SleeperX

Anyone know what causes wheel hop and how to get it to stop?

Vetluver

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ight=wheel+hop

RezF

I would think it is due to the combination of stiffer suspension and higher tire pressures in the rear

jangy

bad rebound, soft compund, too much pressure, bad diff, etc.

SleeperX

How about the tires? Does anyone think that the Michelin PS2's could be causing wheel hop?

Grumpy666

The actual cause of wheel hop is rotation of the the axle housing due to a sudden increase in torque. The pinion gear tries to walk up the ring gear, which causes the rotation. It will continue to rotate until the suspension/springs push back, which causes the suspension to unload, which in turn cause the wheels to hop. This interaction between the axle rotation and suspension will continue until torque is reduced enough to allow the suspension to react properly. Since wheel spin also occurs during wheel hop, I would think that the ESP would prevent it from happening - or at least limit it significantly. You're not driving around in dyno mode, are you?

Schiznick

Is this on a 210 or 211 E55?

mainroman

First good explanation! Thanks.
I posted about a week ago, but no one replyed. I used to get some wheel hop on my 210, with the esp on, and while it hops - esp light is flashing.
Funny thing that my wheel hop is now gone, same roads...same level of accel....go figure, or may be I learned to modulate throttle better...
;-)

Schiznick

I had this problem on my 208 CLK55 and know of a couple of 210 E55's that had the same problem. It only happened once in a while with just the wrong conditions......

I have never had this problem with the Kompressor cars.....

SleeperX

Thank you.. Very very good explanation. I have a 211 E55 and just experienced wheel hop after getting a ECU upgrade, pulley and headers. I changed the tires from Contis to Michelin PS2's, so I though it might have been the tires. Clearly my car is putting out much more torque than before the performance upgrade so that could be causing it..It occurs when ESP is on. I floor the throttle at 50mph and the wheel hops.

BTW, what is Dyno mode and how can I tell if it is on or off?

PTE

Grumpy , Great explanation!!. This car has the diff mounted solid ,in a subframe. Uses a torque tube to transfer the power to the diff. It is solid , with all most no end to end movement. I watch 5 - E55s at the drags , some with drag radials . Some without. All were newer cars. No Wheel hop. Since we do not know the year or mileage of this car with wheel hop. We can only guess that he has some worn rear suspension parts. Struts? , lower control arm bushings. . It has independant rear suspension. I like your method of explanation of events and how the occure. Good thinking , Glad you share this with us. ___PTE___

SleeperX

The car has 1200 miles on it and is a 2005. I can't believe that my suspension is worn, but wouldn't rule it out. Could it be the tires. Maybe the PS2s are trying desperately to stick, causing the wheel hop. I drove a Porsche 911, brand new, that had wheel hop when I tried to get off the line..

PTE

ResF may be on to something Thanks for the additional info. That wheel hop got to be un-nerving. Do you have something like ride control/ Sport mode or comfort ?

rflow306

I agree with pte I have launched my car with dr's, conti's and have never experienced any wheel hop. W211 E55's seem to have a decent pinion angle from the factory.

Usually on a drag car you either raise the tire air pressure or preferably hit the chassis with more power to overcome the tire shake.

Vetluver

In the bad old solid axel days with leaf springs we had to stiffen the leaf springs with shackles to accomodate for more torque. If your shocks were bad that would cause the axel to "wrap up".

Are you in the soft suspension setting? Too stiff might affect it also.

I would try different inflation pressures in the rear tires making sure that they are exactly equivalent. Start with 35 psi then take a few pounds out to see if you can change the characteristics of the hop. You might then set it stiffer to a max of sport 2 and 40 psi to see if that changes it.

I fortunately don't have the first inkling of hop but I hope that we can sort this out for others that might have the same problem. My bet is something is a tad loose, bushing, linkage u joint etc.

DJE55

You're going to experience wheel hop when the tires are fighting for traction (basically). You probably didn't experience it with the Conti's because they are not as sticky as the PS2's and they would just spin up. I have it once in a while when my tires are cold. Once I have heat in them, they hook and I'm gone. If you had a manual transmission you could solve the problem easy. You either ride the clutch to let the car hook or you give it more rpm before the launch to get the car spinning quicker.