Audi S5 V8 (ls1), too much torque for a newbie?

sexyfish

sexyfish

New Member
Hi gents, George from aussie land, so for the next season of vicdrift in melbourne ill be running hopefully a Audi S5 chassis, haven't done much drifting and i wanted to get into the sport cheaply. The run down is that S chassis and BMW coupes are going through the roof over here for drift and circuit racing, tuning anything with a turbo is prohibitively expensive and progressively unreliable due to the high milage of cheaper cars. Im currently sourcing a S5 complete with brakes and subframes with general damage for cheaper than even a Soarer and with my fab skills, looking to do a cheap and easy LS1 T56 swap from a holden commodore and cheaply dial up the power as needed with an old LSA supercharger (me dreaming). I would like to know from the guys on here if this is too much torque to handle for a new guy and will wreck my learning curve in car handling and balance and make me a worser driver in the long run. Will post build as it gets underway.
 
Stupid question...

Can you not just get a cheap domestic car, like the commo you mentioned, (V8 or otherwise) to learn in first: get to grips with and smash the c*nt. Then spend your time and money on a car you're going to build properly?

I also MASSIVELY doubt you need to "dial up the power" on an LS1, people can and do drift MX5s with no power mods.
 
mad.matt said:
Stupid question...

Can you not just get a cheap domestic car, like the commo you mentioned, (V8 or otherwise) to learn in first: get to grips with and smash the c*nt. Then spend your time and money on a car you're going to build properly?

I also MASSIVELY doubt you need to "dial up the power" on an LS1, people can and do drift MX5s with no power mods.
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Hey mad matt, basically if you have a look at a current model commo they are a 4 door and have a really long wheel base with long bits at both ends hahah, although parts are quite abundant they are also expensive in my opinion (my guess is that people that have audis have them serviced at the dealership and don't buy used parts). I guess I'm a bit bonkers as well but i think building cars is half the fun of drifting and getting already damaged panels for an A5 are basically free cus they can't resell them (no lights during the day so no money there either). I figure ill build everything properly mounts... ect and they if i scrap the shell i can just go source another one free of subframes, parts or panels ~500 bucks or 250 pounds in your money. If i start with a commie then ill have to rejig all the shit I've made and with the time and money of cutting and re welding i could have just done it right the first time round? I guess the main point that i wanted to know is having power easily on tap will that give me bad habits and a shit driving style?
 
Also i just meant with upping the power is in a couple seasons once I've reached the limit, LS1's are notoriously easy to dump power into with good return on investment compared to the majority of turbo engines (maybe with the exception of the JZ)
 
Wasn't meaning to "build" a Commie, was more thinking: Standardish, Coilovers, Decent bucket seat and get to grips with drifting in general, teach the skills you need and get plenty of seat time. Being a long wheelbase with plenty of overhang, it'll give you a nice progressive slide and be very forgiving to drift.

Definitely doesn't need to be a new model either! I'm sure they'll have police auctions etc in Aus, pick yourself up an ex Highways Commie or a Falcon - even better if you aren't a ford guy, then you'll be less caring about pushing it over the limit and learning more about it.

Think of it about your first few lays, they might not have been much of a looker and you probably didn't really know what you're doing, but a load of practice and you're ready to impress with one you don't mind being seen with ;)
 
I don't know about scotland but basically any upgraded part e.g. say like factory brembo brakes or oem suspension kits from the performance version of the cars, FPV/HSV (holden or ford performance division) or M sport and BMW has a massive premium here because those car guys are looking for cheap upgrades like a 335i with M3 callipers and standard holden with the uprated suspension from a HSV. Because one really does home upgrades like that here for S5's or AMG so all they're performance parts are cheap as shit a take off exhaust from a hsv will cost nearly 2k (cus it can be fitted to a standard v8 car) but an S5 oem exhaust has literally no value. Supply and demand means a later model 50k car can be bought at the price of a 100k car just cus all the parts can be moved in a third of the time.

But cheers man we have salvage auctions where you can pick up smashed ones, ill look into a ford or holden but it would still still have to be a later model non the less cus the old ones were pigs, ppl tub them and lowride. In my mind if i can buy a wrecked sports car vs a late model wrecked 4 door wouldn't i be better off in the better balanced and handling one?
 
Hey r3k1355 front subframe from a A5 bolts up fine and gets rid of the front diff problem, and the same as when i was circuit racing, once you're not using an original engine, traction control, ecu's and all that good stuff can just be pulled out and resold along with the sensors and pumps. Even something like brake lines are just used as a template for braided lines and earls.
 
'Cheap and easy' and LS1/T56 do not go together in the same sentence. I'm with mad matt here, buy a cheap shitter to learn in and build your A5 LS1 on the side. You're not telling me there isn't a plethora of cheap rwd motors in Oz.
 
chodjinn said:
'Cheap and easy' and LS1/T56 do not go together in the same sentence. I'm with mad matt here, buy a cheap shitter to learn in and build your A5 LS1 on the side. You're not telling me there isn't a plethora of cheap rwd motors in Oz.
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Yeah they mostly contain ls1's and some if your lucky will have a t56. So the parts are very cheap compared to over here.

Op I think using an s5 would be cool but there's lots of work involved for you to potentially wreck it on your first outing.
We suggest to learn in a bmw e36 or mx5 over here as they are/were cheap, Matt's trying to say the same thing but buying a cheap readily available car over there.
Your first car does not need a huge spec, and building something custom only leads to lots of hours in the workshop and not much in the seat.
 
Andy318ti said:
Yeah they mostly contain ls1's and some if your lucky will have a t56. So the parts are very cheap compared to over here.

Op I think using an s5 would be cool but there's lots of work involved for you to potentially wreck it on your first outing.
We suggest to learn in a bmw e36 or mx5 over here as they are/were cheap, Matt's trying to say the same thing but buying a cheap readily available car over there.
Your first car does not need a huge spec, and building something custom only leads to lots of hours in the workshop and not much in the seat.
Click to expand...

Hey Andy, yeah now i get what i you mean closest and cheapest thing is probably a Ford Falcon if you want to look one up, 4.0 straight 6 with a 6 speed an if i cage it and learn car balance if i put it into a wall it will only run me like 2k aussie money or ~ 1k pounds
 
The overall plan is great but so is getting a simple cheap car to learn the basics in first
You may as well get the cheapest thing you can that comes with an Ls in it, weld the diff cut the springs and learn in it until it's squashed.
 
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