Drifting

[znoam]

Hey again...so just to start a post...if someone were to swap an rb25 how much would that affect the driftability...if thats a word...of the car. It adds 180 lbs, but theres more power to toss the rear around. Just a general question about weight displacement with hp ratios.

[Nameless EJ6]

I've wondered this myself. I don't think there is any negative affects on drifting with an RB engine up front. If anything it would be beneficial considering the amount of power the RB puts down, which makes it easier to control tire spin. The weight ratio I'm not sure about since I don't own a 240 w/an RB.. but theoretically it should help.

[IvoryJ30t]

drifting sucks

[PROJECTRB240SX]

IF YOU WANT AN OPTIMAL DRIFT SETUP AND THE SAME POWER AS A RB25.... GET A S15 SR20DET AND USE THE S14 5-SPD, YOU GET A 50/50 WEIGHT RATIO AND 250HP. BUT IF YOU WANT SERIOUS POWER WITHOUT TOO MUCH CONCERN WITH WEIGHT BIAS/ HANDLING GET A RB SERIES ENGINE.

[dareo]

the drift king considers s13's to be too light up front and therefore prone to understeer. perhaps a little more front weight wouldn't hurt?

If your into drifting you should check out The drift bible by the Drift King, he breaks it down with several different cars and talks about their weakness/strenghts. he also goes over like 6 techniques.

[mark slide squad]

I took my RB25 powered S13 to Drift Day 10 this past weekend. I was expecting moderate understeer with the heavier RB up front. I was actually suprised how well the car drifted! It was super easy to initiate the drift with weight transfer, and holding the drift was much easier than I thought too. I was in 3rd gear the whole main course, and going faster than any car I have ever drifted. The torque of the motor, great mid range and high hp (about 380hp) seems like a perfect match for the car. I destroyed 2 sets of rear tires in about half a day haha. So the rumors of it sucking for drifting... FALSE. I gotta say that this feels actuallly BETTER than my SR20 powered Blue silvia that I used to drift at the events. The power is much smoother, and predictable. Here is a few pics someone took..

[Joe]

Dareo who cares what 1 person thinks about a car, every person has a diffrent prefrence for handling on a performance application. i dont care if he is "the drift king" he still has his own habbits, likes and dislikes about a cars handling.

Mark those were taken by Frisco of http://www.az240sx.org if you care =)

[dareo]

Kamin who cares what you think? i'm just tossing up some information that i feel is relevant to the post. Drift King is called that because he can sit in any car and drift it well. He must know his stuff to pull that off, he must know a little bit about handling.

[Joe]

dude you quote him like his words came from god himself. "the drift king says this"

its his OPINION that the s13 is light up front

i never said he didnt "know his stuff" i said he has his own habbits with driving, NOBODY drives perfect. EVERYONE drives diffrent. he may say it has understeer but to some people it may feel perfect when trying to drift.

[JCAP_Tuning]

I made a pass at the US Drift open event in Richmond VA with my RB powered s14.

As Mark said, very easy to initiate drift, sometimes it just wants to drift on its own, LOL.

My car with stock shocks and struts with B+G springs didnt feel too bad, still a lot of roll but other than that the car felt good. I know with some suspension upgrades this will be a good drift car, the excess weight can be countered with stiffer springs up front.

[znoam]

So then...what do you think would work better...the good look hatch or the almighty sedan? Hatch has some extra weight in the back. I guess with an rb25 it may be beneficial to put the battery in the back for some room and weight...dunno, u guys figure it out.

[Joe]

the coupe (no sedan 240sx that i know of) has a stiffer body. and the weight ratio change is nothing that requires something so serious as a battery reloaction.

[PROJECTRB240SX]

WANNA FIX THE LIGHT FRONT END OF THE S13?

ADD DOWNFORCE

WANNA BALANCE WEIGHT?

