Drifters?

[WingsofWar]

i found that the easiest cars to fling around as a beginner were the S14 and Miata both in manual and with LSD of course.

I found that the hardest fucking RWD car iv owned to get sideways is the FC3S. Even when i was putting down 210whp the car would grip to no end, and i had to literally throw the car into a slide. Fucking rear trailing arms + Active Rear steering were fuckin up my mojo.

[OldSkoolToys]

Originally Posted by tmigo27

What car do you recommend for drifting? Would a 95 240sx auto trans / Base ?
I love car a lot but i cant drift in real live, shame haha

Originally Posted by wingsofwar

i found that the easiest cars to fling around as a beginner were the S14 and Miata both in manual and with LSD of course.

I would suggest either an S13 or S14. Yes, they're basically the Civic of the drifter world, but for good reason. They're easy to find, cheap to mod, and easy to slide. The long wheel-base (ish) + the low-end grunt/torque of the KA24 make it an easy car to slide. The AE86? Its age is definitely showing now. They're old, and they're scarce. You'd be working on it more than driving it, more than likely.

The miata? Ehhhh...they're easy to find, cheap to mod, etc. but the short wheelbase can make sliding extremely frustrating. In other regards, its much like an AE86 though.

WoW, it sounds like you had your car setup for something else. With 210hp, on an FC, you should be able to light up tires with ease. Maybe it was just your tire selection?

To answer your initial question: You can slide an auto, but I'd recommend a manual. It trains you more to be in control of your car (while out of control) and makes gear shifts mid slide much easier to perform. Base models are ok, but my memory is fleeting on whether or not the base had LSD options. The SE models came standard with LSD (again, I think...memory/knowledge on the 240's isn't as vast as the AE86), but in any case, the factory LSD is probably worn out anyways. With a worn out LSD/ open diff, you can basically slide one direction fine (usually to the left) and the other you'll die out because of lack of wheel spin.

[Nafe]

The car I first drifted wasn an s13 silvia. CA18DET, Manual.. DIdn't have coilovers, didn't have a good lsd. I am talking 8 years ago, maybe 9. After that I got my AE86. Which was my favourite. The car was "harder" perse than the s13, but god that thing taught me alot about drifting/driving I miss it. It had a 4age stroked to 1.8l, a TRD 2way LSD and some basic suspension. Was an awesome car.
Then I moved on to an R32 skyline sedan. RB25det. power house. The thing practically drifted itself.
For learning, I'd recommend an s13, or an ae86 if you don't mind a bit of a challenge
I disagree about hitting things though. The only times i ever hit things was street drifting. There is NO reason at all why a drift car has to be a busted ass piss of shit.
Yes, my r32 was a bit rugged, but I bought it like that. Didn't make it any more busted ass and I drifted it fairly hard....

[TylerLieberman]

Yeah you arent going to consatly hit things. A lot of events are held in open parking lots where there is practically nothing to worry about hitting. Especially Drift Day events. The only things you might hit are cones and possibly barriers(if they're setup).

Good car to start out with-S13. Cheap, easy to pickup and replace. Get a manual trans, end of story. Lsd?...dont even worry about it, the stock lsd sucks anyways. Youll end up replacing it with a clutch type 2 way lsd anyways. Stock suspension? F that. Youll get more out of it by learning with a set of coilovers.

Another plus is that it's much easier on the pocket to build an s13. You'll pay a considerable amount for for an s14, especially if it's an SE and ESPECIALLY if its a 97-98. S13s can be had for cheap and shells are too easy to come by. Me personally, I prefer S13s over S14s. They're lighter, slightly smaller wheelbase, and feel much more nimble and on it's feet than 14s do. I would get an S13 for a dedicated track car, but for a DD and occasional track car, an S14-which is why I got one.

I had an S13 too and it was nowhere near built up as my 14 was. All it had was a welded diff, coils, arms, an 17" LMGT4s. Bone stock dual cam KA....but I loved drifting it almost more than my 14 that was fully setup. This is all personal opinion though.

Go onto an actual drifting forum/240 forum if youre looking into it.Youre more than likely to get better, more accurate info there.

[koyv90]

i heard lsd talk and that got me thinking what about the mechanical lsd they are wanting to be an option for car enthusiasts and drifters?

[alan.chalkley]

Slowing down for corners is not my thing.My best drift car was a GTR torana with rock hard selby suspension.For those of us who can't afford a tyre company it's good to practice on a wet road (without trees around).The FT86/BRZ looks good on paper!
Can't wait to try one here down under in Australia!

[Nafe]

I have never drifted in a carpark. only on racetracks and streets.
My R32 had arms, coilovers, mechanical LSD, rb25det, power fc, bride seat. It was an awesome drift car

[BecauseRacecar]

Originally Posted by OldSkoolToys

Drifter.

Now, as for me? The first FR-S will probably be a light-tune street setup, just for enjoying driving, keeping her nice and clean. Years down the line I'll snag a used one for cheap, and make that a track slut. Current plans at least.

