Just got a Miata-What should be done 1st?

[mr. miata]

hey
i just got a miata, NA of course. Just wondering what should be done to this car to get it to drift better.

Like suspension..., and to get a lil more power and LSD

what should i do?

thanks

[markeese180sx]

get a nice seatizzle....a nice little exhaust...and practice. oh yeah and keep the top down...you'll be ma fuggin pimp...or something

[CRASHDRIVE]

Originally posted by mr. miata
hey
i just got a miata, NA of course. Just wondering what should be done to this car to get it to drift better.

Like suspension..., and to get a lil more power and LSD

what should i do?

thanks

Keep it stock. Since it's your first time. You'll be suprise how much you've learn from a stock setup, when you get your usual upgrades.
If you break something, replace it with an aftermarket product. Why replace a perfectly good part?

[mr. miata]

thanks!!

but heres a huge problem i have..., i can e-brake into corners..., but then i have heaps of trouble getting enough power to get out of the corner without going all crazy on the road..,

is this because i dont have enough power?

or

what am i doing wrong?

[JDM EUNOS]

I Had problems with this as well some time back, but for me it was just a matter of keeping the revs up past 4k, you know as your pushing in the clutch and pulling the e-brake keep you foot on the gas but not too much because you will loose it when you pop the clutch back out. It took me a little time and practice to be able to do it well everytime. Like i've posted before on some post, the miata is great out of the box, the first upgrades you might want to look into are some suspension mods (coill-overs,spring/shock combo sway bars, strut bars, ladder brace, etc.) When you get pretty good go for some adjustable endlinks that way you can set your car up for oversteer, thats what i did and it really helps plus all the suspension mods but we won't go into that. good luck.

[CRASHDRIVE]

Originally posted by mr. miata
thanks!!

but heres a huge problem i have..., i can e-brake into corners..., but then i have heaps of trouble getting enough power to get out of the corner without going all crazy on the road..,

is this because i dont have enough power?

or

what am i doing wrong?

You mean, you end up doing a 360 or fish tailing?

If you end up doing a 360 @ the turn, that usually means your not countersteeting fast and soon enough. If you end up fish tailing, not drifting or just "chirping" your not entering fast enough.

Or if your trying to turn and it's "PLOWING" meaning understeering (your turning the tires but the car is not turning) your not putting enough weight in the front to initiate the drift. (more weight to the front = more traction to the front and less traction to the rear, this is that weight transfer that everyone talks about).

That's my guess of what your problem is. Just keep at it. and "FEEL" your car, see what it's doing wrong.

[JDM EUNOS]

A couple other things that might help out continuing what CRASHDRIVE said, The miata has a really small wheel base so it is snap happy countersteer is really important you have to be quick but don't over do it thats one part i still am trying to deal with you gotta play around with your countersteering, too much and it snaps right back too little and its all over. When i'm steering my miata you kinda have to throw it back and forth keeping a good mid point on the wheel to keep a good drift going. With that said the miata is going to be hard to hang out for a long drift because of it's short wheel base bbut its been done there are a few guys on here that drift miatas i'm sure they will chime in on there way of doing things because all of us have our cars set-up differently so it may vary from how i do it to how they do it. Another thing speed is a big factor for the miata (for me anyway) try going a little faster each time and pretty soon it will come to you just keep on practicing.

[driftfreak]

here is what you do first..
find a FSM, and do the 60K tune up,
also make sure EVERYHTING on the sus,breaks and motor is working perfect...

[Tuner]

What year and what package is it? You may already have limited slip.


Why are you handbraking into a turn? The Miata is so easy too toss, it should be feint, feint, FEINT everywhere. The only time I go near the handbrake is in a long sweeper like JDM EUNOS said. Learn to left-foot brake as well.

[miata619drifter]

my advice: be careful with snap-back! this is what was scary for me at first. going into a drift and not making my steering inputs fast enough and at the right times and having the front tires grab and yank the car in the direction of the countersteer.

just work on the amount of countersteer you input and the point at which you start straightening out the wheel.

as for setups: leave it stock and practice that way for a while. but get a rollbar as soon as you can. not just because it helps stiffen up the chassis but also for safety. i know someone who died from flipping their miata. be careful.

[Drifter-ex]

For an LSD try the kaaz LSD.

[driftfreak]

the NA8C miatia came with a torsten stock..and an NA RX7 LSD unit will fit so you can swap in a S4 clutch type rear

[Tuner]

Originally posted by Drifter-ex
For an LSD try the kaaz LSD.

You only need a Kaaz if you have some big power. 94-97 Torsen will do

[mr. miata]

thanks for your advice!

i usually enter corners round 40-50 kmh, and then turn hard into the 90 degree corner and hit the gas at or a little before the apex.., then feel the car slide and i only get to counter steer a real LITTLE bit, then the car fishy's all over the place.., totally uncontroled!

am i meant to ride the gas all the way through the drift, that means i will go more sideways and need to counter more? or will it 360?

whats the easiest way to get a cool looking drift??

