A Guide to Rx7 Drifting?
 

so since there seemed to be much failure in this thread, can we get some people who have been drifting their FB's, FC's, and FD's for a while now, and can give some advice?

what to bring, what to be ready to fix, what to watch out for, etc. essentially a guide for someone who either wanted to buy an rx7 or already has one, and wants to start drifting.

sticky?

things i've been wondering about;
pre-mixing on drift-day even with OMP?
removing/disconnecting the rear sway bar?

Some good stuff right there.

Bring,

Tires
5 quarts of oil
3 gallons of coolant
A couple gallons of gas
2 quarts gear oil
1 pint power steering fluid
1 pint brake fluid
metric socket set
metric wrenches
A real floor jack
lug wrench
wheel chocks
drinking water and snacks
Approved helmet (some tracks don't allow motorcycle helmets)
Approved shoes, gloves and race suit.
Duct tape, hose clamps, radiator hoses and any other parts you think you will need.
Small 12vdc compressor/jump start pack
Also make sure you have no fluid leaks, good brakes and wheel bearings, your battery is tied down and have fun.

Or you could just go to a couple events are see what everyone else is packing. You will know what to bring after you forget stuff for the first couple events.

Zip ties :)

^^ lol i wish this was IA so i could +1rep you

you will want to bring anything that might help you since you are going to be outside all day. Things to drink, eat and a chair to sit your ass in. An Eazy up tent is the best thing to have as well.

As far as drifting goes most things have been mentioned. I always have a set of Tie rods, Wheel bearings, sometimes the whole Knuckle, Lots of tires. With my luck over the last few years I am looking at bringing a spare motor. Tons of zipties, and Tools, A cordless impact is a awesome time and backsaver. Basically I bring a pretty complete toolbox and some parts that normally break or are easy to break on the course you are going to be at..

I don't think disconnecting the rear sway bar is a good idea. I know on other forums people swear it is good but I have found running a larger sway bar can be beneficial for most low to intermediate level drifters but feel free to try it and report back what you found out.

^^ inner or outter tie rods? jw....

2 good links...

http://fc3spro.com/TECH/DRIFT/DCOMPARE/dcompare.html

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

I only drift on ps2 so that's all I can contribute.

good stuff.

i dont what its called, i guess a garden sprayer or pesticide sprayer.
you fill up the container with water then pump the handle and it sprays a mist out of the nozzle.
anyway, that shit cut my downtime and cool down time pretty much in half. nice to have when you only have a couple hours to use the track and you're trying to take advantage of every minute.

i actually found a handful of that info misguiding and/or outdated, after meeting up with local drifters and discussing tech with them. also from trying (and regretfully spending money on) said things, only to wish i had spent my money on other things.

Aww, bogus. Thanks for the heads up!

Just to satisfy my curiosity, what things in particular are you speaking of?

just the way things are worded and things that are suggested. for example- he goes on to explain how big of tires you can fit under the FC.. which, you will never need 255 wide tire unless your pushing 300+ and in a professional series. even though i doubt you'd run 255.

I couldn't afford them anyways :lol:

Belts, plugs, fluids, gas, tires,....I would bring a car hauler or rent a dolly from U-haul (If you have the funds). It's always hard on a rotary to drive for hours and then go drift, and then drive home. Those damn Silvias can do it all day long.

hehe outta that lil list ^^ all i need is belts and fluids...

I just figured I would add some of the other stuff that maybe some didn't list. You have a car hauler? If so that's nice.

i got friends with trucks! lol I just had all that crap in ur post not the big list... I wish i did.. shit i wish my 7 ran :(...

Me to. It's a nice dream haha.

trying to think of what spare stuff i bring..

