Is the 86 platform becoming the premier drift car?

[stevesnj]

I'm a self admitted non fan of drifting and I have started to see some impressive things that some have done with the 86 platform and made them into crazy cool looking high horsepower beasts.So keep on rocking those 86 drift builds people. Fun to see the 86 turned into these drift cars.Being a Ferrari fan the 4586 is my favorite of them all!


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5OYqnV-l0Q"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5OYqnV-l0Q[/ame]


and a 2jZ is nice also

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5kjmukzOX8"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5kjmukzOX8[/ame]

[mav1178]

Short answer: no.

Long answer: no, because too many parts are unique to this platform, and you have to do too many things to make the car drift past 3rd gear clutch kicks.

[strat61caster]

Drifting is big bucks now, it's not guys slapping big engines and turbos onto junkyard chassis in the back of someone else's shop picking up whatever rear end will take the torque.

These things are basically custom built racecars on whatever chassis their sponsors pay them to drive. They hack up the unibody and build the car they want underneath and put the body panels back on top. Notice there's a fair number of Toyota and TRD logos on Aasbo's car and his firesuit, hell that video is posted to Toyota UK's youtube page.

This year he's driving a Corolla iM.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWhNuY6IulE"]Formula D drifter Fredric Aasbo tells us about his 1,000 HP Toyota iM - YouTube[/ame]


Some sponsors don't care what they drive, a few will. They'll sell more 86 parts if their companies name is plastered on the side of Tuerck or Gushi's 86 and obviously Toyota is throwing in some money in to have their cars represented well. Notice their aren't any BRZ's on the pro tour? 'Cause Subaru doesn't put up money, Toyota does.

That's all overly cynical, but the big names driving 86's have Toyota badges on their firesuits. Some of them like Gushi are passionate about the 86 (seems like Tuerck is too, but Gushi has posted here before) but if the sponsors tell them to march to another chassis, odds are they will. Aasbo would probably still be driving the 86 he had last year if he could, it would save a lot of money, profit is always a concern for a race team, so they must have gotten a nice check to build that Corolla.

For amateurs and grassroots stuff I'd be surprised if the 86 didn't supplant the 240sx as the go-to 'starter car' over the next decade or two, it's a fresh RWD chassis that's affordable and getting cheaper every week. Hell a few pro drivers are still in ~20 year old Nissan's (like James Dean), but given that there are parts ready made to take the 86 drifting already the future looks bright for the chassis to bring lots of smiles to lots of faces.



This video was a great insight into how seriously built a Formula D car is these days. Pretty much the only things left from the factory are the tub and the body panels.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujIQZwKF6Pw"]Fredric Aasbo's New Drift Car Revealed + Ford Coyote V8 Swap FR-S - Papadakis Racing Shop Tour - YouTube[/ame]

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Aasbo would probably still be driving the 86 he had last year if he could, it would save a lot of money, profit is always a concern for a race team, so they must have gotten a nice check to build that Corolla.

He still does, just not in North America.

Check this out. Shocking display of talent. I don't think I could even grip grip drive with this level of precision. The making of is even more badass.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li4en9Kvt2c"]Fredric Aasbø & the Donuts from Space - YouTube[/ame]

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Short answer: no.

Long answer: no, because too many parts are unique to this platform, and you have to do too many things to make the car drift past 3rd gear clutch kicks.

I mean... I could 3rd gear handbrake or 3rd gear lift off oversteer with stock power without any difficulty. So long as you keep the throttle down and momentum up, it's pretty easy.

I guarantee more people will be using these cars for drifting as the prices continue to drop. In a couple years, you'll be able to pick up a used FRS/BRZ for basically the same price people are wanting for beat, SR swapped S14s or somewhat decent 350Zs

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

I mean... I could 3rd gear handbrake or 3rd gear lift off oversteer with stock power without any difficulty. So long as you keep the throttle down and momentum up, it's pretty easy.

You could... as could anyone with enough experience or skills.

The main problem is the engine. Unlike engines of years past, you can't make extra power easily.

