This was my first ever drift Event! I loved it, and can't wait for the season to start back up. Here is a small vid I put together with and without music.

Music
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JHicQ5e86Pw

No Music
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hYo1kZnwm6M

 

Doesn't look like you have a lsd? cool vid.

 

I have a Touring Edition, it comes with LSD. But that don't mean squat when your front tires have no grip...


The Yellow 350z is a base model. It has no LSD.

 

Looked like a lot of fun, is that at adelphia?

 

I don't think Adelphia would even dream of letting us do that to their parking lot... Naw..It's the Nashville Super Speedway where they do the Busher Series racing and other events. If Nascar would run there, the facility would have even more stuff, but don't know why they don't, it's big enough imo.

...Then again, I'm not a Nascar fan.

 

interesting, what type/size fronts are you runing?

 

Didn't think it mattered if the front tires had grip in drifting since all your doing is sliding all over.

 

I am running a bit stretched in the front with some Kuhmo tires at 235 width on the factory 18 inch wheels (they are just painted black). I need to change them to 245 or 255 wide in the front. The tires in the front have been on for a while, and it's time for them to be replaced.



You know, I thought the same thing until I ran my first event. They are AS important as the grip level of the rear tires are. If the front tires are shitty, and the sidewall is not proper for your car, you will find yourself understeering most of the time (like I was). Instead of the front tires gripping allowing me to induce the drift, they would at times just slide forward not allowing the rear to achieve any angle.

I didn't change the fluid in the LSD before the event either, so the LSD probably was not functioning at optimal performance either.

 

front tires play a very important role in drifting....ask any of the guys that drift out in H-Town, most use azenis up front, grip up front helps to keep directional control of the slide

 

+1 And my front tires are crappy. Can't wait till some new ones.

 

That's good to know! Thanks!

 

first, get ride of the kumhos unless they are the MX's. the spt's arent any good.

235's are fine up front, dont need anything much bigger.
your over-working the fronts with too much steering input. try not to manhandle the wheel and you'll find it much easier to manipulate the car.

in the vid you seem a bit nxious, cu its your 1st time, but if you learn how to initiate better, you'll make it easier on yourself.

judging from the in car, i think you can ring out 1st, stay in second and then clutch kick and initiate hard instead of shifting to thrird and letting off and getting back on it to send the car sideways.


stock lsd's are sealed units bc of the viscous fluid, so it wouldnt matter, just get a better lsd like a cusco, or nismo.


hope this helps.

 

I know the MX's are better. But the Kumho's I had on there are much better than the stock Bridgestones and 10000x's better than the Cooper's I have on the rear. The Kuhmo SPT's had better grip "USED" than the Cooper's do brand new. I was trying the Cooper's out to see how I like them as I saw a lot of drift cars running them.

Verdict
Daily Driving = Car always wants to slide out in the rear (cause they SUCK for daily driving)

Drifting = They last a long time. I ran the whole event and the tread on them is still good and I'm still using them right now.

Going back to my Kumho's, I loved them. IMO, the SPT's are not crap (of course not better than MX's but still better than stock). I'm running 235 but with a 40 sidewall, so I need to go a little wider/thicker in front as well as get new tires. Read somewhere that 245-255 remidies the Understeer in the Z.


You can't tell in the vid, but I'm not letting off and getting back on it to send the car sidewayz. I'm going from 1st, 2nd, 3rd....and using shift lock technique by downshifting back into 2nd. I ran the course in 2nd gear, not 3rd. The length of the entry was so long, I didn't feel like riding out the top of 2nd and then kicking it while it was in high RPM's. I just shifted into 3rd instead, and then back down to 2nd. The tires were causing me to understeer, so I was having to fight it a little with the steering input. On the last sweep, it is a decreasing radius drift. Therefore, you see the steering input necessary to make the transition. Yes this was my first drift "Event", but I never said it was my first time drifting...

Example:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=T5QcuR8ByIw






I'm going Nismo. You helped a little though.

 

I like the sound of the car, what mods do you have?

 

humm...i wish i could type as well i could speak. you shouldnt have to input too much into the wheel when your already sliding. you basically have to just guide the car a little bit and then control it when you transition. steering input during a drift should be minimized to basically adjusting for clipping points and angle.

anywho, just work on the initiation and everything else on the course will be easier. probably try a quick clutch kick in third, downshift to 2nd and floor it.

nice vid, but, dont mean to offend or hurt you, but just doing dounuts vs transitioning/drifting at speed on a techincal course is very different.

 

I need to adjust the setup first though before I can get any better. Tires being #1 priority...

anywho, just work on the initiation and everything else on the course will be easier. probably try a quick clutch kick in third, downshift to 2nd and floor it.

No offense taken, however I disagree that it's not a dounut. Dounuts don't need to modulate the clutch and the throttle to keep going. Especially around an elongated object such as the island I was going around. I have an evolution of vids that I have been charting my progress.

1st time EVER trying to do anything close to drifting (At 1:23...That's what I consider a Dounut):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=snvwUkSvbeY


2nd vid after a little practice and my friend making me a copy of the "Drift Bible" dvd:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W6FGG86wwB0


3rd vid after improving the clutch kick a little and throttle control (not what I consider a dounut):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=T5QcuR8ByIw


4th and then finally my first drift event:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hYo1kZnwm6M


I would like to say that by vid #2, I have progressed from doing basic dounuts to actually making the car drift.

 

-2.5 APS test pipes
-K&N drop in
-Stg 2 Competition clutch/lightweight flywheel
-Tein Stechs
-x-drilled/slotted rotors
-Hawk pads

Pretty much straight piped it cause I disconnected the muffler. I have a Motordyne ISO plenum spacer that I haven't installed yet.

 

i guess this is where we differ on opinion, but oh well


yeah, get some decent tires and you'll be ok. imho get really good with stock suspension, i drove on it for about 2.5 years before i swaitch out to my current setup (custon zeals, adjustable bars, cusco sways).

you really learn alot more with stock suspension as far as grip, lean, and you learn how to throw the weight alot better.

it was good enough to drift at irwindale D1 course pretty well, so until you find what you like, i suggest (only a suggestion )to make full use of the stock stuff first.

 

Yeah I'm only running Tein S-techs at the present time.