I have a debate with my wife that doing AutoX would not shorten the life of the car. She is not totally agree and warn me If I go race again I would not have dinner for a month!

So I just want to see how do you feel about Auto racing and does it really shorten the life of the engine and suspension? I need a strong back up to go back to talk to my wife.

 

Here’s a link from the SCCA discussion board in the stock category where someone asks the very same question. This may help you as some of these cars have 150K plus miles on them.

Also on the NAM board DPilgrim who has 113K on his 02 MCS races auto-x regularly and I’ve not heard anything happen because of it.



http://www.scca.org/garage/forum/for...?TID=1151&PN=1

 

You're kidding, right?

Let me see, hooning around in low gears pitching the car around at the hairy edge of traction, sloshing the oil from one side and one end of the oil pan to the other, screaming the engine at high rpms, banging shifts and dumping the clutch, standing on the brakes at the end to keep from squirting through the stop box.

Why would any of that shorten the life of a car?

All you're doing is forcing every mechanical component on the car to the far edge of it's design strength. No reason that should shorten the service life on anything, right?

Duh.

Hope you like the Chili's carry out service. Your wife is right.

 

At a typical event in my area I get 4 runs of less than a minute each. Generally, in each run, I launch in first and shift to second as soon as possible; rarely does the course set-up require a downshift back to first. I generally don't hit the redline. The wear and tear is really isolated to the tires, clutch, and brakes. So I have a set of light wheels and Falken Azenis RT215s dedicated for AutoX and a different set for the street. Brakes are easily changed and I doubt the clutch wear is significant.

So, I really don't think AutoX will reduce the life of a car. On the contrary,
it's relatively cheap fun and gets me out of yardwork once a month.

 

SpunkytheTuna,

You sound like my dad.

Petecrosby,

I live in the same area as you do. Although, at this time of the year yard work is not my major duty, but If I could just get away from shopping trips once in a while to go race I would be happy already.

Sndwave,

I found this on the link you posted "You will probably end up with a more reliable car by autocrossing it and making sure everything is up to snuff." This is sound good to back up my debate.

Thanks guys!

 

Sounds to me that Spunky’s trying to scare off some of the competition with his post.

 

Your kidding right?
4 minutes of hard driving is going to push the car outside its design envelope and cause it to fail prematurely?

So how long are you planning on this car lasting?

for up to 100k miles, nothing bad is going to come from Auto-x, except you will need new tires.

At 40-60 mph nothing is that stressed.

I am completely at a loss as to why you have a Cooper, these are sports cars designed to be pushed.

Of course if you swing on over to grassrootsmotorsports.com there is a very compelling thread about the safety benefits of Auto-x

Want your car to last longer? Learn accident avoidance, threshold control, and situational awareness.

Can you think of a better classroom environment than Auto-x?

 

I used to autox my 82 rabbit in the mid to late 80's. Was my daily driver, too.
I sold it in March of 2003 when I got my MINI, and the VW's new owner is
still tooling around in it.
I don't think I'll autox my MINI, since I want it to last longer than the
rabbit.

 

cristo,

Mini will last a long time it's a classic.

ubercooper,

 

'99 Miata - autocrossed from 600 miles to 45k without anything but oil changes, never a problem.

'02 MINI S - autocrossed from 600 miles to 30k without anything but oil changes

Does it shorten the life? Possible, on some components, but for most of the car? Nope.

It's irrelevant, don't buy a performance car if you don't plan on making it perform.

Do you buy a blender but only run it on half speed for fear that it might shorten it's life??? Ask her that. If she says it's a money thing, refer to the sentence above this paragraph.

Brian

 

Consider the following-

If you drive well at the autocross I don't think you will exceed the limits of the design of the MINI (meant to be driven not parked!). This means you shift, brake and steer smoothly keeping the car in balance throughout the approximately one minute course (driving no faster than highway speeds).

You will tend to wear out tires about one set a year and brake pads as well.

You will need to maintain the car in top condition changing oil and brake fluid on a more regular basis than most cars.

There really isn't much time/need for shifting and as long as you don't ride the clutch you'll not wear it out too soon.

So if the life of your MINI is from about 150,000 to 200,000 miles you might shave a few thousand miles off if you autocrossed for 10 years. Mechanical parts do wear out- you'll eventually have to replace some of them.

Note that track driving is completely different- that could be much harder on your car due to the much higher speeds and heat build up. Some depends on the course and the length of the sessions.

 

Thanks guys!

I got approved!...with one exception! She want to go see how I race...

 

Good deal. FYI, I took my wife last weekend. She was rather unsure of the
whole affair. She only went on one run with me (my first run of the day, on
which I usually am a bit slower and more cautious as I learn the course).
I asked her what she thought. She said it was fun and that she enjoyed it.
She admitted she had not expected to.

