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

 

let your clutch out slower and punch it AFTER your foot is off the clutch.

Also, what RPM are you launching from?

 

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

 

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.

 

+1

 

so is a sway bar a waste....

 

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......

 

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?

 

Launching at 7k and hopping is not the fastest way down the track.

 

wheel hop on our cars is a rear suspension geometry issue... sway bars and shocks can help mask the problem

 

^^^thanks^^^
of course i turned the trac off......and i love mask...

 

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.

 

i agree^^^my car even hops in the rain....

 

chancejat - Did replacing the rear sway bar reduce your wheel hop?

 

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

 

I would have thought stiffer shocks would have more effect on wheel hop than a sway bar

 

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.

 

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.....

 

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

 

Sports car is designed to be driven by people who knows how to take advantage of it. NOT ABUSE !

 

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

 

Tires

 

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.

 

road temp.

beers

 

^^ Still tires

( couldn't help it )