Some important questions. Beginner needs help!

O

Oleg S

New Member
Hi guys,

As realised from the subject line...I am a total beginner and am looking to get in to drifting. It has been my childhood dream which I could never afford. After getting a job I am now seriously thinking about purchasing my first car and getting to practice on Practice days. I have got a licence for 3 years now and drive a company car on daily basis.

After realising how much it would cost to ensure a half decent drift car I.e BMW 330 Ci E46 or something similar I have almost gotten in to depression. The quotes for a 23 yeard old are like £3,5k per annum for the most basic third party cover.

How do you guys dealt with this? I am happy to keep it off road and SORN it and juts use it on drift tracks, but how do I transport it. Do you guys tow our cars or use a recovery vehicle every time you go to the track. Doesn’t this turn to be very expensive?

I can afford buying a car and modding it, but insuring it for £400 quid per month plus parts, tyres, maintenance, drift practice day fees...I am stuck! Any advice is appreciated.
 
First up, you're shooting too high on the car. The smaller the engine the cheaper the insurance, hence why MX5's are so popular.

What company car do you have?

Most people either own a trailer (if they have the space/means to store it) or hire it. A lot of people have daily drivers that can also legally tow. Then you also have the test to pass as well (others can fill you in on that).
 
BenRice said:
First up, you're shooting too high on the car. The smaller the engine the cheaper the insurance, hence why MX5's are so popular.

What company car do you have?

Most people either own a trailer (if they have the space/means to store it) or hire it. A lot of people have daily drivers that can also legally tow. Then you also have the test to pass as well (others can fill you in on that).
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply!

I got a BMW 1 series 5 door hatchback 116d of around 89HP, which I have tried to drift in the rain hoping that it will handle, but instead burned the clutch and damaged the flywheel LOL

The reason that I looked primarily at 200+ hp cars is that from what I have seen online so far it seems that less than 200 is a real struggle to drift, am I wrong?

Also, a question on the towing situation. I read that to tow a vehicle one has to have an additional licence category or whatever, but does this mean that the car which is being towed ( in our case the drift car) doesn’t necessarily need to have insurance, mot, road tax and can be sorn?

Towing dollys seemed to be the easiest and safest option without having to hire someone else to help move the car around...Thoughts?
 
I've had an e36 compact 1.9 (140hp) & currently drift an NA MX5 1.8 (also 140hp). They both drift fine.

Starter cars to look for.

BMW 3 series 1.8l or above. bigger the engine easier it'll be.
MX5 - 1.8 preferably.

Can pick them up for sub 1K and have proven time and time again they do a good skid.
 
Oleg S said:
Also, a question on the towing situation. I read that to tow a vehicle one has to have an additional licence category or whatever, but does this mean that the car which is being towed ( in our case the drift car) doesn’t necessarily need to have insurance, mot, road tax and can be sorn?
Click to expand...

Yea but you'll never tow anything on that 1 series, you need something fairly decent, which again you'll probably find expensive to insure.
 
I used to insure my E46 330ci for about £1200 back when I was 19 (1 year NCB and no points)... Use GoCompare, play around with the settings, mileage etc (in my experience fully comp can actually be cheaper the third party only on certain cars).
But as the others have said, get yourself an MX5 if you can. Cheap, fun, reliable and skid great, will also teach you more about car control and basic mechanics.
Having a daily and a drifter is much more hassle then having one car that does both in my experience (as long as you don't crash)... most people will argue the opposite though.
 
Oleg S said:
Thank you for your reply!

I got a BMW 1 series 5 door hatchback 116d of around 89HP, which I have tried to drift in the rain hoping that it will handle, but instead burned the clutch and damaged the flywheel LOL

The reason that I looked primarily at 200+ hp cars is that from what I have seen online so far it seems that less than 200 is a real struggle to drift, am I wrong?

Also, a question on the towing situation. I read that to tow a vehicle one has to have an additional licence category or whatever, but does this mean that the car which is being towed ( in our case the drift car) doesn’t necessarily need to have insurance, mot, road tax and can be sorn?

Towing dollys seemed to be the easiest and safest option without having to hire someone else to help move the car around...Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Reason i asked about the company vehicle was to see if it could be a tow vehicle. Probably not with the 1 series

So that puts you in the category of a road-legal drift car (for now)

"200hp minimum" is a complete myth. Have a look through all the MX5 threads on here and see how well 140hp goes.