So, take her with you but don't bounce her around too much. At least not
the first time.

 

I race with a husband/wife team that shares her MC. She took first in her class this year and he took third.

Don’t be surprised when she goes with you, that you’ll have to share the MINI once she gets a taste of the track. It’s addicting.

 

hmm...let me think...NO! no way would hammering the engine and going around tight turns way to fast be any different than chugging along I-95 at 60 mph...OF COURSE it wears the car out more quickly! I would advise you not to challenge your wife again without doing a little thinking first. you may have found a way to lose relationships,too

-Paul

 

From what I hear, the hardest type of driving (from the engine's point of view) is short trips - things like taking the kids to school, going to the supermarket - and stop-and-go driving. We probably do a lot more harm to our MINIs during the week than we do on the occasional autocross.

Of course, from the point of view of brake pads and tyres... But those are made to be easily replaced!

 

I completely disagree with any wear on brake pads. If you notice in my previous post, I replaced NOTHING in 45,000 miles on my Miata and nothing in 30,000 miles on my MINI.
If you're going through brake pads, you're doing it on the street or track...try heel/toeing every down shift.

I agree with how you show her what it's like. Being in the passenger seat is:
#1 - Much more violent than when driving
#2 - Easier to get motion sickness if the person is affected by that.

My wife is one of the top women drivers in the D.C. region, but she doesn't last more than one run in the passenger seat without feeling queezy.

Good Luck and Have FUN!

BTW, here's something to show the wife as to how much a family sport autocrossing can be:
http://new.minimania.com/web/Display...i/ArticleV.cfm

Brian

 

Thanks guys for a lots of ideas and supports. I don't think she would be riding with me in the car. Even a trip to Target just make her car sick already!

She just want to go see why I bug her so much to go race.

 

My husband and I both race MY '03 MCS. Here's just a few of the reasons it is a great husband/wife activity.

1. I get my husband's undivided attention for a whole day.
2. He doesn't answer his cell phone/worry about work.
3. I don't worry about work or anything else for that matter.
4. We've met so many great people, including some other couples that have
become good friends.
5. It is the most fun either of us have ever had on a routine basis.

So, my point is -- Who cares about what it is doing to the car!

Get your wife a helmet, spend some quality time with her, and drive your MINI the way it was meant to be driven!

 

As long as you sell the car before the end of its life, it doesn't matter.

 

Here I am posting about 6 months late, but ...

I know a guy (personally, mind you, not some "my friend has a friend who knows this guy", I know him personally and have seen this car many times) who bought an 86 Civic Si in 1986. He autocrossed this car from the time he bought it until about 2001ish when he bought a different one. The car had over 350k miles on it, yes 350,000 MILES, when he quit autocrossing it.

My wife is about the most timid person in the world, but after watching my first autocross 6 years ago, she has no issues with me doing it - no issues with what's happening to the car at least, she doesn't like stacks of race tires in the garage or me being gone one day a week, but that's another story

 

I think the best thing about auto-crossing is that you are really in tune with the car. I don't know of many people outside the racing community that would pay so much attention to such small details about their car. Who else would check their tire pressure weekly, rotate the tires (sometimes monthly), check the oil and other fluids at least twice a month, get all the crap out of it at least once a month, etc...

I'm hoping I can get as much mileage out of my 04 JCW as that guy with the Civic. And with the care I give it, I fully expect to.

 

Maybe I should get the wife to autocross her Sienna

 

I let me girlfriend AutoX my MINI last year and she is hooked now. Even more so since there is many women who autocross she always comes home with a trophy.

As for wear on the car. I am harder on the car on the street. AutoX is hard on Tires, and on brakes. But your brakes are covered by warranty for 36k so who cares. One other thing we have another MINI hear with a 19% pulley and he runs at least to AutoX's a month and drives it daily no problems yet. Don't worry about hard on the car, Drive it like you stole it.

 

Lets, see.

On a Sunday morning, I drive 15 miles on local roads, then 60 on expressways to get to a Parking lot.

I drive a mile or so in the parking lot, which includes 4 "launches". These put a little wear on the clutch. Decelerations include down shifts, but they should be properly synchronized and not put significant wear on the clutch.

It includes about 40 hard braking events, all from less than 50 mph.

Then I drive the miles on the expressway, and local roads to get home.

How many times would you use the clutch and brakes in 150 miles of commuting?

The only thing I am tearing up is TIRES. That is why I have a set of "play tires and wheels" so I don't tear up those expensive run flat tires.

High speed autocross is much the same, just a lot harder on the brakes, unless you miss a corner. Wiping out cones in a parking lot is much less "exciting" than missing a track corner at 60 mph!

John
Northern Illinois.