The Drifting Thread

[namdoog]

Really surprised a thread dedicated to drifting the 86 has not come up on the site yet. I can't be the only one who bought the car to get sideways.

Would be really interested to hear what the rest of you have done in terms of drifting the car on track from suspension setups to tire size, etc.

My first official track day will be at the end of June at Club Loose East Coast Bash. I'll be keeping the 215s in front and burning some spare 225's on MB Weapons in the back. Only mods will be drift button, 16mm rear swaybar, and grimmspeed brake cylinder brace. I cant wait!

EDIT: 24 pages and counting with a ton of info. Pulled some useful posts and info from the thread up here so they can be referenced easily. Let me know if there is anything I should add and I will do so.

Disclaimer: All of this information is from the experience of contributors in this thread. That being said, everyone has varying opinions on the "best" setup, the "best" parts, and the "proper" way to do things. This is not an end-all-be-all collection of information. Just a friendly set of guidelines from guys who have been sliding the car. There is a ton more info if you read through the thread.

How to drift:
WATCH The Drift Bible(VIDEO) and Ken Nomoroua's version

General setup tips for noobs:
TIRE PRESSURE: Optimum for stock wheel and tire size seems to be under 40psi hot. 33-35psi cold is a great starting point, some go even lower.

REAR TIRE SIZE: No more than 235 under stock power or the car will feel like poop. Ideally you want 215s but with a stronger sidewall. Just trust us.

FRONT TIRE SIZE: More wiggle room to be wider, be careful with rubbing if you're too wide or too low. What's more important is...

FRONT CAMBER: -2 to -4 makes a huge difference for front end grip in-drift.

SUSPENSION: Lots of talk about Stance, KW, and BC. You get what you pay for.. BUT danger to axles if your car is too low. You can buy diff and subframe risers to help with this, and 600HP rated axles are available from Driveshaft Shop (install pics of both)

A couple of suspension setups on this page


And more suspension setup info here


SPACERS:Are they safe to drift on?



THANKS to everyone for your contributions!

[Deadspool]

I just got my drift rims a few days ago with some disposable rubber. Made a terrible decision buying KDW2's for my 18's, its like trying to slide a cat across carpet at stock power level.

[Mars2]

for drift I would put those 225 in front and keep the 215 in the back

[Mars2]

like those guy's:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...59&postcount=6

[Le86]

I hit 2 open drift events at Evergreen Speedway. Car is bone stock, aside from a muffler delete. Stock 215s with 35psi in the front and 50psi in the rears seemed worked best for me.

[TylerLieberman]

I bought mine purely to slide with. I have a build thread on here as well.

All I have are Stance Coils and 2.5" muffler delete. Front wheels are some xxr 527 17x8.25 +25 with 215/45 Achilles ATR tires. Threw the stocks on the back at about 40psi hot. Slides 3rd gear 70mph entry tracks all day.

Run about -3 to -4 camber up front with a bit of toe out and around -2 camber rear with a little toe in

[Le86]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

I bought mine purely to slide with. I have a build thread on here as well.

All I have are Stance Coils and 2.5" muffler delete. Front wheels are some xxr 527 17x8.25 +25 with 215/45 Achilles ATR tires. Threw the stocks on the back at about 40psi hot. Slides 3rd gear 70mph entry tracks all day.

Run about -3 to -4 camber up front with a bit of toe out and around -2 camber rear with a little toe in

Holy shit, you must be pretty good to be doing 70mph entry.

I get nervous coming off the 3/8ths bank at Evergreen doing 50...

[enjoyminutemaid]

I'll be at ECB too, though I might not have my BRZ there. My friends drive two turbo E36s, one black, one red convertible. Oh, and another friend has a dark green LS swapped FC.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by Le86

Holy shit, you must be pretty good to be doing 70mph entry.

I get nervous coming off the 3/8ths bank at Evergreen doing 50...

I'm nothing special. Just been doing it for a few years now. I drifted my s14 for a few years at courses from skid pads to road courses with 80mph entries.

Just takes seat time. As you get more time driving the car, your confidence will go up. Starting off smaller is good though, especially when you drive a track with walls. I can tell you right now that the car will not be able to keep the wheels spinning on the big bank unless you have at least 300hp. That corner would be a 4th gear entry in our cars. After a few events,that 3/8ths bank will be like nothing to you.

I envy you though cause I want to drive evergreen so bad haha. It looks like such a fun track

[Grip Ronin]

i was sliding around e town on a road course day. stock tires and sways, bc coils. car jus need a bit more power to get 3rd gear spinning

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by Grip Ronin

i was sliding around e town on a road course day. stock tires and sways, bc coils. car jus need a bit more power to get 3rd gear spinning

How stiff do you have the damping set in the rear?

I run exactly mid way up front (might go a tad more stiff) and full stiff in the rear.

[Le86]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

I'm nothing special. Just been doing it for a few years now. I drifted my s14 for a few years at courses from skid pads to road courses with 80mph entries.

Just takes seat time. As you get more time driving the car, your confidence will go up. Starting off smaller is good though, especially when you drive a track with walls. I can tell you right now that the car will not be able to keep the wheels spinning on the big bank unless you have at least 300hp. That corner would be a 4th gear entry in our cars. After a few events,that 3/8ths bank will be like nothing to you.

I envy you though cause I want to drive evergreen so bad haha. It looks like such a fun track

Haha well I've never driven on any other track so I wouldn't know.

I do believe they require a full cage to do the 5/8ths bank at Evergreen. Perfectly justified too, I've seen some nasty wrecks on that bank. I'll stick with the infield for now haha.

As much as I would like to squeeze a few more hp out of my car or get a proper suspension setup, I choose to use my money towards tires and seat time.

[OmarGC]

Sliding gets easier at higher speeds in my experience...

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by OmarGC

Sliding gets easier at higher speeds in my experience...

Yeah sometimes. Depends on the course layout. I've seen a few high speed courses that are extremely technical.

Originally Posted by Le86

Haha well I've never driven on any other track so I wouldn't know.

I do believe they require a full cage to do the 5/8ths bank at Evergreen. Perfectly justified too, I've seen some nasty wrecks on that bank. I'll stick with the infield for now haha.

As much as I would like to squeeze a few more hp out of my car or get a proper suspension setup, I choose to use my money towards tires and seat time.

Tires and seat time is the best thing to spend money on for drifting. With this car, I do an event, see what changes I would like to make. Then after I make them, I do another event. The car will slowly progress as I drive more and more.