wheneva i power break or burn out 2 long my car wheelhops i think i need tighter better shocks but just wondering if i keep on doing the burnout while car is shaking like crazy does this do anyharm to the car it feels crazy car bounces so much

 

First, try using some punctuation.

Now to the "is this damaging my car" question. Power Braking by its very nature is destructive to your car, but when you are getting severe wheel hop, your tires are actually leaving the pavement and spinning free at very high rotational speeds, then slamming back down into the pavement. This will create tremendous stresses on the transmission, driveshaft, u-joints, and rear end when the tires hit the pavement after free spinning. So yes, power braking with severe wheel hop is much more damaging then "smooth" power braking.


Getting wheel hop that severe would indicate to me a suspension problem. I'd bet that the shocks on there are the original shocks. They are probably totally rusted out or blown, and offer no damping to the springs.


If you push down on the back of the car sharply once, does it rebound to its original height and stop moving, or does it continue to bounce? With properly functioning shock absorbers, it should just rebound and stay there. You may also have a more severe suspension problem, maybe something is actually broken.


I also want to add a note of opinion.


I don't power brake my trans am because of the damage it causes. You own your car so you are free to do whatever you want, but don't power brake every time you are out to impress people, and then 6 months and 12 tires later come back on the boards whining about how your transmission is blown or ask why your ring and pinion have turned to metal filings. Know that when you power brake you are greatly decreasing the life of many components on your car.

Also, keep in mind that just about any stock v8, rear wheel drive, auto trans vechicle can be made to power brake, so it doesnt show or prove anything about the performance of your vehicle. If you think your car has alot of *****, take it down to the local drag strip. I agree that it's fun to watch, so just let your friends do the power braking, and keep your money out of the tire store owner's bank account. Maybe even put it toward some fun go-fast parts for your car.


Sorry for preaching, good luck with the suspension.

 

thanx for the info and with the power braking ive only dont it a few times and only for the slitest bit becuase of the bouncing thing

 

Firstly the shocks could be part of the culprit. Spend a couple of extra bucks and get yourself a good set of rear adjustable shocks like Koni or KYB. I had a wheelhop problem that was rather bad, and even worse when I stepped up the rear gear. It didn't even have to be powerbraking. The tires would just brake loose like mad and the tires would be everywhere. Get yourself some sort of good rear suspension setup. The guys at Spohn seem to have a great setup. I have the hotchkis setup with the lower control arms and panhard rod. This almost totally elliminated the problem. The spohn stuff looks a little better, but I haven't tried it. Also, if it still doesn't go away they sell a relocation bracket that lowers the point of contact to the frame of the lower arms. This will better traction even more. Even if it doesn't totally fix your problem, by doing this you've really stepped up the suspension performance of your car, so you can't go wrong. Good luck, and have fun.

------------------
87 GTA 350 L98
K&N filters, beefed up TH-700r4, Accel Manifold, Ported Plenum and Runners, Fuel Press. Regulator 49.5psi, air foil, modified MAF, SLP cold air box, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/160 thermostat, MSD 6AL and Blaster 3, B&M shift kit & megashifter, Moser Ford 9in Rear with Richmond 3.50 and locker, Edlebrock TES headers and Cat Back,Hotchkis setup in rear, Poly suspension and Koni in the front, relocated MAT, bypassed IAC, 300 lbs lighter

Fastest ET's
Stock-0-60 6.8, 1/4 15.0 @ 94
Best-0-60 4.7, 1/4 12.8 @ 112
Norm-0-60 5.2, 1/4 13.2 @ 108

 

Had the same prob. Upgraded to the lakewood traction...action lift bars and it helped (most of the time)

Homemade a solid mount torque arm and a panhard rod...it hooked so hard the brackets for the lift bars tore through.

Removed the brackets and just used the solid lower control arms and it lauches just as hard and rides alot smoother over potholes and such. So my recommendation is an adjustable torque arm and aftermarket lca's/panhard rod. The torque arm I made I copied off a picture of some aftermarket brand that used a new bracket off the trans and had a solid 3/4" round stock end to stick through the rod end. This WILL transmit alot of rear/tranny gear whine which you usually never hear, and if your rear whines before the change, I can't imagine what it will sound like after this mod. I used extra extra heavy wall T-6 aluminum (Hey, I had nothing better to do at work?!?) to make the arm. I measured off my old one and welded (well actually I suck at tig, so my co-worker did it after I cut all the pieces/machined them) one up out of 1" square tubing and cross braced it. It had a block on the small end of T-6 about 1 1/2" square that I tapped out 7/8nf for a 1" cold rolled steel rod turned and threaded on one end and turned 3/4" to fit through the rod end on the other side. (I didn't make the torque arm adjustable for pinion angle, I made the bracket/rod end adjustable. (Kinda like an alternator mount with a slot, but I added 'bolt blocks' on both sides so it can't slide around. I should get a pic of this, it's really art (and I paid nothing, 'cause it was all scrap) I wouldn't have made it myself if I could find a set that WAS ACTUALLY WORTH IT! Sorry Granatelli, It's just a bunch of scrap! A 20' length of average cold rolled cost around $8 so yeah, there's alot of work/process involved, but hey it's just steel. I got mad when I bought those lca's to see that in material cost minus price paid I just might be able to get a burger king meal, and they were a cheap brand....

I'm sure any aftermarket parts are around as good, but nobody has any lighter!!! (and all these parts are 1/2 unsprung weight)

Other tips: Make sure your lca's are level with the ground while on the ground (not jacked up) and on a level surface. If not, wheelhop!!! (lowered car prob) and aftermarket lca's with different mounting locations (multi-holed) will work.

Shocks... I hook with any of them, they arn't as important as everyone makes them out to be, and actually worn out rear shocks will hook harder as long as the axle isn't smacking up against the bumpstops (You will se a 'pad' on the axle tube, if it has shine on the pad it may be bottoming on acceleration, but it also may be there because of deep potholes. You can trim the bumpstops, but on a stock suspention this will only help on the potholes because the pinion angle is always off. I go with -3 to -3 1/2 on the street and maybe a little more if I ever get a trailer to get my car to the track (Closest track is 150 mi's and even though I street drive it regularly, 4:10's, even with OD are too much for the interstate and I'm not taking back roads and risking blowing it up and getting stuck there)


In a nutshell, 3 parts. I'm not sure where you should start, but if you take a stock torque arm and hold it between your legs, with some muscle you can flex it (twist-wise) but since a torque arm isn't used this way it's not as important. The stock lca's don't look too promising and the panhard rod is made of the same stuff. Add all the rubber bushing flex and the small amount of side flex all these flimsy pieces add together and it probably looks like a skyscraper in an earthquake under acceleration.



[This message has been edited by JoelOl75 (edited April 03, 2001).]