Autocrossing vs. 1/4 mile races - which is harder on the car?

[khartley]

I think my Talon is just about ready to go, and after many miles of careful driving to finish completely breaking in the engine, I plan on racing and/or autocrossing. But I don't want to do either if they are going to tear the sh*t out of my car.

So my question is which is harder on an AWD car? 1/4 mile races or autocrossing? I would thing out and out racing would be, cause you launch it, then redline in every gear. In autocrossing, you can't really do either of those things, but you are taking corners very fast and hard, which I'm sure isn't good on the frame, axles, springs, etc.

So which is worse?

And does anyone have some tips on the best ways to do either of these things so it's a little easier on the car? Or maybe some things I would need to reinforce, or check before doing them.

 

[xcelr8n]

well its all in the amount you do....
goin to the strip and running 5 passes isnt gonna be as hard on the car as 30 laps around a circuit IMO as long as you dont have parts at the end of there life, example clutch or 2nd gear synchros....

vice versa, 5 laps around a circuit wont be as bad as a full weekend of drag racing say 30 passes....

if all situatiosn were the same same car, 1 lap to 1pass, I would say that drag racing puts more of a strain on certain amount of parts while auto cross puts a sligjtly less strain on many more parts...
get what i'm saying

 

[chuckdog_5]

Well im not sure if im goin to agree with you on that. I would think, in autocross, you give your car balls to the wall the hole time, and your braking, turning, and still hammering it out of the hole, while in a drag race, its one straight shot for 15secs or less(hopefully).

Im gonna have to say autocross is gonna hurt her more, it just seems more logical to me

 

[greyforestgst]

autocross is way harder on a car than the 1/4.

 

[PogiTSI]

autocross is way harder on a car than the 1/4.

agree. The constant up and down in Autocross=more ware and tare.

 

[awd4g63]

Race for race, autox or any type of road racing is harder on the car than drag racing. A good autox course typically lasts around a minute plus; much more than your dragstrip.

 

[99gst_racer]

I would say Autocrossong is a little harder, but not much. The big diffeence between the two is duration. Drag racing is a few runs of 10-15 sec. each, whereas autocrossing is much longer.

 

[leet]

I would say Autocrossong is a little harder, but not much. The big diffeence between the two is duration. Drag racing is a few runs of 10-15 sec. each, whereas autocrossing is much longer.

Lateral G-forces in Autocross are MUCH higher.

 

[PogiTSI]

Lateral G-forces in Autocross are MUCH higher.

so it goes like this? Rally,Auto-X,Drag. Gawd. I would so love to Rally Race!!!! theres no courses in FL though . I wana Race in the woods type area. not that wussy Parking lot crap.

 

[cait sith]

If you're not flogging your car competitively, what's the point of modifying it in the first place?

You wanna race? You wanna be fast?

You're going to break stuff.

 

[greyforestgst]

Lateral G-forces in Autocross are MUCH higher.

lateral g forces driving to the grocery store in a kia are much higher than a 1/4 drag

 

[leet]

If you're not flogging your car competitively, what's the point of modifying it in the first place?

You wanna race? You wanna be fast?

You're going to break stuff.

Exactly.

GreyforestGST, you're right too

 

[GotTurbo11]

How about Rallycross!
Thats what I do

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[PogiTSI]

How about Rallycross!
Thats what I do

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oooo my so jellous!!!!!!!! That must be so much fun.

 

[leet]

I tried that once!

Don't try it on Falken Azeni's. I had to dig myself out. D'oh.

 

[greyforestgst]

sometime in my future, i will somehow race in an amateur rally. i will buy a 1g awd talon, build it up, put a rollcage in it, put badass rally suspension on, and i will find a goddamn rally course, and race. it will happen.

will.

 

[khartley]

If you're not flogging your car competitively, what's the point of modifying it in the first place?

You wanna race? You wanna be fast?

You're going to break stuff.

Yeah, my car is modded. Doesn't mean I'm going to be driving balls to the walls 24/7. I want it to last, I want to take car of my car. I don't want to be constantly breaking something.

 

[igs]

Drag
~15 seconds
constant near redline
launch


Autox
~60 seconds
constant near redline
launch
very tight cornering
some braking


Draw your own conclusions.

 

[awd4g63]

Not to mention, not having a dry sump oil pan could potentially kill your bottom end during autox-ing.

 

[diambo4life]

autocross is way harder on a car than the 1/4.

Yup.

 

[CanadianTSi]

This is what 1 lap around our local track does to my brakes...

 

[93greentsi]

How about Rallycross!

Whats with the foglights on your car man... looks like you erased them in ms paint

 

[GotTurbo11]

you know its funny you mention the foglight now that i look at it, they do look funny, I dunno just the pic quality i guess, but they are on. dunno