The LSX series of engines is not 30 year old hardware. It's new based on a proven concept. Compact and powerful makes that technology worth keeping. A live rear axle's primary benefit to GM would be cost minimization. It exacts huge penalties in ride and handling. There's no getting around it. IRS is a better solution (unless all you want to do is drag race), as long as its done correctly.

 

Everyone must keep in mind this car must do more than just accelerate in a straight line to be competitive.....This means IRS….. If you are serious about drag racing, do what Mr. Cosby does and go after market for your solid rear.

 

Apparently there is a TSB for wheelhop on the CTS-V which consists of a fix with stiffer bushings.

I think I may contact Cadillac and see if this might work for me.

 

I've gone on record as supporting a live axle if it boiled down to it being a deciding factor if Camaro was made or wasn't. That said, I will admit my Thunderbird SC's IRS has spoiled me. The skittishness of my 5.0 went from a charming characteristic to nearly alarming. The live axle on my 4th gens were alot better, but still will 2 step on sever curves at speed on uneven roads.

But neither the Camaro or the Mustang have I ever experienced axle hop on heavy acceleration. The 2005 Mustang GT I tested didn't either, but admittedly, I didn't do a hard on burnout in it either.

IRS is nortorious for axle hop unless it's carefully engineered, while live axles can be contained with barely nothing more than staggered shocks or the post-84 5.0 Mustang cure: a extra set of horizontal shocks on the axle (yes boys and girls, 5.0 Mustangs had 4 shocks out back ).


My SC doesn't axlehop badly unless the road is slick or I do an extreme burnout with it, so I know in CAN be engineered out, or at least be somewhat controled.

But I find that 5 years after the CTS has come out, and going into the 3rd year of the CTSv, and the fact that GM was aware of this early, that the cars still easily experience this. Bushings and shocks may control this to a degree, but it takes alot of engineering to get it to a point where the spirited driver won't experience this.

Everything has a tradeoff. Knowing that there's going to be alot of Camaro drivers doing serious burnoffs (again, especially the younger guys on a budget who will be buying that 300-something horsepower V6 with a manual whose hormones will make smoky burnouts a fact of life, this is something that MUST be fixed before job-1 hits the streets.

These are the same guys that burn up the internet!

 

One of the main reasons I got rid of my CTS-V. The wheelhop!! Any type of spirited takeoff, wet roads and it was wheelhop. GM released a TSB that replaced the bushings, but it didn't cure it.

I had my rear end replaced at 1500 miles and sold the car with 4000 miles on it. And I babied that car too. I took it too the track twice - making only 1 run each and eased it out of the hole both times.

 

Did the TSB fix make alot of squeaky noises?

 

Well the concept is retro, and the 1st gen Camaros were notorious for having wheelhop issues so maybe we can chalk it up to the old "retro" factor.

 

Too bad you can't fix it with a $40 set of traction bars.

 

None I really noticed, but I had my bushings replaced with the Spectre Werks ones. A lot of the folks on Cadillacforums did report some squeaking though after the bushings replacement.

There was also the ominous CLUNK when going real slow and pushing in the clutch. This was diagnosed as "Normal".

 

Wheel Hop, has more, usually to do with the Rear Geometry...angles of connecting control arms. On solid axle Camaro's, using LCA relocation brackets, lowering the rear attachment point usually worked best. Moving the Instant Center rearward, planting the tires, by adding leverage which tries to lift the rear and push tires downward, instead of pulling the rear down and the axle up. Boxed arms and stiffer shocks will help, but is merely a bandaid fix.

 

Actually, burnouts are no problem for the CTS and don't trigger wheel hop at all (trust me on this one). It's when the tires are allowed to grab traction that the wheel hopping begins.

Camaro will have a stiffer suspension than CTS (bushings, spring rates, anti-roll bars) and so shouldn't suffer wheel hop to the same degree. But as noted above, it's possible for pretty much any suspension design to allow wheel hop. I'm sure GM's engineers are well aware of the intended use of Camaros and will do everything in their power to make sure it can launch as smoothly as possible at the dragstrip.

 

That hasn't been my experience.

I've driven my Dad's 2004 Vette hard a few times and have never had an issue with it. I also had a 1985 Corvette for a few years, beat up on it pretty regularly on the street and occasionally at the track (1.91 60' on street tires), and wheel hop was NOT an issue. Granted, my Dad's is a Z51 (stiffer suspension) and even though my 85 was "normal", C4 Vettes were sprung pretty stiff.

The only car I have experienced "bad" wheel hop on was my 2001 SS. It was so violent at times I was afraid something would break. Everything was intact though, no broken parts or bad bushings that would have caused it either. I bought aftermarket poly LCA's but sold the SS before I got around to installing them.

My best 60' in the SS was a high 2.0 and was usually in the mid to high 2.1's. It wasn't a power issue either as my Vette actually had 7lbs MORE torque at the rear (and 90hp LESS but that shouldn't enter into the equation).

Like I said, I'm just speaking from my own experience.


...........I'll hopefully be able to tell you if my '66 Vette suffers from it in about 6 months or so!!

 

Agreed, but more specifically, it is when they grab, then slip, then grab, then slip, etc. Where and when it happens depends on any number of factors, including suspension setup, tires, road/track surface, etc.

Wheel hop is DEATH to rear suspension parts. Usually sooner, but if not, later.

Bob

 

http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/tsb/d...4-114-001a.pdf

 

That's intresting.

I had my '97 Z28 Camaro for about 7 years, and in all the burn outs, autocross, and every road condition imaginable, I've never experienced wheelhop.... "bad" or otherwise.