Best car for drifting, that is available in the USA.

Loefye · Oct 29, 2003

I am thinking about selling my 1985 300zx with only 90k miles on it pretty soon. I want to stick with Nissan for my next car since I think they are the best import car company. I want to get a car that is easily upgradeable and good for drifting, I am not too concerned about top speed. I hear that 180sx type X's are my best bet but I don't think that this model is available in the USA. I have not really heard much about the 280sx as far as drifting is concerned, so I am not sure about that yet. I need some style but I also want to get some performance out of it. Any help would be appreciated.

Also, to all you members outside of the USA, you are a bunch of lucky bastards! Silvia's, Skylines...How I envy you. :mad:

Pictures of my current car:
http://www.boomspeed.com/mikace01/
Non-Turbo, but manual trans. and RW drive, not too shabby.

Neo Mike · Oct 29, 2003

That nissan u speak of has been DRASTICALLY altered here in the usa. Its RWD in Japan, which is the primary reason its a drifting car. In the US, all 240's are FWD. Which sux.

You could take the tranny out of one in japan, and get the r20det longblock motor shipped here as well and do the full JDM (japan domestic market) conversion, including swapping the steering column over, interior, etc which would be the ultimate, but would cost big bux.

I did this with my 1st gen eclipse a few years back, it sports a lancer evo turbo motor and a trans out of a galant VR4 turbo from japan as well. Hauls ass in a straight line, but not for drifting.

For a n00b to cars/modifying cars and into drifting i'd recommend the Toyota Corolla GTS 1986 - AE86 if you are really serious.

Allien133 · Oct 29, 2003

Neo Mike said:
That nissan u speak of has been DRASTICALLY altered here in the usa. Its RWD in Japan, which is the primary reason its a drifting car. In the US, all 240's are FWD. Which sux.

You could take the tranny out of one in japan, and get the r20det longblock motor shipped here as well and do the full JDM (japan domestic market) conversion, including swapping the steering column over, interior, etc which would be the ultimate, but would cost big bux.

I did this with my 1st gen eclipse a few years back, it sports a lancer evo turbo motor and a trans out of a galant VR4 turbo from japan as well. Hauls ass in a straight line, but not for drifting.

For a n00b to cars/modifying cars and into drifting i'd recommend the Toyota Corolla GTS 1986 - AE86 if you are really serious.

Wow that car is awesome. Yeh, I too want a nissan that can drift. I love those nissans.

BeefJerky · Oct 29, 2003

Import Tuner www.importtuner.com ran an article in one of their recent issues about good drifting cars available in the US. I don't remember the month or issue number but it had a blue Honda Civic Type R (hatchback) on the front. And some chick of course.

EDIT: Neo Mike is right, the Toyota Corolla GTS is REALLY good for drifting. The Corolla GTS is the equivilent of the Toyota Trueno. Initial D anyone?

Magnaflux · Oct 29, 2003

'73 novas drift like a fucking yacht late at night in the 'hood.

mog · Oct 29, 2003

Why don't you actually learn to drive instead of wasting time being a fanboy?

BeefJerky · Oct 29, 2003

mog said:
Why don't you actually learn to drive instead of wasting time being a fanboy?

And who exactly is that being shot at? :spock:

Loefye · Oct 29, 2003

I had no clue that the US 240's didn't have real wheel drive. I guess my ZX is better then that then. And yes, Im serious about getting into drifting. I find it alot more fun then just driving around fast. I will try to pop some pics of my car up tonite. Tell me what you guys think. If I decide not to sell my car what parts should I get to improve its performance? Right now everything is stock. It is hard even finding a intake for my '85. ABout the Corolla, I know they are good drift cars. I am a Nissan fanboy to the core though, so really I rather just get a Nissan. I did hear that the some of the older RX7's aren't to bad of drift cars as well.

BeefJerky · Oct 29, 2003

Actually, the 2nd gen Mazda RX-7 made that article's 7 best list. I'll try and get that article scanned for ya if I can find the damn magazine lying around.

Loefye · Oct 29, 2003

Matt Semmel said:
Actually, the 2nd gen Mazda RX-7 made that article's 7 best list. I'll try and get that article scanned for ya if I can find the damn magazine lying around.

When did the second run start, '91? I hear that RX-7's are full of problems.

