Setting Up a 2000 Camaro SS For Drifting

[eastbaybob]

I have a 2000 Camaro SS and I am hopelessly hooked on this drifting thing, having gone to two D1 events at Infineon. Although my son is encouraging me to buy another S14 to replace the one he flipped, my Camaro is a paid for daily driver w/ 100K on it that about to get a major suspension and rear end rebuild. And since I've been driving it daily for 9 years, I know the car like the back of my hand and want to drift it bad.

It's clear from reading the posts here that while my Camaro, properly setup, won't likely win any drifting competitions, that's no problem because a) I have no skill drifting (yet), b) if I get good enough for the car to matter, I can get a S14 then, and c) I don't care because it will be incredibly fun.

The Camaro has a center console mounted e-brake, so that should be fine. I'll deal with my whooped and tired LS1 later, but I want to focus on suspension and rear end first.

So, my plan is to start by replace all the bushings w/ polyurethane, lower the car an inch or so w/ Eibach spings, and to load it up w/ QA1 adjustable shocks. The rear end is going to get upgraded, probably with a Moser, but my #1 question for now is:

What is the difference between a "Nismo 2-way LSD" and what I get out of a traditional American positraction rearend?

There are a bunch of different posi-type clusters that I can get with a custom rearend, and I want to make sure that I get the right thing when I pony up $2K+ for my new diff.

Has any one else set up a late model Camaro for drifting, how has it been, and what other suspension upgrades should I consider strongly?

Thanks,

EastBayBob

[Piner]

^ well you want to look for a LSD that uses clutch plates to control slip, a torsen or gear type is not what you are looking for.

other than that you seem to have the right idea, I good set of seats that will hold you in nice and tight are always a good idea as well, its hard to control a car sliding whe you yourself is sliding around inside of the car too.

[Cavi Mike]

The original GM Posi-Trac had the same amount of slip at all times but the modern limited slip (that I still improperly call posi) has a cam. This cam makes the posi slip less when accelerating so you get more of that spool kinda feeling when you punch it but it won't give you that crazy wheel hop when you try to turn into your driveway. Basically they're the best of both worlds.

A 2-way posi has the cam work in both ways so whenever you lift off the gas it also works. This is the preferred type of differential for a daily driven drift car. A 1-way obviously only works when accelerating and a 1.5-way has half the grip of a 2-way when decelerating. A torsen style doesn't use a clutch pack like a regular posi, it uses gears and they're better suited for regular driving "grip" driving as it's called in the drifting world.

As far as name brands, Nismo stands for Nissan Motorsports so obviously you won't be able to find a Nismo posi for the Mare. I'm not up with the recent f-body technology but I think I'd start with the trusty Jegs and Summit catalogs. If you decide to make this thing a strict drift car, I'd personally have to put a spool in it. It may suck when taking sharp turns but it makes a world of a difference when your sole purpose is to fish-tail around a track.