns and at high speeds (neo-Boss 302 got the best of me despite similar power) and maneuvering in general. I have no trust or respect for my car in that regard. HAHA! So, now's the time...
As you know, like with everything cars, there are a bazillion choices for parts and I don't know what I'm doing. With this post I'm appealing to the higher F-body gods and the wise LS council to please nurture me and navigate me to the best fitments. Car is a weekender with a sprinkle of street racey stuff thrown in when I'm feeling frisky, no 1/4 track action so far, maybe after rear end gets upgraded. I'm running Toyo 315's out back and 275's up front mounted to 17"s. I'm not afraid of a rough ride and ground clearance shouldn't be an issue as long as it's reasonable. I don't want to get very spendy, but would like to make any changes worthwhile and done right the 1st time. I did see Koni stuff is on sale 20% off at Tirerack right now, but there are several options even just there.
Thanks!
One thing that definitely sucks about trying to fix wheel hop is you never really know what exactly is causing it.
Aftermarket rear LCAs could do it, LCA relocation brackets could, aftermarket torque arm could, shocks could, the combination of all could, or it could just be tires or tire pressure.
One thing is for sure, at 150K miles bushings will be worn out and your stock shocks are far beyond done. You also mentioned higher speed stability and overall feel and handling which a good set of shocks (Koni Sport for example) will improve drastically.
Id suggest getting koni sports from stranoparts first, Sam can help with any questions and general setup (unlike tirerack), plus he is a sponsor.
You will be flabbergasted with the difference. If that doesn't fix the wheel hop I would look at either replacing the rear LCA bushings with the moog/1LE solid bushings or getting an aftermarket set with rotojoints or rod ends (NOT poly bushings as they bind). If that doesn't work look into a full length torque arm (not short chassis mounted one as you can get brake hop under heavy braking with those). Then last would be LCA relocation brackets (as you will still be a stock height, so its not like the rear LCAs are angled down or anything).
JD_AMG covered most of what I was about to say (minus the Strano part :p)
The first direction I normally point people in to get rid of wheel hop is LCA's and Relocation brackets. Especially on a lowered car. Then I would address the torque arm.
I really appreciate those who took the time to write. I'm sure this has been gone over a million times, but I like the personal input as no two cars are the same.
I did some binge-researching the other day and after all that reading and considering y'alls advice I decided to get the Koni Str.Ts and Strano Springs from Stranoparts. Seemed like the way to go since Koni is having the sale right now. The Koni Sports I'm sure are amazing and I'd love to have them, but I can't get that spendy. Going into address this wheel hop issue I was thinking just replace the shocks with standard ones, but after coming here I got real excited about the idea of a better handling car and so pulled the trigger. The car deserves it!
I'm praying this puts a stop to the hop right here as I have some other things to take care of. I will definitely be referencing this thread if I have to continue working on the suspension. Will be updating the thread with my results and insight after I get some road time with it. I'm really freakin' stoked!!!!
Ok, car is now upgraded to Koni Str.T's and Strano springs. Ended up having to get new mounts and insulators. TL/DR: 2 part post here, Insight and Going Forward. Please read the 2nd part as I still need help.
Insight:
Extremely happy with the look of the lowered stance. Car felt majorly improved as soon as I got it on the road, a lot more fun to drive. Will NOT be going back to standard height. Clearance hasn't been an issue so far, a scrape and a grind here and there, but just being extra mindful of inclines/bumps and I think it'll be just fine. Strano has the measurements down like Goldilocks, not too low and not too high. Juuuust right. =)
I can feel the shocks break in more and more each time I drive. At this point they feel a world of improvement over the 150k/17 years old stock shocks. The ride quality is very similar, I feel the road slightly more in a good way really. Car handles undulation in the road way better! I can really notice the improvement when I see the car ahead of me bounce 2 or 3 times and mine simply seems to apply just the right amount of down force in response and keeps the tires pressured to the road, allowing them to perform to their full potential.
On cornering, I haven't pushed the envelope much yet, although I feel a lot better about it than I did already. The car feels like it's trying to "reach" out a lot less when pulling g's, much more firm and planted. Specifically, I was running late for a yellow light turning 90* left and decided to push it going in pretty hard. The car handled the maneuver without a hint of going anywhere but in between the lines of the lane I was in, so I'm gradually building confidence.
