Help me out
 

Hey everyone, how's it going. I'm new to the TST forum. I just had a few questions to ask of the drifters here. I'm planning on acquiring a Nissan 240sx soon, which I hope to do some drifting with. It will most likely be my daily driver, but I would like to set it up like a drift car so I can also use it at the track. Because I'll be using it to commute, I won't be making any hardcore changes, but comfort and interior niceties like audio arent high on my priority list. I guess my first question is, where do I start? I would think with the suspension, but I'm not sure. Any help and/or tips would be greatly appreciated!

1 more question
 

Sorry I forgot to include 1 more question I had- if I am building a drift car, should I add some kind of turbo, or is it fine without it? Do turbos greatly change a drift cars performance?
Thx!

Searching and checking out some of the member's journals on here will give you a lot of info as will looking into 240specific websites like Zilvia.

Turbos and higher horsepower make it easier to get the wheels loose, but there's plenty of budget builds that go n/a.

Lastly, try to get out to so some of the drifting events, like Freedom Moves, that are coming up soon. No better way to check out the scene than to be part of it.

First and foremost, I am going to say I am shocked that nobody stepped in to be an ass. Secondly I am going to tell you that i am a huge ass online and in person. But for some reason, maybe because it's so nice out, I am in a good mood. So I will be nice and give you my $0.02. Drift car and daily driver do not coincide with one another, so before any of this happens you need to establish what you really want. Maybe stick with the 'Cibalt' as a daily driver then drift the 240. If you can't afford both then you need to understand something else: drifting is expensive. Drift cars are expensive. Constantly paying to drift at the track or buying the police shiny new gadgets when you get caught on the street are expensive too. Any car being used for commuting as you said is not going to be a good dedicated drift car. Your boss/professor/9th grade teacher isn't going to care you blew out a tie ride at ECB on sunday and can't get to work/school/kindergarten Monday morning (or afternoon for PM kindergarten).

Speaking of school, research is your friend. Nico, Zilvia, 240sx forums are all great to peep other peoples' setups and read write-ups etc. Ask any drifter, any real drifter, winning is winning it don't matter if you win by an inch.... wait sorry... ask any drifter and he/she/Matt Petty will tell you that suspension is the key, not power. Also, if you are asking what effects a turbocharger will have on your commuting drift car, then you really need to do research. Turbos are great because they guarantee wheel spin, but a proper suspension/wheel/tire/differential/driveshaft setup will go much further and still ensure wheel spin. The drift car is only as good as the drifter. Turbos are good for tire smoke and added speed after you have experience. They are not necessary for drifting by any means. It's good you're thinking suspension because that is certainly where you should start. My best advice? DO LOTS OF RESEARCH!! Talk to people, read things, go to events, go to school, get good grades, get laid, etc. On the track, think with your balls, not with your head. See ya out there

^ yes drift car does not = DD. What may seem inexpensive buying an old 240 and beating the ish out of it, becomes very expensive very fast. Your also new so id also expect some crashes along the way. best have a dd before you get the 240, but before then feel free to meet up with the DKs of tst for some events.

Buy 240sx. Gut interior, weld diff, get coilovers, get a seat and harness. Then you have a great drift car that is reliable for daily driving. If your drifting englishtown theres no need for any engine mods, a stock motor is plenty. Spending money on turbos and bodykits is just a waste until you learn to drive.

Also get yourself a manual tire machine and a bunch of 15 inch rims and raid all the local tire shops for used tires.

Daily driving the car I described is no problem at all. Look forward to rainy days. The 240sx is one of the most reliable cars you can get, assuming you fix what needs to be fixed and dont buy a rigged piece of crap.

^You daily yours right GmFwd? That car sees tons of road time, almost as much as mine!

The key here is not that it can't be daily driven, but it shouldn't be you're only car. Unless you're going to be that guy who drives his car to the event and babies it on the track so he can drive it back home. Nobody wants to be that guy. Not even GmFwd.

No but ryan has been driving the described car to work every day and kills it on the track.

