How hard is a burnout on a car, mechanically?

Question

I did a 4 second "burnout" in my '95 Z28 today (stock) at low rpms. Without regard for tires, how hard is doing that on a car? I can see how 45 seconds to a minute could cause problems because you're at high rpm, with the engine under load, with little air moving through the radiator. But for a short one, how hard is it on the differential, drive shaft, tranny, and engine? What about brakes? Seems like spinning the wheels for four seconds with the brakes depressed isn't much different than your every day stop at a red light... I don't see how it could be very hard on the brakes... And it seems like a 300hp engine would laugh at whatever resistance the rear brakes had to offer. I'm mostly worried about the effects even a short burnout could have on the tranny and the differential (suddenly spinning quickly, then suddenly stopping).

Answer 1

That short of a burnout from time to time will not hurt anything.

But now burn outs do wear parts quicker.. The main thing in your car would be the differential.. It's weak already. The 7.5"/7.625" 10 bolt rears are the weakest ones GM ever used. (I have broke 2 already in my 1988 camaro, which has the same 7.625" as yours)

Another thing is the brakes.. Rear more so.. Remember your holding the rear brake shoes/pads against the drum/rotor to stop the car, as you throttle up and make wheel (rotor/drum) turn..

As the turning drum/rotor spins around and against the locked brake pads/shoes it's eat away at them, like holding wood against a turning belt sander.

Transmission temp is another thing. My car is a street/strip drag car. I have a trans temp gauge installed along with 2 add on coolers.. At the track when doing my burnout to clean and heat the tires, my trans temp will go from the norm 175* to 190*.. Then as I roll out of the box and stage the temp will go back down to about 180*.. Then I stage the car, and come up on the converter (foot brake pushed, throttle pushed to amount right before tires spins) and as I'm waiting for the lights to come down, my trans temp will go up to 200*

Point to all of that, is holding car still, under power heats the transmission up quick, and heat is the #1 killer of auto transmissions.

Answer 2

You pretty much answered your own question-the rear and transmission take the most abuse during a burn-out. Think about it-the components normally "loaded" are not so during a burnout, and the rolling resistance is altogether different.
It's matter of the amount of torque on the components, and just where and how the torque is being transmitted. Going down the road, the forces act on different places on the gear teeth vs a burnout.
Burnouts are OK for your Ego, but overall shorten the life of the components in use during one., if nothing else because of the heat distribution. The rear brakes still are trying to come on, so the rotors/drums and shoes/pads crystylize during the process, causing longer stopping distances when you need them to be optimum.
Also, the engine itself-the rotating mass-is engineered to work best and last longest with a certain load on it. VERY hard on rod and main bearings. Not a whole lot different than thrashing it going down the road, but with enough subtle differences to keep E from doing it-even though my ol' 360 Mopar truck will burn the rears to the rims if I wanted to-and decided I didn't like my truck anymore!

Answer 3

Your 4 secs probably did hardly anything to do any damage
on your drivetrain. I could go on with the details but i'll just leave it at that. I wouldn't worry.

I used to do burnouts in my 93 Firehawk all the time, ran great for over 14+ years.

Normally a burnout is done to clean off debris and warm up tires especially at a drag strip.

Answer 4

I use to do em all the time when I was young and foolish in my 69 Charger 440 R/T---never broke anything except the left motor mount from all the torque. Sure, it's harder on the car than normal use but as long as you have heavy duty components, I wouldn't worry too much as long as you don't go nuts everyday with it.

Answer 5

Ever been to the NHRA drag races? I've seen the body of many a funny car or top fueler blow sky high while doing there burn- outs. Your putting everything from the radiator fan back to the rear breaks under 1000s of lbs of torque on a car not designed for it. Funny cars & top fuel ARE designed for it, and still blow apart in every direction. Now, you tell me.

Answer 6

probably not all that bad provided you don't do it too often.
you have plenty of torque and that's why you can do it at low RPMs but I would avoid high RPM burnouts. your weakest link is probably the transmission (4L60E?)but as long as you keep it short and sweet you shouldn't have a problem, just don't let the cops see you doin it.

Answer 7

hard on universal joints but if your car can do a burnout, cool

Answer 8

very hard on the differential.... and innocent bystanders

Answer 9

goof ball, you gonna burn it up