What makes a good drift car?

dori dori said:
Lower offset DOES NOT necessarily = "better handling". Creating a wider stance should increase stability, but then the driver will have to deal with a change in scrub radius. There will also be increased stress on your wheel hubs from running a lower offset wheel. Anyway, a good thing to remember about adjusting anything suspension related on your car...there are usually ALWAYS compramises that must be made. Can you deal with increased tire wear? Sluggish turn-in? At the limit understeer? Snap oversteer? Ect. Ect. Ect.
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ofcourse im not talking about in excessive amounts of either positive or negative offset but it can make a difference. Its not much but I just felt that it needed to be stated that there is a slight performance advantage to a wider stance

To explain dampening you first have to know how a shock works sooo...
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-suspension5.htm
read through the rest of the vehical dynamics to get a good idea of how your suspension works
 
LOL, I never thought of going there. I've forgotten all about that site. My teacher always tells us that if were going to use the computers in class to either be practicing for the ASE or to be on How Stuff Works.
 
I've contemplated throwing an ABS on my 240 several times allready... It kinda kills the joy of wet weather driving in the S13 when you have bald tires, step on the breaks and find your car skidding forward. :( The lack of ABS can be an issue here in florida (or atleast I find it to be one).

I imagine that ABS isn't a problem in a drift car but i might be wrong. Does ABS affect the vehicle in any way during a drift? I know that there are instances in wich the driver has to apply the breaks. But does the fact that the tires dont lock up have any negative effects on the car while drifting?

If not, has anyone actually ever seen an S13 with ABS from factory? I've reasearched prices for several components for the S13 and at times i find the "S13 w/ABS" part added in under Vehicle Selection. I myself have never seen an S13 with a factory equipped ABS system. Has anyone else here?
 
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dori dori said:
Not really since much of the info is CRAP.
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Well by all means dori, provide some better information... Not flaming, just want to learn all i can. If you dont have meaningful information to provide, then plz dont flame what others have posted. :)
 
ProjectRB26DETT said:
I've contemplated throwing an ABS on my 240 several times allready... It kinda kills the joy of wet weather driving in the S13 when you have bald tires, step on the breaks and find your car skidding forward. :( The lack of ABS can be an issue here in florida (or atleast I find it to be one).

I imagine that ABS isn't a problem in a drift car but i might be wrong. Does ABS affect the vehicle in any way during a drift? I know that there are instances in wich the driver has to apply the breaks. But does the fact that the tires dont lock up have any negative effects on the car while drifting?

If not, has anyone actually ever seen an S13 with ABS from factory? I've reasearched prices for several components for the S13 and at times i find the "S13 w/ABS" part added in under Vehicle Selection. I myself have never seen an S13 with a factory equipped ABS system. Has anyone else here?
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I had an S13 with factory equipped ABS. It's worse than no ABS. It came standard in Hicas cars which is what I had. It was big, heavy, made bleeding a pita, and did more harm then good. Abs s13's used different driveshafts and diff housings making on the fly parts swaps more difficult.

ProjectRB26DETT said:
Well by all means dori, provide some better information... Not flaming, just want to learn all i can. If you dont have meaningful information to provide, then plz dont flame what others have posted. :)
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Ask the right questions. You're asking about dampening. That's when something gets wet. Do you want to know about dampers and the affects of adjusting them? I can help with that. What do you want to know exactly?

Do you know the purpose of a shock absorber? If not, you'll never understand bound, rebound, ect. The easiest way to figure out their main function would be to try to imagine a car without them...just the springs. What would happen when you hit a bump or straighten out after a turn with no shock absorbers and just springs? The car would still be bouncing back and forth and up and down and left and right ect ect. Hopefully looking at this from that angle will help clear things up. Now that you get it, check these links out:

Here's some great faq's on shock absorbers:
http://www.koni.com/_cars/_general_info/technology/construction/shockabs.html

Here's some damping adjustment info:
http://www.koni.com/_cars/_general_info/technology/damping_forces.html

Piner said:
ofcourse im not talking about in excessive amounts of either positive or negative offset but it can make a difference. Its not much but I just felt that it needed to be stated that there is a slight performance advantage to a wider stance
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Sure but by just telling people, especially people that don't know much at all, only one side of the story, the good or the bad, you are misleading them.
 
yeah sorry about that I was just kinda rushing to fill the void i was in an impaciant mood thats why I just posted links and didnt take the time to explain anything.
 
For any of the S14 guys and anyone else that knows alot about alignment settings, what do you think a good setup is with the degrees and what not. I also want to know where a good place to get your alignment done is . I know about sears and they give you a printout and all that but sumtimzz the managers are ***'s and only allow the tech's to align the cars to the oem specs..
 
My settings are Front camber 2.5-3 degress and the rear .5 degree
and when i get some damn shocks, it would be 8 way adj maybe so 4F and 6R with springs rates 8-6
Front Caster -1 Degree R Stock and Toe i leave at stock since i still daily my car....of corse these are my drift settings

daily woul dbe .5 Camber Front and Rear
dampening would be probly 2 front and 4 rear
everything esle stays the same.
 
