Suspension Setups [Auto-X]

[Chebosto]

Please list the following suspension setup for Auto-X. Using this simple table.

Ko - Koni Adjustables [# of turns from super soft. max of 2 full turns)
Ag - Kyb AGX Adjustables [Setting number 1->8/1->4]
St - Stock Suspension
Gr - Kyb GR2 or Tokico Gas shock equivalent (i.e. aftermarket non adjustble struts)
F1 - Coilover setup (Cattman, FLT-A2, Progress, NOT Ground Control)
Ei - Eibach Springs
Nt - Sprint Springs
Hr - H&R Springs
Gc - Ground Control
Sw - Rear Sway bar
FSTB - Front Strut Tower Brace
RSTB - Rear Strut Tower Brace
UBB - Underbody X Braces

If other, please write in

[Your Name, Your Year Maxima, Stick or Auto, NA/Boost]
1. Strut/Shox [Setting #s F/R if applicable]
2. Springs [Drop in inches for coilovers]
3. Which Braces do you have?
4. Tire Pressure F/R
5. Camber
6. Tire Size and Brand


for example:

Joe Nismo, 1997 GXE, Stick, Supercharged
1. Ko [1.75/1.0]
2. Nt
3. FSTB, RSTB, Sw, UBB
4. 40/33
5. -2.0 degrees
6. 225/45/Z17 Khumo Victor7



Thanks
Cheston

[BEJAY1]

Brian Jones, 1997 SE, Stick, N/A
1. Ko [.25-1.0f/.75r] need to stiffen rear
2. Ei Pro
3. FSTB, RSTB, RSw (removed FSw)
4. now 42/32 (was 54/38)
5. -2.5 degrees
6. now 225/50/16, 205/55/16 S-02's (was 215/45/16 Falken Azenis)
Cattman coilovers on the way...

[Driven EF9]

Kam Urquhart, 2000 GXE, 5 spd
1. stock
2. 1.5"??
3. Stillen Rear-Anti Sway Bar
4. 40/40
5. unknown
6. 225-40zr18 Kumho Supras

About 6-8 seconds slower than a D-Mod CRX on an average 60 second course.

PJ Alston, 1996 GXE, 5 spd
1. AGX 2/4
2. maxspeed
3. FSTB
4. 32/32
5. unknown
6. 235-45 17 Sumitomo

[Joeycurl]

Jose Garcia,1999 GLE, Auto,NA
1. GR
2. Intrax
3. FSTB, RSB
4. Normal=35 F&R, Autox: 45F, 40R
5. Stock
6. Nitto 450 225/45R17

[Mrsideways]

What Caster are you guys running?

[Joeycurl]

Originally posted by Mrsideways
What Caster are you guys running?

I'm guessing you want to know what class...I run in the D street prepared and I run a mazda in the F street prepaired. There's one in Oakland this weekend.

[Mrsideways]

No no, Caster. Meaning the angle (forward to backward) the wheel is to the ground. Kinda like camber just the other axis. Most cars we push the Caster as far forward as possible. SleeperSE goofed while getting the alighnment and had it pushed back as far as possible. I guess we'll see what kinda effect it has this weekend.

[BEJAY1]

Originally posted by Mrsideways
No no, Caster. Meaning the angle (forward to backward) the wheel is to the ground. Kinda like camber just the other axis. Most cars we push the Caster as far forward as possible. SleeperSE goofed while getting the alighnment and had it pushed back as far as possible. I guess we'll see what kinda effect it has this weekend.

I thought caster on Maxima's wasn't adjustable. Mine's at 2.45% right now. Past alignments I've gotten have been as high as 3.0% but at the end settled back to 2.5%.

How would one tilt or angle the strut mount or camber plate?

[Mrsideways]

See I don't know that. I know it's adjustable on a protege so I assumed the maxima might be adjustable. So I told matt get about 1/16 of tow out and to push the caster forward if he can. Well the guy at the alighnment shop (which is starting to sound like a goof ball from what matt is telling me) said that he should push it back. So matt listened to him. The car is following the typical symptons of caster being pushed back. The turn in was improved a little bit but the steering wheel as it approaches lock does not spin back. Thats typical of a car with caster pushed back. So maybe it is adjustable. When we have the wheel off for the autox sunday I'll get under there and look for any sort of adjustment and get back to you. This weekend will be the first event on concrete with the 16x7.5's pretty new azenis and camber plates with no front sway bar.

Arron what are your pressures and your camber setting with the 16x 7.5's.

