Ask ALEX PFEIFFER Something!

[Ripper]

DAYAMN, ALEX!

[my 1 88 u]

Alex, can you descibe some of your practice methods for drifting?

[allblackS14]

i have a question.
why are the best US drifters no better than the average 18 yr old street drifter here in Japan. This is a serious question, because i have watched videos of drifters in the US and they look no better than myself and my friends, both American and Japanese. Do we have better equipment, ie cars? It dosnt make sense to me. Were here in Japan street chain drifting, entering corners on the STREET at over 60mph withen feet of eachother in complete control and in the US it looks like everyone is flopping around. Whats the deal?

[AlexPfeiffer]

case
The ae86's are alot easier to drive then the FC. I still say something is wrong with your car or the setup you have and i would have to drive it to tell you what it was.

Ripper
tell me about it, that second crash costed me 15k after the dui and crap. Never do that again. The first crash i laughed off, the second, well i was laughing that i was still alive but it really killed my confidence and my bank account.

my 1 88 u,
The best way to practice is just to practice. Everyone has a different way of learning. A good teacher always helps.

allblackS14,
You yourself sound young and jelous that there is more publicity for drifters here then the average kid in japan who may be better than most drifters here. Maybe im wrong, but the way you asked that question seemed that way. Anyway, to answer your question, drifting is new here and we do not have the cars or parts that japan does, also, in japan you can practice on the streets every night, most here will see one event a month max, way different learning curve, plus most never get to run tandom till they hit a competition. Our mountain roads also suck pretty bad, I havent found one good set of drift turns in cali that i didnt have to worry about cops. In japan, you guys dont get the harassment we have here.

[case]

in regard to touge drifting, what do you think the difference is between that and track drifting? personally, i always felt that because you were drifting in such a dangerous situation that you would never go "full-out" on the touge, but being on the track you know you can try new things (which is what seems to be the best way to make quick progress, aside from seat time). what's your opinion on the differences between touge and track drifting?

[markeese180sx]

i love your style, tarik...its really nice and smooth man...its gonna be pretty chill seein ya this janurary man!

edit: atleast you guys in the states get to drive ANYWHERE when you're 16..while i have to wait another year to beable to drive offbase at 18...for now its underage sneaking...and cops over here like to harass Y license plates if we're doin somethin offbase but we only get warnings

[AlexPfeiffer]

allblackS14
That is young, 22.
How much did you spend on your car? An s14 with a mild mods like the one your driving there will run you about 15k to build and 6 months of waiting time here. The car is a big part of learning to drift, most here have to learn with a badly setup car to begin with, then when they finally get their car built up, they have to relearn every thing again since the driving style is so different.

case
Yes, on the mountain you dont want to go full out. On the track you can push you car much harder without worring about crashing it so much. I highly suggest doing some grip on a road curcuit as it will teach you race line and how to adjust where you are on track. Nasa is a great place to do this.

[Craftsman]

Alex, what other forms of racing have you done? You sound like you have a ton of experience with autocross, road racing, etc...

Matt.

[BENJO]

hey alex,

what coilovers would you buy for an s14? what if price wasnt an issue?

[raemi]

alex, when will there be cliffnotes for your life story?

[driftersil80]

Alex,

Is it smart to learn to Drift or drive Touge with an airbag? Will it explode every time I scrape, tap, or lightly hit a curb or gaurdrail?

[DrifterN]

besides being idolized by many who do you idolize?
Alex you Kick! and you're the coolest! keep up the good work man

and how do you feel about JGTC finally making its way to US soil?

[FC3SGTU]

Originally posted by case
I'm thinking it might be the power steering - I notice when i'm at idle, if i turn the wheel completely to full lock, the motor bogs and sounds like it's going to die, and the power steering motor makes whining sounds (more than usual). it's also possible it's just my suspension setup, or the lack of a LSD.

Case,

The problem you described is what alot of people have and it isn't your problem, It happens to my s4 GTU and it makes nasty noises, same with other friends of mine with FC's. My GTU feels so much smoother than my sport because it has LSD, that could possibly be your prob, I got Illumina/Tanabe and a Great locking lsd. Right now my clutch is slipping very bad and i'm having some cooling issues (Eats coolant, need pressure test). Oh yeah I took off my ps belt for DD18 and I got a very good feel for it, at DD17 I had PS on my sport and it felt pretty good. My instructor (FC owner) told me I should run ps, but I think I won't now. Alex drove my car and said it felt really rough (255's on front, stock TII rims on rear)

Now Alex: Remember the "FC Guru" Who is he? I really need to ask him where I can find some Camber Plates, I can't find any for my FC, and I wanted to know about Toe eliminators and see if they'll be better for me for drifting, people have told me it is pretty good for it. Those 2 things, Koyo and my Drift Clutch From Max Misawa and i'll be tearing up the track big time! See ya at DD20 Alex!

-Andrew

BTW I'm 16 Alex, Talk about young Next drift day you'll see what I can really do

[case]

FC3SGTU: sorry I missed your IM, I was on the phone at the time and away from the computer. I added you to my buddy list, so IM me anytime. Knight Sports makes camber plates for the FC, I purchased mine off ebay for $177 shipped. Also, check out racingbeat.com - they make the rear toe eliminators you're looking for, and they sell for $40 for the pair. Your problem with eating coolant sounds more like a problem with your coolant seals, or possibly your thermostat. You will want to replace your thermostat if you haven't done it recently, and if you haven't had a rebuild in about 40k/60k miles, you'll want to get at least a refresh kit to have your coolant and oil seals replaced.

