FD or S13

Ok I have been into drifting for a while and I know my stuff about cars and techniques and what not. But I have long been contimplating in which car to get an FD or a S13 hatchback. Both cars are real nice and the engines are great tooo. The Sr20 is aweasome but the twin rotor 13B-REW engines have a tendency to over heat. Other peeps say that the sr20 is underpowered and that the 240 hatchbacks handle like $hit. Anyways any response is great and I would like your input.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Well first off the 240 doesn't come with the SR20 so you will have to add one of those.

Look at the pro's and con's.

FD. High price to shell out to get one then you have to mod it. First you have to do the cooling things to make sure you dont blow your investment sky high. Radiator, vented hood, intercooler possibly. After that, Suspension is the main thing to do first off unless you get an R1 and you only find those in 93. They are expensive to get parts for, expensive to fix if you fook it up but they look real good and there aren't that many around. People love Fd's. Matter of fact you can buy mine.

240. Plentiful, cheap and the KA will do you just fine while you do the suspension and what-not. Cheap to get parts for just run down to Autozone for the basics, cheap to maintain, see above but they are all over and everyones putting SR20s in them. The SR is a great engine. Relatively easy swap, little hard to work on or so i've heard as you have to pull certain things to get to others but make decent power right out of the box and can be opened up easily.

Hey thanks a lot for the response. I didn;t really knwo that fd parts were a lto especially for an r-1. I found an r-1 with a flooded engine going for 4,100 my mechanic said it was a great deal. So i am really thinking about getting it and dropping a new engine in. Anyways You gonan be at the meet in march at andrettis we will def have to talk more.

[Ghost of Duluth]

I'm gonna try to make it. Depends on if I have to work or not. Won't be in my car though.

[WiShIcAnDRFT]

your selling your fd??? how much???

[Ghost of Duluth]

Letting it go for 10,000. Motor is a little quirky but I can still drive it daily and it still hauls. Just pumps coolant out at a varying rate depending on how the car feels.

It's got a fair amount of stuff done to it. I put the list on here somewhere.

[raging panda]

I don't know who your peeps are but the SR20 isn't underpowered, just untapped stock. That's like any engine though, and if youre really gonna start drifting, then you won't need to worry about power anytime soon. The S13 hatchbacks will handle almost exactly the same as the coupes, it all depends on the setup of the car, not the body style. Basically the S13 is a great learning car, and a great advanced car.

[JunpoweR]

Well I say both cars handle well with tuning.
but off the bat stock vs stock the FD does kick the S13's Booty
any day..But yes say you do get a sr20det motor in the s13 it can be tuned to be as fast or faster then the FD for about the price of a FD.I am a Lover\collector\Driver of RX-7's but it is way more expensive to tune and mantain a FD.

OK
If you are a Great Drifter Get a FD
If your a amature get a S13
why?
The FD is a faster high power car,which is harder to controll and more expensive to fix if you do crash or have to replace a motor or parts.
S13 is cheaper to buy and also cheaper to tune in my opinion.I see many more parts and these cars..Also it's cheaper to fix or you could just find another frame easily, not like the FD.Also the engine is fairly cheaper to tune and fix then a TwinTurboFD.

[nissanguy_24]

Yeah i agree with the other posters. these are both great cars. But the FD is going to be alot more money in the short and long run. However if you love Sevens and Rotarys go for it. If you havent owned a rotary before, i would suggest a FC turbo II.

The S13 is much cheaper all around, but its not going to move or perform like the FD will stock. and even modified, the FD is a hell of a car, and hard to beat. If you love nissans and S13s or want the cheaper of the cars get the S13.

[raging panda]

Well, I don't agree that the S13 is for amateurs. It does share the same suspension setup as the Skyline and Fairladys, I mean you don't get in much better company in that respect. You don't need an SR to get into FD hp territory either. Many stock block/internal KAs are up in the 300 hp range, just requires good tuning and know how. The S chassis is the most popular drift chassis for a reason, it is lightweight, relatively cheap, and shares the suspension setups as Nissan's best. I do give the FD props, very capable car, but don't count out the S13 chassis, with the same amount dumped into each car, neither will walk away, it will come down to driver skill in the end.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Don't know bout that one Panda. Depends on how you look at it. If you dump the same amount of tuning into an FD that you do an S13, the FD will smoke it hands down. BUT if you take the prices of the cars into account then you are absolutely right. The S13 is the #1 chassis for a couple reasons. It's newer than the Hachi, it's cheap and it's RWD. All that adds up to a VERY competan chassis for Drifting. Also the aftermarket is huge in Japan for it and start to really take off here. The FD has been limited til now due to the price of them. That is the ONLY reason the FD's are not that big in Drifting. They are starting to pop up more as they come down in value and parts come down as well. But they are still high up there. The loan value on my 93 R1 is still $9000 unmodified and unmolested. So they are still way higher than the s13 and s14 for that matter.

