Is it Easter?

[norcalace]

It must be Easter because my Vega is doing the bunny hop at the track. 1st time out last night and a total disaster. Didn't bring my other lug nuts for the slicks (Hoosier Quick Time Pros) and wasn't allowed to use the mags lugs for obvious reasons so I went with the street tires. (BFG TAs).

30lbs in the tires and 20lbs in the bags. Stock lower control arms with rubber bushings. Rear sway bar installed. Drove around the water and did a dry hop to clean the tires. Wheel hop from hell! Staged the car and left from idle. Instant lose of traction and killer wheel hop. Had to completely back out of it then hit it again and it still bounced.

Added 10lbs to the bags and dropped the tires to 25. Another short dry burnout to clean and the hop seemed alot less but was still there. Left again off idle and eased into it but as soon as I went full throttle it broke into another Easter parade.

Got into eliminations and figured I'd soft shoe it off the line and see what happens. 1st race I get spotted 2 seconds. He catches me at the 1/8th mile and runs it out the back door, brakes out and hands me a win. Go figure. I would have laid a fender on me and hung there to the end. Next race I'm giving up .5, cut a good lite, figure I should try to catch him a soon as possible so half way through first I drop the hammer and it's Easter time again. Back pedaled once, it caught, and I hit second but he was gone by then. Got to his bumber but that's it.

Anyway, I have a set of boxed LCAs with poly bushings and I'm fabbing a set of "Stop Hop" brackets to raise my UCAs. I'm leaning towards the rubber bushing LCAs as most if not part of the problem. My upper control arms are already boxed and have poly bushings. Don't know if the sway bar had any thing to do with it.

Heading back to the track on Monday and plan to have the slicks, stop hops and LCAs on. I'm hoping that takes care of it. That was the most violent wheel hop I've ever experienced and I feel lucky I didn't break anything. I always backed out of it as soon as it started but damn it's nasty when it happens.

Any thoughts/input is much appreciated.

BTW best 60 ft with the bunny rabbit was 2.22. ET 14.39. I know it's got 13s in it so I'm encouraged to get baack to the track.

[cjbiagi]

Sounds like you are on the right track, stiffer bushings would probably help at the drag strip. You also need to check the angles of your lower control arms. Has the car been lowered? If so, this lowers the front of the bars and puts them in a nose down angle, not good for traction. They should be level or pointing up toward the front. Not the easiest thing to change though, I know for Camaro's there are brackets that are bolted/welded to the rear axle to allow you to lower the rear mounting point. http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/camar ... ckets.aspx

Maybe we could get Spohn to make these for H bodies?

[72 SS PNL]

urethane bushings in the lower will help stop the hop

also id do the adjustable upper arms , like the 1's spohn has for a street car , or the others on ebay with the heim ends on both ends for very little street to full race

also ive found max air in the bags doesnt always work , sometime it only takes a few lbs , and run the pass side bag with 3-5psi higher than the drivers

leave the sway bar on

[73astregt]

darn my car is wheel hopping every time i break the tires loose lately on the street. it never did this before just smoked the tires as much as i held the pedal down. i have all energy suspension bushings in the rear arms that have been installed when i put the car on the road three years ago with not much milage on them. would the shocks cause this? they are the only thing i can think of that might cause the wheel hop if they are pooched all other things being the same in the rear suspension . oh and i welded in frame rails and strengthened up the mounting pionts for the arms but that shouldent affect it or would it? sorry to jump in on the thread but its a related subject.

[cjbiagi]

Look at the lower arms, is the front higher or lower than the rear? In other words, is the front of the arm pointing up or down?

[72 SS PNL]

adjustable uppers , no hop brackets for the uppers , slapper bars , air bags

most manuals are alot more prone to wheel hop , from the shock to the rear end and suspension , autos pre-load the rear end and suspension

[73astregt]

hummm ya i did put the 5 speed in this spring too but this thing wheel hops even if you are in first geat at 2500 to 3000 rpm and mash the pedal down driving up the street. as soon as the tires break traction its bang bang bang you gotta get out of the throttle or somethings gonna break.

[norcalace]

There must be something wrong with either the bushings or the lower control arm angle. When I had stock lower arms with rubber bushings the rear was bouncing wildly. Even with boxed and poly bushed uppers. BTW I also had drag bags in the coils and it still bounced. When I installed my poly bushed boxed lower arms it all went away. Street tires or slicks, makes no difference it stays planted. My lowers also angle uppwards slighlty.

Who knows, you may have split a bushing or a mounting point has come loose. After 4 passes at the track my rubber bushings were totally destroyed. Chunks of rubber had broken off and fallen out. I went from 2.22 60ft times with rubber bushings and street tires to 1.8 with boxed poly arms and slicks.

[73astregt]

im going to swap in a s10 rear end over the winter and i have a set of the upper and lower arms from dshop2000 on ebay im going to install and i might get a set of the tracton bars as well its just funny every thing feels tight with the arms, no flopping around everything is rewelded and beefed up and all of a sudden i have this wheel hop problem. i think the posi is working intermittently as well, sometimes under aceleration it feels like its slewing to the left a bit like its only driving with the right side tire. im also debating on ladder barring it but im not shure yet if i can without cutting into the floor of the car.

[chevyart]

hey 73 astregt i would definitely stay away from ladder bars on your car, especially for a street car. its too radical a change and is probably unnecessary. what you intend to use sounds ok. i have a set of traction bars i am going to install on my car when it goes on the street. ill be curious to see how they wotk for you. how about asdapting a good set of adjustable shocks in that rear section of your car. keep us posted. good luck chevy art

[73astregt]

i hear you on the ladder bars art. one of these years im going to take it to the track and run the hell out of it to see what it will do in the quarter i just want to make shure when i do put slicks on it its gonna hook and go on the track. ive also had a few guys want to play on the street and i want to be able to shut em down if i choose to run them.

[chevyart]

hey 73 astregt leave all the chevies alone out on the street. they are family, except if they are big block, then spank them. same goes for all mustangs and rice burners. put a hurtin on them chevy art