Bunny hopping solved!!
 

Just updating everyone who has the infamous 'bunny-hopping' problem that mine has been fixed by Tom Naso Mazda here in atlanta, ga (well...actually Roswell-Alpharetta). they test drove it to the end of the parking lot and then turned around and agreed w/ me that it was the flywheel/clutch.

So, two days later its done and boy am I happy!! the car actually drives better than when new (doesnt surprise me as ive had the problem since it was new.)! One funny side note (more odd than funny really) though: the engine nows revs noticeably faster than before. Im sure its in my head but...id swear it does. I wonder what the chances are that the dealer put in the 18L flywheel instead of the 2L version? I hope they did as I dont want to risk having the same problem re-occur!

LAstly, heres what they found out. The flywheel is CRAP!! they (whomever Mazda contracts to make it) made the flywheel too thin and it caused 'hotspots', which then lead to cracks in the flywheel. The dealer said that there was NO way, they believe, that someone could cause this kind of damage in this short a time in a stock car. They advised me to tell any of you who are having issues w/ your dealers (i.e. not fixing it), to take it elsewhere and/or call Mazda corporate.

Just thought id let everyone know that it is a manufacturer defect and it MUST be fixed by Mazda!

ok, im a newbie to manuals. what exactly is the bunny hope your talking about.

How much is it for you to get the flywheel?

Uhhh so explain why it also happens in an automatic. Which is devoid of a flywheel.

The reason is because there is no LSD, Limited Slip Differential.

wait a second.

bunny-hopping meaning what exactly.

are you talking about the tires hopping on the pavement?
or
is it the clutch chattering?

I have clutch chatter. It usually happens when it's cold.

I guess he meant when the car's travelling at slow speed in 1/2nd gear, it's jumping forward and backward, almost feels like the engine is about to stall

Oh that's not what the "bunny hop" usually references. usually bunny hop is associated with the tires hopping on the pavement under hard acceleration. This is what is caused by no LSD. Many cars have this problem.

Bunny hopping happens during burn outs, spinning tires. My 94 RX7 had a bad hop, bad enough to the point that the subframe finally split. Very expensive fix. I no longer do dry burnouts.

confused
 

I'm interested in this thread. But would someone please answer the above question. What is this that we're talking about.
Bunny hop I thought was wheel hop, when the front wheels leave the pavement under hard acceleration in a front drive car. Called bunny hop because it happens on "jack-rabbit starts". :p

Anyway, I've experienced an unusually violent lurch at low rpms in 1st and 2nd gear. At first I thought it was me- not giving enough gas, but at other times it is fine. And I see someone is having this problem in an auto! Someone please post more info on this subject.

Bunny hoping in this thread means clutch chatter. There are a few long threads on this in the 3rd generation maintanance forum, and somebody along the way dubbed it bunny hoping for some reason. Ive been having this problem for a while too. Bunny hoping used by these threads does not refer to dry burnout wheel hop. This happens to me on normal takeoff, usually when the car is cold.

see yourself..
 

The best way to get the bunny hop recreated:

Engine really cold, like in the mornings, try to reverse the car a few times. 1st gear is noticeable too, but as the reverse gear ratio i think is longer/heavier, the chatter will be stronger, strong enough to shake the whole car strong...

let the clutch slip a bit...

Re: see yourself..
 

Yes, now that you mention it, I have the problem in reverse as well. SO... this can be fixed!?

You're thinking of wheel hop. Proteges are also prone to this behavior, which BTW has nothing to do with the car having an LSD or not. It's caused by a combination of soft motor mounts and suspension tuning. This is a seperate topic that has been discussed in a couple of other threads before.

just to clarify it for an idiot like me. what we are talking about is when the car is cold and you start to let the clutch out in first and/or reverse the whole car vibrates really bad. that is hot spots the flywheel and we need to go in for warrany work and get an new flywheel cause its not suppose to do that. correct or am i wrong.

how many people have actually gone to a dealer and ask for replacement?

How should I request it, since I'm not strong w/ auto mechanical at all... I guess my dealer will just tell me to shut up and there's nothing wrong w/ the car... :mad: