BMW drifters and their set up

[AllMotorKing]

yes, definitely bushings. look at the treehouse racing control arm bushing. these are great.

for the non-m cars look into welding on all the suspension reinforcement tabs that are available as well.

[Monster88]

Yup

Thanks for all the info guys and the eibach sway bar kit already comes with new bushings and there brass.

[Piner]

Thanks for all the info guys and the eibach sway bar kit already comes with new bushings and there brass.

Well im talking about rear lower control arm bushings, rear subframe bushings, Transmission mounts motor mounts, Diff bushings. Probly want to drill the rear diff bolt out and put a bigger bolt in unless you like replacing them alot.

[Monster88]

Sup

I havnt done any changes to my car yet but i have been drifting with it more and i wanted to know wat stly of drifting u have found to be better. To me it seems as if braking and feint are the best forms of drifting with my BMW because it gives me more control, But i would like to know wat stly u like best or think wod be best. Thanks.

[Justin Banner]

Haha, though many bmw purist will be pissed with the idea of a non-german engine in a german car,but i for one would love to rock one. There are a small group of people in euro land that are dropping RB's,SR's,and 1jz's in their e30's. There is alot of info now about swaps now that one can build his/her own kit. I already done much research and when I feel its is time, I will have a SR or 1jz in mine or stick with bmw and drop a S50 in.

Heheh, if you think an SR is going to get the purest in an uproar, my plans will cause war. Either a Ford 5.0 or a Chevrolet 350 shoehorned into an '87 325i Sedan. Both have already have been done and the swap doesn't look terribly complicated, just have to fab up mounts (also not too hard).

I have a second E30 325e sedan that I drive daily and will probably be in a commercial (I'm waiting on word for when and where they are going to get footage of me sliding and driving fast), which I'm pretty excited about. This E30 has a 2.97(?) open diff and seems to slide really well. It responds best to weight transfer more than power drifting, but it may change when I swap in the 3.93 LSD diff I have. Other than that, it's bone slam stock and enjoyable.

[Piner]

I havnt done any changes to my car yet but i have been drifting with it more and i wanted to know wat stly of drifting u have found to be better. To me it seems as if braking and feint are the best forms of drifting with my BMW because it gives me more control, But i would like to know wat stly u like best or think wod be best. Thanks.

I clutch kick most of the time, depends on the corner really

[Monster88]

Sounds good

But iv had some of my friends just weld the back were the diff is in their 240s and its actualy much better, becus you get about a 98% lock or even more. The only problem is that we havnt experianced any bad effects but i heard there some.

[Piner]

But iv had some of my friends just weld the back were the diff is in their 240s and its actualy much better, becus you get about a 98% lock or even more. The only problem is that we havnt experianced any bad effects but i heard there some.

^ Its 100% lock ALL the time because it is welded there is no give to it at all. I've drifted cars with welded diffs and its fine for drifting if you don't have much cash. But its a little tricky when it comes to being off throttle and turn in suffers a bit due to the inital understeer.

If you have an LSD already, either rebuild it or upgrade to a better LSD like a KAAZ since really an LSD is a far better and more versitile driving experience than a welded diff by far.

I love my 50% lock BMW diff its sweet.

[Justin Banner]

^ Its 100% lock ALL the time because it is welded there is no give to it at all. I've drifted cars with welded diffs and its fine for drifting if you don't have much cash. But its a little tricky when it comes to being off throttle and turn in suffers a bit due to the inital understeer.

If you have an LSD already, either rebuild it or upgrade to a better LSD like a KAAZ since really an LSD is a far better and more versitile driving experience than a welded diff by far.

I love my 50% lock BMW diff its sweet.

Ok, here's something I haven't figured out yet. Which Gear Ratio will actually be better for drifting? The 2.97 or the 3.93? The 3.93 that I have is LSD, but the 2.97 is open. If the 2.97 would be better, I'll just swap the LSD, but if the 3.93 is better, I'm going to swap out the entire rear assembly (axles and all).

[OneAnthem]

such an interesting thread im getting so much helpful info, i have a e46 325i and want use it for casual drifting here and there, man i cant get enough drifting

[Piner]

Ok, here's something I haven't figured out yet. Which Gear Ratio will actually be better for drifting? The 2.97 or the 3.93? The 3.93 that I have is LSD, but the 2.97 is open. If the 2.97 would be better, I'll just swap the LSD, but if the 3.93 is better, I'm going to swap out the entire rear assembly (axles and all).

Well if you are gonna go with a V8 like you said the ratio is gonna depend on the tranny you choose.

if you were useing a BMW motor and tranny the 2.97 with the LSD center swapped in would probly be your best bet. Mine is a 3.23 and its a bit short.

But hell go with the 3.93 and get 4th gear drifts all day.

[Justin Banner]

Well if you are gonna go with a V8 like you said the ratio is gonna depend on the tranny you choose.

if you were useing a BMW motor and tranny the 2.97 with the LSD center swapped in would probly be your best bet. Mine is a 3.23 and its a bit short.

But hell go with the 3.93 and get 4th gear drifts all day.

Yeah, I should have been more specific. I'm talking about the 325e that I'm driving now. I'll probably go with just the LSD swap for now, then.

Now the V8, on the other hand, is going to be totally different. I'm probably going to use a T56 and a Ford Independent Rear of some sort (either a Cobra or Gen. 12 V8 Thunderbird and because I feel that these will be easier and cheaper to find). I'm also thinking of body modifications, but that's another post for another day.

[Piner]

Yeah, I should have been more specific. I'm talking about the 325e that I'm driving now. I'll probably go with just the LSD swap for now, then.

Now the V8, on the other hand, is going to be totally different. I'm probably going to use a T56 and a Ford Independent Rear of some sort (either a Cobra or Gen. 12 V8 Thunderbird and because I feel that these will be easier and cheaper to find). I'm also thinking of body modifications, but that's another post for another day.

well then I would go with the 2.93 with the LSD center. because that M20B27 only revs to like 4500rpm if you put the 3.93 in there you'll be drifting 3rd gear corners in 5th lol I knew someone who did that it was really funny

[Piner]

Its not gonna be a big difference really. The weight dist in all of those cars you listed is very close to 50/50 anyways. I would go with the coupe because they have a slightly stiffer chassis since they don't have 2 extra holes where the other doors are. Plus I think the coupes look alot better lol.

Both with the same parts should drift the same way anyways.

The Z3 would not be a car I would choose as a platform because it has semi-trailing arm rear suspension. It is like E30 style rear suspension, unlike the E36 multi link rear.

[AllMotorKing]

do a search on bimmerforums on the chasis. some say the sedan is stiffer due to the b-pilar design. I'm still not convinced that this is true.

as for the z3, the wheelbase and other characteristics of that car (similar to the miata) would make it harder to drift. The semi-trailing arm rear suspension is not bad for drifting. It's "lively" characteristics probably makes it easier. hehe.

I think that's why you see a lot of e30's drifting in europe. it's the euro corolla. hehe.