I usually go through around 3 set of new 235/45s a meet.. depending on the track.. (pushing 350 on a dyno dynamics)....

bring lots of cable ties and a drill to patch up body kits etc.. + gaffa tape.

jack, wheel brace to change wheels..

full tool kit, jerry can

I also bring spare tie rods and tie rod ends to most meets.. (seen plenty of tie rods snapped before.) never had any problems myself though..

ps: i pack all this into my FC.. 6 sets of tyres.. two behind the drivers seat, two in the passengers seat, two more in the hatchish area..20L jerry can in the passengers foot well, helmet in the hollow of the wheels , tools where the space saver usually goes...

i have driven for upto 3 hours with my car this packed... with clothes/food/beer everything on top of that stuff.. camped out for 2 days of drifting, 2 nights at the track sleeping in my passengers seat and then drove home again... was the most packed i have ever seen the car...

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/8071/dsc00461ui7.jpg

I also have a roll cage, rear strut brace too , which doesnt help with packing stuff in...

^^ I spy BFGoodwrench G-sports!!
~TDR

I don't think I've ever seen such accomplished packing skills. I'm truely impressed with how much stuff you fit in your car.

yea the first time i went out i had 4 tires, tool box, new jack and jackstands (still in box) and couple gallon jugs of fluids. add in my backpack and helmet, and there was NO room. thanks for posting a pic wezzmo, my next event is all day long, so i'll definately need to bring 4 tires again- and your way is much better than the way i had it. lol

The biggest difference I have found is that drifting an FC requires much more "on edge" nerves and reactions because of the car's CG, polar moments, wheels base, and relative light weight.

Compared to a good benchmark like an S13, the FC is a lot harder to drive. But it has some really good points:

+ It transitions faster
+ It is lighter/faster in general
+ Engine revs longer, makes really good power, and is great for drifting.
- BUT 13Bs aren't reliable with a shitty budget. PAY FOR GOOD WORK/PARTS!
- Spins easier
- shit stock steering angle
- outdated rear suspension
+ Simple rear suspension


The trick to drifting FCs is to find the correct balance in your suspension parts to "catch" your car and hold the angle. Also, finding the spring rates and damper to really put the traction down.

You guys think you won't be running 255's? Yes you will, one day. John Chow would stagger 215/255s. Same with Henry Schelley. I think JTP and I both RAN 235/245, and now 235/255, though JTP might have stepped up to 265s by now.

FCs need rear traction more than anything. Because of its CG and placement of the engine, front grip isn't a big issue in drifting. Most people will find FCs generally tail-happy because the short wheelbase (about the same as an AE86) and snappy (width/track more than an S13). With wide fenders and low offset wheels, the track gets very wide, which feels great, but changes the proportions of wheelbase to track to be more square. Like a shifter kart. Great response, great performance, great feeling, but VERY snappy.

Understanding the inherent attributes of the car is the single best thing you can do as a race driver OR drifter. Understand what your car will be able to do better than the competition, and more importantly, understand where it will be WORSE.

Yes!, after i put my supernow rack spacers in, sorta had the feeling why was i even trying to drift with stock suspension... extra steering lock makes it x1000 better..

I recently got Haruguchi to modify some steering knuckles for me aswell... makes the car drive amazing, can just chuck it into a corner and you have that much lock it just doesnt spin... with these knuckles + spacers you'll end up with heaps of problems of wheels not fitting though... 17x9 -7 still hit my swaybar/ lca at lock...

With my car off the road, i borrowed a ae86 and a r32 to drift at a local cone dodging event... ae86 drove similar to the fc, was also very snappy, but 4ags feel like crap when your used to 350horse rotories.. they do rotate around the front of the car though, where FC's seem to rotate around the centre of the car on transitions..

i found with my car that having a very wide track made it hardish to drive... i was running 18x10 -1 on the back much prefer my 17x9.5 +15s...

I would suggest a drift button for you e brake. It makes it a lot easier when you need it. also make sure that all your suspension bolts are tightened to the right torque. Over or under tightened bushings can lead to broken parts.

Also most people say that if you are new you should use tires with less grip on the rear but I would say to use a good pair of rubber your first time out. You will be able to feel the slid better and control it.

Before you even go to the event you should understand that you will spin and maybe under steer the first couple times out. And no matter what other people say the same thing happened to them. Just learn from it. Ask others that are more experienced what they do in the situation.

And most important, you are there to have fun and shred some tires.

PS: get a LSD. No one wants only on tire smoking