Hello all, New to the drifting scene and decided to build a daily drift. Picked up a fern green 5 speed e46 330ci with 80,000 miles for $3300. Now it’s time to pick up parts and I’d like to know what you guys think is essential and the safest way to build a daily drifter. After safety, comfort and aesthetics take priority. I’m going to go the welded route and already have coilovers on there. I’ll put on a steering wheel go with a hydraulic brake. My question regarding build would be... Are you guys running bucket seats in your daily drifts? If so, are you using a 4 point harness and harness bar? Or roll bar? Obviously full cages are unrealistic for street use and the roll bar is safer than a harness bar. But harness bars make it so you can still seat passengers in the back occasionally. Of course, I wouldn’t drive crazy with a harness bar and passengers in back but since it’s a daily, the option to seat 4 is a nice luxury. Would you completely avoid reclineable buckets? How much of your interior would you gut if any? Maybe just door panels? Aesthetics are important. I don’t want to turn my bmw into a beat up drift car. just yet. What’s the best balance, if you had to rebuild or build a luxury daily drift, how would you do it?
just get a nice reclining bucket seat and keep stock seat belt, I had that in my chaser and was fine, no need to strip anything if you don't want too, just weld the diff coil overs, strut brace front and rear, maybe modded hubs for a little extra lock. and away you go.
Harness bar with passengers scares the shit out of me. YOU don't need to be driving like a dick for someone else to not pay attention and rear end you. While I'm building my 86, I am doing fixed bucket with 4 point harness BUT with the OEM belt functional, full cage (but removable door bars). Don't do anything like strip out the full interior/sound deadening until you have a back-up car because you'll just ruin it for daily use. If you strip off the old door cards, put something back in - flat sheet of Alu or even rigid plastic sheeting from Home Depot works. Just to get rid of the sharp edges and exposure to your window mech etc. A 330 has got enough torque that it doesn't need to worry about the extra weight. Maybe pull some from the trunk/boot area if you're worried. By the time you ditch the OEM front seats, you should start seeing some savings. A decent reclining bucket will also work though, get a reputable brand. If it's a Recaro, make sure the little bobbins that lock the seat back aren't worn as they can go slack as. You can buy new ones or get them made on a 3D printer.
Ok sweet, thanks for the useful responses. Reclinables, stock belts, and enjuku door panels with speaker cut outs it is!
As said above.. a 4 point harness and your stock seat belt for when your not drifting and don’t remove the door cards there’s no point or benefit and will make the car less comfortable
