Beginner's Drift???
 

So i'm kinda new to the forums and I put out a search regarding drifting but couldn't find an answer to what I"m posting about so I hope I'm not breakin any forum rules here. My name's Matt, and I own a '91 FC and I couldn't be happier. But the thing about it is, I'm not too knowledgable about cars and engines, I just enjoy the drive. Anyone help me out regarding what steps I should take to get my FC to a point where I can start to practice the drift? It's a stock engine, and like I said I"m completely lost regarding engines.

Hell, you can start right now, with nothing done. Well, i mean do a full 60k tuneup, and start practicing with the 180 and the 90, as per the Drift Bible. However, if you're a little more advanced, you'll definately want a limited slip differential (LSD). LSD's make the rear wheels spin at the same speed, which is essential for full-on drifting. The FC3S has one stock, but if your car has much more than 50,000 miles on it, you can be sure that its too worn out for drifting. FD3S TorSen LSD's can be had for ridiculously cheap (I got mine for like a hundred bucks plus shipping) and while they don't lock, they're great until you can afford a Quaife or KAAZ or similar. The next thing I'd recommend is adjustable struts (KYB AGX or Tokico Illuminas are competitavely priced and quality products) and stiffer springs. As far as the engine goes, once you drive more you'll start craving more power. A TurboII swap is popular, but not necessary for drifting. Put on a new exhaust and intake on your N/A motor and you should be fine, as long as your not drifting with supras O_O

and be sure to get eliminator bushings for the rearend cause dtss causses bad snap over steer

:withstupi

Don't waste good tires either. Learn to clutch kick, power over...learn your car.

Also download the drift bible.

James

hey you callin me stupid

No.

im just fuckin with ya

it can't be said enough... know your car

you really should start out with autocross first.

i couldnt agree more and also sometimes if you dont take the corners right yould end up drifting them in autox, doing that kills your time. running autox i think is the foundation of knowing what your car is capible of in sharp turns and acceleration.

Keep reading, and keep driving. I was in your position two years ago, and I just started searching and reading the forums. I still learn new things every day. Read up and learn the terminology, and what everything does. And take it slow on the street. There is no easy way, and there is no fast way to learn. Well, I guess, if you have the money to spare replacing totaled cars, and possibly lost lives, then you can try a different method.

:Kill1: DTSS !!!!


almost broke my thumb with some REALLY bad snapback and a manual steering rack, the wheel hit the top of my thumb directly and made my nail turn purple D:

the basics:
1) power is nothing; balance and control is everything. learn your car, as it has its own quirks that solely belongs to it. but dont get too attached to the stock suspension; its gotta go. these guys are right, auto-x and track time are the best, and safest (not to mention legal!) ways to get used to the way your car handles. backroad sprints are cool and everything, but if youre gonna act a fool, you suffer the consequences.

2) suspension: upgraded springs and shocks (if youre over 100k, you can count on your stock shocks being well beyond capable of handling cornering loads) will put you where you need to start learning. adjustable shocks are good, but $1000+ coilovers are not for beginner tuners or drivers, you have to work from the ground up. also practice grip driving first. doing so will let you see how far your car can go before she lets go and slides, also gives you better control.

3) tires: always a bias. dont waste expensive rubber practicing, go to a used tire place and get some half-worn ones for $15 and take em to wal-mart and get em mounted for $4. buy a couple spare wheels too. this lets you do fast changes and if you have a blowout, you can do a quickswap (reaaally helpful on the track!) when you work your way up to nice sticky tires, (in my experience) it takes going through a few different brands/sets to find which size/compound/setup/brand work the best for you and your style.

4) brakes and tranny: stick with the stock flywheel until you get used to how to control the drift with the gas. trust me, youll be happier. dont worry about big brakes and so on until you can get the speed to use em. A good set of street/strip pads and SS lines will save you if you spin out or get out of control while youre learning. also, an LSD is the investment of a lifetime. expensive, but the control it offers is worth every penny as a quality suspension setup or a nice motor build. anyone who drifts can tell you that.

5) maintainence: check all your bushings. for around $130 i think you can get a complete set of poly bushings that will tighten up control SO much and replace your probably very worn OEM rubber ones. always keep a good check on things like spark plugs and wires and your basic maintenece things. if you cant abuse it in a straight line or drive it 100 miles, odds are its gonna mess up on you when youre sideways; count on hardware failure when you least expect it!

I got some racing beat swaybars for my FC and they made a HUGE difference, you should try to get swaybars first cuz these cars have a ton of body roll stock and the swaybars will fix that as well as stiffen up the stock suspension a little..........definately worth the money.

Search! :D

http://fc3spro.com/TECH/DRIFT/dori.html


-Ted

Just go out there and do it. There is no replacement for experience. As was said before, you gotta know your car.

Noob question: What do coilovers replace in regards to the stock suspesion.

Where can I find this Drift Bible? Is there a link anywhere or is it a torrent download?

You might be able to find a link, however torrent is probably your best bet.

I'm pretty shure they're talking about Initial D.

I didnt think the Drift Bible had anything to do with Initial D...

drift bible,,you can pick one up at FYE or something like that,,lol initial d.....w/e .....its a good movie,id sell you mine for like 5 bux,,but i cant find it

His car is a '91 N/A which wasn't equipped with LSD from the factory...

FD LSD's suck... That's why there are write-ups about installing clutch-type S4 TII LSD's into the FD pumpkin... ;)

1) the "drift bible" was put out in coordination with best motoring and option magazine (im pretty sure, i cant find my copy...). pretty much keiichi tsuchiya (aka the drift king) runs down several basic techniques for initiating and controling drifts and also covers basics of setting up the car and how to maintain it for drifting abuse. check on amazon.com...

2) coilovers replace the shock/spring setup with a mcpherson "coil-over-strut" type setup. these usually have adjustable ride height via a locking adjuster and a good set will have adjustable bound/rebound dampening for maximum control. some sets will even come with upper pillow mounts for adjusting caster/camber.

Qeustion for ya owners out there. is the DTSS system a rear wheel steering, like Nissan has there "HI Cas" j/w got a few Nissan buddies that ask. serached it a few time with no luck just wondering.



Firebird_Racer I dout he knows wat Camber, Castor, SAI, and toe is, he could i dout it. if not just find some automotive books from your local Liberay and just find a books that explain all the stuff. really handy to know, as each vehicle has alot more to it than i ever thought. lots more, but everyone can learn in due time



Prôdigy

DTSS is similar to the Hicas system Nissan employs, except it's passive and uses lateral and longitudenal forces to initiate the correction, rather than being electronically controlled... It's unpredictable at best...