How do you afford to drift?

[CyberFormula]

If any of you go drifting, how do you afford to do it?

I mean, you have to have a few sets of tires for the day....on top of the cost to mount and balance each of those wheels,etc.

[WingsofWar]

depends on how much time you plan on shredding tires, drift days are expensive, i typically have a set of cheap stock wheels with drift spares in my trunk/hatch.

for me which makes a total of only 2 times i can change over to new rubber so i have to conserve a bit and not power over at every turn killing my tires. I also don't buy new tires, i buy used tires at the mexican tire shops that have at least 80% tred left. about $11-17 (depending on size) per wheel for mounting and balancing.

For a single day for a drifting sanction, i can burn anywhere from $400-$1000 dollars on tires, brake pads, 1 set of spare rotors, extra motor oil, jug of coolant, gasoline, food and drink.

Id love the ability to change over more but id have to bring in a chaser van and be all Project D like..and have all my tools tires and shit laying in the van. I only carry a small amount of basic tools with me at all times, and a jack with 2 stands.

now what can get reaaallly expensive is preping your car for a drift day which also includes adding necessary qualified safty equipment to the mix. Helmet, gloves, battery tie downs, if you have a racing harness they need to be mounted on a harness bar, roll cages need to be welded depending on who is sponsoring the drift day.

just to get into drifting expect to lay down several pay checks just to play a few times during any given season.

[Random_Art]

And learning to do it in a safe setting like a performance driving course at your local track just adds to the expense, but its far less expensive than the repercussions of doing it on the street.

Learning drifting on the streets (D)= possible fun (P) - cost of wear and tear (W)- any damage to vehicle from hitting curbs, light poles, firehydrants, etc (H) - fines (F) - jail time (J) - legal fees (L) - seized car that gets crushed (depending on how douchey the local legal system gets) (S) - medical fees from injuries sustained in crashes (M)

so the cleaner equation can be written as: D=P-W-H-F-J-L-S-W

Compare that to learning in a safe and controlled setting with a purpose built training car, a wide open area, and some cones:

Drift School (performance driving/race school) (D) = Fun (F) - Cost of the lesson/course (C)

Which would be: D=F-C

I'm a big advocate of keeping the racing to sanctioned areas. A few years back I came back to work at a Jiffy Lube (Laugh if you want to, but knowing what goes on inside those places is the sole reason why I don't let anyone else work on my cars.) from a family vacation to find that the wooden utility pole infront of the building had been totally trashed. The bottom half was gone, leaving the top half hanging from the wires and there were chunks of sod missing where something had dug into it. After a lot of digging through the newspaper archives, I discovered that the damage was from street racing. An Accord with two or three teens in it was racing some other car, lost control, and took out the pole. No one survived and the other driver was charged with a mess of stuff including "reckless endangerment" and "homicide by vehicle."

[Giccin]

I work. Lol

[huyttz]

douche bags make a lot of money, apparently.

but the kids i know doing it on the cheap, have cheap ass cars and get junk yard tires and cheap wheels to mount em on.

[VenomRush]

federal tires

[Giccin]

My friend's uncle owns a tire distribution shop.. and his nephew is a mercedez Mechanic. Another friend is rich and owns her own track. She also has a shop on board to do any fixing if needed.

We each pay for our own gas, oil, water and food.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by VenomRush

federal tires

The guys I've seen at Horse Thief Mile during drift days are usually driving S13's or beaters. All hobbies are expensive, you've gotta pay to play!

When I used to do motorcycle track days, it was easily 1K just for the weekend! That was only a track day, a race day, triple that amount! Having hookups can definitely help as well!

Track entrance for Sat and Sun=$150/day
A set of Medium compount tires=$350
Gas to get up there=$180
Lodging=$70
Food=$50


That is not including the other items:
Race Suit=$800-$1700
Gloves=$200
Boots=$300
Helmet=$600

Generator/Invertor=$800
Tire Warmers=$300
Race Bodywork=$700
Suspension work=$400-3,000

[4agze]

let me break it down for you, this is what me and brother do, its up to you how or what to cut to save you money, some may or may not apply to you.

Event entrance fee: $115 to $130 (depending who you choose to go & event venue)

Used Tires: $35 to $45 each x 6 (depending on what brand of tires you can get and size) usually warrior tires or some china made tires.

Auto transporter: U-haul $54.95 x 2 days (pick it up a day before the event)
here is whats the rate right now


getting ready for the event: higher grade oil $13~ x 6(just incase)
radiator fluid $25~
gear oil (tranny and rear diff) $34~
brake & power steering fluid $12~


Misc. stuff incase you pop or burst something on the track like extra power steering belt, fan belt (if you dont have an electric), radiator hoses, clamps & ect $100~

hotel or motel: $55~ a night

food: if your going on willow springs raceway near the entrance or outside they have tacobell or jack in a crack next to ralph's $20 2 person

petrol: the suv or truck thats pulling your car $200, if your not using a racing fuel $80


so lets total it all from the highest amount: $1,115~ but its hella fun

[FT-86GOD]

Im debt driven......

[4agze]

o yeah this are stuff you should have already that you'll really need helmet atleast snell SA2000, jack w atleast 2 jack stands and lug wrench I use battery powered impack gun

Originally Posted by CyberFormula

If any of you go drifting, how do you afford to do it?

how can I afford it? I have a career, I don't make alot of $$$ but I dont drift every month ether, what makes a big difference is I do 90% of the work on my car, It also helps when your friends are in it also but time attack or grip racing is more expensive.

[Darkside]

A grand to slide arond on a track for a day?
....


Yeah I don't get it.



And how is grip racing more expensive? If we are talking autocross and trackdays, that's not nearly as bad.

[nrclptcnsmniak]

How do the "kids" that do this afford this? 18 19 yr old kids? That's way expensive. I want to auto x when I get my brz and I can't seen going around through some cones to be that expensive :/

I guess this is why people resort to the streets or mountains. I remember seeing that mustang drift in japan video and the Japanese fellow didn't have gas money so the American gave him a few bucks so they could drift in the mountains. 135 a day for track use? Is maintaining Tarmac that expensive?

[merlin2111]

Originally Posted by nrclptcnsmniak

I want to auto x when I get my brz and I can't seen going around through some cones to be that expensive :/

135 a day for track use? Is maintaining Tarmac that expensive?

I believe a lot of the money goes to insurance for the track and you also have to realize, just like a hotel, you are paying for the days that no one is using the track to to make up for the lost revenue.

Autox is a lot cheaper but you still need to realize you are going to be pushing your car to the limits even at lower speeds so new brakes and tires will be needed much much more often than if you were to just commute to work and the grocery everyday.

Don't forget you still need helmet ect but a lot of times guys will let you borrow theirs if it is your first day.