I headed out to Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, Michigan today. It was a blast!! I headed up there with my friends who brought an S4, E46 M3, and Z06. The coarse is very tight, so for most of the time I just stayed in 3rd gear so I could work on my braking and line.

Overall my car handled very well and the brakes held up with little fade. I passed an ITR, E36 M3, and was on the @ss of a 99-00 Mustang GT until he went into the pits. I learned a great deal of how my car handles at the limits. I used to think that I was pushing my car on the streets on some occasions, but boy was I wrong. IMO there is no way you can push your car as hard on the street as on the track. This was the best time I have ever had for 50 dollars. Wish I could have gotten some videos/pics for you guys.

 

man, i would love to do something like that. i went to a drag strip once, but i'm hesitant to go again because of the effects that pushing your car to the limit can have on long term durability. plus, i have a stock GLE...that thing would be a joke on the twisties...

 

When I used to take my Eclipse to my transmission mechanic after I blew up a clutch drag racing, he would always say "get out of that straight line ****".

Jesse

 

Road racing is brutal on your brakes and tires. Im gonna have to get a dedicated set of racing rims and tires, so I dont mess up my stocks.

 

Do you have stock brakes? How are they holding up after the race? How many laps did you take and how long was the course?

 

Here is a pic of the track:


It is 1.88 miles long and I got probably about 15-20 laps done during the 3 sessions I was out.

I have Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads on the stock rotors. They held up very well with slight fade. I think with a set of slotted rotors they would have done a lot better.

 

looks like you had fun!

I'm glad to see other maximas out on the track!! I've been telling everyone, the stock rotors/brakes will do fine for moderate racing...do even better with better pads too bad no one listens to me cause i drive a honda. oh well.

and $50!! holy crap that's cheap! The cheapest we can get on track here in vegas is $100!

what kind of passing limitations were there?

 

There's no way the stock brakes would hold up with a good driver on a decent roacourse for very long. I even chew through the Porterfield's very fast. The Carbo-Tech's I use now are a different story. I just have standard replacement rotors, no crossdrilling or slotted stuff, stainless steel lines and ATE Super Blue fluid. With the Carbo-Tech pads, there is zero fade. I can threshold brake all day long without a problem. If I had Hoosier's or heavier rims it may be a different story.

 

We could only pass on the Straights. I was on the GT 5 speed *** for one whole lap and I thought he was going to let me pass in the straights but he ended up going in, so that was no fun

I was in the "B" group because I had no prior experience so I was out there with the "slower" cars. My friends were in the "A" group because they had been there a couple times before.

My brakes held up pretty well, but I was dissapointed at how much my car understeered going into corners. I guess its the disadvantage that we have being FWD and having more weight on the front wheels. My friends had a good laugh at my expense everytime I came around and squeeled all 4 tires.

 

I have raced 5 different FWD cars with various setups (none a Max though) and all would understeer badly unless driven just right - brake in a straight line, aim for a late apex, turn wheel smartly and smoothly, immediately release brakes and feed throttle gently until understeer just begins, add throttle as steering unwinds on exit.

 

I did just what you said on the track and it understeered. I had my friend take it for 3 laps and he said that its because its FWD, so its going to understeer. He has been to Bondurant racing school and has been road racing for a while now, so I trust his judgement.

 

Right, FWD wants to understeer. It is up to the driver to work around it. BTW, Bondurant doesn't teach how to cope with FWD nor did the Bertil Roos school I went to but 15 years of racing taught me how to perform the "unnatural act" of going very fast with FWD. I can certainly say I prefer RWD though.