It's more the correlation of grip-power. MX5's drift fine because you can run 175 tyres at 60psi and it'll feel like an S13 SR20DET with 215's at 35psi. A lot of people that have tried to drift with less than 200hp won't address the grip aspect and instead blame the power aspect. In other words, they're numpties

You'll find the tried & true 318/MX5 combo of bucket seat, coilovers and 175 rear tyres @ 60psi makes for a reliable, fun & affordable combo. You'll just need to sort parking for two cars now instead of one

I'm not the best person to advise on towing in the UK as I'm in NZ, but fwiw towing dollys are a great option but not really for beginners.
 
towing with a dolly is illegal unless its for recovery.

If you want to tow anything over 3500kg train weight(total weight of the tow car, plus trailer and whatever is on the trailer) then you will need to do your B+E Test
 
Exactly why i didn't want to comment on towing in the UK. You guys have it way more difficult than we do!
 
Thank you for the answers guys, they all are extremely helpful!

I agree with you and realised that from my first drift car I want to get as much skill and fun as possible, and a lightweight car like MX-5 is probably the best option. Also very affordable.

After a few years once I have settled in well I will build a slightly more powerful one. Maybe even a Silvia or something.

Btw, where do you normally get your tyres from? Do you buy them new in bulk and then take them to the practice days?

Also, regarding a Hydro Brake, do you guys suggest two calliper per disk set up, or one calliper, and adding the hydro to the main break line? Sorry if that has been discussed before.
 
I go round garages and raid there skips, after getting their permission. They're usually happy enough and I can find some decent tyres in there for free.

As for a hydro, learn to drive without first and use the foot brake etc, literally get a welded diff, bucket set & harness, coilovers and drive as much as possible. Once you feel you need a hydro then you can start up grading.
 
Oleg S said:
Btw, where do you normally get your tyres from? Do you buy them new in bulk and then take them to the practice days?

Also, regarding a Hydro Brake, do you guys suggest two calliper per disk set up, or one calliper, and adding the hydro to the main break line? Sorry if that has been discussed before.
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Figure out what you want to use as spare wheels for the rear first, then hunt out tyres. No point in stock piling 14" tyres when you end up getting 15" wheels

And as said, don't bother with the hydro, just another myth you've been fed sadly. Make sure the handbrake is adjusted correctly and you're good to go
 
INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE A RIP OFF !!.

I was getting quotes of over a grand on most cars I’ve owned,

BUT WAIT !!!!

There’s a company called BY MILES.

You give them a deposit of around £150-200 and that’s your car insured for the whole year.
Then you pay my mile. They don’t track how you drive or if you drive sideways haha,
I average 100 miles a week.
400 miles a month and it costs me £20-£22 a month (beats the quotes I was getting of £80-£90 a month).
Also you can track where your car is if it gets stolen.
This company has been voted best company this year and 5 star rating.

Well worth getting a quote with them and start saving.

Hope this saves some people some money.
 
Jayspolishings said:
INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE A RIP OFF !!.

I was getting quotes of over a grand on most cars I’ve owned,

BUT WAIT !!!!

There’s a company called BY MILES.

You give them a deposit of around £150-200 and that’s your car insured for the whole year.
Then you pay my mile. They don’t track how you drive or if you drive sideways haha,
I average 100 miles a week.
400 miles a month and it costs me £20-£22 a month (beats the quotes I was getting of £80-£90 a month).
Also you can track where your car is if it gets stolen.
This company has been voted best company this year and 5 star rating.

Well worth getting a quote with them and start saving.

Hope this saves some people some money.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info! Hence I live in London my monthly quotes are £200 per month +, but also with a £500-£900 excess!!

Will definitely check them out!
 
Jayspolishings said:
INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE A RIP OFF !!.

I was getting quotes of over a grand on most cars I’ve owned,

BUT WAIT !!!!

There’s a company called BY MILES.

You give them a deposit of around £150-200 and that’s your car insured for the whole year.
Then you pay my mile. They don’t track how you drive or if you drive sideways haha,
I average 100 miles a week.
400 miles a month and it costs me £20-£22 a month (beats the quotes I was getting of £80-£90 a month).
Also you can track where your car is if it gets stolen.
This company has been voted best company this year and 5 star rating.

Well worth getting a quote with them and start saving.

Hope this saves some people some money.
Click to expand...
Just checked them out, you got to have at least one year NC bonus and be 25 or over...
As I am only 23 it ain’t working for me just yet..
 
Hey there, just spoke to the By Mile staff via online chat. Up to three drivers are allowed per vehicle, each has to be 25 or over and has to have his licence for 2 or more years with 1 or more NC bonuses. Pretty solid policy which anyone younger than 25 will not bypass..

Search for an adequate Insurance company continues, as I don't want to sell my kidney to get cash to afford to start drifting! Any suggestions are welcome...!!!
 
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