Was wondering how good a 4th gen max is on a road course ?

I have kyb agx's, eibach springs, ssr type c 16 inch rims would this help any or would it be a waste of time ?

 

The maxima really isn't all too bad...as I found out =). The powersteering makes it a bit hard to feel the road, and the stock brakes are.....stock brakes. I wasn't too disapointed in my max, I have agx's and progress springs. TIRES TIRES TIRES...big issue! I need to find some extra rims and get some road race tires, or thrash tires. I'm also running the stock 16's. It would definitely be nice to not have leather seats so I won't have to step on the dead pedal to keep me in position and not have the ability to shift. I know a lot of what I'm saying is a repeat of another post, but road racing is soooo much fun!

 

How do you get started doing this, It looks like soooooo much fun. autocross as well

 

Swapping out to race pads would probably do a world of good on track day. Race compound tires would probably be #2. You might get away with BFG KD's, Kumho MX's, or similar max performance street rubber. Don't take Azenis sports as they'll overheat and go off (so will you).

I autocross because I can't afford to lose my car on a track. And because I won't track w/o a roll bar. Ton's of autox help in that forum.

 

FUUUUUN!

Almost any car will be fun if it's your first time out on a roadcourse - but my Max was a blast at the Thunderhill roadcourse in CA.

Before you do a RC event, I'd get some seat time in at a few auto-x events, if you haven't already. The slower speeds make for a safer environment in which to explore your car's limits. When you're more confident with how your car responds close to the limit, bump up to the roadcourse event. As long as you keep it on the track, you won't regret it!

Your setup is a good start - consider a brake pad/rotor/SS braided line upgrade if you plan on doing this semi-frequently. Hell, I'd say the brake upgrade is worth it even if you run one day at the track. Brake fade/stretchy OEM brake lines can put you in the dirt (or worse) on a roadcourse after a couple hot laps.

Have fun & be safe!

See: http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/

 

Getting started isn't the hard part. Look around for what's near you or what's available. I live in Dallas/Fort Worth, so there's quite a bit here. It's always nice to find out what's least expensive and offers the most track time.

 

Hold up, I need some re-assurance. I have Azenis Sports in 225/40-17. If I run autox, do I need to worry they'll overheat and slide? What about roadcourse racing like Buttonwillow/willowsprings/streets of willow?

Jae

 

ANY street tire will get greasy and slide if pushed hard enough. The degree of that slide should be fairly predicatable, however, unless you're doing something reeeealy stoopid. I've run street tires on auto-x & Thunderhill (1st crack at a roadcourse) and found the car's handling to be very predictable (with all the bolt-on suspension mods).

Unless you're willing to commit to a dedicated race compound tire on a dedicated set of wheels, that's just a fact of life you'll have to deal with for now. Does this mean you shouldn't run the Azenis? Of course not. Get out there, learn your car's handling & take that step to upgraded rubber if you decide you'll be doing this more long term.

(Tires & brakes will go away significantly faster under racing conditions - just be prepared for the wallet drain if you plan on doing more than a few events a year).

 

The Azenis were designed for Auto X. They're freakin awesome. expect about a 2-3 sec drop in times from just the tires alone. The fun part is they dont' come in too many sizes that fit the Max.

road course events are a bit difference with the Azenis, as they will tend to get greasy and overheat. they're made to grip well at lower temps, such as what you'd see on a 60 sec long auto X track.


About the Max on a road course, they are VERY capable cars.... with the right mods. At Hallett raceway just west of Tulsa, OK, I've run out there a couple times.. I ran about 1:38-1:40 out there on my second event, and the best street cars (on real slicks) are running high 1:20s and low 1:30s.. Last I heard, one of the fastest street-car guys was running 1:26s in a modded M3..

so with me learning to drive and getting some better tires on the car, sure... The Max is VERY capable on the track!
autoX is another story though.. just too big and heavy. The guys that run similar times at Hallett beat me by 5-6 seconds on the Auto X course. some of that is still the 2-3 seconds for their slicks over my street tires, but a lot of it is driving the course and the fact my car pushes like a bulldozer on tight corners.

 

matt, how are your suspension bushings? Have you changed those out yet for your prototypes?
Also, How many of u heal/toe downshift before/during turns? Cuz I still can't do it and end up completing my shift waaaay early and entering turns too slow.
Jae

 

I just brake hard, rev up and downshift, then turn. There's no way I'll ever be able to heel/toe, but you'd be surpised how different the pedals feel when you're wearing real race shoes. I'm really tempted to get a seperate set of rims just for road racing, and have some yoko A032R's

 

I've been wanting to try road racing for a while, but the closest track to me is Lime rock which is a 5 hour drive. I've been autoXing, it was fun and all, but road racing seems much more fun. Do they have different classes in road racing like they do in autoX?

 

Yep, they sure do. . .

http://www.nasaproracing.com/

 

I'm a member Ohio Indiana Chapter, since the northeast one doesn't have any HPDE's.....yet

http://www.racenasa.com/events.htm
I'm def gonna do the June 5-6 event at Beaver Run.

Its fun as hell, teaches you so much about driving, and how well your car can handle. It would be nice to see some other maxima's there...

 

Agreed. Once you do a HPDE event, you'll never look at auto-x the same again. . .

 

Lime Rock is about 3.5 hours from me, I'll be going there in mid April with the Porsche Club of America, never been there, heard its an awesome track to get started at.

I drove 7 hours to Beaver Run, which is near Pittsburg, and I'll be doing it again in June. That is no excuse!

 

How would a 4G maxima with the new Tokico Springs and Tokico Illumina's fair in AutoX wearing SE 16's?

 

Better than stock, but performance depends (as always) more on the driver. . .

 

It should be fun to test out the new setup.