+1 Couldn't agree more with that plan

[BecauseRacecar]

Originally Posted by OldSkoolToys

The SE models came standard with LSD (again, I think...memory/knowledge on the 240's isn't as vast as the AE86), but in any case, the factory LSD is probably worn out anyways. With a worn out LSD/ open diff, you can basically slide one direction fine (usually to the left) and the other you'll die out because of lack of wheel spin.

Yeah no LSD's in te S13's though, but I here a lot of people jack the ones out of old Infiniti J30's and also (with some work) out of Z32 300Z's

[FT86_Shark]

Originally Posted by WingsofWar

Just be careful not to drift into the D dimension.

[u2b]N2IWxqvsSY8[/u2b]

Does transforming into a dinosaur happen often? I don't know if my insurance will cover that.....

[dori.]

Originally Posted by FT86_Shark

I've been curious about drifting (I'm D-curious I guess? )

Would the FR-S be considered a good starter car for drifting?

Car's not out yet, so nobody can say (well maybe Ken Gushi can...).

At any rate get something cheap that's easy to find parts for if you just want to LEARN the sport. Maybe an S13 or a foxbody. Go super-cheap, weld the diff and just grab used tires from wherever.

Cause it would suck to wreck a brand new $25k car, especially one as nice as the FR-S/BRZ.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by dori.

Car's not out yet, so nobody can say (well maybe Ken Gushi can...).

At any rate get something cheap that's easy to find parts for if you just want to LEARN the sport. Maybe an S13 or a foxbody. Go super-cheap, weld the diff and just grab used tires from wherever.

Cause it would suck to wreck a brand new $25k car, especially one as nice as the FR-S/BRZ.

Foxbody? Really? Don't even, those things are garbage. There's a reason you still see people competing today in S13s. I see way more S13s competing as opposed to S14s. Why? Cause it's an overall better track car, case closed. S14s are a bit more forgiving and feel a bit more stable. Slightly longer wheelbase and, and a bit more stable makes it a tad more user friendly. The s13 has a shorter wheelbase and, in result, is faster in transitions, more nimble, more agile, and more twitchy, which makes it an AMAZING platform if you're looking to get into the good stuff i.e. ~70mph 3rd gear entries. Having that shorter wheelbase and being a bit more twitchy helps a lot, especially when you're getting aggressive when following during tandem runs.

I will agree with the rest though saying just go and get a car to play with. If anything, get a beater s13 to screw with and an FRS/BRZ for a DD. S13, stock SR, coils, welded diff, steering wheel, seat & harness, shift knob, ebrake, brake pads and fluid and call it a day. You can have all that said and done for like $5k and that's more than what's needed and more than enough to have fun.

[dori.]

There are a lot of reasons why the S13 is popular, but I don't think that your reasoning fully supports what you're saying. S13's are
a) cheaper than S14's (by virtue of being older) and other comparable cars
b) more readily available (sales numbers were better than S14)
c) very popular in Japan and therefore has a large presence in the country that the sport originated in, leading to -
d) (known for) huge aftermarket support

I would cite those points listed above as real reasons why people still use S13's. I'm sure that if the S14 were more available or had the S15 been released here we'd see much more of them.

It's pretty cyclical. But I don't want to get into a chicken/egg argument with you (especially when we are agreeing to agree somehow, and not to mention it would be offtopic...).

I know the foxbody is a POS. Which is why I suggested it. Should be really super dirt cheap and I'd feel less bad about wrapping one around a pole than a FR-S or even a Nissan S chassis.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by dori.

There are a lot of reasons why the S13 is popular, but I don't think that your reasoning fully supports what you're saying. S13's are
a) cheaper than S14's (by virtue of being older) and other comparable cars
b) more readily available (sales numbers were better than S14)
c) very popular in Japan and therefore has a large presence in the country that the sport originated in, leading to -
d) (known for) huge aftermarket support

I would cite those points listed above as real reasons why people still use S13's. I'm sure that if the S14 were more available or had the S15 been released here we'd see much more of them.

It's pretty cyclical. But I don't want to get into a chicken/egg argument with you (especially when we are agreeing to agree somehow, and not to mention it would be offtopic...).

I know the foxbody is a POS. Which is why I suggested it. Should be really super dirt cheap and I'd feel less bad about wrapping one around a pole than a FR-S or even a Nissan S chassis.

s14s are just as popular and have just as much aftermarket support. Yes, the cost for the chasis is a bit cheaper. The fact stands, the smaller wheelbase, more nimble, lightweight chasis also plays a role. After owning both and driving with Pro drivers who have competed in both and talked with them about it, and researched it...it is a known fact that the chasis itself is part of why people choose them over 14s.

Stock S chasis are lame too though. I'd rather just get an s13 and throw on a few parts and slide it and wreck it rather than dealing with the BS of a foxbody. I could just pick up another s13 shell for $500