Advice on wheel hop & gear swapI’m sure this has been covered another post. I tried searching and ca

[Gabed1972]

I have a completely stocked 14 GT 500 Convertible. It has terrible wheel hop. Is it better to do the upper or lower control arms to solve this problem?

My second question is on the gears. I don’t like the stock 3.31 gears.

Is it better to go at 373’s or 4.10’s.

I don’t do any thing for straight driving. Stop light to stop light type stuff. Or the 410s might be too much gear take away too much highway drivability. I’ve also heard the 373‘s wine a lot and the 410s don’t.

I’m sure this has been covered another post. I tried searching and can’t find the answers I’m looking for so any advice from experience for members would be appreciate it please.

 

[COOL COBRA]

What rear tires are you running? Wheel hop isn't a common complaint with these cars.

 

[Gabed1972]

What rear tires are you running? Wheel hop isn't a common complaint with these cars.

Stock wheels and tires

 

[COOL COBRA]

Stock control arms leave a lot to be desired but if it was me, I'd try a decent rear tire first. Like an 888. If it doesn't spin, which they won't, it won't hop.
Gears? That's another rabbit hole I've never went down. I actually got used to and like the taller gear.
You think you got hop now? Lower the gear and it'll probably rattle your teeth out.
Suspension mods are great. Lower gears are great.
For what you're experiencing, I'd start with a tire. You could leave the stockers on front, grippy tire on back. Notice I didn't say drag radial.
Spinning sucks, wheel hop sucks even more.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

Stock control arms leave a lot to be desired but if it was me, I'd try a decent rear tire first. Like an 888. If it doesn't spin, which they won't, it won't hop.
Gears? That's another rabbit hole I've never went down. I actually got used to and like the taller gear.
You think you got hop now? Lower the gear and it'll probably rattle your teeth out.
Suspension mods are great. Lower gears are great.
For what you're experiencing, I'd start with a tire. You could leave the stockers on front, grippy tire on back. Notice I didn't say drag radial.
Spinning sucks, wheel hop sucks even more.

All good points. BUY NEW TIRES FIRST. Than move on to other stuff


I do this first to all my cars.

- Springs (Eibach Pros)
- Upper Control Arm w/ mount
- Lower Control Arms
- Adjustable Panhard Bar
- R888 or MPSS 4's

Gears, find a REPUTABLE SHOP who has a known history of doing a gear set in a 13/14 with success. 3:73 are fine if your gonna stay around stockish -800hp levels. Your gonna get some whine. I will let the people who have done 4:10s, chime in. I would not dismiss doing 4:10s either. I think I would be more apt to do those if I retained factory power levels and no mods.

My gear whine is no worse than an 03/04 Cobra with SOLID DIFF Bushings and an FTBR kit.

I would address w/e wheel hop you think you have going on first by purchasing good tires. Factory tires were terrible and tires should be changed out every 5 years anyways.

 

[Shelbyfan73]

I will chime in as well to say that I agree with what has been said before me. In my 2013 I very, very rarely had wheel hop, but tire spin was pretty bad. Especially after doing the Stage 3 power package.

Soon after the power upgrade I bought BMR lower arms, adjustable panhard bar, panhard bar brace, upper arm, and upper arm brace.

The car still would spin, but would go straight, and for sure never has any wheel hop at all.

Last Saturday I installed Toyo R888r tires on the rear. Holy crap Batman this thing sticks now! No wheel spin, no wheel hop, and all power to the road!

Edit: I am still running the stock performance package wheels and the Toyo's are the stock 285-35-20 size.

 

[COOL COBRA]

^^^I have yet to see someone not love the 888.

 

[Gabed1972]

What tires would be good to consider? The Toyo’s seem to have very bad reviews in wet weather?

I don’t understand how no one else has wheel hop? In first gear if I let off the clutch hard and slammed the gas pedal the rearwill bang bang bang bang bang
So bad I’m afraid I would break something.

 

[COOL COBRA]

I've got Toyo's on two cars, one being my GT500. If caught in the rain, I drive like I'm in a high HP car on wet. No crazy maneuvers. Just drive. No problems.
On another car in my garage w/drag radials, rain is like ice!
Toyo's on wet will get you home just fine if you drive it like a regular car. I've never pushed the limits in rain, that'd be asking for it for no reason.
I'm thinking your hop problems could be twofold. 1. Convertible. 2. Your original tires were probably manufactured in 2012. Hard.
Plus the Goodyear tire sucked even when new unless you got them near melting hot for traction.
I'd bet your OEM tires are hard as glass. When they try to grip and fail, they do the next obvious thing, bounce.
Especially if they've been exposed to freezing temps. They get hard as a preachers dick. And now they're 7-8 years old.

 

[biminiLX]

4.10s (you said stop light to stop light and have a 0.50 sixth OD) and NT555R2 drag radials 305/35/20 with a Lund tune.
If you wanted to do some high speed cornering, then the Toyo 888s, but the DR/4.10 combo is far superior on the street.
Once you get rid of the crap GYs, if you still have hop then simply LCAs.
Good luck.
-J

 

[Gabed1972]

Are there any good tires that are not almost drag radios/slicks. Are the Michelin pilot sport any good?

so the consensus is change the rear tires and if I still have half lower control arms will fix it?


