Hi all, I'm soon going to be starting my own drift car build! But there's an issue..... Since I'm new to the world of drifting, I need some help on what car to buy (budget is: £500 - £3500) and what upgrades to put on the car. (Keeping in mind this car will also be for everyday use) I also don't mind buying a car with a blown engine for about £500 and replacing the engine with an SR20, RB26 or a 2JZ (IF THATS ANY CHEAPER) but the issue with this is that I don't know the engine prices, where to look for the engines and where to look for the cars with the blown engines (Any links to websites would be greatly appreciated) Also, is an engine swap easy to do? Thank you very much and have a nice day!
Alright so I'm new too, perhaps a touch further along, I don't know... However I found doing some drift experience days and going to events was a massive help, the guys and gal's at learn2drift are ace and it really gives you a feel for it, and using their cars shows that you don't need massive hp and custom cars to drift, for example I drove/drifted and donut'ed their stock S13 which had/has when *new* 'bout 130hp ? correct me if wrong! But it slid with ease... So now I have gone out and purchased a car that meets my meagre budget that can slide on the odd open day and for the odd track day. Seems to cope well with initial abandoned area testing That car is a £750 120k miler Mk1 MX5 1.8 model, 130bhp standard, but with it's weight and ease of handling.. ace to throw about and learn to really put a car on the edge in. And buying this price and age car you will need to put about £500 as a minimum to get it anywhere near track ready in my eyes... e.g. aged shocks needed gone, brake discs changed, rocker gasket had mild leak, couple of split ancillaries and a blowing downpipe so far (Approx £550 so far with lot's of shopping around), but a good reason to get an mx5 is an abundance of well priced parts, new and used! So my now mildly modified 5 is nearly ready for spring! Hope that helps in choosing a car? Engine swaps in many a car would not be easy, a lot of time and money would be thrown at it just to get it to fit. Anyhow back on topic, you don't need lot's of power to slide around, but first try it out that's my 2 cence as the 'Murican's say.
Golden Rules 1. Buy A RWD car - MX5, 200sx, Skyline, BMW. 2. Fit Coilovers 3. Welded the diff 4. Get as much seat time as possible 5. Tell your friends how awesome you are In terms of prices see the for sale of the forum. Don't forget drift tax is around 40%
The guys above are right. I wouldn't go with the mx-5 though although it's a perfect car for beginners it is not a great base to add up. I'd go with a Nissan s13 (with an sr20det or rb conversion already done), or better yet s14. Go with a manual and RWD (of course). Get one with a small turbo if possible to give you a good base to add on. Engine swaps are extremely difficult because of wiring loom, ecu, drivetrain, engine bay and thousands of other issues. SR20det can easily go up to 400 (injectors, front mount intercooler new ecu and injectors and boom! you'll have 400 bhp. and if you put the money in 550 bhp can be achieved with forged internals and performance camshafts. Power is not important at all to start with. Get a cheap car with not a lot of power, put drift tyres or cheap tyres and start drifting. Don't forget safety first, suspension setup second. I would recommend cheap second hand Civic Type R or maybe good aftermarket seats and harnesses because you said you were a beginner so a std seat belt and seats will not hold you in place and you may find the gear stick or the hand brake up your arse as well as your face on the front windscreen; how do I know this ? take a guess! If you want to learn more about the difficulties of an engine swap just ask me, I'll be happy to reply. Good luck !!