The Strano/Koni package has obviously made a world of difference and I wish I'd come across this option a long time ago. The car is finally more in the realm of "race car" or performance vehicle which is why I bought it in the first place, it no longer feels like just an ordinary car with a powerful motor. If you're thinking about doing this upgrade I highly recommend you get on it immediately. It could definitely help you avoid a disastrous situation. Seriously, do the shocks at least. There's a lot riding on them!
Driveway is at an incline, so pics may look a little funky.
Going Forward:
I definitely want to do the Strano sways based on what I've read. I replaced the end links anyways and the wheel feels so much tighter! Not ready for the aforementioned mods yet though as the DAMN WHEEL HOP is still at about 80% of what it used to be which is still way crazy damaging bounce-slam-slam-bounce %*#@&$!!! on my drag radials. I went ahead and had the rear end serviced and I'm going to just stick with the stock rear after all.
I've decided to get some LCA's going and maybe relocation brackets if y'all think it would help. So I'm asking y'all what do you think would be the best units to go with for my situation? Once again, there are a lot of options out there and I'm not familiar with this stuff at all. I do have a budget, but I definitely want the problem resolved and I want to do it "right".
OP my situation is almost identical to yours in every single way PLUS I run a 150 shot of nitrous lol. Long story short I got some Koni STR.T's, BMR springs, LCA relocation brackets, and a adjustable panhard bar. It will be going on in the next few days. I hope my improvements are every bit as good as yours. Thank you for sharing
I was in your situation too man. Since it's lowered now, the lca relocation brackets and adj lower control arms are pretty much a must. I'm going to bet that you will probably end up needing an adj torque arm to fix the wheel hop. That's what I had to do after replacing the same things you have.
But I had a problem with my adj torque arm hitting the driveshaft arch under the car on dips or potholes over 20mph. After looking at it I figured out that my rear end was shifted towards the drivers side from being lowered and I ended up needing an adj panhard rod so I could center it again left to right. Then everything was perfect except my wallet
Make sure you buy adj lower control arms though! It's worth the extra money just incase you have to center your wheels in your rear wheel wells. I've read where some people didn't have to, but I sure did and others did too. It'll also set you up later if you decide to start going to the track more for setting pinion angle and instant center.
Wheel hop is killer on our cars. The rear is already a weak link in our cars and adding that type of shock to it leads to broken parts.
We seem to be in the same general power level without N2O. I encountered some of the same issues you're having and my path to resolving it was pretty similar. Ultimately, it was the LCA's and relocation brackets that fixed my problem. Given that I'm on a road race setup I am glad that the problem disappeared without the need to address the torque arm (avoids the need to go try to find a de-coupled TA).
As JD mentioned above, you may want to stay away from poly in the LCAs as there's some debate about binding issues. I didn't feel the need to do my own testing on whether or not poly will bind on the track, so I went with UMI's roto-joint LCAs and I love them.
If you had wheel hop before at stock height you will definitely have it now being lowered. I'd suggest getting the torque arm off of the transmission before it brakes the tail housing(If you haven't already). I've seen bone stock vehicles brake them. When getting an adjustable torque arm you can now set your pinion angle properly.
After that I'd invest in some adjustable LCA, and weld in relocation brackets. We prefer weld in because there is no maintenance to them once installed. All though going over bolts should be added to everyone's maintenance at oil changes if you use your vehicle spiritedly. We do offer Poly suspension items but nothing will beat the performance of a good quality heim joint.
She's cured! I went with heim PHB and LCA's from MWC and bolt-on relocation brackets from BMR. Haven't been able to drive much at all, but I layed into it from a dig twice and the wheel hop is 100% gone. Car feels pretty much transformed, it's a lot tighter back there and it can do the things it's supposed to now, such as launch forcefully and cleanly or do a burnout without fear of destroying the poor thing.
My OEM parts were extremely old and worn. Massive difference, feels like a new car! I haven't noticed any increase in NVH, but car's Flowmaster Super 40 is crazy loud and I haven't got much seat time yet.
07-01-2016, 07:08 PM
Help a beginner's wheel hop issues 
