Cheap, reliable starter car for drifting? S13/S14 perhaps?

[SkvakaGud]

Hi DW. Been scanning the market in my spare time for cars to take up drifting in. Not to mention asked around abit.

But, never really got to ask the direct question. What would be the best car to start drifting in?

My budget is 5500 as an absoulete maximum. (That be if the ultimate bargain came up. And there was a chance for me to save a great deal, and get a fully comp-specced car.)<- I got this mentality "If you ought to do something, you should do it full-out, or not do it at all" so..


Enough chit-chat.

I'm looking for a car that is well modded, would prefer to pay around 4k. (not cosmeticly. But suspension, cage, seats, engine fx. Not necessarily all of the mentioned mods, but as much as possible.)

It needs to be mechanically sound and structurally nice. Since I cba gettin something that requires shitload of work from the beginning.

It needs to be as reliable as possible, while still having what's needed to go proper sideways. So a good balance between that.

It needs to have say 300-350 bhp. (Again, reliable. Not looking for a dragster that needs engine changed every ½mile so.)

It needs to be reasonable easy to maintain, concerning repair time & spare parts prices.

So far I've come to the conclusion that the perfect car for me, would be a PS13, S13, S14 or S14a. (With a SR20DET. Not a CA18DET). But is that right? Or could there be alternatives that are just as good or even better?


Might have forgotten something, but hey, that's what the edit button is for I guess.

Oh, and if you'r thinking "hey, that sounds like my car that I've been thinking about selling". Then do mention it/throw me a PM. Not looking to buy anything this month, but will for sure get something say within the next month - 2 months. So if you got something that you know you'r gonna have to part with due to whatever reason, but not RIGHT now. Then let's get a friendly chat going, and you might have a buyer the second you need to get it off your hands.

-Cheers SkvakaGud

[TeamCommit]

bmw's are good starter cars, soon as the diff is welded its hard to keep straight lol.... for a first drift car you want to start cheaper that your budget as you will crash.... if you try hard enough that is

[-Tommy.]

As said above, you need a shitter that is standard with a good lsd or welder and you will learn from that properly. You need to work on what you can do, not what the car can do first.

If you buy a 5.5k show stopper now without any experience and you actually try, you will without doubt smash it into a million pieces, along with your hopes and dreams.. and face.

[TeamTurtleUK]

If you buy a 5.5k show stopper now without any experience and you actually try, you will without doubt smash it into a million pieces, along with your hopes and dreams.. and face.

PMSL So true.

[Lex]

...

My budget is 5500 as an absoulete maximum....
...
It needs to be as reliable as possible,....
It needs to have say 300-350 bhp. ....
It needs to be reasonable easy to maintain, concerning repair time & spare parts prices.

...

Based on the above criteria i would suggest you consider a r32/r33 skyline as well there are some very good ones for sale that tick those boxes for you although skyline tax is probably even worse where you live then in the UK so may be a non starter

if you are really , really serious about getting into drifting the best advice would be to buy a cheap learner car then upgrade to the fully specced up car you desire once your learner car is holding your skills back

You will have more fun and be a better driver in the long run

[SkvakaGud]

Thanks for the inputs so far. I was told some time ago by several people, that it would be better gettin "the full package" first. Rather than changing car later. But i'm also gettin told what you guys are telling me as well. Seems the opp. changes over time lol.

As for a serious starter car, i've been recomendet the bmw m3 e36 3.2.. Would like some feedback from you guys on that.

As for Skyline, well. The registration price for a Skyline in Denmark, is about 10-11.000£. =) Hopefully that will make you feel good about ur registration costs. :P And I won't get my drifter registrated, due to the simple fact that it costs 2-3 times as much overhere, as in the UK. (4 times as much if supercars like lambo, ferrari etc..)

As for starter cars, I wont get anything that I will upgrade over time. If it was to go down that way, I would get a starter, wreck it over some months. And buy me a serious car with mods already installed. ( simply to save money.)

So.. What starter car do you guys suggest then? That can pull more than just 8's on a wet parking lot lol!

[Lex]

yes the M3 is an excellent choice. you will be hard to pushed to find a car that offers better performance, reliability, value for money, ease of parts etc especially for you in denmark

as a car that can be drifted, enjoyed on road and still used a practical daily without looking stupid or drawing unwanted attention they are in a league of their own.

They can be drifted very well in stock form and as your skills improve you can upgrade suspension etc as you feel the need

[docwra]

If youve got the money, the obvious choices are M3, 200SX/Silvia or Skyline. If you arent going to use it on the road Id probably go with one of the jap cars, they are cheaper to take to a professional standard. And I prefer them personally

[SkvakaGud]

Docwra exactly. The only thing is, I would be foolish not to expect to crash it hard as a newbie so. That's why i'm looking for alternative options for a starter car only.

[Gogzy]

bmw 328, m50 manifold, 220hp boom, smash it, get a new shell or buy an m3 when you have some skills.

[SkvakaGud]

Gogzy, exactly my plan atm. Or sum japanese instead of m3 but.. we'll see by then.

[Gogzy]

also when you do get a car dont shove a hydraulic handbrake in straight away, trust me learn to drift properly, i did like 3 drift days before i put one in and wish i waited longer but hey.

[SkvakaGud]

Ah okay. o: Could you explain why I shouldn't do it? Whats not good about it as a newbie? (:

[-Tommy.]

Ah okay. o: Could you explain why I shouldn't do it? Whats not good about it as a newbie? (:

You'll get into the habit of just ripping at the wand when you want to initiate instead of making it slide by other methods.

Don't get me wrong, its great to get used to spinning/sliding etc. but you don't want to rely on it.