Tips for my stock S14

[Special K]

You've got a good point mike...I eventually will need a clutch and I plan to get something that will bite and last. A major reason why I want coilovers is so I can adjust the front camber...its always a fight to get good grip in the front and I hope camber adjustment will do that, coupled with a nice LSD and clutch I think it makes most use of the stock KA.

Thanks for that clutch link...I goina check that out

[PearlWhiteMike]

yeah you should definitely check them out, great clutch. it doesnt have gorilla engagement like an ACT, it feels exactly like stock, and grabs like nothing else.

yeah i want upper pillowball mounts for camber myself. i was thinking of camber adjustment bolts cause you can get a set front and rear off ebay for like $40 now, but its only +/- 1 degree. most upper mounts provide +/- 3 degrees. im thinking im gonna weld on ground control coilovers and get some pillowball mounts rather than going with a full-coilover for now, because it'll basically be the same thing, and i can order the GC's in whatever springrate i like (im thinking 9k front/7 or 8k rear right now, maybe 10 in the front?).

i think the KA has more than enough power to drift. i want a few more boltons (pulleys, header, electric fan) and i know it'll put more hp and tq to the wheel than stock SR (though boosted SR would lay waste to it). i also want a lightweight flywheel like G's. im planning on turbocharging once i got the cash, and my buddy chris said he'd give me his motor to do a high-perf rebuild outside of my car so i could boost the *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* out of it after a while.

biggest things on my list right now though are a diff and a rear swaybar. i would love a big fat swaybar like ST or Cusco, and some kaaz diff or osmething, but i would be happy enough with SE bar and VLSD like yours.

[Special K]

I have the camber bolts on the front, they help for alignment purposes since I use it as a daily driver too.

What the hell is gorilla engagement? I dont know too much about clutches so enlighten me please

[PearlWhiteMike]

i mean a real stiff pedal with a real sharp engagement point. have you ever driven a vr-4? think kinda like that but with more effort to push the pedal. the southland clutch retains the stock feel but has all the bite of other performance clutches that i've ever felt.

whatever you do, dont go with a puck clutch if you wanna retain streetability

do you like your camber bolts? i think my rear neg camber is maybe a little excessive for my car's state of tune at the moment and would like to lose maybe a half a degree, while i really need negative camber in the front. i've got too much understeer, but that also has alot to do with the lack of a rear swaybar. the outsides of my fronts get worn worse while inside of the rears get worn even worse. mostly i just need an alignment, since i havent gotten one after installing springs/shocks and tensions rods, but im waiting until i can install a nismo power bar before i spring for one. oh yeah, also waiting till i have the money to pay for it

[SilverGhost]

i used to use an ct clutch....i know what ou mean gorilla engagemant...like sitting at lights holding that thing in would make my leg sore, but it powershifted like noones business and i only had to push it in like an inch or two before i could shift....

[Special K]

Honestly I've never done alignment or suspension adjustment myself....I dont have tools and have never really worked on a car that much before. The bolts seem to do the job, corrected alignment to factory for everyday driving. They're cheap too.

Question: With pillow mounts, how accurate is the adjustability on the top of the plates? Do thay act as a geenral guide or are they fairly accurate? How crutial is it to verify alignment on a machine after?

[PearlWhiteMike]

they're very accurate, they have marks that tell you the adjustment from the base settings in degrees of camber. i would take it to an alignment shop (hopefully one that deals with lowered/race alignment) and have them get everything all zeroed in, and then you could just adjust the alignment to your pleasure up on the mounts.

[jdmdrewS14]

I have a s14 and I just got a kaaz 2-way lsd. I higly recomend getting one. I have an Sr but even if it was a Ka it would break loose so easily.It almosts looses traction too easily. I would say go coilovers first,then SR and then a more agressive lsd.

[nutterbutter]

1) LSD
2) Suspension
3) BUCKET SEAT

those are the 3 most essential pieces you need to start.. and dont be a cheap bastard and go half a$$ on this either

VLSD SUXXXX
Cutting Springs/ SUXXXX and stupid
seat well you can get away with some


always learn about your car before putting more power in it. power only makes it MORE difficult to control NOT easier. HUH?

[PearlWhiteMike]

im waiting on my diff to get here
already got the suspension part down somewhat, definitely alot more things to change there
and seats will have to wait until i got more cash money dollars to blow

[jdmdrewS14]

Bucket seat? An essential part in drifting. I dont think so. I dont have a bucket seat and I do fine. Save that money for something that actully effects your drifting like ummmm.... preformance break pads or tires.Something like that.

[Special K]

Dont worry, I dont plan to blow money on parts before I realize why I need them. I've been drifting on this setup for a while now and can see the benefits of upgrading my LSD. I plan to get LSD and set before my suspension since I have koni yellows on there right now. They're not broke so theres no point in fixing them.


Thanks for your help guys

[nutterbutter]

I seriously consider SOME sort of seat .. what use is ALLLLL the performance parts if your sliding around in the cockpit of your car TRYING to stay in proper seat position.. the LAST thing you want to worry about is trying to stay in optimal seating arrangement..

if you have not been in a car with a proper seat and drifted then you simply do not understand how much your body takes a beating ..

a SEAT DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR DRIFTING.. you are seriously mistaken

[DRIFTone]

i second that! A bucket seat makes a huge difference to the feel of driving the car. As the seats usually have a lot less padding and are mounted much more solidly to the car you can get a much better feel of whats going on.

whomever said - LSD, suspension, Bucket seat was spot on i think. Power can over come a crappy VLSD, but you have to fight it. with a 2 way and little power you can easily drift along side a 300bhp car runnning VLSD. the difference is insane.

Remember though that drifting is 95% driver and only 5% car. if you havent got the skills then a full tuned car is pointless, even a hinderance.

Learn to enter corners at high speed. I dont know what all this trail breaking bollox is about? the point is that you want to be sideways, right? so use clutch kick or the ebrake to launch yourself. When you travel at high speed you carry more distance, but the speed is scrubbed off quickly. If you brake drift then you lose speed and spend more time in a straight line.

If the e-brake or clutch kick is weak then try swaying away from the corner and then flicking in with the e-brake or clutch kick. With power (in my own car) i can simply flick in and clutch kick hard and it breaks free. once you've done that though you are off throttle to reduce speed. If you need to drift a long 3rd gear corner you need power or simply to clutch kick many times keeping the throttle planted. find a local AE86 drifter and they'll tell you all about it haha

[jdmdrewS14]

I just have to disagre with you guys. I guess its just prefrence. I just think for a beginer there is so much more you can do with that money. I do plan on getting a seat someday. Ubderstand?ohhh and the lsd comment about the 300 hp car with vlsd is right on