[SleeperSE]

- Just to clarify, the caster is NOT adjustable on the Maxima. Turns out that as we add negative camber with adjustable camber plates, the toe setting gets pushed in. To solve this, I just set my camber to full negative and had the alignment shop put in an aggressive amount of toe-out. The steering return came back and the car feels very eager to turn in. I'm very happy with the new alignment settings.

- Yes, I do drive with that alignment on the street. Surprisingly enough, my tire wear seems to be fine.

[Matt93SE]

Matt Blehm, '93 SE, stick,
1. Ko [1.75, 1.75]
2. GC type coilovers, Eibach 450lb 7" front, 300lb 8" in back. [1" , 2" drop]
3. FSTB, FSB, RSB, UBB
4. 45/40
5. -1.5 front
6. 235/45/17 Kumho 712 (going to Sumitomo HTRz+ next)

it'll hold its own against a WRX with a nationals contender driving.

[Matt93SE]

I was always under the impression that positive caster (top tilting back) was preferred?

reason being that when you turn into a corner, it will give the wheels slightly more negative camber the farther you turn in, which is desired, right? .....of course there are limits to it, but positive is better than negative in this case.

here's a bit explaining the theory... http://www.ground-control.com/gctalk5.htm

[Spaniard]

Erjan Calgaz, 96 SE Stick

1) Ko (2.0/1.0)
2) Stock
3) None
4) 49/44 -S03 (max51), 42/38 -SZ50 (max44)
5) 'Stock'
6) 225/50/15 Bridgestone Potenza S-03 PP now on 225/60/15 Firestone SZ50 EP

[BEJAY1]

Bump. Could anybody else share their setup's and help the rest of us please

[costcowholesale]

Dennis , 99 GLE auto

1) ag (4/8)
2) ei pro
3) addco rsb vibrant FSTB
4) (cold) 38/41 (max51)
5) -0.3 left -0.8 right <-- stupid alignment guy
6) 205 65 15 dunlop sp sport 5000 V rated

other: ES suspension bushing for front sway bar

[BlackCat]

1998 Maxima SE, Auto, Boost
1. Ko [2.0/1.0]
2. Ei
3. FSTB, Sw
4. 40 F/ 40 R
5. Unknown
6. 235/45-17, Falken Zeix Z12

[BEJAY1]

Update for the 2004 season. Lots of changes since my first post.

1. Catt/Prog Gen3 - stock valve rates
2. Progress front 400lb (2.25"drop) / rear 350lb (1.25"drop) - 1" rake
3. FSTB, RSTB, RSw (removed FSw)
4. 44/34
5. -3.0deg race (-4.5deg street - uh uh :/)
6. now 225/50/16, 205/55/16 S-02's (may go less sticky rear yet)


October update
1. Catt/Progress Gen3 - re-valved stiffer
2. Front Hypercoil 625lb 10" / Rear Eibach ERS 450lb 8" - .5" rake
3. FSTB, Addco RSw (removed FSw and RSTB)
4. 44/58
5. -2.5deg race
6. now f225/50/16 BFGKD and f225/50/16 S-02 w r205/55/16 S-02

Installing the 625's in place of the 400's this weekend. Probably pull the Addco off and replace with Stillen too.


November update - best car has felt yet in 4 years
1. Catt/Progress Gen3 - re-valved stiffer
2. Front Hypercoil 700lb 8" Rear Eibach ERS 450lb 8" - .5" rake
3. FSTB, Stillen RSw (removed FSw and RSTB)
4. 44/42
5. -2.5deg race (1/8" total toeout)
6. now f225/50/16 BFGKD and f225/50/16 S-02 w r205/55/16 S-02

[slvr2KSE5]

Steve Garrard 00 SE 5 speed
1. stock
2. stock
3. stock
4. 42/35
5. stock. ( did alignment personally. 2 months ago...right on spec)
6. 235/45/17 kumho MX


i just got into auto-x with the max. i was doing my stealth TT before. i prefer the max honestly.

http://www.mauiscca.org/page.php?page=s2results

you can check the results for the april event if you with. H-Stock is me...the only 1. im moving to another class next time...more competition.

[Spaniard]

Originally Posted by slvr2KSE5

H-Stock is me...the only 1. im moving to another class next time...more competition.

Interesting. I thought the maxima belonged in H-stock. In fact, I heard it WAS H stock around 2 years ago in my region. Bummer for me that it apparently got bumped into G stock. Oh well, I still kicked ***.

[BEJAY1]

Originally Posted by slvr2KSE5

http://www.mauiscca.org/page.php?page=s2results

you can check the results for the april event if you with. H-Stock is me...the only 1. im moving to another class next time...more competition.

Holy cow. Only 23 entries, and 11 before that. I'd kill for small groups like that. Geez, Z8's, 355's, M3's, etc. Nice competition.

