Well another great weekend has come to pass and I'm sure everyone who came up had a fun time.

First I'd like to give props to the Maxima drivers running at the track. They were great on the track and of course, throughout the rest of the day. We managed to turn the day into a picnic hangout, with a good dose of car prepping/mod discussions interspersed by 4 run sessions where we went out on the track and laid the smack down.

The Maximas running at the track were as follows:

Group 1: #796 Brian - 97 SE 5spd - First time on a road course raceway
Group 2: #168 Dennis - 99 SE-L Auto Supercharged - Experienced racer
Group 2: #412 Cheston - 97 GXE 5spd Supercharged - Experienced racer
Group 2: #471 Nabil - 96 SE 5spd - Experienced racer
Group 3: # 14 Jay - 99 SE 5spd - Very Experienced racer

The event organizers decided for that day to combine the HPDE groups so that Groups 1 & 2 would run together and Groups 3 & 4 would run together. That was enough of a reason to spur talk amongst the Maxima Drivers in Group 2 to consider switching to Group 3, but we were discouraged by the event officials when they mentioned the lunatic Group 4 cars/drivers, especially the likes of which were the Viper GTS ACR that was eating everyone's lunch out there in the Group3&4 sessions!!

The track was setup for that day was Configuration #14 running clockwise which is an especially fast configuration to run, not to mention being really hard on the brakes.

Session 1:
I lined up at the back of the grid of cars (approx 25 cars), with Cheston behind me to videotape my blunders. The officials then set us loose out there with about 3-5 second intervals between each car, and we started off the 1st warmup lap nice and easy waiting for green flag so that Cheston and I could get down to business.
The car just in front of me was a latest Gen BMW 540i, and I thought what better bogie to try to take down than a comparably sized car to the Max and which put my car at an HP disadvantage (I like being the underdog), but the guy must not have been able to handle the 2 menacing Maximas filling his rear view mirrors and so around him we went with not much of a fight and onward we moved.
Next up were a ~97 Sentra SE-R chasing down a brown 1st Gen RX-7, both of which didn't pose much of a challenge either. Next was a latest Gen BMW 325i that put up a small fight but gave up rather quickly too I thought.
At this point I had moved up behind a white Griggs Racing GR40 Mustang SVT Cobra being driven by a junior driver for the Griggs Team. (This same car was being driven by the main driver in the race sessions). Needless to say, the Mustang put up a great fight for quite a while, but to my surprise the Mustang finally fell behind and made way for Cheston & I to go after a dark Firebird V8. This Firebird was very fast not to mention was taking very nice lines around the track, so I was having a hard time catching up with him since I couldn't capitalize on any driving mistakes from the Firebird driver that I was looking for, and neither did I have any HP advantage to pass him.
So session 1 ended before the Maximas could get a real chance at challenging the Firebird through some of the tougher parts of the road course.
You can see much of this session on the video link which Cheston will post up soon.

 

Session 2:
In this session I started on the grid without Cheston. (I think Cheston and Dennis paired up for this session to see what blown Maximas can do out there.
For me, this session began much like the previous one, where I quickly passed the slower cars, until I came up upon a black CRX (you know, the one with the beam axle, maybe a 1986 model) that was being held up by a green 2nd Gen GrandAM with a Quad 4. The GrandAM was moving at a good clip, although it was obviously holding up the CRX. I don't know what the CRX had under the hood, but that thing was surely beyond the stock car's capabilities. Anyway, I capitalized on the situation in front of me quickly caught up to them and sat on the CRX's tail end waiting for the right moment to pass. The GrandAM eventually capitulated and both the CRX and I went around him. To my surprise (and great delight) the CRX driver showed some awesome driving skills from that moment onwards, and continued to impress me with his abilities to take the much lighter car into and out of corners at speeds where I had to slow down (The Maxima is a nose heavy car that can really use race compound tires). So the scenario played out for a couple of laps where he'd gain some room starting from the "Off-ramp" corner up, then I'd reel him back by the end of "I-5 straight" where I'd see a Maximum speed of about 80MPH before having to brake. He would then go through "Cotton Corners" and "Grapevine" at a faster clip than I could negotiate with the Maxima but then I'd reel him back by the end of the back stretch just before the “West Loop”. My Maxima would see >112MPH before having to brake down to ~85MPH to go through "Riverside" on the West Loop of the track (Riverside is known also as Talladega by some). I kept "working" the CRX through the very tricky "Lost Hill" section (Lost Hill is a.k.a Magic Mountain, and for a good reason ) until eventually I managed to carry enough speed through the "Sweeper" and loomed really large in his rear view mirror going through the "Esses" and down the stretch to "Sunset" (speeds up to 105MPH) that I was able to go around him. Of course, once I passed him, it was the CRX's turn to crank up the heat on me and chase me down.
What ensued were a couple of laps that can probably be described as all-out bonanzas that seem like a blur now because I was so focused on driving the line and nailing the apex on every corner to carry the best possible speeds around the corners. Of note during those two laps were the drifts going around "Dog Leg" as well as at the left turn before "Lost Hill" going at speeds over 110MPH. Intense fun!!! In fact, it was so intense, that I after those couple of laps my brakes were starting to turn marshmallow soft although were still braking quite effectively, but I didn't want to pit early to regain the pedal feel, not to mention that I really wanted to return the favor back to the CRX, so I let him go around me and got back on his tail again and we began the cat-mouse chase all over again going all out with one exception: I was determined to carry more speed through the corners (less braking abuse) and stay on him even through the corners. My strategy was to try to adapt his racing lines to mine and see if I could learn new techniques, all the while we were flinging our cars at incredible speeds.
This duel continued with no let up until the end of session 2.
After the session, I walked around the grounds looking for the black CRX to meet the driver; however, nobody was by the car when I found it. So I returned to our Maxima spot, only to be told that the CRX driver came looking for Maxima that tore up the track with him. hehe

