Re: define wheel hop for me please (Groundskeeper)
Here's a nice definition from some other page.
" Wheel hop An undesirable suspension characteristic in which a wheel
(or several) moves up and down so violently that it actually leaves the
ground. Wheel hop can be caused by many problems, including
excessive unsprung weight, insufficient shock damping, or poor
torsional axle control. "
True wheel hop is actually jumping off the ground, but there's a related
problem where it just slips and catches repeatedly, and that's pretty
much the same thing, just not violent enough to make it leave the ground.
The engine mounts thing comes up because if the engine is moving
around a lot, it causes a varying amount of torque to the wheels.
Eg. the engine rocks back and when it finally hits its limit, then the tire breaks
so the engine rocks back forward while the tire spins, then when it hooks up
the engine rocks again until hit hits its limits of movement, tires
break loose again.. and so forth. What you want is the engine
not to move, the axles not to cause any non-axial forces and
the wheels to be light and attached via a well damped suspension
to limit movement of everything, and damp out any oscillations
that start.
The stock EDL system activated on dry pavement can also cause something
similar. One tire starts to slip, the EDL kicks in and applies the brakes to
that side so there's a sudden increase in torque on the opposite side
causing it to spin, then that side gets braked and so forth. It's brutal on
the differential as is real wheel hop as power often transfers back
and forth with each hop.
ian