nowhereboy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 After watching a load of drift documentarys last night it's really motivated me to book some track time. I've never drove on track before and I'm just starting to read up about it and learn about the costs and ways of doing so. Firstly I want to learn to drift, would it be worth getting some normal track time first or just go straight in to a drift day? I like to think I'm a pretty capable driver but I understand i will have a lot to learn. I'm also wondering if I do chose drifting should I use the Z and go to something along the lines of drift what ya brung at santa pod and just get some part worn tyres or is it worth paying the extra money to pay for tuition and get to use a drift built 200sx at a "learn to drift" day? Any advice from track regulars? I can't imagine the 350Z being a very cheap car to run on track either which is something else to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Check out this thread. http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/77756-japfest-castle-combe-10th-may-2014-updated/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Drifting is nothing like track driving. I'm pretty handy on track, but I cannot drift for toffee! If it's drifting you want to get into, I'd suggest looking at drift-specific days and ignoring track days. If you drift a lot on track, you're likely to get the boot. I would definitely pay for some tuition as it's a black art that you can't really practise on the open roads for obvious reasons, so well worth going down that route. Personally I'd pay to get trained in the Zed, although you may find something slower (like the MX5s they use at Oulton) much easier to start with. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Here a drifting at The Arena Essex. A lot of tracks including Brands do drift courses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ij6IdAn00mg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Just saw this - 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suits Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Yeah, as Ekona stated you start larking about on a track day 'drifting' and you'll soon get flagged off. Go to one of the car handling specific car days, they can be expensive but worth it if you want to learn car control with drifting in mind. Hose pipes and S bends with be the order of the day. Oh yeah and tuition, tuition as much as you can get, I always get tuition if I can, you will learn in 30 minutes what you'd learn in 100 laps with tuition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Don't do this to your Zed.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AaKB0vxt900 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 agree with ekona, track driving and drifting are worlds apart - most trackdays will black flag you for drifting, even little ones. plus also, when you start you'll be spinning a lot, not something you'll want to do on a trackday.my advice is get down to santa pod on a DWYB day - don't worry too much about tyres as there are drift tyres available along with fitting for £10 a tyre if I remember correctly. Start out by doing donuts and figure of eights in the playpens, then when you're feeling a bit more confident move onto the kidney track. a zed would make a good drift car, lots of grunt, FR layout, LSD. drifting is very hard on clutches and gearboxes, so these might need replacing. Also watch engine cooling... bouncing off the redline while getting no air through the radiator does tend to overheat things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 oh if you want to learn to drift only (with no track driving) then probably best to buy an old E36 BMW and weld the diff. pick up a nasty high miler off ebay for a few hundred quid, few hours labour to weld the diff and away you go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Cheers guys. Anyone on here into drifting? Would be really cool to meet up with a few members and do something like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 agree with ekona, track driving and drifting are worlds apart - most trackdays will black flag you for drifting, even little ones. plus also, when you start you'll be spinning a lot, not something you'll want to do on a trackday.my advice is get down to santa pod on a DWYB day - don't worry too much about tyres as there are drift tyres available along with fitting for £10 a tyre if I remember correctly. Start out by doing donuts and figure of eights in the playpens, then when you're feeling a bit more confident move onto the kidney track. a zed would make a good drift car, lots of grunt, FR layout, LSD. drifting is very hard on clutches and gearboxes, so these might need replacing. Also watch engine cooling... bouncing off the redline while getting no air through the radiator does tend to overheat things. Never once overheated the Z drifting, not even in the summer. Monstered my OEM clutch and flywheel, but the gearbox is fine Cheers guys. Anyone on here into drifting? Would be really cool to meet up with a few members and do something like this. There's a few of us on here who are partial to drifting, myself, Stevo D, Bizz and Docwra to name a few. The Z is amazing out of the box. A small video of me last week Not perfect by any means, but I was pretty happy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 There is a few of us on here the most famous being bizz and his SuperPRO BDC fame but there probably 4-5 of us who drift with know where need the skill of bizz First note drifting will deteriorate you car fast and Aliveboy has beaten me to most of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 There is a few of us on here the most famous being bizz and his SuperPRO BDC fame but there probably 4-5 of us who drift with know where need the skill of bizz First note drifting will deteriorate you car fast and Aliveboy has beaten me to most of it I remember the first time I lost a tyre, the noise made me think it had taken half the car with it! All it had done was put a few black marks on the arch, THOSE ones polished out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suits Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Not perfect by any means, but I was pretty happy Mate, that awesome :teeth: :teeth: !!