s30 drift car

[tech-d]

I think youre talkin about driftz240 Im pretty sure he sold his Z and went semi-pro or pro.

 

Thats actually a picture of my 72 at Colorado National Speedway... as for drifting i would use the usual formula... a stiff chassis, coil overs, and maybe an l28et.

[frank280zx]

I dont want to burst your bubble..

but drifting or any racing for that matter and a budget dont go together well..

And you picked the king of sucking bank accounts... drifting!!

But lets see coil overs spot/seam welding full cage etc etc etc .... a guy i know drifts in the dutch series....312 sets of tires a year!!!

The stress on parts tires and the change of crashes etc is evident!

 

 

 

Let me give you and advice and go AutoXíng.. it can be done a bit cheaper..though when you start it will be costly aswel..

 

anyway a quick good sum up about needs and techniques i have saved on my pc ( i think of wikepedia .. but ooh well)

 

Drive train

 

A proper mechanical limited slip differential (LSD) is almost essential for drifting. Open diffs and viscous diffs cannot be controlled during a sustained slide. All other modifications are secondary to the LSD.

 

The most popular form of LSD for drifting is the clutch type, in "2-way" form; this is preferred for its consistent and aggressive lockup behavior under all conditions (acceleration and deceleration). Some drift cars use a spool "differential", which actually has no differential action at all, the wheels are locked to each other. Budget drifters also use the welded differential, where the side gears are welded to give the same effect. This makes the car very easy to slide at high speed, but difficult to park, and is hard on the driveline. Torsen and Quaife (available on cars such as S15, FD3S, MX5, JZA8x, UZZ3x) diffs are also adequate.

 

The clutches on drift cars tend to be very tough ceramic brass button or multiple-plate varieties, for durability, as well as to allow rapid "clutch kick" techniques to upset the balance of the car. Gearbox and engine mounts are often replaced with urethane mounts, and dampers added, to control the violent motion of the engine/gearbox under these conditions.

 

Gearsets may be replaced with closer ratios to keep the engine in the power band. (Japanese drifters confuse the "L" and call these "cross-mission".) These may be coarser dog engagement straight cut gears instead of synchronised helical gears, for durability and faster shifting at the expense of noise and refinement. Wealthier drifters may use sequential gearboxes to make gear selection easier/faster, while sequential shift lever adapters can be used to make shifts easier without increasing shift speed.

 

Suspension

 

The suspension in a drift car tends to have very high spring and damper rates. Sway bars are upgraded, particularly on the rear. Caster is often increased to improve the car's controllability during a slide. Most cars use an integrated coilover/shock (MacPherson strut) combination. This type of suspension allows the ride height to be adjusted independently of the suspension travel. There is no perfect height setting or spring/shock combo for any car, but each driver will have their own personal preference. Many suspension manufacturers offer suspension tuned specifically for drifting, allowing many people to enter the sport competitively.

 

Bushings can be upgraded with urethane parts. Most Nissan vehicles have a floating rear subframe which is usually fixed in position with billet aluminum or urethane "drift pineapples", to prevent the frame moving during drift.

 

One suspension tuning method, still popular in Japan, is known as "Demon Camber" (Japanese: 鬼カム, Oni-kamu). It involves setting the suspension with extreme negative camber in the front to reduce slide. Negative camber on the rear would only induce understeer, making the car more difficult to drift. The front of the car having better grip and less tendency to slide, it is easier to swing the rear of the car around to get a good drift angle. However stability, grip, and overall ability to control the car are compromised. It has thus fallen out of favor as a serious performance-minded suspension setup. However, many cars built for show (such as those driven by bōsōzoku) still use this style of suspension setup for its aggressive look. A few degrees of toe-out on the rear wheels (leading edges angled outward) can reduce rear stability, and make setting up a drift a little easier.

 

Generally drifting consumes tires rapidly and multiple sets may be necessary for a single professional event.

 

Cockpit

 

Because of the large sideways forces, drivers find it preferable to be retained firmly by a bucket seat, and five point harness. This allows the hands to merely turn the wheel, as opposed to bracing oneself against the wheel. The steering wheel should be relatively small, dished, and perfectly round, so that it can be released and allowed to spin through the hands as the caster returns the front wheels to center. The locking knob on the hand brake is usually replaced with a spin turn knob, this stops the hand brake locking on when pulled. Some drivers move the hand brake location or add an extra hydraulic hand brake actuator for greater braking force. Many drivers make use of additional gauges to monitor such things as boost levels, oil, intake and coolant temperatures

 

Engine

 

Engine power does not need to be high, and in fact if a car has too much power, it can be very hard to handle during a drift. Each driver has their own preference, and drift cars can be found with anything from 100bhp (74kW) to 1000bhp (745kW). Typically, engine tuning is oriented towards achieving linear response rather than maximum power output. Engines also must be equipped with upgraded cooling systems. Not only are the engines pushed very hard, creating lots of heat, but being driven at an angle reduces the airflow through the radiator. For turbocharged engines, intercooler efficiency is similarly reduced. Oil coolers are almost essential. V-mounting the intercooler and radiator improves flow through these components, and keep the expensive intercooler out of harm's way in the inevitable offs.

