Bad wheel hop

[C101971]

I've read on forums about this topic extensively and I'm still in a pickle on the topic. So I'll start off by saying I understand how wheel hop happens and what you can do to reduce it in different price ranges.

Now that is out of the way. 2 c10's I've got access to, one is mine a 71 GMC c15 longbox fleetside, the other is my friends 69 Chevy c10 longbox fleetside. They are both leaf spring rear ends. We both get wheel hop, mine worse than him. I only have leaf springs and shocks. I have plans to get better shocks, flip kit, bushings and caltracs.

In theory that should solve my problem, I even get wheel hop trying to do a burnout in the wet right now....

Now on my friends side, he has everything I want, brands are different but the initial parts are the same, he's even got newer leaf springs, smaller tires than mine as well and he still gets wheel hop, not very bad but you can definitely tell.

Than we see other people with just leafs, no traction bars or anything do a big ol burnout with no problem.

Can someone shed some light on me here cause I'm convinced I just need a suspension upgrade but than I talk to people with the upgrade and they still have issues.

[geezer#99]

Put a pinion snubber on it.
Here’s a bunch of different ones.
Not hard to make one.
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=is...30.5DSX7HESjJ8

[C101971]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Put a pinion snubber on it.
Here’s a bunch of different ones.
Not hard to make one.
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=is...30.5DSX7HESjJ8

Is that like a bump stop for the trans? What exactly does a pinion snubber do?

[geezer#99]

It’s a bump stop for the rearend. Placed right above the pinion on the rearend.
When you tromp down the loud pedal the pinion wants to rise. When it does it bends the springs upward. The springs being springs want to stay straight and push the pinion back down. The pinion continues with this up down movement until you take away the power. The up down is your wheel hop.
A pinion snubber stops that first pinion rise and doesn’t allow that continuos motion of the pinion. Your tires stay planted and no wheel hop.
Some vehicles have bolt on snubbers that attach to the rearend. Mopar are like that.
You can easily build a bracket that hangs down to the top of the pinion that has a bump stop on it.
I’ve actually used a soft hockey puck as a bump stop.

Here’s a quick video to show the flex and pinion action.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=93v608LvmIY

[67 chevelle]

caltracs will cure that ,asap

[Mike C]

I have CalTracs on my short step and it's interesting to feel how it takes off differently than without. And that's with the no-power 307 in the truck!

Wheel hop and leaf springs go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Old school slapper bars help but it's hard to find a set long enough. One thing you can do is run MUCH stiffer front spring bushings (poly or aluminum) and clamps for the front of the leaf springs. clamp the front of each spring to the main pack from front of axle housing to front spring perch NOT including the overload. You can google Mopar super stock leaf spring clamps and get an idea about how the concept works.

You should see if you can find a slow-mo video showing wheel hop. Crazy what gyrations it puts the leaf spring through.

[HO455]

Just throw the oldest, hardest tires you can find on the rear and you will never have any more problems. Except when stopping and in corners and in the rain and... My point is the other guys who are doing burn outs have other differences. More horsepower makes it easier too. In my experience axle hop occurs when you are spinning and close to hooking up. Even when you have traction devices. (Not to mention how to tune them to work with your combination and not makes things worse.) When you are way past hooking up the tires just roast. Lower gears help as it makes it easier to get the car moving thus reducing the force twisting the axle.

[68is4me]

When I seen the title it remind me of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD1eJDn9h0w

[geezer#99]

LOL!!
I saw a jacked up blazer do that at a red light. Hopped right over and stopped in front of the oncoming stopped traffic.

[jocko]

It’s all fun and games until you shred your spider gears - and this is a sure way to do it. I’d say it’s kinda silly to keep doing burnouts when you have bad wheelhop, but then again, how else would I have found out that it destroys spider gears? . Let’s just say i was a lot younger then. Apparently it’s a hard lesson to learn, because it happened more than once. First time my spider replacements were free from a friend - but once I had to pay for new ones the second time, suddenly I didn’t think those burnouts were so cool anymore. It equated to a lot of gas on a teenager budget.

Having said all that - the most cost effective cure is to stop doing burnouts, it’s a truck. But if you must - I’ve found the slapper bars to be the least effective. Ladder bars work but are goofy on a truck. Pinion snubber is just a more effective slapper bar - it’s simple and it works well. As do caltracs. Good luck and remember it can get pricey quickly, except for the pinion snubber - that’s quite cost effective. Now if it were a car - slapper bars, though ineffective for the most part, sure look the part, as in a 70 Nova with a set. Now that’s period perfect