MOVE YOUR WEIGHT TO THE MIDDLE OF THE CAR

EVERYONE HAS PREFERENCES AND OPINIONS ABOUT CARS, THIS SO CALLED DRIFT KING HAS AND OPINION AND PREFERENCE. THIS DRIFT KING IS NOTHING BUT AND OVER HYPED, CAN'T CUT IT, WANNABE RACE CAR DRIVER (THIS WAS ANOTHER VERSION OF A PERSONAL OPINION). ALL CARS ARE CAPABLE OF DOING WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO.... YOU JUST NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE WEAK AREAS AND ADJUST THE STRONG AREAS.

[znoam]

So what areas do you think would be the weaknesses of the hatch. The extra weight in the back? And why do you dislike the drift king so much?

[PROJECTRB240SX]

BECAUSE IF YOU KNOW WHO HE IS.... YOU'LL UNDERSTAND.

HE GOT KICKED OF THE RACING CIRCUIT FOR DRIFTING HIMSELF INTO REAL RACERS. HE COULDN'T RACE FOR CRAP, GRANTED HE INVENTED A GREAT SPORT NE DOESN'T DESERVE THE TERM DRIFT KING, NO ONE DOES BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE BETTER.

ANYWAY, THE HATCHES WEAKNESSES ARE CHASSIS STRENGTH, WEIGHT BALANCE, AERODYNAMICS, ROLL CONTROL, LEFT TO RIGHT BALANCE, ENGINE POSITION, THERE IS QUITE ABIT BUT THOSE ARE WHAT I PLAN TO FIX.

[JeffTN]

You just through a wrench into my car choice. I just found a really nice hatch too.

What is weak about the chassis, and how is the engine position different than the coupe?

[PROJECTRB240SX]

I WASN'T COMPARING THE HATCH TOP THE COUPE I WAS SAYING IN GENERAL THOSE ARE PROBLEMS. THE HATCHES GLASS HATCH MAKES THE ROOFLINE/CHASSIS STIFFNESS WEAKER WHICH IS NOT GOOD, ON TOP OF THAT AND LITTLE PRESSURE THE UNIBODY GETS IT LIKES TO FOLD (SO TO FIX THAT INSTALL SUB-FRAME LINK BARS).

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE PLACEMENT IS THE FACT THAT IT PUTS ALL IT WEIGHT ON THE DRIVERSIDE MAKING THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR EXTREMELY LIGHT.

OHH BY ALL MEANS GET A FASTBACK (I OWN 2) I LIKE IT ALOT MORE THAN THE COUPE BECAUSE THE ABILITY TO BALANCE OUT THE CAR IS ALOT EASIER (WELL TO ME ANYWAY), AERODYNAMICALLY IT IS FAR MORE STABLE, INTERIOR IS EASIER TO LIGHTEN, GLASS CAN BE REPLACED WITH LAMEX OR PLEXI TO BE TWICE AS STRONG AS STEEL AND HALF AS HEAVY.

[JeffTN]

I am mostly concerned about the rigidity especially for what I have planned. I dont want to spend half my time worring about making the body more rigid.

More decisions.

[PROJECTRB240SX]

ITS NOT THAT MUCH WEAKER THAN THE COUPE.

DO-LUCK X-BAR AND FRAME LINKS WILL BE PLENTY STIFF.BTW: DON'T MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, I FORMED MY OPINIONS BASED ON MY EXPERIENCES AND TOWARDS WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH THE CAR.

[JeffTN]

I know, but I have read throught the 5-6 "coupe vs hatch" threads too. Its not just your opinion. More people like the hatch visually better too. I could go either way. Its like having two kids you dont prefer one over the other, at least that is what my mom told me. :rolleyes :pface

[PROJECTRB240SX]

LOL

YEAH ITS ALL BASED ON OBJECTIVE. I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF YOUR CAR BUT, I'D SAY GO WITH THE HATCH IT WONT LET YOU DOWN.

[Nameless EJ6]

By all means get the hatch. If you get into racing there's nothing a roll cage or some stiffened bars couldn't fix, except for weight ratio problems.

[znoam]

So who else out there prefers coupes over hatches and why? I like the body style of the hatch...but the coupe sounds like the better choice for drifting, although I have seen both do it....?