looks like I'll finally be getting my diff welded today anyone have any suggestions for helping a beginner in an na fc, so far I just have kei office coils other than that its a stock s5, hopefully I'll be getting dtss elim soon too but right now I don't really have anything to compare the fc to drifting wise since I'm just getting into it so I don't even notice the dtss, other than the running more pressure out in the back, anything else I can do to make learning easier on myself? thanks

 

Stick with recommended max pressure for now.

Tip. Go faster than you think you need to but work up to it. You'll find that it's way easier to e-brake in or feint in and let the car swing out and counter while blipping the throttle or playing with the brake to get your angle and keep it. Once you see the apex/exit, mash that bitch to the floor and dont lift when you straighten up. Just feel what the wheel wants to do and let the wheels straighten out with a gentle assist. I suppose after you get that down you can move up to other **** and pushing harder and getting more angle at exit. When i throw and turn in, i want my car angled so when i straighten out past the apex it's in the same angle it was in during the drift. That's wide mellow 90 degree turns or close to it. As far as linking stuff up, i can't help ya there. That's probably where higher pressure will help the most but all i can say is with the welded, it's very likely if you're stingy with the throttle and low on available steering angle, you WILL spin out alot.

For some reason i overcorrect MORE when i go slower. It doesn't make much sense but alot of guys will tell ya "go fast". Maybe because your brain clicks into "do or die" mode.

 

yeah going faster definitely does make sense right now I'm at the just messing around in big parking lots stage, entering usually at the middle of second gear and either giving it a nice little clutch kick or just throwing the wheel and mashing the gas (only left turns till the diff is in lol)

I do notice some understeer when going slower I guess and taking the wrong line I would try and use the ebrake to correct it but mine sucks right now I need to adjust it real bad.

as for letting the wheels straighten out, I usually let go of the wheel after initiating and then grab it and tweak the angle from there, again this sucks with an open diff, and my car is stock angle so I'm expecting to spin out while getting used to it

it seems like its so hard to slide these cars with all the grip they have, hopefully I'll get used to it soon lol I'll post pics when I do, thanks for all the tips dude

 

I also use the "throw-catch"method of catching the steering on initiation. I have manual steering and I just can't do hand over hand or hold the wheel at all during initiation or I can't catch the drift fast enough. I do whip out pretty fast though. basically my initiations (clutch kicking) is 100% straight, sideways, straight. no transition, I just pop the rear end out fast like. thats how it feels anyway, never took video. my car is all stock S4 NA with massive body roll too but I have the clutch type diff so I'm gonna weld it sometime along.

 

**** yeah. If you study some rally technique and put the drift bible aside from a second, you will learn some cool stuff. You gotta think, those guys are pitching cars sideways that have shitloads of grip on tarmac and controlling their slide.

 

yeah my fc feels like it has soooo much grip and with the lack of power it really makes it a challenge to slide, even my friends miata feels easier to initiate a drift, wheras the fc is smoother out of the slide and the miata snaps back really hard and tries to initiate another slide almost

you know it's bad when a miata feels like it has alot of torque lol, sometimes I wish I was in an s13...

 

s13? Burn the heathen!





...just kidding.lol. my friends got a sileighty he is doing a KA-T drift build on. Aim is for 400rwhp. he's got almost all the parts, still needs the block bored out like .2 I think he said? and his headwork. he's got $3K in parts sitting around because now he can't afford the block work.lol, I laugh at his unable-to-drift *** as he passes me in his gf's mazda 3. btw, he has only drifted on dirt so when the cars finished, I expect it wrecked within a month.

 

hahaha a month? dont you think thats a little generous?? i feel like 240s will be extinct one day. or they'll be super rare in like 20 years. haha

 

^^ I feel the same way aboutt RX7s. I see less and less every day.

 

yeah someone must have hacked my account lol... but forreal as much as I love the fc I feel like Id have it so much easier in an s13... it just sucks because with a stock s5 na the closest thing you can compare it to s13 wise is a single jingle but the 13b gets the gas mileage of a built turbo car

I feel like fc's are just not as cheap to daily drift or as easy but then again I'm still open diff, once I get a welded and dtss elim I should stop complaining lol

anyone got any tips to help get rid of some understeer? I seem to be getting alot

 

Well, the miata and fc are bastard cousins. The suspension differs somewhat but the weight balance is about the same. Also some miata's came stock with a helical diff. Not a clutch type. Helical diffs are one way but never wear out...well, they do but you get what i'm saying. A worn rx7 clutch diff will feel weak as hell or even open at times. Miata wheelbase is also shorter than that of an fc.

Getting understeer with a stock fc on stock suspension is pretty common. The first braking drift i did had me understeering on a collision course with a stop sign. Granted, i had power steering, i felt my front tires weren't doing enough work.

Coilovers alone helped out a bunch with that. Slid my camber plates to max camber (whatever that is) and haven't had a problem with it. The only time i've understeered is when i'm being a scared ***** or sloshed fuel away from the pump. Going from P/S to nothing mid-drift sucks and it's scary as hell. That being said, make sure you have a swirl pot, dual pump, cell or run atleast a 1/2 tank when you go slide.