 

Session 3:
My session 3 was highlighted by a rematch between the Griggs Racing Mustang and me. We were released on the track about 5 seconds behind Cheston in his supercharged Maxima who was chasing down a modded Nissan Silvia Turbo (SR20DET).
I, however, had to get around the Griggs Racing SVT Mustang if I wanted to catch up to Cheston & the Silvia. And I was eager to see what the Silvia would do, especially when he would see 2 Maximas breathing down his neck. Anyway, it took me about 2 laps to get around the Mustang after it tried in vain to put any distance between us, or even catch up to Cheston up ahead.
Once the GR Mustang fell behind, I set out to catch up to Cheston & the Silvia by trying some new things that now I can describe as lunatic techniques. I was able to slowly and painfully gain ground on the 2 of them and was ready to challenge them by the time Cheston negotiated "Lost Hill" and went into the "Sweeper". I dove into the "Sweeper" following Cheston's line and into the "Esses", shifting into 4th gear at 6500RPMs in 3rd gear at the last part of the "Esses" clipping the apex curb like he did and getting airborne for a split second, which was the exact thing that happened to Cheston Maxima since we were both taking the same line. However, Cheston didn't realize that his car had gotten airborne, and thought something was wrong with his suspension/steering when he got the sensation of holding the steering wheel to the left while the car continued going straight. So he turned into the pits at the end of the stretch following the "Esses" just before “Sunset” and left me to bearing down on the Silvia who was about 100 feet ahead at that point.
I spent the next lap doing the same mad driving techniques I had picked up in session 2 with the CRX to try and catch up to the Silvia, and just as we made a complete lap and were back to the "Esses", a huge dust cloud on the left side suddenly developed. This cloud was being kicked up by a dark green Porsche 911 which managed to spin out while going through the "Esses" and plowed into a low wall and did considerable damage to it body & suspension. Thankfully, the driver was just fine.
Unfortunately, that incident prompted the officials to cut that session a lap or two early so I didn't get the chance to challenge the Silvia effectively.

 

Session 4:
In session 4, Malik indicated that he'd like to ride along with me, so I said sure. However, I warned him that I would be driving a lot less aggressively during this session since my brakes had shown signs of fatigue including 50% wear from my brand new R4S pads from the spirited driving, especially in sessions 2 & 3. I was also surprised by the charring on the right front caliper from what I think was friction flames. I now know what my next mod should be. (big brake kit)
Anyway, session 4 started out fine with little drama, however, as luck would have it, we soon came up on a latest Gen BMW 325i that was hammering down on a 318ti, and of course, both of them had no intentions of conceding to a Maxima. I must say both cars were being driven heroically, although they were no match to my car with the top end power the MEVI was making from 5500-6500. It was exactly that region that I used to overwhelm both cars and convince them to let the Maxima go by. The MEVI’s greatest strengths were evident the most at the top of 3rd gear going around the back stretch where everyone would go WOT to over 110MPH. After a lap or so of this the 318ti turned into the pits, and the grey 325i found himself staring at a white Maxima with 2 words pasted on its headlights in reverse lettering (MOVE OVER) that Cheston transplanted from his car to mine just before I went out on session 4 .
Of course, a duel ensued (which Malik witnessed while riding shotgun with me and can probably add his own commentary to this if he wants). Needless to say we were able to get around the 325i after a while just so that we everyone knew what the Maxima was capable of doing out there on the track.
This duel continued until the end of the session and with that session our day was concluded, thankfully in a safe and fun manner.
I was very pleased that I didn't once go off the track or break anything on the car.
I hope the next time we go out to a NASA HPDE we can convince more guys to come out and share in the fun.

 

the 325 was dricing to the absolute limit and couldnt pull away from Nabil, and when the starights came up, the Maxima+VI really gave the Maxima SUCH an advantage over the 325, if the course wasnt ButtonWillow and was more like Willowspring, Nabil would not have been able to play with the 325 his car is FAST! the VI really really helps the Maxima especially on the track, the powerband is vastly more flexible than with out non VI 4th gens...

when I get my money I'll be lining up for the VI

 

Click for Buttonwillow pics
Enjoy!