[slvr2KSE5]

Originally Posted by Spaniard

Interesting. I thought the maxima belonged in H-stock. In fact, I heard it WAS H stock around 2 years ago in my region. Bummer for me that it apparently got bumped into G stock. Oh well, I still kicked ***.

it is H-stock here. i wonder why its different there.

[Spaniard]

Originally Posted by slvr2KSE5

it is H-stock here. i wonder why its different there.

Can you check if the 4th gen is also h-stock??? This is very strange..

[irish44j]

Setup for this season:
Josh Hickey, 2000 SE 5-speed
1. Illuminas 4 front, 5 rear
2. Maxspeeds
3. FSTB, RSB, St2 LTB, ES FSB bushings
4. Tire Pressure F: 42, R: 36
5. Camber - stock
6. Hankook Ventus R-S2 225/45/17 on 17x7.5/8

[BEJAY1]

Originally Posted by irish44j

Setup for this season:
Josh Hickey, 2000 SE 5-speed
1. Illuminas 4-5 front, 3 rear
2. Maxspeeds
3. FSTB, RSB, St2 LTB
4. Tire Pressure F: 38, R: 34 (but may change w/ new tires)
5. Camber - stock
6. For this season Hankook Ventus R-S2 225/45/17 (don't have em yet)

Do you know exactly what your camber % is? Suggest at least -1.0 or more if you get some bolts. Zero toe too instead of toe-in would help and still be very street stable.

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by BEJAY1

Do you know exactly what your camber % is? Suggest at least -1.0 or more if you get some bolts. Zero toe too instead of toe-in would help and still be very street stable.

nah, not sure what it is, except it's dialed in precisely to factory specs....

[BEJAY1]

Update for the 2005 season.

Originally Posted by BEJAY1

1. Catt/Progress Gen3 - re-valved stiffer
2. Front Hypercoil 700lb 8" Rear Eibach ERS 450lb 8" - 3/8" rake
3. FSTB, RSTB, Stillen RSw (removed FSw) - added Blemco LTB1
4. 41/40 on KD's, 43/40 on S02's
5. -2.5deg race (1/4" total toeout)
6. now f225/50/16 BFGKD and f225/50/16 S-02 w r205/55/16 S-02

(about to try front RS-Z12's and rear Yoko A550V's soon)

[96gxe5spd]

Spaniard:
The scca solo rule book shows 92-03 maximas in g-stock. heres' the link (somebody tell me if this is illegal!!!) http://www.scca.com/_Filelibrary/Fil...ionsbymake.pdf

96gxe5spd

[Whitey-00MaxSE]

Ryan White, '00 Max SE 5-speed
Why aren't there more postings and Max's autocrossing? I have done it for three years and am very competitive in all three classes I have participated, GS, STS, and now DSP (due to tires).

1. Stock
2. H&R sport
3. FSTB, RSTB & RSw
4. 46 psi / 38 psi
5. -1.5
6. Kumho Victoracer 700's 225/45/15 (going to Falken RT-615's 225/50/15 next to be back in STS)

what are the best additional changes for the $? Have seen mixed reviews on Front Sway Bar or Blemco Lower Tie Bar - your thoughts? What about bushings?

[MaximaSE96]

Chris Kilger, 1998 Maxima SE, 5 spd, N/A
1. Agx F-3, R-8
2. S-Tech
3. FSTB, BlemCo LTB
4. 45/50
5. -1.0 front
6. 215/45/17 Kumho 712
300 STS

I was G-Stock... when i was stock someone told me it was because of V-6....i dunno check anyone got a rule book

Going to Run 225/50/16 Falken Azenis Next Year w/RSB and maybe SFC's

[blackmaxx96]

Mike Fuller, 1996, Stick, NA
1.Koni Yellow(front)about 3/4's of the way to firmest setting(don't have yellow knob...AGX's(rear) 7/8
2.Eibachs
3.FSTB, RSTB, RSB
4.40F/42R
5.235/45-17 Fuzion ZRi(Front), 255/40-17 Fuzion ZRi(Rear)

I haven't autocrossed much in my maxima... I did a little bit in my old RX-7, but never got into it much at all...
I would love to get back into autocrossing with the maxima now that I have the suspension close to where I want it....
I do have one question for you gurus-
Why do you set the front tire pressure higher than the rear?
I do the opposite so that it would stiffen up the rear a little bit. The front gets a little bit more traction, and the rear gets less traction to induce oversteer.
I thought our cars were pretty prone to bad understeer... so is what i'm doing not a good idea????

Thanks!