 

I race Solo-1 and my stock brakes didn't last 3 hot laps. I now have skyline R32 brakes with Hawk pads (HP+) and they only last 5 hot laps. Just enough to compete because in Solo-1 each session is 3 hot laps. I've literally smoked them. I ended up cracking and warping my 13 inch cross-drilled rotors. Just got them replaced today. I need slotted rotors as cross drilled rotors suck for racing but I can't afford them.
I use Kumho ECSTA V700 tires.
As for racing a heavy FWD sedan, it's an art, not a technique
Last weekend I did manage to keep up with a BMW 328is (I was 5 hundredth of a second slower). Unfortunately, the WRX was 2 tenth faster. The 328is had suspension mods, the WRX had suspension mods and slightly increased boost. I have suspension mods. The BMW ran on Toyo RA-1 and the WRX on Kumho ECSTA V700 (like me). The 328is has equal power but it's RWD with better handling, the WRX just has way too much power for a 2000 Max. It shouldn't be in my class but it is. (When I say power, I don't mean the hp on paper, I mean the real life acceleration, etc.) Fun stuff overall. Especially since the Max isn't a race car so Max racers on tracks are always at a disadvantage. Everyone keeps saying: "That Max is pretty damn quick. Didn't think Maximas could do that". I always love hearing that.

 

My favorite comment is "Damn, is that thing chipped!"

Seriously, you should try the Carbo-tech pads. I've used these with stock rotors and they do not fade. I've run them for 25 minute sessions in 95 degree heat with no problems. The rotors currently have almost 500 track only miles on them. I'm going to use them for one more day, usually about 100 miles, before I toss them.

 

From 4 tries at SCCA here in hawaii with hot and humid weather will beat your car up....not to mention track surfaces not made for road racing. After the second race I had to replace my stock bald tires...ALL four.

The maxima in IMHO will understeer very easily if you come into the turn too late or gun the throttle thorough out the turn. I can say that once I got my Bridestones RE730 and FTSB installed it made all the difference in the world with upgrade rubbers and tighten up front. Just too bad I didn't have the RSB installed for the last race. see results {yes, I suck but represented the Max} - http://www.eng.hawaii.edu/~panos/03-31-02.html . I'm in the DSP Class.

The first two races I was classified in the wrong class...STS. Within the sea of Imprezas.

For any of the Hawaii Maxs... http://www.hawaiis.com/scca/ If you want to represent and show what the Max will do. Just email me. But have to do this 1-2 months from now after the car is fixed from the accident.

Brakes: they will fade like hot butter on a hot skillet during SCCA racing.....need to upgrade if anyone seriously races SCCA with a four door car like ours.

 

i guess i'm the only guy who has raced his Maxima on a road course without major fade issues... and i used stock brakes with 18" 7 spoke rims (aka, allowed a lot of air to enter and escape).

 

Hmm..how many laps? what kind of track? how hard were you pushing it?

No fade on stock brakes and pads is very rare on a Max. You're lucky

 

why does gingerman raceway sound so gay?

 

I also had little brake fade on the brakes, but that could be because I was using Performance Friction pads. When you took your Maxima to the track did you experience a decent amount of understeer?? I have basically a full suspenions besides shocks and SFC's. I did all my braking before the turns, then hit the apex, and then tracked out. I did what my friend showed and I still had some understeer. This wasnt a timed event, so I could really judge my progress real well. I think I was running real well judged by the other cars on the track, but thats not a real accurate indicator. Any tips you experienced racers can give me???? Im hooked on road racing!! It is MUCH more fun that drag racing. The only thing is its a lot more expensive

 

The best advice I have is to find someone who really knows that particular track well and have them ride with you for several laps. If you trust them, let them drive your car for a few laps and watch them.

 

I had my friend Greg do 4-5 laps in my car so he could show me the braking points and proper line. It helped a lot! I think next time I go back I am going to play with my RSB settings.

 

What I had on my max was eibach pro-kits and a stealin' rsb.

I didn't have a whole lot of understeer. I mean, it's going to understeer if you're running street tyres...no matter what (unless you run some crazy alignment). I didn't brake as late as I could have because I knew if I did, i'd have a huge fade issue...but that's true with ANY stock car.

 

Increase the pressure difference between front and rear tires - more in front, less in back or some combination. Turn in later, hold brakes longer into turn, hit later apex, or some combination that makes it work, be very smooth. You have to find the combination that works, but note that proper apex for fwd is almost always later than the apex for rwd (which is what most clubs and school tracks mark).

 

I will have to try that. This was my first time at a road course and I was just working on the basics. Now that I am a little experienced I can work on being more smooth around the track.