 

Steering

 

With increased steering angle it is possible to achieve greater angle with the vehicle, it will also aid in spin recovery. This is often done with spacers on the steering rack, custom steering racks, custom tierod ends, or machining the spindles. Increased steering angle often requires other modifications as at some point the tire or wheel will come in contact with other suspension pieces or the inner/outer fenders.

 

Body

 

 

Chassis preparation is similar to a road racing car. Roll cages are sometimes employed for safety, and to improve the torsional rigidity of the car's frame, but are compulsory in events that involves the 2+ cars tsuiou runs in the event of a side collision. Front and rear strut tower braces, B-pillar braces, lower arm braces, and master cylinder braces are all used to stiffen the chassis. The interior is stripped of extraneous seating, trim, carpet, sound deadening; anything that is not essential is removed to reduce weight.

 

Body kits are usually attached with cable ties. When the body kit meets the wall or curb, the cable ties snap, releasing the part, as opposed to breaking it.

 

As drift cars are pushed faster, aerodynamic tuning becomes more important as well. Rear spoilers and wings usually are useful only in large, open tracks where the cars develop enough speed to create a need for more downforce. Wheel arches are often rolled or flared to allow the fitment of larger tires. Airflow to the engine is critical, so the hood is often vented. The popular "whale tail" spoiler is only practical at high speeds (+130 mph), and in street use create drag and/or add weight to the car.

 

Due to the nature of the hobby, drift cars are typically involved in many minor accidents. Thus, those involved with the sport tend to avoid expensive or easily damaged body kits and custom paintwork.

 

Tires

 

 

The cars quite often have different tires on the front and back, and the owner may have quite a few sets. This is because a single afternoon of drifting can destroy a new set of tires. As a rule, good tires go on the front for good steering. On the back, hard-compound tires are used, quite often second-hand ones tend to end up in a cloud of smoke. 15" wheels are common on the rear, as 15" tires are cheap. As a driver gets better, they will most likely want to upgrade the tires used in the rear for a higher grip compound. Although cheap/hard tires are fun purely for their slipperiness and ease of drifting, they quickly become a hazard for high-speed drifts. More advanced drivers require the most grip possible from all 4 tires, so as to retain control adequately during high speed drifts. Competitive drifters often run DOT approved tires closer to racing tires, which is permitted, with the exception of some major championships including D1GP which only permits commercially available tires that are approved by them. The grip is required for control, speed, and a fast snap on the initial entry. Some companies have started to create tires with special effects for drifting. One such company is Kumho. They recently released tires designed especially for the drifting crowd. These new tires produce colored smoke instead of regular grey smoke when drifted. Lavender-scented tires have also been developed.[19] They are not permitted in many competitions, as they are seen as giving an unfair advantage to teams with the funding to use them; now, they are currently expensive, but available to the public.

 

 

 

Beginner techniques

 

These techniques don't use weight transition, so are typically the first thing the novice drifter learns.[8] However they are still used by the most experienced drifters, and require skill to execute properly. These techniques aim to induce a loss of traction on the rear wheels, either by locking the wheel (e-brake drift), or using enough power from the engine to break the traction force (power-oversteer and clutch kick).

 

Hand-brake drift sp you might want to fix yours!

 

While the clutch is depressed, the hand brake (or Emergency brake) is pulled to induce rear traction loss. As soon as traction is lost, the driver releases the clutch, depresses the accelerator, and countersteers. This technique is used heavily in drift competitions to drift large corners, or to trim the car's line mid-drift.Also used primarily in FF (FWD Cars) as they are unable to rotate the rear tires.

 

Power oversteer or Powerslide

It is usually done at the corner exit by stepping on the gas hard, to slide side ways out of the corner. It is most commonly employed by beginners because it teaches steering and throttle control without the danger of an actual entry oriented drift.

 

 

Shift lock (compression slide)

 

Initiated by downshifting (usually from third to second or fourth to third, and using a very fast shift) instead of braking, without rev-matching, causing the drive wheels to lock momentarily. Helpful for very tight corners, allowing the driver to approach the corner at a slower speed and lower revs, while allowing quick acceleration when exiting the corner. This technique can be very damaging to the engine if mis-used as the ECU is unable to rev limit when the engine is oversped by the rear wheels. Premature downshifters are called "Rod Stretchers".

