DRIFT Car Maintenance?

[Cade]

Hmm.. I dont think Ive seen this topic talked about very much...
What all should you keep an eye out on, on upkeeping your drift car? Theres alot of wear-n-tear on these cars, and it has to go somewhere. So could we have some people chime in on where to keep an eye out on your machine? Because its allways better to fix things while theyre damaged before they are completely broke.
Thanks

[PhoPower]

Best thing to do is look every where around and in your car for wear and tear and fix the problems.

[squints338]

Overhaul LSD, change tires, and look for any worn suspension parts.

[spccowboyMATT]

check things that you would check on a car normally, but check it more often. for example, check hoses often, especially on older vehicles, if theyre hard and ready to blow out replace em. remember fluid levels, suspension, and tires. checking these things are not optional, check these things every week, maybe even three or four times a week.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Checking hoses is a no-brainer and should be done on EVERY car.

The motor oil needs to be changed more often (closer to 2k miles than 3k miles) due to increased wear from high-rpm operation. Like Matt said, check the oil often.

Replace the LSD oil every six months or so.

The transmission fluid needs to be replaced every six months to a year.

Brake fluid, clutch fluid, and power steering fluid should all be checked regularly. Brake fluid should be changed every three months (or sooner) if you do a lot of hard driving, and after every trackday. If you fade your brakes often, replace the fluid with Ate Superblue or Typ200.

Tire pressures need to be checked at least every week. If a leak is present, try to figure out where it is and have it fixed.

If you drive a car with a stiff suspension, make sure to check to make sure you haven't lost any vital bolts.

Check your lug nuts and make sure they're all on tight... I've been in a Suburban when the wheel up and fell off and that was an interesting experience.

Note any abnormal noises or rubbing and fix the associated problems. A car must be in good to very good operating condition to withstand the rigors of drifting.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Depends on how much Drifting you actually do. Do you Drift every night? or are you the weekend warrior? My advice is to find a lift and do a pre-coursery inspection. Fix everything at that point. Then look at your driving habits and check accordingly. The oil change info is probably the best info I have heard. Change it and change it regularly. Actually, any fluids. Do them and you will be fine.

[flamingheads]

what kind of costs would you say youd go thru if you were drifting say 2 days a week. like in parts (including fluids, not petrol tho) what do rekon it costs for a 4 cylinder on average per month or what ever?

[nasty nate 7]

id say you need an lsd overhaul about every 4 months, check how your brake pads and fluid are doing, check your oil, most importantly check your temps and hoses(i drive rotary, overheating is my enemy), um.... suspension isnt that much of a problem if you just bought it, but check it just in case. you might want to save up for some tires too, my suggestions use some used tires in rear and good ones in front, itll help you develop better handling skills and take care of your clutch and tranny. look for signs of vibrating noises and if you car idles normally. i blew my tranny clutch kicking too much

[SidewaysGts]

Originally posted by flamingheads
what kind of costs would you say youd go thru if you were drifting say 2 days a week. like in parts (including fluids, not petrol tho) what do rekon it costs for a 4 cylinder on average per month or what ever?

let me just punch that into my simulation program here...

jk- and once again it depends on how much your drifting. Some people could drift more in 2 days then someone would every day of the week. Also depends what your replacing broken stuff with. I can pick up tires for 20 bucks if i want to- make good "fun" tires for the back if you know what i mean.

Most fluids are pretty damn cheap if you repleace them yourself, and as long as you dont brake anything your cost will simply be on your tires. Long term things as mentioned include overhauling your lsd, if your doing some hand brake drifts youll want to adjust that. Being hard on the suspension check your tires- make sure theyre wearing properly.. ie they arent "feathering" and that your tires are in fact still straight. a tire alignment might be needed if your hard on it. Also the car can make a difference: ie 86 maitenence- cheap. porche maitenence, uber expensive.


so bottom line- depends how long your drifting, how hard your drifting, in fact the techniques you use matter as well (As mentioned above- clutch kick- bad damage). If you drift for long periods of time your going to do more damage then if you broke that down into shorter runs equaling the same amount of time (give time to cool things off, etc). oh well i think you get the point

[SilverGhost]

does clutch kick do much damage if done in moderation? and what if you have a racing clutch? does that help reduce wear and stuff?

[GRiDRaceTech]

Clutch kicking in the dry puts quite a bit of stress on the driveline. Not only does it wear the clutch, but it also sends jolts through the transmission and driveshaft. It will, if you do it enough, screw up the synchros of the transmission.

[SilverGhost]

ah...that might be why my KA tranny would hardly shift just before getting ready for my sr20....is the SR tranny stronger than the KA tranny (5 speed models)....im just wondering cause clutch kick is one of my fav/best drift techniques...

[GRiDRaceTech]

SR20DET transmission is supposedly stronger. If I were you, I'd find a new way to initiate drifts in the dry... but that's just me, Mr. Don't-break-stuff-too-much-cuz-it-hurts-the-wallet-guy.

[SilverGhost]

yeah, i hear ya...i think i will try to start it with a tap of the ebrake then suing power to help keep it sideways...but im excited to go to school in october, cause thats one skills test we have to pass...its rebuilding a tranny in like 2 hours (or something like that), so if i get real good at that, then clutch kick isnt so bad cause when my syncros go bad, i will just spend a day rebuilding it

[nasty nate 7]

lets get straight to the point with drifting. you drift you *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* up your car in massive ways. just try to practice all drift techniques and you will find your own style of doing things. those techniques are there to help guide you easier in your drifting. and remember this, drifting is expensive,well.... cars in general as a hobby is expensive. but we all love it and its damn fun. so what if we *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* up our car. its part of the sport. if you cant take that factor into consideration, then you are in the wrong hobby my friend