ooh my bad.... 27psi! id try lowering them right down 15 - 20 psi, just to get the tyre contact patch larger.
I haven't run it but I know of drifters using positive camber as when the car squats under power it adds negative camber so by dialing in a bit of positive it should sit perfectly flat when drifting. +1 for trying some wider tyres at the same time to see how it feels. On the tyre pressure subject, 28psi is the stock road pressure for an R32 GTR I think, bearing in mind the weight of your car, the temp your tyres are getting up to I would have thought you could go quite a bit lower and still keep the contact patch flat.
imo positive camber is jank when you are off of the power you have no decent side bite and in the rain it is difficult to generate enough traction too squat the rear and gain more grip why not disconnect one rear droplink half way through the next practice and see what you think, and also run a little less pressure and a little more toe in
The treads of malvern retreads are fine for practice days but they have no traction when they get hot. Most people just fit wide tires rather than set up a car properly . I run 235s on my s13 with 370bhp and it has plenty of grip with 30psi in them. I don't know your car well enough but try reducing the pre-load on the rear springs if the dampening is on the minimum
I dont understand how you can't find grip? Stretched 225's? Or naff geo? I run 235/40r18 proxies, 5-10mins toe in, around a degree camber, and the rear set higher & harder than the front with a 4.3 welded diff. Grip is fine for my style of driving. I'd give up trying to copy BMW geo, it isn't the same and doesn't react the same as the Nissan multi link. I'll say the same as everyone here, try wider tyres... Borrow wheels and part worms to see if it works!!! It works for everyone here. Plus its rude to decline the advice you asked for from everyone lol Finally, who's setting your suspension? iPhone app?
Bad tyres are your main problem. I have 350bhp and at 30psi it wouldn't accelerate through 3rd gear at Teesside, it'd just hold revs on peak torque even after clutch kicks. That's with 265/35/18 Achilles which are far from the best, but they are fucking wide. We do have some other sneaky settings obviously but the above advice is generally sound. If you are getting flat tyre wear then that is generally a good indicator for maximum contact patch. The main difference between e36 and nissan rear suspension is that Nissan arms are all very short so they operate around a small arc. BMW arms are all much much longer. Consider the traction link on the s14, it's like 200mm long... Compare that to the trailing arm on an e36 which is about 600mm long! Camber arm? 250mm on a Nissan or 450mm on an e36? Anyway this all makes the tyres scrub in and out under bump which reduces traction, as well as twisting in/out/shake it all about a lot more than a similar stiffness e36. Post 1990 BMW's also all have 50/50 weight distribution as standard, hence the front wheels being really far forward and having a fairly big rear overhang. This pushes the tyres down harder thus more grip obviously.
I think the phrase "far from the best" could be a bit misleading here when you consider that tyre, in that size, is what Saito used on a car with over 1000bhp per tonne to win Formula D last year. You wouldn't get the same grip from anything else in the price category they're in so could be worth throwing a pair on the back in this instance and seeing how much difference it makes.
Not drift, but still relevant, and in the hope I don't ever see people asking such questions again, here's a S14, running a standard rear beam/arms/stocks, over 150k mile old worn out ones too, running an 8sec 1/4 and putting out a 1.3sec 60ft time. Note how? Yes, it's not running 225 wide retreads. That's a 60ft time most cars with 'proper' rear ends would kill to have, even on these tyres. Even a 1.6sec 60ft in a tuned Evo etc feels like you're going in to orbit, a 1.3 really is silly fast.
very suprised noone has really mentioned the rear antirollbar with and vigur. suspension is about weight transfer and the general effect of a big stiff rear antiroll bar is to transfer the weight transfer during cornering to the front wheels, thus you'll make the rear end break away easier and you will get less grip during a drift. I would suggest you get a standard rear antiroll bar fitted on the rear, fit some rear geomasters and lengthen the rear traction arm to get a bit more grip on the rear. Also what front end setup do you have? increasing the front antirollbar stiffness and spring/damping rates can help with weight transfer rearward which will improve the rear end grip. If you have a really soft front and really stiff rear it will turn in great and have no grip on the rear. You should run slight negative camber on the rear to counteract the effectof the tyre sidewall flexing on the outer rear wheel. but aim to get even flat tyre wear across the whole tyre to know you'r maximising the contact patch. Also increasing the rear toe will give you more drive during the drift, however it will make your car grip up quicker so you may start to struggle to keep the rear end out during higher speed corners. Also reducing the amount of "stretch" on the rear, and increasing the tyre profile can help. ...again as everyone has said tyres will have the biggest influence but I thought you may want to try some things with the suspension first if your happy with the tyres you have. its all just a guide so go try stuff! Thanks Brad =)
