[b5passatb5]

Alright i really want to and am gonna auto cross my car come spring, but all my freind are like thats so stupid your cars never gonna drive the same agian! So my question is, is that true? Does the car really get beat to shit and creak and groan? I know it really depends on how hard you drive the car but what are your expeinces?

Thanks alot guys

 

[scirocco78]

Yes it will creek and groan more after a few years of auto-xing. Flexing the chassis that much will take it's toll. My honest opinion, cars are meant for driving! One thing I can't stand is someone that buys a car like a Porsche 911 ( AKA: racecar) and never races it :banghead: If you want to race your Passat, I say good for you :thumbup: It will just age a little sooner, just like an athletic human. My body is worn from racing bicycles so now I beat on my car and it puts a smile on my face, see :biglaugh:

 

[mfitz]

I have a '98 with 130,000 miles on it, and have done about 1 years worth of autocrossing with it, for a total of about 12 events.The first half of those events were on a stock suspension, the second half on a neuspeed/bilstein combo. I really haven't noticed any difference in any extra squeaks or groans etc.(I have never had any as a matter of fact). In other words, go ahead and race your car a few times, and I doubt very much that you will do any damage to it. If you decide you love autocross, you may eventually decide to get a dedicated autocross vehicle, and your Passat will not be any worse for wear after 10-12 events. Like Sirocco78 said, after 2-3 years of alot of events, yeah, you are going to maybe notice something, but it will have been a fun 2-3 years.

 

[NotAPreppie]

When I autocrossed my B5, it already had a good number groans and creaks.

Didn't really notice any extra ones popping up but I only raced mine for a year before replacing it with my RX-8.

 

[b5passatb5]

thanks for the input guy, like i said gonna do it regaurdless

 

[NotAPreppie]

A quick checklist to help you out...

The first item may not apply (DSC = Mazda's name for ESP), but the rest are good

 

[J-RAD]

A quick checklist to help you out...

The first item may not apply (DSC = Mazda's name for ESP), but the rest are good

And if you're reading that note while on the track, then you need to pull off because you didn't learn #2 on the list.

 

[Rusty]

Three runs on The Dragon (TALE of the DRAGON) created creaking from the driver's B-pillar.

 

[mfitz]

A quick checklist to help you out...

Do you really need #3? Too much inclination to do that is why I started auto-xing in the first place, to get my ya-yas out.:lol:

 

[NotAPreppie]

I don't know about the originator of that picture (I found it on RX8Club.com), but I've found that autocrossing the RX-8 is so much different than my old '99 B5 1.8T that I was a little timid for a while. Currently, item #4 on that list is the one I'm working on. Also, I'm considering amending it to add "Brake to go faster" as #5.

 

[scirocco78]

I will never forget the first time I used my brakes to go faster. It was a BIG reality check.

 

[mfitz]

I am just starting to learn how to do that. I still tend to way, way, way overdrive, so end up trying to go fast through the slow parts, making myself even slower.

 

[Gregor56]

I'll never forget the day the "give up" click happened in my head. Get the slow technical sections right and your runs will be fast.