Thanks heaps!!

[CRASHDRIVE]

Originally posted by mr. miata
thanks for your advice!

i usually enter corners round 40-50 kmh, and then turn hard into the 90 degree corner and hit the gas at or a little before the apex.., then feel the car slide and i only get to counter steer a real LITTLE bit, then the car fishy's all over the place.., totally uncontroled!

am i meant to ride the gas all the way through the drift, that means i will go more sideways and need to counter more? or will it 360?

whats the easiest way to get a cool looking drift??

Thanks heaps!!

E-brake. If you "GUN" the gas, you will do a 360. You said your just countersteering just a little bit. Practice a full countersteer. Good luck.

[Tuner]

Originally posted by mr. miata

whats the easiest way to get a cool looking drift??

Learn how to drive correctly first on a road course. Go to a driving school and learn the basics. Then learn how to drive sideways.l I'd hate to see that Miata in a ditch somewhere.

[mr. miata]

how do i fully counter steer? when the back starts to slide out.., and if i fully counter steer i will go straight towards the gutter.., to much gas and i 360..,

argghhh, guess it isnt something u learn overnight..,

should i be trying to keep everything at around 4000 revs? like even when i clutch in, i should try heel and toe to keep it in 4000?

when entering the corner.., i should tun hard.., then clutch a little, bring it up to 4000 and dump the clutch? this gets me the wheel spin..,

then im way way way to scared to fully counter.., feels like i will be directing the car into a pole or gutter,

when fully countered,,.. do i really really REALLY need to stay on the gas?

i have seen guys feather the gas through the end of the drift.., when i try this.. like ease of the gas.., the car gains grip and tosses me towards the countersteer

wat are the key things i should be learning? what are the "important" things of drifting.., like key factors or safety factors i should look out for..?

do you neeed lightening speed steering for drifting.., are the steering techniques which should be used?

do u guys use both hand to drive always.., or do u do that 1 handed thing to counter?

my hands get muddled up and i hit my hands together sometimes.. lol

help please!! what am i doing wrong?

[CRASHDRIVE]

Originally posted by mr. miata
argghhh, guess it isnt something u learn overnight..,

I like this quote. )

What you need to do is not to drift on or next to a gutter, so you dont get scared. I suggest doing it in a track so your far from gutters, walls, etc.

As far as car control, thats for you to "feel" out and find out what your missing. Every driver is different (which make drifting so different).

gas pedal, clutch, brake control, steering control, speed control are something you need to feel out and what you need to find out for yourself.

Im not good at explaining things, can someone else help him out?

[Transient]

Seat time, and practice driving fast and smooth without trying to drift. Watch Drift Bible if you need an introduction. Don't mess with the setup on the Miata, but get a good alignment. Nobody on a message board is going to be able to explain it to you adequately.

[mr. miata]

thanks guys...

gunna go try my new techniques tonight

[Nemesis]

Accel off has been the technique that works for me everytime...not having a LSD is a handicap. i usually jus plunge into a corner and let go of the gas as i'm turning in, the rear end begins to slide and countersteer from there, how much youc countersteer depends on how much, and how fast your car i drifting. Like everybody has been saying, get a feel for your car. as for continous drifts that's more weight transfer and keeping the rev's up so u can add power to twheels allowing for continious drifts, but that requires alot of practice and ROOM...lol..i can get 2 drifts but after that it all goes to hell.

as for what parts to get, if you don't have LSD go get a Torsen LSD from mazda, very good lsd's or you can get a KAAZ 2 way LSD for relatively cheap. the miata's suspension already fine tuned for hard driving.

[marshun]

well you drive a miata. i would think that its more steering work than gas inputs. well thats how it is for me and my 240. but when i had the hachi it was allot of clutch kicking and steering during the drift. entering it was another story. :P

but if you just keep at it, like every weekend at least, then you'll get better. video tape yourself and see what youre doing wrong. i swear that the video camera helps sooooo much. i can enter my drifts with way way way more angle now. you just gotta keep at it.

[Nemesis]

yea it's steering work, but it's more weight shift, especially w/ a stock miata. little turds won't loose grip in the rear unless u got heavy weight transition. feinting helps alot, i feint and accel off w/ my miata and she gets sideways....clutch kicing works well to, and so does "power over" to power over it's more enter the cornerand heel-toe 2 gears or depending on what rev your at, and turn in and mash the gas, hopefully your rev's stay in between 4500 and redline that will send enough power to the rear to get you sliding. to do continous drifts...you gotta work on controlling the weight of the miata. It's so light and the 50/50 weight distr. gives it superior GRIP so loosing traction is hard...The miata was born for the touge/auto-x so you gotta remember in touge there's not much drifting going on, it's more grip if you watch carefully, some people drift to get better angels or what not but its more grip.

bah i'm tired...i'll post again and finish this up