Wheel hop crazy - front left

[rich83]

Come on guys... you shouldnt need to spooge 1200quid on KW-V3 to stop wheel hop! There must be something not right with one of the front end components!

[paulk]

sorry to hear you have problems steve....Vw racing fitted all the mods on the car , diff miltek REVO etc ....I never had any banging knocking from any thing , the suspension felt tight no oil spills etc. I always had the car checked and can say nothing was loose...Id take it to another tuner for some else to look it over before you spend any more money.

I will say the diff did kinda skip when it was workin hard tryin to get grip, the rs does the same....

[SteveS]

Paul, I don't blame you in anyway... just want to get it resolved 
We did hear the noise on the test drive in the car park, but you said it was the diff.. i knew no better, but i cant believe it's the diff,  even vwr said it shouldn't be making any sounds and it definitely wasn't that when i took simon for a drive..

Still waiting for matt to reply although i don't expect one, especially at Christmas so ill have to call him in the new year..

[SteveS]

Just curious but does it occur when you have the traction control turned off ?

yes both times.. although its harder to test in this weather.. lol

[RedRobin]

We did hear the noise on the test drive in the car park, but you said it was the diff.. i knew no better, but i cant believe it's the diff,  even vwr said it shouldn't be making any sounds and it definitely wasn't that when i took simon for a drive..

Still waiting for matt to reply although i don't expect one, especially at Christmas so ill have to call him in the new year..

....Installing the two front engine mounts WILL most definitely transfer more sounds from the engine bay to the cabin - I can't believe Simon @ VWR said otherwise.

I guess that weather conditions stopped you from doing a proper test drive by hammering it through a few of those Milton Keynes roundabouts.

I would go back to VWR before approaching any other tuner - VWR will be very keen to make sure your car is as it should be and will in my long experience of them always do all they can to help. Mixing it up with third parties at this stage helps no-one.

VWR open again on January 4th.

[SteveS]

Yes, the engine sound has transferred, i quite like it, but still... issue not fixed by installing the mounts.

I will go back to vwr, i don't trust any other tuners anyway.

[tony_danza]

Why are you trying to cure wheel hop with engine mounts?

Wheel hop is the car's wheel being pulled forward under hard accelleration into the wheelwell, it going from toe-in to toe-out, losing traction and snapping back. You replace the lower mount to stop the engine from rocking when this snap occurs, making it feel worse.

Mounts don't cure it. A diff won't cure it. KW Vinfiniti won't cure it - all they do is alter the threshold at which the wheel hop occurs. Short of running solid mounts on the wishbones (rosejointed) you'll never completely eliminate it, but you'll make it a hell of a lot better with poly.

If nothing is worn or loose, shocks/topmounts etc, then first port of call is to poly the wishbones if they aren't already done.

As a slight aside, you have a diff - are both wheel spinning, or just the nearside?? It could be shagged and that could be your problem, it isn't torque biasing??

[SteveS]

Hmm, im not sure if the wishbones were changed to S3 ones? ill have to find out.
When i was at VWR i did say do we need to change any of these, they said nah, no need...

The hop is coming from the passenger/nearside.

Now you mention it,  i think it was pulling to the left, but then i know they are meant to, Ill check on torque steer tonight and how much it pulls.

[tony_danza]

You've got a WALK??

If not, get the Superpro version (much cheaper and arguably better). The front wishbone mount isn't as essential, but it'd be daft not to do it too.

A full set of mounts is overkill, I can't help but feel you've been led down the garden path there if you were sold them on the basis of them being a wheel hop cure. I'd class them as a 'nice to have' and not a 'need'. I certainly never felt the need to have them on mine, and that got some serious abuse on track.

To check the diff, axle stand the car and put it in a forward gear on tickover. Both wheels will rotate in the same direction if it is working ok. For the second part, it being faulty under load, you'd maybe need to seek some expert advice there, but it'd been a really really slim chance of it being the cause, so don't focus on that too much.

Oh, and mine never pulled to the left.   You've had the rear geo checked, right?? They're way out from the factory, straighten it up and it'll track true.

[RedRobin]

Why are you trying to cure wheel hop with engine mounts?

Wheel hop is the car's wheel being pulled forward under hard accelleration into the wheelwell, it going from toe-in to toe-out, losing traction and snapping back. You replace the lower mount to stop the engine from rocking when this snap occurs, making it feel worse.

Mounts don't cure it. A diff won't cure it. KW Vinfiniti won't cure it - all they do is alter the threshold at which the wheel hop occurs. Short of running solid mounts on the wishbones (rosejointed) you'll never completely eliminate it, but you'll make it a hell of a lot better with poly.

If nothing is worn or loose, shocks/topmounts etc, then first port of call is to poly the wishbones if they aren't already done.

As a slight aside, you have a diff - are both wheel spinning, or just the nearside?? It could be shagged and that could be your problem, it isn't torque biasing??

....IIRC, in my case I found that the coilover suspension with WALK and new wishbone bushes setup (all installed in one session) reduced wheel hop. Later on I found that when I only installed the lower engine mount it further helped transfer power to the road smoothly. Surely there is also the factor of driving-style - I have trained my right foot to move progressively and not stamp on the throttle - I don't like wheelspin and feel I'm not driving properly if I induce it.

I'm thinking it can be a combination of components which help reduce wheel hop. There's no doubt that even only fitting a poly torque arm insert reduces the hop, so logically at least, a stiffer lower engine mount will help a lot.

[SteveS]

I asked about WALK and they said don't bother as you have the S3 version fitted

The mounts came with a hefty price, so quite disappointed, still they do make me feel more "connected", but that i could have lived without, the hop i cant, needs to go!

I didn't ask to have the geo checked, they didn't suggest.. so i don't know the answer to that.

Where you from tony?

[SteveS]

Anyone point me at the polys which would be a good idea to fit?

[tony_danza]

Robin, the WALK cured it. Trust me, I did mine in stages.

All the other mods purely serve to aid traction, so the threshold being moved gives the impression they've improved the problem. The lower mount reduces the movement of the lump, so it doesn't accentuate the hop with it adding it's own bang. 2 different issues there working together.

Steve, the S3 mount is still soft rubber and compliant, even if it isn't as bad as the voided GTI version. Your issue lies here. Poly them, get the car on a 4-wheel laser geo and have it set up properly. It'll be much, much better afterwards.

I'm in Cheshire BTW.

[SteveS]

poly or walk? or are they different ?

[RedRobin]

A full set of mounts is overkill, I can't help but feel you've been led down the garden path there if you were sold them on the basis of them being a wheel hop cure. I'd class them as a 'nice to have' and not a 'need'. I certainly never felt the need to have them on mine, and that got some serious abuse on track.

....I agree - Engine mounts are definitely great to have but not needed, but you could say that about most aftermarket modifications. In fact I had to ask VWR to fit them - They didn't hard sell them at all - In fact, VWR never hard sell anything in my experience. Likewise with the S3 wishbones: VWR can supply and fit them but advise me my car doesn't need them and we can do a simple wheel arch mod instead. Don't forget that although they are a business interested in profit they are heavily subsidised and workloaded by their racing activities and don't seem desperate for work.