Which trim of the 350Z should I get for drifting? I'm gearing towards the Base since I'll be getting 2-way LSD and better brake system later on.

I heard that even with TCS/VDC turned off, it's still working a little, is it true?

Is it best to use the stock 17" wheels or stock 18"?

Anyone have problems drifting a stock 350Z or does it come naturally, or unintentionally. I plan to drift in the stock car for a while until I get the hang of it, then do the upgrades.

 

Where in this area do you plan on attempting this?

 

I plan on learning in a clear parking lot at first to get the hang of it, then I'll try it at the tracks. Do you happen to know any big cleared parking lots?

I know only of 3 tracks near me: MIR, CAPITOL, and Summit Point. Do you happen to know which one allows drifting?

 

LOL, you need to learn what your talking about. MIR and Capitol are 1/4 tracks there arent any drifting competitions there, and Summit Point is a road course, I doubt they do drifting. And you would need 18's at least maybe 19's if you want to drift, if you had 17's you could drift but you want a small sidewall on the tire with a lot of air in it, so the sidewall doesnt roll under when cornering/drifting.....how old are you BTW?

 

Ohh, so I should be looking for road courses and not tracks, I thought tracks meant the same thing for road courses. Humm, I wonder if there are other road courses near me that allow drifting? Also, anyone know if Summit Point allows drifting?

I always thought it was best to have the smallest wheel size for drifting, because it has more wheel spin, allowing it to not grip so quickly, meaning longer drifts. My friend told me wheel size 18 and higher are used for gripping.

I'm 22. I guess it's the right time to learn how to drift. I just finished college this summer and just starting my new job. Soon, I'll have enough money to buy the 350Z as I already have some money saved up already.

I guess my reason for learning how to drift is because it looks like a fun sport to do on the weekends. Also, I got bored of gripping in my Civic 2001. Oh yeah, I plan on gripping in the 350Z for a while to know its limits before I really start drifting.

 

Summit Point has a skidpad, where you can learn how to control and oversteer. FATT runs a skidpad session there, but most events do not use it. As for open parking lots, it's not worth rolling the dice. If a cop sees you, it's reckless driving, and they've really cracked down on reckless driving in NoVA (90 days in jail for 25 over the speed limit). NASA runs a drift clinic once in a while during their Hype-R fests, one of which is held at Summit every year. But at the last one, a BMW in the drift contest managed to lose it in T8 and bit the tire wall at 80mph. Not worth it IMHO.

Fact is that drifting is really frowned upon by much of the road racing community since it tends to attract careless driving from amateurs who've seen too much Initial D. While professional drifters have a lot of skill, it's not the fastest way around a road course. I suggest learning to drive the car before you get too ambitious with hanging that rear end out.

 

To answer your question, BASE will be the best for drifting, since it doesn't have any VDC/TCS.

 

I guess I shouldn't take a chance on the lots. I couldn't make it to the last Hyperfest this year, but then again, I don't have a RWD car anyways . I understand that they'll always be crashes because if the professional drifters can crash, I sure can. I don't mind trashing the car a little, but I'm definately not going to go 40+ MPH for a long time until I get the hang of it.

I understand what you mean because it's all about loosing control of the car, so amateurs like me would look really stupid. Yeah, everyone thinks it's a waste of time because it's not faster than gripping.

I'm seriously thinking about taking serveral classes before I start drifting because you're right, it's the best way to know the car. Plus, I've never driven a RWD before.

Thanks you so much for the response, it's very helpful.

 

Thanks, looks like I'll get the Base for sure.

 

I thought the base had TCS but no VDC!? Can't remember now.

All I would say is that the 350 may not be the best car to learn drifting on. Although it's only a two seater, it's still a heavy car. Powersliding might be fun but learning drifting with the 350 can become a handfull quite quickly. Not to mention difting isn't about speed but technique and the 350 can sustain some pretty high g's, even in base trim, which means you'll need to carry quite a bit of speed into corners to slide car making room for error quite small.

I think you'd be better off with an old beatter Corolla from the '80's, they're still rear wheel drive. With that baby stripped down (probably because of all the weird smells comming from all over the place) she'll be nice and light and ready to toss. Not to mention those cars are hugely loved for drifting in Japan (86, Hachi Roku, Levin) so you probably can find used parts dirt cheap for drifters, like camber kits, skid plates, CV shafts, engines. I know you'd want to get you butt in a 350 soon cause its a sweet ride but trust me, even if you don't hit anything, you'll still be eating through those rear tires at a rate of $2500 a year minimum. That's why drifters in Japan try to get sponsored, just like Motocross.

Tracks just reffer to a Motor Sport facility. Road courses are named as such because they try and recreate similar corners found on the road (hairpins, 90 degrees). Street courses refers to a temporary track put together using city street (CART Toronto, Denver, Vancouver). Drifting is new to North America and as such not many if any road courses run those events. Many don't like it as it puts extra wear and tare on the track surface and the buildup of rubber is simmilar to dragracing start lines (like ice when just slightly wet). Although there are a few events here and there for drifting, there is no place to practice leagaly and safely. All I have to say is good luck and be safe.

 

I don't know where you live, but it's really a lot easier to get a feel for power oversteer in the snow. You have to get a feel for the basics at very low speeds, otherwise you'll just smash up your car. Most people instintively lift when the rear steps out...and we all know that's exactly the opposite of what you want to do. It takes a lot of discipline to train yourself how to react.

The 350Z can sustain some pretty high cornering g's, so you'll be going really, really fast when you lose traction. At those kinds of speeds and with grippy, low-profile tires the back will step out so suddenly and severly that you'll really have a hard time controling it. Even if you don't wreck the car (unlikely), you'll still be going through clutches and tires like nobody's business.