Edit: Pics added to original post.

BeefJerky · Oct 29, 2003

Second run started in 1985 or 1986 I believe.. Not certain, could've been 1984 too I guess. And 91 was when the 3rd gen came out dude. And yeah, rotary engines are said to have lots of problems, but I still love the idea of some bigass triangle powering my car.

DangerousK · Oct 29, 2003

E36 BMW M3....I've seen one or two with some heavy suspension work drift like no one's business.

Voorhees · Oct 29, 2003

That nissan u speak of has been DRASTICALLY altered here in the usa. Its RWD in Japan, which is the primary reason its a drifting car. In the US, all 240's are FWD. Which sux.

No, you're wrong. The Nissan 240 SX was RWD here in the US, not just Japan.

K_Dash · Oct 29, 2003

As others have suggested, a Corolla GTS, 240SX's, and 2nd gen. RX-7's are very good cars to learn drifting in. Although any lightweight, RWD car with some power in it can be used in drifting. You can even drift a Mustang believe it or not and it has been done.You can also drift AWD cars but it is much harder to do since your getting the push from the front and the back. It is much easier to drift if you have an manual but it can also be done in a automatic. One word of advice though, learn how to drift in an old car like the Corolla instead of a new car car like the 350 Z and wreck it while your learning how to drift.

If you do get a 240SX fastback, don't worry about getting an engine swap for a SR20DET. Just learn how to drive it first.

Loefye · Oct 29, 2003

K_Dash said:
As others have suggested, a Corolla GTS, 240SX's, and 2nd gen. RX-7's are very good cars to learn drifting in. Although any lightweight, RWD car with some power in it can be used in drifting. You can even drift a Mustang believe it or not and it has been done.You can also drift AWD cars but it is much harder to do since your getting the push from the front and the back. It is much easier to drift if you have an manual but it can also be done in a automatic. One word of advice though, learn how to drift in an old car like the Corolla instead of a new car car like the 350 Z and wreck it while your learning how to drift.

If you do get a 240SX fastback, don't worry about getting an engine swap for a SR20DET. Just learn how to drive it first.

I am going to go with a 240sx then. I would get a corolla, but I like the looks of the sx a bit better. Even though I am more concerned with how well it will drift, I want some good looks as well. What different models of the 240sx's were realeased in the USA? I have done a few searches on auto trader and the standard price for a 92-95 is roughly 4,000-8,000. What is the best year of this car? The 240sx is basically the Silvia w/o all the power in the engine, correct?

K_Dash · Oct 29, 2003

As of right now, there are two models of the 240 SX, the fastback and the coupe that looks more like a Silvia. As for the exact years i'm not sure but I seen the coupe range from 94-95 and the fastback from 91-92 but i'm not 100% sure. You should get a 91 240 SX since they have near perfect weight balance, a 51/49 weight ratio making it perfect for drifting. As for your last question, the 240 SX is basically the US version of the 180 SX in Japan, it still has the same chassis code of the S13 so they are not that different. Also, the 240 SX in the US has only 150 hp compared to its JPN counterpart which had 250 hp, one of the reasons why Nissan put in a weaker engine is because they couldn't pass emissions testing.

Hope that helps.

Edit: RX-7's aren't hard to maintain, as long as you change the oil every 2500 miles (no matter what the circumstances) and don't drive it hard every chance you get, then you should have no problems with them.

Loefye · Oct 29, 2003

Thanks K for all your help. My car is going up for sale in a few days and once it sells I will by my 240sx. I am going to start putting money in the bank until I get the 4k for a s14 engine. I am going to research a bit more though before I drop the money on it though. Having a Silvia engine would really be cool, it's not like everyone in the US is driving with one under their hood...

gt6plus · Oct 30, 2003

Uh, last time I checked my stock 91 240sx is RWD.

I hear there is a special 240 model out there that had 4 wheel steering too.

Neo Mike said:
That nissan u speak of has been DRASTICALLY altered here in the usa. Its RWD in Japan, which is the primary reason its a drifting car. In the US, all 240's are FWD. Which sux.

You could take the tranny out of one in japan, and get the r20det longblock motor shipped here as well and do the full JDM (japan domestic market) conversion, including swapping the steering column over, interior, etc which would be the ultimate, but would cost big bux.

Best car for drifting, that is available in the USA.

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