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 agree with ekona, track driving and drifting are worlds apart - most trackdays will black flag you for drifting, even little ones. plus also, when you start you'll be spinning a lot, not something you'll want to do on a trackday.my advice is get down to santa pod on a DWYB day - don't worry too much about tyres as there are drift tyres available along with fitting for £10 a tyre if I remember correctly. Start out by doing donuts and figure of eights in the playpens, then when you're feeling a bit more confident move onto the kidney track. a zed would make a good drift car, lots of grunt, FR layout, LSD. drifting is very hard on clutches and gearboxes, so these might need replacing. Also watch engine cooling... bouncing off the redline while getting no air through the radiator does tend to overheat things. Never once overheated the Z drifting, not even in the summer. Monstered my OEM clutch and flywheel, but the gearbox is fine Cheers guys. Anyone on here into drifting? Would be really cool to meet up with a few members and do something like this. There's a few of us on here who are partial to drifting, myself, Stevo D, Bizz and Docwra to name a few. The Z is amazing out of the box. A small video of me last week Not perfect by any means, but I was pretty happy Nicely done mate! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Matt was that run with the welder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Matt was that run with the welder? Yeah, a lot more predictable than the lsd I found. My lsd was knackered though so that's probably why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 hmm recon i might have to try one, back no track tho, try it in the zed but somewhere open like norfolk arena or Santa pods play pens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Steve let me know when you do Norfolk again, looks like an ideal place to practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Ahh man I'm at work so i can't watch the videos. I'll check em out when I get home! I'm currently using an exedy clutch and CC flywheel both done about 2,000 miles, do you think they would be up to the job? Also is it a given that my car will end up with battle wounds and body work damage etc? I don't fancy that much either haha.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Ahh man I'm at work so i can't watch the videos. I'll check em out when I get home! I'm currently using an exedy clutch and CC flywheel both done about 2,000 miles, do you think they would be up to the job? Also is it a given that my car will end up with battle wounds and body work damage etc? I don't fancy that much either haha.... you can end up with battle wounds and body damage on a normal track day to as unfortunately someone found out at jap fest although yes the clutch and flywheel will take some abuse it all depends on how you initiate the drift, i 95% of the time go in on the Wand (handbrake) once it side ways let the clutch out without and revs then plant the throttle which give it no more abuse than downshifting and hitting the pedal flat out (will stretch the handbrake cable tho, unless you get a hydro fitted), if you go in like Matt does in that video or sounds like he does with a clutch kick thats about the same as going out side holding it on the redline at a stand still and dropping the clutch well actually its not that bad as all the transmission is already in motion but you get the idea or you can be epic and just try a Scandinavian flick it and hope you catch it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) Ahh man I'm at work so i can't watch the videos. I'll check em out when I get home! I'm currently using an exedy clutch and CC flywheel both done about 2,000 miles, do you think they would be up to the job? Also is it a given that my car will end up with battle wounds and body work damage etc? I don't fancy that much either haha.... I've got an exedy organic clutch and a lightened flywheel and they're holding up great. If you hit stuff, you'll get bodywork damage. If you stop when you hear the tyres starting to go you shouldn't have too many issues. The worst damage I've had so far has been when I dropped a wheel and it bounced up into the rear quarter Edit: I've jinxed everything now haven't I?! Edited May 12, 2014 by AliveBoy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Do you guys daily drive the Z as well as tracking it? I've always fancied a stripped out track/drift car but it's a bit much for driving to work in lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) Matt, that was pretty decent mate, you got some skill there dude I used to drift a lot and got fairly decent at it, I never competed as I dont have the time (and Im a competitive bastard) but I reckon I could have held my own. The first thing to say is that you learn masses more on one driftday than you would in a year of street drifting, theres also a lot less to hit so hopefully you will come out in one piece. If youve got a car youre happy to use then Norfolk or Satan Pod are ideal, generally people will be around to give you a few pointers as well. Dont worry about whats going to break, just get out there and do it is my advice as some cars can go for days without having any issues, and as others have said the Z33 is a capable drift car out of the box. I find the Zed handbrake is @*!# (and handbrakes are cheating anyway ) so I use clutch kick or shift lock to initiate but realistically until you are a decent standard learning about car control is more important than selecting your initiation method. Something I would add is that Ive now stopped doing driftdays and just do grip, I found that I was faster than most of the drift days that were available although Lydden, Anglesey and Driftland are going some way to sorting that out. My experience has been that if you know what youre doing the marshalls dont mind a bit of drifty drifty and let you get away with it, it also teaches you a lot about weight and grip and youll be fast relative to others, in the wet experienced drifters are bloody quick EDIT: DONT STRIP THE CAR! If you are competing then every KG makes a difference but for dicking about, comfort and quietness are far more important. Mine still had full interior, ICE, floor mats and is a delight to drive both at the circuit but also to and from the circuit Edited May 12, 2014 by docwra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 yea mines still fitted out with all the factory comforts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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