Hey, Circle Track! Four cylinder STOCK front/rear wheel drive dirt track racing has become BIG in this part of the country.PLEASE feel free to run some articles & tech info to help these guys along. Most don't have a clue how to setup these cars & Steve Smith Autosports still hasn't written any books on the subject. (No, they are not MINI STOCKS) Any plans to research this subject, please feel free to contact me, i'd be glad to introduce you to most of the local drivers; or just contact our track owner, Kenny Schrader (I-55 Raceway, Pevely, Mo.) I'm sure you got his #. Thanx  

I just got a 1990 Maxima V6.  Any tips on getting the car ready for the dirt track?  

TO SUM IT UP. START WITH A POWERFUL STOCK CAR,SATURN,NEON,PRELUDE,EVEN A CONTOUR WORKS WELL. THEN GET IT AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE AND AS MUCH WEIGHT ON LEFT FRONT. 300 LBS MORE ON LF THAN RF AND 100 LBS LR VS RR WORKS WELL AT OSP,SCREVEN,GOLDEN ISLES,AND HARDEEVILLE. ANYWHERE I GO ACTUALLY.  

We've never gotten scientific with our setups, but it sounds like you're on the right track. We are limited to "stock" parts w/no added weight.I'd estimate about 60/40 front to rear weight is about right, and more to the left. Couple things that have helped alot is adjusting the suspension to cure the push, then locking the diff. & using Left/Right stagger. Any way you can find to add 1-3DEG. camber to all 4 wheels,pos.right, neg. left, that's huge. By the way, we've run (AND WON RACES WITH) a ford tempo for the last 4 seasons, not exactly one of your better choices I guess, but there are a lot of "stock" parts available in the salvage yards if you do your homework to improve what ya got. And they're CHEAP! Whatever you decide, put safety FIRST!  

We run figure 8 with a 95 cavalier would locking the dif help me