No as far as gears. The 05 -09 Saleen Extreme Came factory with 411 gears. That car only had 500 hp. Similar to 20 inch tires. If so many people are having wine with the 373’s. How much difference would there be on the highway at 80 miles an hour using the 411’s. What difference in RPMs do you think they’d be at the 373’s versus the 411s at that speed on the highway.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

Are there any good tires that are not almost drag radios/slicks. Are the Michelin pilot sport any good?

so the consensus is change the rear tires and if I still have half lower control arms will fix it?


No as far as gears. The 05 -09 Saleen Extreme Came factory with 411 gears. That car only had 500 hp. Similar to 20 inch tires. If so many people are having wine with the 373’s. How much difference would there be on the highway at 80 miles an hour using the 411’s. What difference in RPMs do you think they’d be at the 373’s versus the 411s at that speed on the highway.

I have MPSS 4's on my car now @ 650RWHP, they are great
But, I also have R888s in the spare room, because they are better and can be deployed in the rain w/o issue.

 

[Gabed1972]

Which tires do you prefer for most of your daily driving?

 

[Jam421]

Tires + rear end tuning....tires first . Wheel hop with a live axle should be a thing of the past. It's cured with proper UCA/LCA alignment for Instant Center with pinion adjustments if necessary. I never hopped but I did the UCA's to increase straight line traction and that sure did make a difference. Gears? That's almost another thread. There's many factors to consider starting with HP levels but most definitely get the tire issue sorted out first....then the rear geometry...then the gears.

 

[Catmonkey]

With the .5:1 6th gear ratio, there's not much penalty at highway speeds with steeper gears. 80 mph cruise rpm would be 1,654, 1,864 and 2,049 for 3.31, 3.73 and 4.1, respectively. My car came with 3.73s (2012), but I installed a 2013 transmission. I think the 3.73s would be perfect for a basically stock car. I'm running more aggressive cams in a 5.8 and I think 4.10s would be a better fit for that application.

No one has mentioned it, but verts have softer spring rates than coupes. You might also have a bad bushing somewhere in the upper or lower control arms.

 

[Gabed1972]

I hate to go to a dealership and get ripped off.

Should I start with changing the tires and see what happens from there.

If that doesn’t solve the problem. Should I go to a speed shop? How would I be able to tell if the bushings are bad.

i’ve had this problem with the car almost from day one. It’s kind of shitty that we spent a lot of money on these cars in from the factory they didn’t have the proper equipment from day one. I mean I did not modify the car at all it’s 100% stock. And literally if I Let the clutch out easy in And floor it , bang bang bang bang bang, It really sucks.

And I feel like the car has weak acceleration or the horsepower and torque this engine makes with these 3.31 Gears.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

Which tires do you prefer for most of your daily driving?

My Shelby is not a daily driver. If yours is, you would have to look at the wear ratings. R888 would not be good for daily driver if you don't have a deep wallet

I hate to go to a dealership and get ripped off.

Should I start with changing the tires and see what happens from there.

If that doesn’t solve the problem. Should I go to a speed shop? How would I be able to tell if the bushings are bad.

i’ve had this problem with the car almost from day one. It’s kind of shitty that we spent a lot of money on these cars in from the factory they didn’t have the proper equipment from day one. I mean I did not modify the car at all it’s 100% stock. And literally if I Let the clutch out easy in And floor it , bang bang bang bang bang, It really sucks.

And I feel like the car has weak acceleration or the horsepower and torque this engine makes with these 3.31 Gears.

Could I ask something out of clarification? If I read this correctly, you are stabbing the pedal to the floor in first etc? Mashing, stabbing or hard roll into the throttle?

I think a lot of people roll hard, very hard into the throttle and find that sweet spot to let the tires keep up with the pavement.

If you are straight stabbing the gas pedal, yes, you need to address the aforementioned items.



13/14 Shelby's in stock with 3:31s are slugs. You are correct in your analysis.

 

[Gabed1972]

I hate to go to a dealership and get ripped off.

Should I start with changing the tires and see what happens from there.

If that doesn’t solve the problem. Should I go to a speed shop? How would I be able to tell if the bushings are bad.

i’ve had this problem with the car almost from day one. It’s kind of shitty that we spent a lot of money on these cars in from the factory they didn’t have the proper equipment from day one. I mean I did not modify the car at all it’s 100% stock. And literally if I Let the clutch out easy in And floor it , bang bang bang bang bang, It really sucks.

And I feel like the car has weak acceleration or the horsepower and torque this engine makes with these 3.31 Gears.

 

[Gabed1972]

I would say it’s more of a slow roll and hard push on the pedal. Not just popping the clutch and slamming the gas. Yes it’s a daily driver and yes I would like to get better tires and just figure out how to get rid of this wheel hop and get a little better stoplight to stoplight acceleration without sacrificing too much highway drivability.

 

[biminiLX]

Several good points here.
The biggest is that you have a convertible with softer suspension. Do you have the SVTPP with 2-mode suspension?
I still feel like something is amiss if you have dramatic wheel hop.
For a true daily driver, you’re probably best with Michelin PS4s.
Throw out any of your thoughts on gears in previous Mustangs as this trans has a 0.50 sixth (and 2.66 first).
To me the best combo is a 4.10 with slightly taller sticky rear tire (305/35/20) but if you stick with Michelin they tend to run wide so if you’re on the stock 20x9.5 the stock size 285/35/20 PS4 should be your best balance.
One other thought if it’s not the rear suspension or tires (my bet is the tires), is the clutch assist spring causing you to have any clutch release issues?
And on the thought of the dealer, you’d probably be better off finding a trusted local performance shop.
-J