Beginner looking for advice...

[dark3630]

Hey everyone! I've been lurking here for awhile and decided to sign up. I've been wanting to get into the sport of drifting for over a year now, but I really haven't taken any action and decided it's about time I do. First of all, I'm 18 and I work at a auto recycling center (pretty much a junkyard), while going to college. My dad has been working there ever since the place opened I think 15+ years ago. My dad used to drag race a lot with his friends but that died down. I was talking to him about drifting and we're going to work together on this, but I need some advice.

We've been looking at cars, but we're not sure what is required for a drift car. A standard rwd is a given but thats as far as our knowledge goes.

1) We think there is a 240SX out in the yard, but not to sure, I hear that is a great start. But what about mustangs? There are quite a few out in the junkyard, and I've seen them drifting. Are those good cars for drifting?

2) What kind of motor is ideal for drifting and with what kind of mods (keep in mind I'm just starting out, so I want to keep it simple for now if I can, I don't want more power than I can handle)

3) What should be done about the suspension, a lot of work has to go into that right?

Any advice you all could give would be great! Now I'm going to go back into the forums and keep reading

[dark3630]

What are some popular drifting forums that are active? This one isn't very active... :\

[EFGiggles]

The 240 is a good start, and if you want to get it break loose (drift) you're gonna need a LSD, that should be good. Go to a place where you can mess around and pull the e-brake so you can start to get to know what your car needs to get sideways. Later on you gotta invest in good suspension set up. The stock 240 suspension is ok, but if you wanna get better and faster you're gonna need good suspension. Umm... Hope that helps a lil bit... As far as engine mods, its a pretty fast engine, and it has a good amount of torque. When you learn your car you can start looking into engine upgrades. I am not too sure, but i think the mustang is gonna need a lot more work to get it to drift/grip, suspension wise. Im not too sure tho...

[dark3630]

Ok, I looked everywhere in that junkyard, and there was not a single 240SX. It's a newer 200, like 95, and I think those are FWD right?

So I have to keep looking. What are common cars that are easy to drift without to much work? And does anyone know about the mustangs?

[EFGiggles]

Yeah, i think they are FWD. Check the tranny. If it points to the back of the car its RWD if it points to the side its FWD. That'll be true for most cars. As far as cars that are easy to drift, you got the 240, Supra, older Corollas, before 82, i think after that they're FWD. But really, if you try n drift em stock your gonna be doing 180's without the LSD, that's what helps you break loose. Don't think i am promoting drugs, you know what an LSD is, right?!? Haha man! I think drifting the mustang will be easier, it's got more power and torque. Go for it! I would!!

[dark3630]

Yeah I know what an LSD is :P I actually went here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm and read all of that. I find it all really interesting.

I did find a couple Supras out there... I might look into those. I'm kinda liking the mustangs though. Every time I think about it... I hardly ever see any of those out there, it'd be kinda unique. My main priority right now though is to keep it simple... something cheap and easy.

Is there anything like this that I could get? Drifting.com Book - I'm particularly interested in Chapters 4-5. I'd love to read the rest but thats it for now. If anyone wants to sell one I'd really like to buy it.

[Drift For Food]

Miatas are ones you've yet to think about.

[socalwrench]

Yeah, the 90s 200sx is a FWD car.

However, the 84-88 200sx is RWD- a S12 actually. Good luck finding one though.

If you're not tall, the Mx-5 can be a great drift car. Any of the E70 Corolla models car drift well. Also, don't forget the 240z, 260z and 280z models. Each are relatively inexpensive compared to the newer models like the 300zx, 350z or 370z.

As far as junkyard hunting goes- thanks to the movies and the popularity of drifting in the USA- it's hard to find a S13 or S14 (240sx if you didn't already know).