 

Clutch Kick

 

This is done by "kicking" the clutch (pushing in, then out, usually more than one time in a drift for adjustment in a very fast manner) to send a shock through the powertrain, upsetting the car's balance. This causes the rear wheels to slip. The foot should be at an angle so the brake and gas may be pressed as well, this being needed to control speed and stop from spinning out in the drift.

 

Weight transition techniques

 

These techniques employ a further concept of weight transition. When a vehicle has the load towards the front, the back wheels have less grip than the front, causing an oversteer condition that can initiate a drift.

 

Braking drift

 

This drift is performed by braking into a corner, so that the car can transfer weight to the front. This is immediately followed by throttle, which in a RWD car causes the rear wheels to lose traction. FWD cars can also use this technique as it does not depend on the rear wheels being driven. In FWD cars the front wheels are not allowed to lock due to the continuous power, the rear wheels locks easily due to weight transfer and due to the general front heavy design of FWDs.

 

Inertia (Feint) drift or Scandinavian flick

 

This is done by transferring the weight of car towards the outside of a turn by first turning away from the turn and then quickly turning back using the inertia of the rear of the car to swing into the desired drifting line. Sometimes the hand-brake will be applied while transferring the weight of the car towards the outside to lock the rear wheels and help the rear swing outwards. This type of drifting causes the car to accelerate faster afterwards, because of momentum built up while drifting.

 

Kansei, Lift off, or Taking In

 

By letting off the accelerator while cornering at very high speeds, cars with relatively neutral handling will begin to slide, simply from the weight transfer resulting from engine braking. The drift is controlled afterwards by steering inputs from the driver and light pedal work, similar to the Braking drift.

 

 

Dirt drop

 

This is done by dropping the rear tires off the sealed road onto dirt, or whatever low-grip surface borders the road, to maintain or gain drift angle. Also colloquially called "Dirt Turbo".

 

Choku-Dori/Manji (Pendulum)

 

This is done by swaying the car's weight back and forth on straightaways, using countersteer and throttle to maintain a large angle. This is a show maneuver that usually involves many cars following the same line.

[Tombarace14]

Tech, I know thats your car. Driftz240's car was the blue DriftKandy car, guess I should have specified.

[tech-d]

Tech, I know thats your car. Driftz240's car was the blue DriftKandy car, guess I should have specified.

 

oh

[Clifton]

about the on budget coil over thing u were talking about

 

You can leave the perch on if you want. Just take the top spring mount and weld a 3/8" long 2.5" piece of tube to it to keep the coil over spring centered. Then just use a threaded sleeve and collar. I did it on my 73' to gain extra tire room before going with camber plates.

[gjc5500]

so basicaly convert the stock strut tube so you can adjust it?

[driftz240]

ill give you the best advice yet.....as a director for usdrift in the midwest

i have built a s30 to compete in formula d series, and i actually qualified to go to the nevada formula d license event in the s30, but quickly realized how difficult the car is to perfect and to drift, sure anything can drift but the biggest problems with the car i found is the extreme lack of steering angle needed to pull out of big angle drifts, even after much modification to the rack i get less steering angle than a stock s13, ive tried to do many things to correct this but without notching the frame rails and much more modifications, changeing to a vw steering rack or somthing your always gonna get crappy angle and spin if try to get hte angle that the other guys are getting.

also much like an s200o you sit back in the car very far, it kind of plays tricks on your brain and gives you ill readings on how much angle your gettting.

aside from the 2 terminal downfalls, i did develope ane awesome drifting suspension along with a friend at kyb in japan, we custom valved a set of kyb real sports dampers and stuffed them into a short stroked 240z housing witch are 4 way adj front 8 way rear", and did coilovers with 450lb front and 350 rear spring rates, witch i am softening for next season, to 350 front 300 rear, along with 35mm bump steer spacers, camber plates, we were running 12mm toe out and -3 camber front and 1.8 deg rear, we are also running a nismo gtlsd, and cv axel swap, witch is a must... the r180 cant handle drifting, and welding makes you brake stub axels, i broke a cv joint at nopi qualifier in beaverun witch had me out for the day.... all in all for the most part have given up drifting the s30 in 2008 and picked up a s13 for competitions, but for my local events i host i will still on occasion drift the z. on a professional level it is not competitive and i dont have the money or backing to make it compete on that level at this time. thus the reason for the switch. but on a local level the z does very well, but with no aftermarket support for drifting your stuck developing parts and solutions yourself witch cost a ass load of money.

derrick

usdrift

outbrake motorsports

[DeathByNissan55]

You never specified a brake setup, which style rear and front are you using?

[Sideways]

Welcome to HybridZ. A helpful tip to avoid much backlash- Check the dates of threads before posting. The most recent response in here over 4 years old.

 

Sniff around- Theres some awesome stuff here.