 

nice write up, its good to see you posting once a year lol :-), i wish i was out in Cali, i have been following your racing (cheston, nabil, and jay) ever since i first got into maxima's on the yahoo group maxima site!

 

Looks like you guys had some fun! Maybe you guys might be willing to drive up to the Bay area for some auto-x.

How can I find out when the next time you guys head out there?

 

http://www.vq30de.net/nasa_oct2002/

More pictures and my writeup.

NorCal is very good for auto-x'ers as SCCA has THREE regions running events... San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno, plus NASA NorCal...

Here in SoCal, all we have is CSCC (SCCA SoCal), and they don't meet nearly often enough for me. Although their next event is in 3 weeks.

And honestly, I do auto-x... you're better off coming down to Buttonwillow to run HPDE. Even at a Lockheed group auto-x event, where you get maybe 20 laps (15 minutes, maybe? Maybe 25 minutes if it's a long course) total all day, we had EIGHTY (80!) minutes of track time at Buttonwillow.

(granted it cost 5x as much... but it was worth it!)

 

nabil, how do you get your engine compartment so clean? Can you help me out? btw, i think you know i got a 97 gxe 5sp about a month ago, right?
Jae

 

Simple, make sure you take care of those oil leaks on the motor. Use a torque wrench set to the factory torque settings and go over the valve cover bolts. Inspect and replace any suspect looking hoses and/or clamps.

Another thing that I do regularly is everytime I wash the car I wipe down with a damp rag the contact points between the rubber seals on and around the hood and their respective contact surfaces on the fenders. This should help keep a tight seal on things.

As for washing the motor, I believe I used those "Engine Brite" spray cans 2 or 3 times in the last 6.5 years I've owned the car. But it was more trouble than anything trying to dry out the pool of water that collects in the valley under the lower intake plenum where the knock sensor sits. So at least in my case, it's not that I wash the engine bay often that it looks decent. It's mostly the absence of nasty oil leaks that helps keep things looking good.

Now compare my engine bay to Cheston's engine bay, and you'd wonder what went wrong there...

 

Hey Brian, nice writeup there, not to mention your pics really gave a good impression of what the grounds and overall feel of the place was like.

Anyway, did you get into any duelling matches out there on the track with any of the other runners? I know whenever I run into someone who fires up a good duel, that's when I things start getting interesting, and I start pushing my car beyond what I would normally do if there were nobody else to spur things.

Anyway, what are your next planned mods?

 

Nope, no real dueling with anyone else. Got stuck being the Grand Am and then the Triumph TR6 guy who was parked next to us in the pits.

The 325 on course... tried to hang with him for a while, but I couldn't keep on his tail for more than 1/3rd of a lap or so; he had a much better line than I did since at the time, I had no line at all.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=159228

 

Cool video Cheston. Way to go bud.
Any possibility of posting up a video of session 1 on a server somewhere?

 

AAS has, tentatively, scheduled an autocross @ Crows Landing November 8th:

http://www.sfrscca.org/solo2/Sites/crowslanding.html

Rumor is AAS is planning a 3 mile course. If we can get a group together I'll take the Maxima out of moth ***** for a high speed event like this. I expect that Sunday's SCCA event will be slowere than Saturday's AAS.

http://www.americanauto-x.com/gallery/

Want to go pick on some Corvettes?

 

Impressive... wish I'd been there.

 

Let me know if you guys are going to head out there to either one of these two events. I would like to join you out there. Man I can't wait to get out there and try. email me at my site (link is below) THANKS!!!

 

Holy jeebus...

Nov 8 too, that's a long weekend for me too, I could head back home for that... MAYBE.

 

You'll see tons of pics including Maximas piloted by Brian, Dennis, Cheston, & Nabil. Enjoy!
Linky with dozens of pictures from Buttonwillow's HPDE Groups 1 & 2


You'll See Jay expertly piloting his Maxima amongst the rest of the entrants in Groups 3 & 4.
Linky with dozens of pictures from Buttonwillow's HPDE Groups 3 & 4


A collage of Albums for all who ran that weekend.
http://www.racerphoto.com/gallery/bw101202?&page=1

 

sniff, sniff,

Got the following message this morning

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) HAS DENIED OUR APPLICATION
THE EVENT AT CROWS LANDING N.A.L.F. HAS BEEN __CANCELLED__



I'm going to do the Fresno Chapter event instead. Anyone interested, please let me know.

Barry - http://www.4d-sport.com/images/Options2.pdf

 

Damnit. That sucks. I saw on sfrscca.org that it was canceled when I checked today.

I think I'll stick with SoCal events this fall. Just not worth a 4-5 hour drive when I can drive an hour to a SoCal event. Sorry Barry. Maybe I'll see you at the SF Auto Show over Thanksgiving?