To get a stock 202HP SR (~170RWHP) to 250RWHP is quite easy.
To get a stock 205HP FA20 (~175-180+ RWHP) to more than 220RWHP is a stretch without expensive mods or FI.

That's the primary thing I'm getting at. If the cars get cheaper and they are comparable to S-chassis with swapped engines, the main point is still that the engine needs lots of mods to make it past a certain output, much more difficult than previous platforms.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by mav1178

You could... as could anyone with enough experience or skills.

The main problem is the engine. Unlike engines of years past, you can't make extra power easily.

To get a stock 202HP SR (~170RWHP) to 250RWHP is quite easy.
To get a stock 205HP FA20 (~175-180+ RWHP) to more than 220RWHP is a stretch without expensive mods or FI.

That's the primary thing I'm getting at. If the cars get cheaper and they are comparable to S-chassis with swapped engines, the main point is still that the engine needs lots of mods to make it past a certain output, much more difficult than previous platforms.

Well that's what happens when you get an engine that's turbo'd from the factory. Very easy to gain some extra punch. Luckily, the FRS has noticeably shorter gearing than a stock 240 does, which helps a lot. So an FRS with headers + tune feels on par with a relatively stock SR car.

But on the same subject, 240s here were sold with the KA24 which are just as difficult, if not more to make additional power. So the only way to make decent power with a 240 was start with an engine swap and go from there. You could turbo the KA as well (which is what I did) but the stock block isn't exactly bulletproof.

So the SR vs KA argument is a bit of apples and oranges considering one is factory for our market, and the other is not.

With the FRS, you could do the same or just turbo the stock FA. FA seems to have no issues sitting in the 300whp range with proper supporting mods.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

You could turbo the KA as well (which is what I did) but the stock block isn't exactly bulletproof.

I'm well aware of the history of your S14, I knew the car two owners prior to you to the previous owner.

My point is the SR swap (cost effective or not) benefits from 10+ years of R&D before the internet became popular in the mid-90s. 10+ years of tuning, failures, and polished end products. Same with the chassis, when drifting started in the early 2000s there was already a decade worth of parts and drifting in Japan to build from.

This platform as a "premier drift car" will depend entirely on whether it can reach the same ease with which older cars are able to swap out components or engines. As it stands, the way the car was designed from the factory (flat-4, low CG, lightweight) makes it more difficult.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by mav1178

I'm well aware of the history of your S14, I knew the car two owners prior to you to the previous owner.

My point is the SR swap (cost effective or not) benefits from 10+ years of R&D before the internet became popular in the mid-90s. 10+ years of tuning, failures, and polished end products. Same with the chassis, when drifting started in the early 2000s there was already a decade worth of parts and drifting in Japan to build from.

Gotcha. I imagine people will continue to develop the FA platform as it seems to be here to stay for a while within Subaru. Only time will tell how far it goes.

Originally Posted by mav1178

This platform as a "premier drift car" will depend entirely on whether it can reach the same ease with which older cars are able to swap out components or engines. As it stands, the way the car was designed from the factory (flat-4, low CG, lightweight) makes it more difficult.

Agreed. I still would have preferred a more traditional inline 4 engine, but it is what it is.

Even still, the development for the chassis and the engine has already come quite a long way for drifting applications in a very short period of time. Give it another 5 years, and we'll probably start seeing some beat up missile FRS/BRZs at drift events lol.

[Viking42]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

Give it another 5 years, and we'll probably start seeing some beat up missile FRS/BRZs at drift events lol.

They are already starting to show up around here...

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by Viking42

They are already starting to show up around here...

That's because it's Florida. Guys down there live for having haggard "missiles" for drifting lol.

[Anthonyc77]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Some sponsors don't care what they drive, a few will. They'll sell more 86 parts if their companies name is plastered on the side of Tuerck or Gushi's 86 and obviously Toyota is throwing in some money in to have their cars represented well. Notice their aren't any BRZ's on the pro tour? 'Cause Subaru doesn't put up money, Toyota does.

Not really true, Dai Yoshihara has a BRZ branded car and he competes in the pro tour...