Why does my truck hop?

[xtreme lowpro]

half of the times when i go to do a burn out i look like a retard cause the wheels start hoppin and the truck shakes like crazy. just wonderin why it only does it half the time and whats makin it do it?

[T Man]

thats called wheel hop. it happens when you have enough power to break traction, but not enough to roast your tires. you need some sort of traction aid. Slapper bars or something

[bvr775]

do you have blocks?

[OBI WAN]

Too soft a spring rate, which if lowered via leafs makes it worse, coupled with sticky tires , light rearend(pickups)= Wheel Hop

As the tires begin to heat and want to grab traction, they pull the rear down but the springs have just enough energy stored to push back, tires then let go traction and it begins to repeat itself very quickly!

[xtreme lowpro]

all that makes since but it only happens half the time. so why is it that i can burn the crap outta them somedays and not on others.

[LEADFOOT]

all that makes since but it only happens half the time. so why is it that i can burn the crap outta them somedays and not on others.Traction. Maybe some days its hotter on the days when it hops. It will only hop when both wheels are trying to spin. Road surface has alot to do with it too. Fresh pavement has more traction capabilities than say old eroted surfaces or concrete. When I was in college I bought a new "96" s10 (base model, 2.2L, 5 speed, couldn't afford what I wanted), if I would rev it then pop the clutch it would WH, but if I reved it then let the clutch out a little slower (smoother) instead of just popping it, it would spin w/o WH. What makes wheel hop is when power is applied to the tires it makes the rearend pinion twist upward. When tires break traction it relaxes a little and goes back down, then with in a split second they gain traction again and it goes back up causing a twist in the springs which creates a chain reaction and it doesn't stop. Then you have to stop and start the burn out again. Check out this thread http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1234&page=1&pp=20 . I have a pic of mine that I just put on because I had the same problem as you. After I cut my rear bump stops to give the rear suspension more travel, which only had about 1.5" of clearence anyway, it would WH bad. I had to put an end to that with a set of lakewood traction bars. That wheel hop can snap an axle or even bust the rear end all to helll if you have enough power.

[T Man]

So basically what I said right?

[OBI WAN]

It all depends, bars and other traction aids will not correct wheel hop if it is due to the suspension setup. They just stop axle wrap which isnt always the problem!

[LEADFOOT]

I can definitly say that my pinion angle does not go where it used to. I went to the pavement at walmart where it used to WH all the time and now no WH, tried it several different times. I benefitted greatly from these traction bars, except they hang down to far and I can't lower it now or they will be really close to hitting the ground. but later on down the road I will get the slide-a-links or something like that so I can lower it.

[xtreme lowpro]

thanks for the help i think im gonna invest in some trac bars

[bvr775]

do you have blocks?...

if you have blocks taller than 2"(and that's with good leafs) there is not much you can do to eliminate wheel hop, outher than staying out of pedal.