Mike

[97SEdriver]

Originally Posted by blackmaxx96

I do have one question for you gurus-
Why do you set the front tire pressure higher than the rear?
I do the opposite so that it would stiffen up the rear a little bit. The front gets a little bit more traction, and the rear gets less traction to induce oversteer.
I thought our cars were pretty prone to bad understeer... so is what i'm doing not a good idea????

Thanks!

Mike

I would hesitate to call myself a guru, but the way you set up your tire pressures for auto-x has a lot to do with your tires. Either way the strategy is making less grip in the rear, whether you do that with more or less pressure doesn't matter. It's what works for you, and what works for the course you're running. I've found that higher pressures in the rear for faster courses don't tear up my tires as much. At the track higher rear pressures are also better because if you're trail-braking it's safer to rotate on. Well, at least that's my philosophy.

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by blackmaxx96

Mike Fuller, 1996, Stick, NA
1.Koni Yellow(front)about 3/4's of the way to firmest setting(don't have yellow knob...AGX's(rear) 7/8
2.Eibachs
3.FSTB, RSTB, RSB
4.40F/42R
5.235/45-17 Fuzion ZRi(Front), 255/40-17 Fuzion ZRi(Rear)

I haven't autocrossed much in my maxima... I did a little bit in my old RX-7, but never got into it much at all...
I would love to get back into autocrossing with the maxima now that I have the suspension close to where I want it....
I do have one question for you gurus-
Why do you set the front tire pressure higher than the rear?
I do the opposite so that it would stiffen up the rear a little bit. The front gets a little bit more traction, and the rear gets less traction to induce oversteer.
I thought our cars were pretty prone to bad understeer... so is what i'm doing not a good idea????

Thanks!

Mike

remember, though, that your RSB causes alot of oversteer by itself.....no need to compensate to that extent with the tires, IMO.

[SkinnyMax]

Those 255's in the rear don't help the situation either.

[BEJAY1]

Mike I agree with Skinny. Is there any way you can swap your wheels at the event and fit the 255's in front? You'll want less rubber in the back to help induce oversteer.

The pressure question is basic. FWD cars have the engine and weight mostly over the front axle - 2000lbs of it standing still; more when braking. Add to that the fact the fronts are doing all the turning, accelerating, etc. and they need more pressures to support the load.

Try to add rear stiffness using the AGX's and suspension instead of the tires first. Tuning the rear with tire pressures should be a last option as you're sacrificing overall grip. Some tires (rear) respond well to much higher or lower pressures outside their usable range; I don't know about the Fuzions. After stiffening the AGX then try +/- 5 and 10lbs and see how they change.

[blackmaxx96]

Cool!
Thanks alot guys!

I don't think the 255's will fit in the front.... I bought these rims/tires for $200.00 bucks off a dude with a 300ZX.
I'll have to see if I can fit the backs on the front today....

[irish44j]

my update for this season: same suspension as before, but:

1. Stage 2 LTB replaced by Stage 1 to stay DSP/STX-legal
2. 17x8/35offset 5zigen fno1r-c (7 lbs lighter than last year's wheels per corner)
3. 245/45/17 Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212, shaved to 4/32" (used unshaved 225's last year)
4. portable air tank, so I can be more adventurous toying with air pressures at the track.

[blackmaxx96]

Originally Posted by SleeperSE

- Just to clarify, the caster is NOT adjustable on the Maxima. Turns out that as we add negative camber with adjustable camber plates, the toe setting gets pushed in. To solve this, I just set my camber to full negative and had the alignment shop put in an aggressive amount of toe-out. The steering return came back and the car feels very eager to turn in. I'm very happy with the new alignment settings.

- Yes, I do drive with that alignment on the street. Surprisingly enough, my tire wear seems to be fine.

Can anyone else agree with what he said?
I'm going to be raising my car this weekend (on D2's now) and hopefully replacing alot of bushings, etc....
I'm going to try putting the 255's in the front as well.... Hope it doesn't look stupid....

[BEJAY1]

Originally Posted by blackmaxx96

Can anyone else agree with what he said?
I'm going to be raising my car this weekend (on D2's now) and hopefully replacing alot of bushings, etc....
I'm going to try putting the 255's in the front as well.... Hope it doesn't look stupid....

Disagree, in that caster is adjustable. Offset control arm bushings, 2-axis caster/camber plates, shifting the control arms a bit with the subframe mount, etc.

I agree about the alignment settings as I too run heavy negative camber -2ish with toe-out to combat postive toe-out from roll.

[irish44j]

I have camber plates on the way now....I will likely run spec camber/toe on the street, and for autocross will run -1.5 camber and just deal with the toe-in while on course....Brian, any thoughts on how much the resultant toe-in will affect autox performance?