Do you leave it in D or put it into second?

 

I manual shift. 7100 RPM is fun sometimes.

It depends on your powerband. Our auto/x is in a mall parking lot, so 2nd would seem like a good option. But play round with it and see what works best for you.

 

When I run, I usually put it in 2nd with OD off. It is too easy to mess up on your shift with no gates.
Most courses you will never see 3rd anyway.

 

Exactly. I race my friend's car (max will see some cones very soon though) thats a stick and I never have to go to 3rd. Thanks for the replies

 

Make sure you keep it in 2nd. If you put it in drive it will upshift at the wrong time.

 

auto X with a maxima? its gotta be harder than usual. how do you guys do it

 

It really isn't that hard. The maxima is a pretty decent handling machine. I will say there are a few tricks to getting around the course with a heavy fwd car though.
In the bay area, a 96 maxima took the STS class for the first couple years it was around. I did fairly well in STS with mine, and it is by far the most competitive class in our region, and I am a lowly auto.
Look around for Spaniard's videos if you want to see what a max driven to the edge can do.

 

Er... have you thought about the shift_fast mod for the automatic transmission, so you can shift up and down with a bank of pushbuttons?

Push the button for first, you're in first. Push the button for second gear, you're in second. No shift lag, no slippage. There's a lot of threads in All Motor about building and using it, and it's cheap to do.

For what's it's worth. I use an updated version on the drag strip. Read my sig.

I gotta admit that what you're doing seems like a lot of fun....