thenorthwoods

I have auto crossed this year in my 07 C6. I have been getting a lot of heat (from non-autocrossers) saying. "why would you want to put that kind of stress on your car. They also state that the value of the car goes down if you are honest and tell a potential buyer that it has been raced.
Has anyone damaged a suspension component, tie rod, or even an engine in a autocross?

longdaddy

the only component that I could see experiencing abnormal wear at auto-X (assuming competent driver) would be the power steering system

NV MY C5

And Tires!

Dirty Howie

The car was not made to sit in your garage and see how many coats of wax you can apply before the warranty expires ...................


DH

urtoslo

Most non-autocrossers, when talking about autocrossing, don't know what they're talking about. They've probably never attended an autox as a spectator, much less run in one. Tell them to go wax their hood, stick to what they know and you do what you like.

Never damaged any suspension components during a run, but replaced many brake pads, tires, shocks and springs over the years. Blew an engine in my '94 during an autox (still won the event from a previous run). Put a new engine in it (with a Canton race pan) and ran many more years.

It's a Corvette, it has a racing heritage, use it as intended.

kimmer

These cars were not made to be cruisers, it's a sport car so go sport it!

Greywolfe

Auto-crossing isnt that bad on the car. Of course it depends on how hard you drive it. Yes there will be more wear and tear the more you use something but isn't that the point??

Wear and tear is proportional to fun.

Its your car do what you want to do with it.

And no it doesn't hurt you car... it makes your car happy!

AU N EGL

and wallet

yakisoba

Wheel hubs. But it's not an every season thing. Just something to keep track of. I agree that corvettes are not meant to sit. They like to run.

Solofast

Autocrossing will put some more wear in the "consumables". That is brake pads, wheel bearings and the differential clutches. Other than that it really doesn't make a difference. So long as you are willing to replace the wear items as they are consumed, it isn't an issue.

Gearhead Jim

You can trash the engine on a manual tranny if you miss a shift and force an over-rev, but that could also happen on the street or drag strip.

My biggest gripe is AX courses that have stuff for you to hit. This ain't road racing, the course should be set up so that you can lose it and and not damage anything.

When i was AXing our 2001, i went to one event that was actually run on a short oval with walls all the way around. I looked at that and decided I'd be playing grandpa on that course. Sure enough, one guy started sliding in a beautiful C4, totaled the car, and got an ambulance ride.

Highly competitive people will accept that kind of risk, I don't. You get to make your own decisions.

Have fun, and good luck!

VetteDrmr

I've autocrossed my car since I bought it in '02; I'm still on the original engine, clutch, tranny, diff, etc. I've replaced all four wheel bearings once, rotors, and pads multiple times.

Oh, and she's got 213,xxx miles. These cars depreciate just like a Ford Taurus, and unless you're willing to wait 40, 50, 60 years you'll ALWAYS lose money on them.

If you want to invest your money, then *invest* it. If you want to enjoy a car, then enjoy it. I pay very, VERY, little attention to those that diss me for driving my car.

As far as autocross courses where you can hit stuff, I agree. However, a decent course layout won't put you into a condition where you *could* hit stuff. Track courses have more risk of hitting stuff than an autocross, and usually at higher speeds.

BTW, I enjoy both.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

bobmoore2

When they say that, you should reply "because waxing and then driving like it is a Cadillac is BORING! There is no thrill like driving a Corvette the way it is meant to be driven."

The people you want to hang with will agree with you, and the others are boring people.

MJM

Howie that is f'in awesome!

and exactly how I feel too, see you at the track next weekend.

Matt

Joe_Knesek

Let the critics love their minivans. It's not called a sports car because you drive it to football games.

Dirty Howie

Matt

I do wax mine before track events ...... makes it go faster right?


DH

mgarfias

Nah, slows it down. More weight you know.

bobmoore2

Sometimes it can make it faster. I once asked an IndyCar crew member why they spend so much time cleaning and waxing the race car. He said, "Waxing makes the sponsors' decals look better, which makes the sponsors happier, which makes the car faster."

jordan89

ColeTrain'sC5

i've never had a car before that LITERALLY made me get the giggles when i got on the gas. I love driving the car harder sometimes. Never autocrossed or road course raced it but would LOVE to try sometime