[allblackS14]

Originally posted by AlexPfeiffer
allblackS14
That is young, 22.
How much did you spend on your car? An s14 with a mild mods like the one your driving there will run you about 15k to build and 6 months of waiting time here. The car is a big part of learning to drift, most here have to learn with a badly setup car to begin with, then when they finally get their car built up, they have to relearn every thing again since the driving style is so different.

case
Yes, on the mountain you dont want to go full out. On the track you can push you car much harder without worring about crashing it so much. I highly suggest doing some grip on a road curcuit as it will teach you race line and how to adjust where you are on track. Nasa is a great place to do this.

Alex: i bought the car with the blacktop SR20DET for 3200. As of right now i have invested about 10k in it. It looks nothing like the video you saw..it has an RB20DET in it now. Tuned. Gp Sports G-four body kit, 19 in work meisters. I actually sold it to my brother in NJ. It will be arriving there in December hopefully. It leaves the port in Tokyo the week before Thanksgiving. Look for it at shows throughout the east coast. I think it will be one of only a few genuine Nissan Silvia S14's in the country..correct me if im wrong cause thats a big statement lol

[CrazyHawaiian]

Are you going to come back to Hawaii?

[AlexPfeiffer]

Craftsman
Ive done everything that ive had an opertunity to run, no matter the cost. One that really got me going but never had a chance to drive was rally. I was able to run the Rim of the World pro rally as a navigator in a ae86. That was a whole new experience since you are always moving from one point to another. I never got a chance to drive in a rally yet and is something i'm looking forward to when i get a chance. The other thing that i would really like to do is sprint cars on dirt ovals.

BENJO
K office or RS*R. The RS*R may be harder to get but you can get the k office at autolink. K office has 3 types i think right now, im not sure the differences or which one ive driven on. For the rs*r, you have to get the 2 way adjustable ones, the are both compression and rebound adjustable, very nice and well tuneable.

raemi
Cliffnotes? I've taken alot out of that story to make it that short.

driftersil80
i personally dont like airbags or cages in a car that you run on touge. If you crash other than straight into the mountain, that airbag comes out and hits you, not the other way. Cages are just another thing to hit with your head when you crash. You may think, "ive got a some distance from it" but you dont realize how much you body gets thrown around in the car when you crash. You have more of a risk of being hurt with a cage in the car.

DrifterN
There are a couple people, the main one is Boris Said, he is a race car driver that is just so cool to talk to. Had an opertunity to meet him at the Automobile sideways challenge and hear some of his stories both on and off the track. The next weekend after that, he was in sears point for the nascar event, he was entered in 3 of the 4 main races. He got the pole position for Winston Cup and finished 6th overall, (3 hour race) then jumped into the scca Trans am and ran that race (another hour race) and finished second. The day before he ran a 2 hour race in winston west and he also finished top 10 in that.

FC3SGTU
The guru is todd ho, he has some insides to fc's since he has been playing with anything thats had a rotary for years. I would also suggest to put your power sterring belt back on, i know i couldnt drive the car without it, with those 255's on there. Yes, you need a clutch too, real bad. See you at the next dday. Check your motor out also, if your leaking water, thats not a good thing.

allblackS14
3200 compaired to 15k is a big difference. For the americans, when the japanese guys come over, its like taking a knife to a gun fight. Thats what we feel like about our cars.

There are a few s14 silvias running around here in cali, im not sure how it is in NJ.

CrazyHawaiian
There is so much going on up here that im not sure when I'll have a chance to get home again.

[case]

hey Alex, just wanted to know if you got my message.

[s14driftingTX]

I just want to thank you Alex for taking the time out of your schedule to talk to us on the boards. I really enjoyed your story, and I love hearing about Hawaii. I used to live there but moved here to Texas about a year ago. I have been into drifting for a long time, living in Hawaii and frequently visiting Japan will do that to you, so it's been interesting, for me, to see the sport progress in the Mainland. I'm the only one around here that drifts so, drifting.com is my salvation. Mahalo Alex.

[DrifterN]

nice.....boris said accomplished so much! finishing with top honers...thats cool!
hey i know you like your 86 but would you ever consider piloting a MarkII/Cresta/or Chaser? in D1 that is....
by the way thanks for taking the time to answer the questions

[NHDrifter]

Hey Alex...what was your first car?

[f8ldzz]

I heard there were rumors you were running NOS in the white TE?

[allblackS14]

damn 15k for a silvia...thres an r34GTR VspecII im looking at in Naha and its only 18k. the best part is it being black..not that ghey blue everyone has.
When you say a knife to a gunfight..is the japanese cars better equipped? I dont see why americans cant get the same parts. Sure they will cost a bit more but to be competitive you do what you gotta do. Alex good luck this year, and thank you for answering my questions.

[WalkDMC]

Hey Alex, do you think that they are going to let Sam Hubinette run D1 with his viper, since its tube framed? I kinda want to see him put up a fight with the japanese drivers, but on the other hand the viper kinda ruins the spirit of drifting. Also do you make any Battleversion parts for FCs? Dont see any on your website, thought I'd ask anyways. One more thing, in club racing manufactureres offer award money for people who drive their cars and do well in races. Do you see that happening soon in drifting? Not a bad idea if you ask me.

[yarzan]

in referenece to the pic on this page: http://www.drifting.com/forums/showt...3027#post93027

is that the same on that you use to run with Andy Yen? cuz he told me some stories. I Heard that was Andy's and u wrecked it. or something...