 

Yeah I have kei office coils so I'll have to mess with the camber and see if that helps at all

 

well, you're right!lol, FC's need more maintenance, don't generally last as long engine wise, harder to drift due to 50/50 weight distribution, and should either be track cars OR daily drivers and not both. but people daily drift them and deal with the mpg for the cool factor. (as compared to s13's). I think they look a hell of a lot nicer then a s13/14 but I do like s15's.

when someone see;s you in an s13 they think "douche". when someone see's you in an FC they think "hey, something other then an s13" lol,j/k. seriously, FC's are cooler then s13's. period. don't let ANYONE tell you different (s13 owners).LMAO

 

FC's are way cooler.

Although i have a soft spot for nicely done onevia's and s13 coupes.

My next car is gonna have four doors and no bigger than 19" wheels. Possibly air struts.

 

Quick Question... Do people out there drift FCs without power steering. If so how is it? If not, What are some of the power steering options (different racks, systems from other cars)

TIA

 

About the most difficult part with a 50/50 weight distribution, I don't agree 100%.

I was driving my bimmer for a few years with something dumb like 60/40 or maybe 65/35, and my FD with 45/55 is way easier for everything ^^

(I've not reached the same "abuse point" with the FD, but I'll try !!)

 

I have a manual rack and I like it. Its to each is own on the pwr or no power steering. Drftng without power steering is not as difficult as some people make it seem at least to me.

 

pwr steering.lol. if you only knew the debate around this. basically just stick with what you got. you got a manual rack? run it. you got pwr steering already? run it. some peoples arms get tired and achy after a good 4-5 hours of seat time drifting but they're pansies so just decide for yourself. if you have pwr steering, I hear that you can put an electric pwr steering pump on from an mr2 so its not an accessory load. all I know is I have manual already and I like it better and its one less thing to worry about messing up. just learn with what you got.

 

I agree 100%

 

Alright guys. So i'm putting money in the bank for my insurance today and taking my proof in for tags later and decided i'd go run to advanced and hunt down a nice, cheap battery.

The atv/snowmobile batteries you have to add acid to and i dont think they have enough cold cranking amps and i'd need to pay for a battery box. **** that and **** getting burned and getting holes in my work clothes from that ****. Saw the lawn and garden ones and they had 200, 220 and 320 cca's. The 320cca batt was $40 and is TINY AS ****. I'm going to get one friday or saturday hopefully with plates on the car and release the verdict. Not like i have a stereo or crazy neons or anything like that. Just my running lights and starter. The reserve power might not be much but 320cca is pretty damn good for a battery t hat tiny and cheap.

I'm going to run my 9.5J's at +5 front and -10 rear as soon as my 25mm spacers come in i just sent money out for so my fenders are due for a re-roll and i'm going to add some more camber back there.

I can't wait. **** is gonna be ill. I'm pondering the battery but this thing is going to kick so much *** with it's whopping 140hp. Knuckles, ball joint spacing and some other **** is on the horizon and i think i'll graft some z fender arches up front and mold em in later for more clearance!

 

Nopistons!-Try to keep the battery in a warm place when its cold. It will die, like un-chargeable dead. Happens to my mower every year. I think it may be okay to relocate it to a bin and insulate the bin, the battery I mean.

 

ok kinda new to drifting an fc and brand new to rotarys what are the best mods to start with...i drive an N/A s5 i have toe eliminators cut springs a welded diff walbro 255 and so far thats about it should i go for more power like a 13b-t or just worry about suspension stiffness and weight as of now the only thing im sure of doing is a steering angle mod because its absolutely horrible on fc's..i started sliding this thing in a empty wellness center parking lot i could enter in second clutch kick and do a few huge circle around the lot and leave till i got caught!!!!that sucked now ive just been doing this S turn up at our publix but once again i cant get to much angle or the car whips around yet ill do it all day in my brothers s13 its weird...so lmk what you guys think i should do next....and also im not running power steering should i fix that first it would probably help alot

 

thats because FC's are classy ladies, you have to learn what they like before they will put out but the work you put into them makes it all the better. S13's are red light district *****, they'll do anything you want but you'll feel ashamed and diseased after.LMAO. and S13's are the new civic

I will once again bring up the FC vs. S13 cool factor. Stick with the FC. just get stiffer shocks or coilovers. these cars are bias in the middle rather then an S13 which is biased towards the front. you need to control them differently. general noob rule around here is don't get knuckles for more angle until you can drift maxed out with the stock angle. take some time and learn the car and remember that your shocks are old! first thing you need to do, your cut springs aren't doing that much good if your shocks are stock. if your car has pwr steering then yes fix it. if it's manual steering from factory then just run it.

( not currently drifting or have ever been really really good but this is what I have been told time and time again. the pro's will chime in I'm sure. )

 

double post

 

I took my *** to walmart shortly after posting that. Needless to say, they had 680/550cca CAR batteries that were just a smidge bigger than the lawn and garden for $47. I get 10 percent discount sooooo, yeah. No lawn and garden for me.

Plus i was checking out stereos while i was there... I might throw some audio back in my ****.