But put the same amount of money into them without the original price of the car and the FD will outperform it. If it outperforms it from tock then the same things done to it will only make it outperform it non-stock. There is no peformance loss there though the money-train.

[raging panda]

I'm not sure how you figure on that, due to the fact that there is only so much one can do to a car. I figure changing all bushings, coilovers, all new suspension components, even with chassis bracing. Then you go engine, it may be cheaper on the SR or KA, but I'm not sure since I don't price 13b repairs upgrades. So I figure even with that, what edge does the FD have over the S13? I know stock because more hp, but the suspension doesn't have a real huge advantage that I know of. Is there, am I mistaken? It's just I see a highly tuned FD/S13 w/ 350hp full race suspension, chassis bracing and cage, race seat, and I don't see how one car can outperform the other. I just see that the driver and driver preference would make the difference.

We can go on and on all day if we want but, Turbo_blitz21 you got the idea.

FD=big money
s-13=little money

up to you.

Next question

[Chas]

Originally posted by Sideways_In_SD
Next question

What are you doing tonight, baby?

[abstrakt01]

Good luck affording insurance on the FD if you're under 25.

[Oki Drifter]

If you want to stand out of the crowd of "normal" drifters...get the FD.
If you wanna be like everyone else... get the S13.

I perfer the FD. but since I don't have such a small car list for drifting, I don't have to worry till I go to the states(Lived in japan all my life)
I KNOW I won't get a silvia when I get there though...I get sick of them being everywhere... great cars though...cheaper and easier to tune than the FD too

[driftxtreem]

I would like to say that they are both good cars BUT.

I own one of each and drift the FD and a 180. By far the 180 in more nimble and easyer to learn with. The FD packs a punch and is nothing but buisness. If you are starting out and have no experiance go with the s13. If you have been drifting for at least 2 years then get the FD but be warned it is unforgiving in many aspects.

[driftxtreem]

Originally posted by Oki Drifter
If you want to stand out of the crowd of "normal" drifters...get the FD.
If you wanna be like everyone else... get the FD.

I perfer the FD. but since I don't have such a small car list for drifting, I don't have to worry till I go to the states(Lived in japan all my life)
I KNOW I won't get a silvia when I get there though...I get sick of them being everywhere... great cars though...cheaper than the FD too

Oki drifter can you stack your links in your sig. It makes it difficult to read the whole page.

Please and Thankyou.

[Ghost of Duluth]

After evaluating the the info I think you are more right than I thought Panda. As for suspension goes they will be round the same, little differences but generally the same once modded. The power is the different part. But I agree with Extreem. The FD is about as forgiving as your GF after you come home with an open condom wrapper in your pocket.

My suggestion is to get a Corolla.

[raging panda]

I must say that this is one of the best thread i've ever seen on any forum ever. except for the stupid comments a few posts above.

That's interesting though, that the FD is unforgiving, any idea on what would make it that way? I do like how responsive my S13 is, it made it very easy to learn how to break the rear end out and control it once it's gone out. Corolla is also a very good suggestion except that you will buy it cheap, but put as much money into it to make it driveable and the cost will end up as much as a used S13. My buddy bought one for 600, but that thing is a wreck. Still drifts with stock lsd and all, but man it rolls like youre in the middle of the pacific.

[spirit taro]

why is it so much?

Hey guys thank you for all your responses. I also think this has been one of the best threads I have read in a long while we should all talk. As for Oki Drifter I will be in the Okinawa area this summer so if you want we could meet up. Ghost thanks a lot too you too. You guys really know your fd's and 240's. I do have expereince drifting. Right now I drift an Infinity J30. It has a nismo ecu but thats about it. I powerul but roles like a biatch. So I am thinking an fd would be better than going to a 240 since I do have some experience!

[raging panda]

do you mean why are corollas so much? Because you will almost have rust everytime, replace bushings, engine work, weather stripping new shocks/springs definately. All this adds up a lot. To get a car as nice as a s13 condition would be in it might end up costing the same. Unless youre hardcore/stupid and don't care about most of that stuff. In that case its just TRD springs,shocks, extra engine for when yours blows and off you go.

Sounds good. Yeah hachis take a lot of time to fix up. But what I was really asking is would it be good to go to an FD or S13 from and Infinity j30?

[raging panda]

If i were you I'd find some way to convert that car to manual. That is totally VIP pimp drift car, seriously.