If you really want to learn drifting, pick up an old GM beater from the mid 80's for $500. My first car was an '86 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brogham. With that huge, torquey V8 up front and skinny tires I'd be drifting through just about every corner like it or not! Sure, you'd clout the guardrail every once in a while, but the car is such a piece of crap it doesn't really matter. Any old Gm car will do.

Emre

 

The Base has no TCS or VDC, you can check Nissan's specfication page, it shows a lot of details on what each trim includes.

I agree with you about the weight, so I thought about doing some weight reduction in the front part of the car, but I wonder if it'll be enough.

I agree drifting is expansive, especially if I get into an accident, but I'll manage somehow. If I get sponsered, does that mean I have drift for them once in a while? Yeah, I guess drifting is new, I only know of it for a couple of years now, but it looks like it'll get popular soon.

I thought about getting an older car, but didn't want to waste time looking for one and fixing it up. Plus, extra time preparing it for drifting. And who knows if in the end it might still be a piece of junk.

Thanks, I'll definately try to be safe.

 

We don't get much snow here, but lots of rain.

The lift you're talking is really scary to think about, but I'll practice with low speed for a while to get the feel. I'll somehow manage the cost of the tires and clutches .

Oh man, I forgot, my friend is picking up an old RWD Corolla, he said I could use it drifting, that's the reason I wanted a new car to drift in, that way I don't mess up my new car so much.

Thanks for the information .

 

Your best option is to play around in the wet. At around 40mph, you can manage a wet skidpad well with the Z. As for the snow, the Z doesn't move anywhere, it's worthless. Trust me, I tried last winter, it didn't happen. When it comes to snow, I miss my old Audi URQ1...

 

I drift a track version z but that is because price was not an issue for me. The other best one to get would be the base. Since you say you are replacing the diff and the brakes. I have a kaaz 24 disc diff arriving this week, i plan on having it in the car very soon and can let you know how it is. I also have endless custom drift pads coming for the car, those with the brembos should make for some nice stopping power.

As for wheel/tire wise. I run 18x9 and 18x10 with 245/40/18 es100's front and rear. I am trying out hankook sport k104s next week in the same sizes. They should be pretty similar grip and all and both tires average $150 each. a shorter sidewall is better for drifting, less tire flex, less chance to fold it. skinnier tires will be hard to control because the car can burn 245's with only a few bolt ons in 3rd gear. I was having a lil trouble here and there on certain courses, so i had a procharger installed onto mine last week. Now i can really lay on the throttle when i need to to keep the tires spinning at speeds in excess of 70-80mph.

road courses around the east coast will not let you drift on them. unless it is at an organized drift event, which do not happen much at all. and if they do, it will be either a hyperfest event, or a dgta event. i run with the guys at dgta (www.dgtrials.com), i help design courses, i help run the events, i do lil demos here and there, and have a good time at the local events. hyperfest is a big god damn joke. dgta used to be a part of them with running the drift session of the hyperfest events, but they are so poorly managed and the schedule is always off, you dont get enough seat time, and they make it too high strung as a "competition only" scenerio. dgta broke away from helping hyperfest after the last event in charlotte, nc.

The DGTA events are a blast! They are held at Englishtown, NJ and they are the last wednesday of the month, every month, until November 26th (or 25th or something). They are only $25 to drive and you get about 10 runs or more in, if you come in on time. And next year there is talk about running events on the last wednesday of the month, and the 2nd friday of the month. Also, on october 4-5, dgta is running their first drift competition along with the fall nationals at englishtown, nj.

Signal Auto will be there at both the september 24th and october 4-5th. There will be somewhere between 7-10 magazines there, and even ESPN2 for the october event. DGTA is the best thing going on the east coast, and spreading to the west coast very soon.

So if you wanna learn to drift, take the 4 hour drive and drift all night in a safe environment. They are also holding personal instruction for $125 allllll day on Oct. 8th in the lot with many course designs.

 

I run 28-30psi cold in my 245/40s on 18x10s, which is a nice stretch and a low sidewall. They have yet to give me problems, if you run 35-38psi cold you will tend to chunk the tires apart twice as fast. That will end your day alot sooner than you hoped for.

 

The car has excellant steering angle and front suspension geometry for drift. I am waiting for Tanabe to make their extended tie rods and tie rod ends for more steering angle. The front lower arm is a 2 piece design, and the half towards the rear of the car (the one that usually gets in the way for alot of steering angle in cars) actually rotates with the tire allowing for better control, and more angle.

 

Just went to a drift event here in Houston yesterday, man was it fun! I didn't use stock tires, but instead, some 225/60/16 tires. It was kind of funny since I still have my stock front 18's, and the rear are 16's, so it looks lowered in the back

350z is very easy to drift, I was able to get some good drifting action just second time around.. lot of torque, which helps to break out the backend..

Next event, I will need to locate some 17" stock rim/tires...

 

at least someone else isnt afraid to at least try!

 

I've done it plenty of times in my old 240 and in the Z, and I agree, the Track is a great trim to drift in. I just don't think it's the best teacher. Granted there are few cars out there that have the same feedback through the steering wheel as the 350 but drifting, not power sliding, needs you to enter the corner with more speed then is normal/neccessary and get the car turned gently so that all wheels are sliding. This entry speed is what I'm talking about, because on the Z it's easily double that of say a 240 or Corrolla. Plus if mistakes happen it's not a car where you can change direction quickly because of the weight. Loosing weight off the front end will help but 3200lbs vs 2200-2600lbs is a whole world of difference. I remember my a$$ being saved several times in my 240, just cause I could spin it in quickly if I lost it and momentum would not carry it into the ditch or oncomming lanes.

Oh sorry I'm thinking Canadian base model which I beleive is the Touring or something.