Can Abusing a stock car really cause issues?

[Touring1.5tcivici]

This is for a 2016 honda civic touring 1.5t CVT. My question is if a car is stock and you floor the car constantly or decide to drive like a racer will this cause any issues for the car. Note all the fluids would be frequently changed and engine is pushed only when temps reach optimal conditions. The way I have thought about it was that if a car is made to factory spec then what issues should really come up. If you floor your car there's a set limit for which is safe for the car. Civics have L mode and S mode and some people say not to use L mode frequently. Again I believe that honda would only put L mode if it was "SAFE". Yes CVT are less reliable but what are the chances you blow the CVT running stock setup. Please just looking for a discussion if my opinion is right or wrong.

Sponsored

 

[tacthecat]

First car? Good luck with it!

 

[Drake]

Yes.

 

[StanMan]

Your car is full of bits and pieces that wear with use. Assuming you keep it stock, driving your car hard all the time is not going to cause any sort of catastrophic failure if that is what you are worried about but it will increase the wear. If you are flooring it everywhere vs driving like a grandpa, you will be replacing the CVT/brakes/tires etc.. sooner than grandpa- simple as that.

 

[Touring1.5tcivici]

First car? Good luck with it!

When I first got my license I abused my brother 2014 Mazda 3. And let me tell you that car took the abuse like a champ. I could do anything with it, it was auto but had a tip tronic and would always drop it into first and race that beast. launched it many times too. Let me tell you that car never had a issue with anything. no matter how hard it gets pushed nothing will get bad. It sees redline everyday with zero issues. when my brother first got his license he abused our 2008 honda accord auto and that is sitting at 220k kms and 0 engine issues other than control arms. Only modification that we will ever do is performance filters(no cold air, just a straight replacement of the factory one for a aem one).

 

[hobby-man]

If you took two identical engines on a 24/7 test bench, and ran one at varying RPM and load, and the other at redline, which do you think would fail first?

 

[Touring1.5tcivici]

If you took two identical engines on a 24/7 test bench, and ran one at varying RPM and load, and the other at redline, which do you think would fail first?

Sure it will have more wear but will the engine go out? Will the transmission go out? I think any proper transmission will withstand at least 250k kms of use before any thing goes wrong on stock engine or transmission. assuming fluids are routinely changed. I plan on keeping my car till 2030 and buying a luxury car after. The car is going to age well if you have the touring which includes features of new cars (LANE KEEP ADPATIVE CRUISE, LEATHER SEATS, HEATED FRONT AND REAR SEATS, 450 WATT 10 SPEAKER SYSTEM, APPLE CAR PLAY, DIGITAL DASH, FULL LED FRONT LIGHTS AND TAIL, CAMERA REAR AND SIDE, WIRELESS CHARGING). Currently sitting at 97k kms.

 

[StanMan]

Be vigilant about taking care of the car and you'll be fine. Learn everything you can about proper care and maintenance and it'll last as long as you need it to.

Straight miles or kilometers isn't a flawless way to measure life- 50,000 highway kilometers is a very different amount of wear than 50,000 city kilometers.

 

[Mcclaughry95]

The abuse probably wouldn't break something. But humans build these engines and no one is completely perfect. So you may get lucky and last a million miles or that person in the plant made 1 minor mistake and it will show itself at some point.
But even grandpa will find that error at some point. With that said you paid for the car beat the crap out of it and make sure you get every dollars worth.

 

[Touring1.5tcivici]

The abuse probably wouldn't break something. But humans build these engines and no one is completely perfect. So you may get lucky and last a million miles or that person in the plant made 1 minor mistake and it will show itself at some point.
But even grandpa will find that error at some point. With that said you paid for the car beat the crap out of it and make sure you get every dollars worth.

EXACTLY. if your cvt didn't fail by 60k miles or 100k kms you can assume ur car is not defective. The rest of the car should also hold up. I use fuel injector cleaner in hopes that it cleans the car. Also what is with paying $92 for a oil change at the dealer.

 

[Mcclaughry95]

EXACTLY. if your cvt didn't fail by 60k miles or 100k kms you can assume ur car is not defective. The rest of the car should also hold up. I use fuel injector cleaner in hopes that it cleans the car. Also what is with paying $92 for a oil change at the dealer.

I only use a cleaner after running some sketchy gas station otherwise I count on the detergents in the fuel. I can't comment on the oil change the dealer has never touched my car and I pay more then that at home. Lol I'm picky tho.

 

[Badigadi]

Its my first car and I have not taken it to the track yet but I think it would be normal for shocks, bushings, end links, tyres, etc. to take a beating and need replacement well before its normally expected. More importantly Engine and transmission oil will be required.

As savagegeese said in one of his videos about an S2000, this is no race car, its just a production car, and while most of his video relates to track driving, some of it applies to spirited driving on backroads.

EDIT: I want to add that as I have seen in this forum, this cars seem to heat soak very often... that cant be very healthy for the car

 

[Touring1.5tcivici]

Its my first car and I have not taken it to the track yet but I think it would be normal for shocks, bushings, end links, tyres, etc. to take a beating and need replacement well before its normally expected. More importantly Engine and transmission oil will be required.

As savagegeese said in one of his videos about an S2000, this is no race car, its just a production car, and while most of his video relates to track driving, some of it applies to spirited driving on backroads.

EDIT: I want to add that as I have seen in this forum, this cars seem to heat soak very often... that cant be very healthy for the car

Great video. Most people are not going to track a civic unless its a si or type r. now two things to note, the cvt will not allow you to stay at high rpm powerbands unless in L or S. another thing is that there is no way that your spirted driving will cause heat issues in the city. theoretically I highly doubt that someone is able to continuously hold the pedal down and brake and accelerate unless they wanna hit up jail. its just impracticle in the civic touring. Also might just be me but I find that the backend of my car is overly loose and that when I take turn I have to worry about the backend fishtailing out like a RWD car. the max you may do is a 0-160km/h run when entering the highway and that should really do no damage

 

[Erin Tyres]

Let's put it this way: if you took your car to a track and drove it like a race car, you could wear out the tires, the brake pads, and maybe even the brake disks in just one day. And it would be fun. Unless you hit something, the rest of the car would probably hold up pretty well. Many of the people who post on these forums track their cars and have written about their experiences. I get the impression that people who track their cars spend a lot on brakes and tires, but their engines don't blow unless modded and tuned. I don't think that you would break your CVT.

 

[Badigadi]

Let's put it this way: if you took your car to a track and drove it like a race car, you could wear out the tires, the brake pads, and maybe even the brake disks in just one day. And it would be fun. Unless you hit something, the rest of the car would probably hold up pretty well. Many of the people who post on these forums track their cars and have written about their experiences. I get the impression that people who track their cars spend a lot on brakes and tires, but their engines don't blow unless modded and tuned. I don't think that you would break your CVT.

I will keep an eye to buy a temp gauge for my CVT because even if a single track day may not blow your transmission, if I dont keep in check my transmission temp it be have very bad in the long run? or am I being too cautious about it?

Also, isn't a slow car (not a Si or CTR) the best car to push in a track? ?

Sponsored