Now that there's a GTO in D1 and Formula D....

[WildSe7en]

...Do you think Japanese parts manufacturers will make parts for American muscle cars such as the GTO, Mustang, Camaro, Conquest, etc.?

I've noticed that Rhys uses a 200m Greddy air filter and I didnt even know they made a filter that big.

Maybe somethings brewing?

[nissanguy_24]

Few drifters can afford the GTO. However i can see the camaro and mustang being picked up if they get more popular.

[malcolm]

when you think about it, an older camaro (like 1986-1994) would be the cheapest way to have a decent drifter. 350 bhp wouldn't be difficult to get to, and even suspension would be cheap. you can do a lot to lighten the car... (swiss-cheese the subframe, and other over-built features of the car). drift that thing, and you'll develop a good sense of how to handle a lot of weight.

[WildSe7en]

Originally posted by nissanguy_24
Few drifters can afford the GTO. However i can see the camaro and mustang being picked up if they get more popular.

true, but I'm not necessarily talking about "drift friendly" parts only. The Z, Evo, Sti, are all in the same price range and they make parts for those cars.

[MrodDrft]

Originally posted by WildSe7en
true, but I'm not necessarily talking about "drift friendly" parts only. The Z, Evo, Sti, are all in the same price range and they make parts for those cars.

yea those cars are also Japanese

[enrique]

I don't think they would. reason being is that there might not be cars over there to prototype on. another reason is that companies like Steeda, Hotchkis already have products that can be used for drifting that are already used for roadracing. Also shops can import parts already in use for the gto from au.

[nissanguy_24]

Originally posted by WildSe7en
true, but I'm not necessarily talking about "drift friendly" parts only. The Z, Evo, Sti, are all in the same price range and they make parts for those cars.

Thats true, However the evo Z and Sti are much more performance oriented cars. They are also easier to get in japan. The idea being, most buys who buy Evos are looking for performance. You will get alot of buyers of the GTO who dont care about performance (your self excluded of course) Thus there will be more market. Especialy considering the STi and Evo have older varients for sale in japan for cheaper, so they have more parts for them making it easier to modify those parts for the newer versions.


And as for the Z, they are just selling the hell out of the Z, huge market there. If the GTO really gets popular you will probably see some parts though. Just depends.

[prodigy]

Re: Now that there's a GTO in D1 and Formula D....

Originally posted by WildSe7en
...Do you think Japanese parts manufacturers will make parts for American muscle cars such as the GTO, Mustang, Camaro, Conquest, etc.?

I've noticed that Rhys uses a 200m Greddy air filter and I didnt even know they made a filter that big.

Maybe somethings brewing?

Conquest? Dude what are you talking about. That is the American version of the Mitsubishi Starion. Not hating, but it isn't even a muscle or pony car.

[Tsunami]

Originally posted by malcolm
when you think about it, an older camaro (like 1986-1994) would be the cheapest way to have a decent drifter. 350 bhp wouldn't be difficult to get to, and even suspension would be cheap. you can do a lot to lighten the car... (swiss-cheese the subframe, and other over-built features of the car). drift that thing, and you'll develop a good sense of how to handle a lot of weight.

It's not a good idea to swiss-chease to do weight-reduction on a Camaro or Mustang. Those cars were already built without enought bracing, especially the Fox 5.0. More than one Fox-body Mustang has traded an extra 30 lbs for some subframe connectors and strut tower braces to strengthen the chassis. It's better to lose the weight through stripping the interior parts, ac and heater and adding fiberglass body parts.

I really hope the 5.0 doesn't become a popular drifter, I am counting on the current cheap and available supply of Fox bodies for my future drifter. Last thing I wanna see is prices shooting up and supply dwindling.

[Feint]

I've seen some nice foxbodys,not uncommon to hear them making in the range of 400hp.Don't quote me on this,but aren't the foxbody's the lightest Mustangs?

[prodigy]

There are so many of those around, so I don't think you are going to have a problem finding one.

[enrique]

you can already restore a fox body. there are plenty of parts and chassis to go around.

[CrazyHawaiian]

Yes the older Camaros and Mustang would make great cheap drift cars. The green car in my Sig is a budget domestic drift project I did for power//slideways. The project is not complete yet, but with a total investment of $3300 including the car, it was a blast to drift. You can read more about it on our website (and see pics of it in action) if you're interested.

Tsunami is right. These cars have very weak unibodies that flex a lot. First mods should definately be chassis strengthening. But dont worry buddy, the Mustang and Camaro will not have the same price markup if they get popular for drifting. There are just too many of them on the road and in the yards. I picked up another chassis for $200 last week. Crazyness!!

[SRT4ing]

how about the all American GTO drift team, I think it's D-1...correct me if I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jap parts come out for american cars. I mean think about all the Am-Jap colaborations over the years, Dodge and Mitsu, Ford and Mazda, stuff like this happens. I mean yes Im partial to the new neon, but the next edition will share its looks with the mitsu evo, they will be sister cars and the neon will sport a mini-hemi (kickarse) lol, but ya I think give it a couple years and you will see jap parts for american high performace. and high costs!!! lol GTO's wow!

[CrazyHawaiian]

They dont make Hemi's anymore bro. Its a sales pitch. Hemi stands for Hemispherical, which has to do with how the heads were designed. Todays "Hemi" heads are not the same design.

An All American Drift GTO team would make me unhappy. I'm all for domestic drifting, but it seems like people are getting the wrong idea. Everyone seems to think only GTO's or Vipers can drift now because thats all they see. What about other domestic cars?? I'd rather see a host of older cheaper drift cars out there representing the domestics. I will admit that if I was approached and offered sponsorship to drift a GTO I would take it in a second. Still, I think domestic part manufacturers need to start sponsoring some of the amature domestic guys so we can have a broader representation of the domestic cars.