Ok guys, in June im going road racing against a ton of hondas and a few select other cars at Gingerman Raceway in michigan. (R/T, C&D and Motor Trend have tested here). anyhow, my car already sits on ground control coils and kyb shocks... i'll have Axxis Metalmaster pads all around and Powerslot slotted rotors in front. I've just committed to the group buy for SS brake lines, and i'll be bleeding the brake system prior to racing and installing Motul DOT 4 fluid.

Rear sway bar, i know this helps alot, and im going to get one. any opinions on what brand RSB to get?

Same with FSTB, im getting one... are all front strut tower bars created equal? i know the Cattman bar is on sale right now.... should i get that one or go with a cheaper one or what?

I already have wheels and tires... not the best for road racing... but better than the stocks and they will have to do. any other basic handling mods you guys can think of that will help me out without making me absolutely broke?

Thanks,
Neal
96 GXE

 

Get an intake. probably cost maybe $200 for a cai. or just do a $20 cone intake swap. other than that get a y-pipe

 

Just a little advise for you my friend, don't even race these Hondas with your stock engine (do not even think about it).
There are many Hondas out there equipped with racing Cams, NOS system, Turbo, Exhaust system and Headers, Computer chips...etc (you name it they got it in there car)
beside their handling and braking of course. You have to modify your engine otherwise no way!.So good luck on your racing and happy SPINNING.

 

A lot of them are more show then go. A stock Maxima would probably slaughter just about any Civic or Accord with a few basic bolt ons, except for maybe the Si or the V6 Accord. But, watch out for some of those cars, a lot of them look ricey but have NOS, Turbo or an engine swap and will chew u up at the track.

U can try doing the inexpensive things, like reducing weight, take out any heavy stereo stuff, spare tire, backseat, also your stock rims are probably lighter, so u can throw those back on... i'd rather mess those up when u start burning out then expensive 17 inch tires.. Also, like someone else mentioned, get an intake.

 

By the way is that your Max pic or what I'm thinking is
(BMW ---> M series) Not bad for a 6 speed car.

 

Just be safe and have fun. Run what ya' brung. Track racing is not about the car's abilities but the driver's abilities. If you know how to drive, you would be suprised on what you can keep up with.

Just make sure you post how it was! Good Luck bro!

 

heheh, I WISH that was my max.. but the reality is that I have a POS rebuilt 4-speed automatic tranny 93 Maxima.
Yes, that's a pic of the new M3 shifter, delicious isn't it?

 

there will be 3 different classes racing... divided up by lap times (we will first run hot laps to determine each driver/car's time, then divide up accordingly.) this is being set up by ClubSI and a friend of mine. There will be cars of all sorts there, but about 1/2-2/3s will be hondas. 54 cars signed up right now. cars ranging from a GMC Syclone that is set up for road racing (yes, thats right( my friends NOS/SC GSR with full roll cage, stripped interior, Tein suspension, etc, a few turbo SIs and accords, all the way down to almost stock SIs and civic EX's and jettas and stuff... so its a total mixed bag. i'll be racing against the guys who run similar lap times. in the lowest 2 classes, which will be where i am, passing wont be allowed in the corners, to lower the risk of a crash... which should give me some advantage, since the honda's in general will handle better but i'll probably have the power on them. anyways, thanks for responding.

Neal

 

Get the FSTB and RSB! I have the Addco RSB, but I have heard that the Stillen has a wider range of adjustment.

Get the Stillen if you can afford it and set it at it's stiffest setting. The Maxima has really bad low-speed push (understeer); to make the rear end looser (oversteer) you stiffen the rear sway bar.

Tires are the most important change you can make. If you can afford it, get some racing tires on wide, small diameter rims. The smaller diameter will give you better acceleration. If you run what you have now, make sure that you put enough air in the tires. I run 42 front/40 rear for autocross.

Get a good racing harness. The better you stay in one place, the better you will drive. The next best thing is a $5 part I got from a baby shop. It's a seat-belt bracket that locks the shoulder harness around the upper hanger. I set it so that I can barely latch the belt with the seat all the way back, then I slide the seat forward so the belt really pins me in to the seat.

READ! Go to Barnes and Noble. There are lots of books on how to drive fast.