Really helpful. Good job
Hi guys. So. I'm 23 years old, I'm a mechanic and I LOVE cars. I especially love Jap cars. This weekend I went to the BDC Battle Of Britain and I loved every second of it... but now I want to get out there in my own drifter that I want to build myself...
I'm thinking a BMW compact or any bmw tbh... I'm a big lad and would love an MX5 but can't see that working for me right now... Do I need to be looking for any particular engine to begin with. I'm not going to spend a fortune on a car or good engine when all I'm going to do is thrash it around and as yet know if I'm any good at it... any help/advice/tips would be great!!
Thanks in advance...
Welcome to the forum Jedi! ^_^
I'm glad to see you managed to get into drifting!
In terms of cars, you seem to be on the right track.
MX5
When you say you're a big lad so MX5 is out of the picture, I'm 6'3 and ~36" waist and I managed
There's various things you can do to make them better, a decent bucket seat makes a world of difference in terms of support and potential to get the driving position lower.
In terms of engine choice for MX5 (if it's not completely out the picture) - Early Eunos 1.6 came with 115bhp but watch the crank pulley for any wobble as the keyways on the "short nose crank" engines are prone to failure. Later MK2 1.8s came with 145bhp (I'm sure) with VVTI and they've got plenty of grunt and will take one HELL of a beating.
- Add Coilovers
- Torsen (not viscous) or Welded Diff
- Timing Advance on early engines
- ROLL BAR! TRLane etc are some of the best on the market.
- Watch for rust!
- Rack spacers and later "Destroy!" Knuckles.
BMWs
In terms of BMW Compact, I saw someone on here suggesting to avoid the E46 compact unless it's got a 6 Cylinder in it - something to do with the 4 Bangers not having enough grunt to overcome the grip their set-up provides.
E36 compacts seem to be pretty well subscribed regardless of engine set-up with the 319ti offering 4 banger fun and run for days.
Otherwise I can only go by what I've had.
E36 Saloon - M52B28 2.8 engine, 1.8 Gearbox and Welded diff and Cheap Coilovers.
Provided you don't have any cooling issues and you make sure you keep on top of the water that finds its way into the plug bores AND keep on top of rust, you can pick up a fairly good one for around a grand.
- Get a decent seat for you.
- Weld the diff.
- Keep an eye on the temps.
- If it's not a road car, chuck all the weight out of it you can.
- Cheap coilovers.
Most of all, Enjoy Drifting