S13 Grip said:
My settings are Front camber 2.5-3 degress and the rear .5 degree
and when i get some damn shocks, it would be 8 way adj maybe so 4F and 6R with springs rates 8-6
Front Caster -1 Degree R Stock and Toe i leave at stock since i still daily my car....of corse these are my drift settings

daily woul dbe .5 Camber Front and Rear
dampening would be probly 2 front and 4 rear
everything esle stays the same.
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Those settings are for an S13 or S14? I was allready thinking about good settings for the car since im planning on having it as a daily. Was hoping on something that provides oversteer but not so much that the car will always be tail happy on the streets. Do those settings give you any trouble in wet weather driving?
 
No trouble in wet driving so far in dialy settings....i also dont drive crazy in the wet....
There settings for the S13 im sure the S14 isnt to far from that....correct me if im wrong.
Ither way once you learn the basic suspension and what each dose then you can go and set up to how you like it...some drives liek alot of over steer, some like lots of understeer...mine is preety even IMO, My settings are also for the tires i run now...and probly just start running the same tires so i can get a better grasp of the car, in stead of using different tires each time.
 
Different tires each time? Hmmm... So I imagine that most drifters, when they go to an event take the following:

1 Jack
1 (or more) Tool Box filled with all nessecary tools for whatever may happen
4 Spare Tires
1 Helmet

Anything else im missing? This is all just off the top of my head. My car wont be seen sideways on the streets anymore (atleast I hope I have enough self control :D ) so it would be nice to know everything that has to be taken to the events.
 
For a novice, you won't even go through 1 set of rears in 3 events so don't worry about taking so many tires.

What you listed is good for an event...it's pretty common to lose a lug or break a stud, so if you have any extras of those, bring em. Tire pressure gauge is good to bring. Some extra cash too. I can tell you one thing you should never, ever bring to an event though...your "pride". Leave it at home and come with an open mind. So many novices take long amounts of time to improve because they have too much pride to ask for advice from other drivers or instructors. I'm a pretty decent driver but I'm always asking for advice, tips, or ride-alongs. After most drift events, at the end of the day I feel like I've learned something or gotten a little better...which is the purpose of a practice event.
 
dori dori said:
For a novice, you won't even go through 1 set of rears in 3 events so don't worry about taking so many tires.

What you listed is good for an event...it's pretty common to lose a lug or break a stud, so if you have any extras of those, bring em. Tire pressure gauge is good to bring. Some extra cash too. I can tell you one thing you should never, ever bring to an event though...your "pride". Leave it at home and come with an open mind. So many novices take long amounts of time to improve because they have too much pride to ask for advice from other drivers or instructors. I'm a pretty decent driver but I'm always asking for advice, tips, or ride-alongs. After most drift events, at the end of the day I feel like I've learned something or gotten a little better...which is the purpose of a practice event.
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Well im happy to announce that im not that arrogant. As im sure everyone who's read/replied to this thread has noticed, im asking tons of questions. I know im not the Drift King (yet ;) ) . I still got a hell of alot to learn. ****, If i ever want to be able to go to Japan and school the Japs in my USDM 240SX during the D1 imma have to learn everything i can and get as good as i can at Drifting :D . ****, if your not going in to win, theres no point in competing.
 
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You know... I can't help but think that there's something i've missed along the lines of things that help in make a good drift car BETTER. We've covered Power/Weight Ratio's, Offsets, Tires, Ride Height, V/LSD's, TC Rods, Wheel Size, Camber, Damening, 4-5 Lug Conversions, ABS, Different Drift Settings, Good Track Equipment, etc. Some of it off topic (glad admin hasn't noticed) but most of it on. From what i've been able to gather, what makes a good drift car BETTER is a good power/weight ratio and a good suspension setup. Is there more to that? Or is this it? Also, if someone would be so kind, I imagine that suspension tuning is something you have to do/see to know how to tune any particular thing on the car. Uras posted a few parts that can be tuned to affect caster/camber/toe/bump steer. Anything else?
 
Well, when you get good, you'll run at full lock and wish you had more steering angle. That's always a problem. Chassis rigidity is important too (a roll cage works wonders). Cooling is always an issue on a drift car since you aren't going really fast and run the car at high rpm's sideways (meaning less air for your radiator).
 
Actually there is something else. Make your interior comfortable to your standards. You want to enjoy your car as much as possible.

I would upgrade the steering wheel, shifter and seats on the S13. The stock seat is garbage when the G's kick in.

The steering wheel is a choice not a necessity, I prefer to keep the steering out more towards me and that way I an pull the seat a little farther back for more room to move my feet around for shifting and brake work ;) .

And the shifter is another personal choice I prefer it a little higher than stock.

These mods in no way make you car better for drifting but if your not comfortable in the car you'll never enjoy it.

Yeah like DD said rigidity is an issue but not yet you need to be experienced to actually make your cars chassis feel the abuse of drifting.

Stitch/spot welding then comes into affect also.
 
for beginners all you really need is suspension, TIRES, LSD, Steering wheel, and shifter...and maybe if your n/a intake and exhaust some ignition upgrades thats about it....at least thast all i have and thats all i need....with S13s COOLING is a huge thing not only in drifting but even driving in the hot days in south florida....that was one of my first upgrades on my S13....also brakes may be a good upgrade to do on an S-chassis....with all this stuff you have a really nice STREET daily/drift car.
 
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