Best suspension and wheel/tire combo for drifting

Forum for Nissan wheel fitment, tire selection, suspension setup and brake discussions.
D. Furious
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Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 5:47 pm

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Hello, I just purchased a 95 240sx se and am building it into a road/drift car. I was planning on running coilovers (possibly Tein) but I'm not sure what the best setup out there is for this car. So what I'm looking for is suggestoins on suspension(coilover or spring/damper), wheel size (diameter, width, and offset), and tire sizes as well. I'm not really sure if I want 16, 17 or even 18 inch wheels (I think that the 18's will be far too heavy though) or if I want to run the same width all the way around or go with a staggered setup. Thanks for the help in advance! :D


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Exar-Kun
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OK, your going to have to refine your question. do some reasearch into what you want othern than "drifting", you got a budget or anything to narrow this down?

and for drifintg, I wouldnt reccoment much of anything to start, learn to drift on stock stuff so you dont screw up your 5k setup before you spend all your money on a "drift" setup.

-chet

D. Furious
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Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 5:47 pm

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OK let me start off by saying that yes I actually DO know how to drift, I just happen to do it with a heavily modified 73 VW Beetle and I no longer feel like risking yet another classic automobile (I lost my 56 Beetle to a deer this last spring). And I'll add that I'm looking for a really well balanced setup. The car will also be used as a daily driver. I won't mind a little bit of a rough ride, but I don't want to be bounced through the roof if I hit a little bump. I was looking for info on a solid coilover setup for street and occasional track use, but I have not eliminated the idea of just springs and dampers. I also wanted to know what type of wheel/tire combo would be best. Should I get wheels all the same size? or would a staggered setup be better? Also what wheel and tire sizes would clear coilovers and upgraded brakes? Wheels don't need to be the best looking things on the market as I will powder coat them black, but I'd like to keep it under $200 per wheel. As for suspension let's try to keep it under $1400 not including things like anti-sway bars and supports. Thanks for the help.

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Exar-Kun
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suspension: GP sports drift kit or TEIN HA w/pillow ball mounts.http://www.gpsports-na.com/main.htmhttp://www.tein.com/

wheels will be your choice, and as far as clearance goes, just keep the offset low enough to avoid getting the inner lip of the wheel too close to the strut. I really cant give you too much information wheel wise, because I dont know enough about what style you want, etc.also, you never know what will clear the upgraded brakes until you actually test fit them, unfortunately the(300zx) bigger brake calipers have spoke clearance issues, even on 18" wheels. a staggered setup is good if you have a lot of oversteer, which is exactly what drifting is, so I wouldnt recoment running a staggered setup on a drift car.-chet

christopher
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If you allready drift then you should know that you don't need huge wheels. I would not advise buying 18 inch rims and sporty(expensive) tires unless you have a lot of cash to burn. Just buy cheap a** tires and plan on replacing them often. As far as suspension goes, Tein makes some very good setups, if you have allready looked into themm JIC might be another place to look for coilovers in a similar price range. Both are quality parts.

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TougeMonkey
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Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2003 6:28 pm

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There is no way you're gonna get what you want for $1400 and be satisfied with it.

I'd go with a set of Tein HE and some 15" wheels with a good offset (10-35). Keep in mind, you will be destroying tires, and 15s are a LOT cheaper than 17s or even 16s. Then run some decent rubber up front, and craps out back. Now have a blast destroying your car!!!

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Cloudedone
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Car: Cars, Drifting, Auto Mechanics, Army, Chicks

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Cusco Comp-2 C/O'sCusco Type OS Front and Rear STB'sCusco 28 MM Front Anti-roll Bar, and 18MM Rear Anti-roll BarCusco Rear Tri-angle barCusco 1.5 way LSDAll the cusco parts that ajust camber and toe... (still researching)300zx Brakes front and rear300zx Brake Master Cylinder5 lug conversionOZ supperleggera's 16x7.5's or 16x8'sA big white Cargo VanA few 9mm PistolsSome friends you can trust to knock over a bank with...

-Galen

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Exar-Kun
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you forgot the cusco fron t/c rods, solid subframe bushings, cusco roll cage, sparco seats, 4 or 5 point harness...

and a loan for everyone since hes got so much money :)-chet

sts76
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Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 3:06 pm
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Since "drifting" is sliding as I understand it. Wouldn't you just get some crappy used tires on stock wheels and go to it? Wide wheels, sticky tires, and modded suspension seem to defeat the purpose.

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Cloudedone
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crappy tires? Yes! Fancy Wheels? If you can afford to screw em up, use em! Modded suspension, definatly a good thing, keeps car more stable and consistant through the drifts! (plus gives us something to spend our money on!


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