Diesel for drifting .... Yes or no?

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parkers14

Member
What are people's thoughts on diesels drifting? I figure they will be pretty good for slower corners and tracks less fast due to the low down torque .... But what about higher up in the rev range on a quicker track say?
 
Hey buddy! I had an e36 with a 2.5td engine fitted, to be honest it was a big sluggish 6 cylinder lump so not the best to start with anyway but I love my diesels the problem u will have for drifting is the short rev range say 4000rpm and with all the power coming in from 2000rpm u have very little in the way of power band to play with, yes u will get the arse to twitch but holding it I imagine would be hard work!!
 
I was merely asking out of curiosity..... To see if there were any benefits over the standard petrol drifting due to diesels torque..... That is all!!!
 
Have a look on youtube for Black Smoke Racing.

IMG_5593.jpg


They've had engine issues this year, including some melty pistons - however it does go very very well.
 
They lithuaniam or where ever in the east hes from is absolutely bananas with that merc.... love it! Put a lot of work in to really....
 
JDM-SAM said:
2 debatable reasons and 1 main reason:
(1) The amount of work vs petrol setup
(2) The costs to get a competitive setup vs petrol setup
(3) And most importantly....The awful smells
Click to expand...

Work? Not really much/any more.
Cost? Competitive for what? Doubt this guy has ever drifted in his life, never mind competing, and I bet a 330D with a remap, coilovers, and a welded diff could out-drift most peoples 'good' cars with a decent driver.
Smells? Diesels don't really smell any more than petrols.
 
Sam, It doesn't seem you've got a clue what you're talking about with regards to diesels.

It's significantly easier and cheaper to get massive initial gains. Usually the clutch breaks first, but then you'd be uprating that on a petrol setup anyway wouldn't you? I mean christ, remap, decat and you'll add stupid power to it.

With regards to a competitive setup, I can't understand how having to pay for less engine components and the same amount of chassis work would make any difference whatsoever. Black smoke racing really pushed the limits just because lulz, hence the trick car. The early BSR car was essentially a standard engine with a truck turbo bolted to it.

As for the smells, there really arent any. Theres a lot of smoke when it's spooling the turbo up but at the end of the day if it's being drifted why are you worrying about smoke & bad smells?

Three reasons, one completely potato post.
 
I forget how many diesels get used for drifting.....

Hardly anyone uses them because? Please explain?

I'll tell the Driftworks team to stop using their V8 and get a ford tdci inserted in there!

To take this abit more seriously, the characteristics of a Diesel engine do not match the requirements of an average drift car, sustainable power at high revs is important and Diesel engines just don't have this character. They do have massive torque but not the top end to keep the drifting going.
Black smoke racings merc cost 100k plus and is no better than 20k S14's, skylines

My remaks about smell were a joke!

If it was a good idea it would have been popular by now.
 
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Your logic is amazing.

And this guy seems to want to build a normal practice car, not a competition winner.

Stock 335D engine with a remap, not even an exhaust etc- 360bhp, 550lbft, over 400lbft from 1400rpm to 4600rpm.

So that'd be a terrible engine to use on a normal practice drift car would it? Maybe SR20 it instead.
 
as above. if youve ever been out in a remapped 335d you will know they are absolutely spastic fast and would drift amazingly with a diff stuck in. my friend has one and it blows away pretty much anything on the road

330d's are getting cheap now. One of those with a remap would be a pretty good choice for a drift car, and im pretty sure a few people do use them
 
As Sam edited his post after the last two replies, there's more to say...

JDM-SAM said:
They do have massive torque but not the top end to keep the drifting going.
Click to expand...

A 1500rpm to 5000rpm powerband of say, a remapped 335D, is far bigger than a powerband of the vast majority of engines with the same power and torque. The only difference is the gearing, or indeed gear has to be longer to suit, and lo and behold, diesel gearing is.

By your logic a motorbike engine will be a better drifter as they make the power at 15,000.

Black Smoke Racings car cost 100k+? LOL, fuck you get your info from? It's not a remotely expensive build.
 
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TBH I bet as the older e46 330d's get lower and lower in price, they will become more and more cost effective daily drifters, remap one of those, 270bhp straight away with 600Nm. New clutch and you're sorted. Even without the second turbo they are punchy fast and very very little lag. Pulls round to 4500rpm cleanly, and with the gearing you can work it to keep in a surprisingly large feeling powerband. Then do more mods like FMIC, exhaust, etc....!

I still havent got around to remapping my 530d cos to be perfectly honest, the stock 220bhp/500Nm feels plenty fast for a daily, almost as good as the 330bhp/lbft of the s14.... never discount the feel of torque...
 
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