How to Build a Drift Car
I get asked often “How to build a drift car?” Here is a short overview on how to make your car drift ready.
Since most of the cars you guys will be tuning have higher miles, they need a little love. The first thing I would suggest is making sure the car is in good running condition. Make sure all the belts are good, check all the fluids, and change the oil. If the air filter is dirty replace it.
Next, check the brakes. Make sure brake pads have life left and the rotors are not too worn. Since you will be using the e-brake to initiate drifts and to correct drift angle once the car is sliding sideways, you need to make sure the rear brake pads are in good condition. Otherwise, you will have a hard time getting the rear wheels to lock up when you pull the e-brake. If they are worn out go to Napa, Auto Zone, or Oreilly’s and buy the brake parts you need - most of these auto parts stores have lifetime replacement policies.
So now your car is running like new. If you have the money buy a set of coilover struts, if not, get a set of springs. You can also get strut bars on eBay for cheap. Now your suspension is tighter. I would get used to this before doing any more suspension modifications.
Now if this is your second car, or you don’t do much street driving, I’d strip out everything you can except the driver’s seat! Get a heat gun and a putty knife and remove all the sound deadening material - like 50+ pounds on a S13 Silvia.
Next thing I would suggest is getting a bucket seat. You can get a decent one for under $200 plus the mounts and everything else for about $70. You don’t need harnesses right away, but I’d recommend them. This will help keep you planted in the turns while drifting instead of fighting to hold on.
Now your car is ready to drift! Spend the rest of the money on tires because you’re going to need them! A good place to get cheap tires for drifting is a used tire shop.
Of course there is any number of additional modifications you could make to increase the performance of your drift car but this overview is meant as an informative starting point for drivers interested in drifting.
Good Cars for a Budget Drift Car Project:
Posted on July 8th, 2007 by Tom
Filed under: Car Parts
Excellent, for those who are cheap…
I started with buying a new engine… the same model, with 100k on it for 100$
I bought a new pair of shocks, to replace my 200K old ones. along with a 150$ 32/36 weber carb for better throttle response and a pair of kumho power star tires for the back at 20$ apeice.
All in all, it cost about 300$
minus my 20$ in paint and tape to do my rising sun hood.
-hv
Now these are all good things to do but I would also suggest taking off your front bumper and drilling 2 holes on each side and zip tying it to the car when you drift. This will save your bumper and save you money in the long run as if your bumper falls off when you hit something it will most likely just get flung to the outside of the track or wherever you decide to drift instead of dragging it around and running it over.
Another suggestion is getting the Drift Bible video, there are some good tips on drifting and it teaches you step by step on the ways to drift. I have it. I downloaded it off the net and I love it. I don’t regret getting it at all.
Keep it sidewayz,
Brandon.
another cheap car is a Ford Pinto for those of us in the U.S. who can’t find a cheap import. it has a light weight 2.3 motor in it that can be cheaply switched out for a newer fuel injected motor out of a mustang witch has a turbo kit and there is, if u want to keep the carbureted motor, a type of racing called pony stock with instructions that will give you a lot of power for little cash i have a 1980 Pinto it is one of the heavier versions and the last but it will take a decent hit and keep moving (walls suck)
as for the Drift Bible, it is a must for any drifter or any who wants to be a drifter i own it
I wonder what people think for R33 Gtst as a drift car. I am building one but there isn’t alot of info about drift R33. I wonder why? and if we can have a section about this car too. Cheers.
Well lots of people use the R33’s RB25 transmission with the RB26 engine (to make it rear wheel drive) and it’s also popular to perform a RB25 engine swap with the 240SX. But like you say, not many people drift the R33 mainly b/c the R34 body style is more popular. R33 Skyline can certainly drift and it’s engine has lots of potential and aftermarket mods. And I have a post regarding the R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R: http://driftjapan.com/blog/nissan/r33-nissan-skyline-gt-r/