There is no reason you cant drive it on the street, unless your a pussy and cant get into a bucket every day and your tires chirp too much and you cant avoid potholes.

My thing is the sudden loss of traction. I've never been able to get used to it. I don't even drive in the snow because of it.

You just described 240sxDoug to a T. For at least the last year or two that's exactly how his car has been. :lol:

Jst2kwik reply: , I have been doing lots of research, I just thought asking the ppl who drift firsthand might be a good place to start. You know, I'm not really looking to do a whole lot of drifting competition, more for a pasttime, so I probably won't be having two cars (FYI it's a chevy cobalt,srry my bad misspell) Plus being in college, i dont have loads of extra money to spend on two separate cars. But your right, I didn't really realize how expensive it was going to be; I knew the upgrades would be expensive, but I wasn't counting on having to buy do many tires and replacement parts, but after talking to other drifters and seeing stuff they've gone through, my wallet was crying seeing at their damaged rides. but thanks for your help and small insults (pm kindergarden? Really?) haha jk it's all good man, and thanks for trying to be nice to poor uneducated wannabees like myself :)

seriously tho, it was helpful and kind of a relief cuz I really wasn't looking forward to paying for a turbo and more power..

The correct way to start a drift car off is the following.

1. Coils
2. Diff
3. Seat/Steering Wheel

Drive on that for 1 season.

Next season you replace everything you broke and you will have learned enough in that one year to know where you want to go next.

Okay sounds good, honestly this sounds like a better plan than going all out with a new motor and stuff. Now, forgive my complete lack of knowledge, but what exactly does gutting the interior include? And what are diffs? I do know what coilovers are (amazing, I know lol).. And just out of curiosity, what is in englishtown that I would drift? Because so far my drifting experience ( i dnt think u cud call what I've done to my buddies 240 drifting yet lol) has been mostly in the empty IKEA parking lot. Thanks a lot!

Gutting interior is not necessary but it helps a little. It just saves weight and gives you more room to haul tires/wheels with. Take out everything but the front seats dash console and door panels.

Differential... look it up. You have a lot to learn. It is one of the most important parts of a car. For drifting, there's not too much to it. But it plays a huge roll in handling characteristics in other motorsports. For drifting you need a good clutch type limited slip, or us cheap asses just weld up a open diff.

Go to clubloose.com and see when the next NightMoves is. It is a parking lot event that is great to learn at. Once you get better you can try the roadcourse.

I have nothing against street drifting if your smart about it. Late night, no population areas are cool. Populated street drifting is bad.

Okay, I'll prbly end up taking all unnecessary stuff out anyway tho.. Haha wow I feel like a complete idiot I know what differential is..one question about that though, I have looked at limited slips, but apparently there's several types, eg a fluid type, a clutch, and a gear. From what I've read the clutch type seems to offer the most performance. Any thoughts? And I won't be practicing on the streets, or drifting on the streets even when I'm good,unless I'm out in the middle of nowhere. Thx for all your help man

Yeah I knew what a LSD was, for waterer reason you sed diff and I thought you were talking about something else..

from someone who has been in this game for a while:

1) drift car can be a DD if you are willing to pay for it, so to all ^ ---> there is not need to have 2 cars (yest its helps) i was DDing my s14 untill 2006 when i got my second car
2) start with BEST 240 you can find in your price, RUST IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
3) coilovers are a must
4) DIFF get one
5) year into knowing how to drive and repair it look for more power.

Okay thanks man. I plan on getting coilovers, and I'll probably gut my interior, and mayb do a little more with the suspension (depending on my budget- which isn't very impressive rite nOw; paying for college sucks).. I have a question about the diff tho: ppl say it's a necessity, and I believe that a clutch type LSD is one of the better options, but I hearsome guys swaying they went cheaper and "welded" their diffs; is that a good way to go, or will I have to eventually get a LSD anyway and I shud just get one and not waste time and money welding mine?

you can try to drift with open diff but it never turns out well.

weld has risk. it might fail.

you can get a good LSD for 700-1200. get a used one it will be cheeper