Wheels and tyres

Gman

Gman

Member
Sorry for the very beginner question but;

Is it best to swap the rims as well as tyres for drifting?

Do I have to just change the rears or is it best to change the fronts also?

Thanks in advance...
 
I think what the majority of people have done is get a second set of cheap rims and use them with part worns all round. The front tyres do get worn as well, especially if you understeer as much as me! :(

That said i think some of the more profesional drivers use their daily rims and decent tyres.
 
For start its best to have grippy tyres in front and put some shit tyres on the back wheels. New tyres are expensive and they wear out fast when drifting.

Its also nice to have a spare set of wheels for drifting. I dont and i know im getting 2 sets :) When i drift around parking lots i sometimes hit a curb or something. And if you have a set of cheap wheels you dont have to worry. You can also have good tyres on all 4 wheels for daily driving, but when you want to drift you change wheels in 20 minutes.
 
Don't worry about asking beginner's questions, that's one of the main points of the forum, to share information and help everyone progress :)

As the others have said, it's best to get a spare set of wheels as there isn't normally a tyre changer at most drift days. How much your tyres wear really depends on how light your car is, how long you're driving for and how rough/abrasive the surface is.
Unless the surface is really abrasive and you have very soft tyres, you can normally get away with keeping your normal fronts on, but they will get scrubbed at the edges...
Sticky front tyres and crappy back ones are good to learn on, but as you progress, you'll find better tyres on the rear can be more controllable and smoke a hell of a lot more ;)
Last round at Silverstone (a very grippy, but not a rough surface) I drove home on the same tyres I'd been using all day, but I didn't get that much tracktime that day and they were borderline......

Last thing to remember is to get some heat into the tyres before you really start to give them hell. If you go straight out and thrash a set of cold tyres, the outsides will heat up a lot faster than the insides and big chunks of tread will peel off...... not nice... :no:
 
It is apparently an advantage to "stretch" as narrow a tyre as possible onto as wide a rim as possible to help get the car drifting nicely. I think the Drift Orange has 9inch rims on the rear, with only 215wide tyres :eek: :eek: :eek:

Just a snippet of the ton of information I am trying to learn at the mo !!!

J.
 
Bladerider said:
I think the Drift Orange has 9inch rims on the rear, with only 215wide tyres :eek: :eek: :eek:
Click to expand...

You know i gotta say it even tho ive probably said it before... But "Pshh".. i got a 185 on a 9 Inch rim :D Ahaha. :thumbs:

Paz
 
Holee cheet !!!

Mine look like they are desperate to jump off at any moment, yours must have almost horozontal sidewalls !!! lol

J.
 
James, I use 225/40/18's on a 9.5" rim. Using a smaller tyre on a wider rim basically stiffens the sidewall alot, which means you've removed another variable, which lets the car break away easier, and gives you alot more feel when 'on drift'..

Due to your arch's and tyres being matched perfectly, you can't go any wider anyway ;).. I also have no choice :cool:
 
If you are new to drifting then chances are you will understeer the first time you try it, and you will scrub the fronts. Get on ebay or the owners club and find yourself a dirt cheap set of alloys.
As you get better you will find you wont scrub the fronts so bad, and will be happy to use your road tyres whilst driftings
 
Ive been running on my road rims and tyres at the front and spare 7 spokes on the back. The front ones have started to go a bit manky. Once I get my new alloys though I will be swapping all 4 of them for my spares.
 
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