200sx drift/track car research

AtomicBanana · 10 Feb 2006 at 17:10

Me and my mate have both started putting a bit of money away in the hopes of one day in the not too distant future getting our hands on a 200sx or similar car for track and drifting purposes.

The current plan is to only insure it to and from events, and leave it in some nice storage the rest of the time. I don't think either of us could afford to run the car as a daily driver.

So basically I just wonderd what tips and info you could give me? How much for a decent one? (It doesn't have to be modded (at first!) as we'd like to grow into the power of a car like that.) What sort of prices are we talking for mods?

and erm, just anything you can tell me!

cheers :]

Mr_Sukebe · 10 Feb 2006 at 17:21

Should be possible to buy an S13 from a grand upwards, though be aware that if you have problems that it could get expensive fairly quickly.

A friend of mine ran a Silvia S12 as a track car for a while. Said that it was pretty slow on track when compared to the exotica around, but was a LOT of fun because of it's rwd and lack of absolute grip.

The S13 would make more sense than an S14 as it's lighter. Rip the uncessary interior out and should be reasonably rapid. Do some work on the brakes, I managed to cook mine with road use. Note that the later facelifted S13s had bigger front disks (early ones were 253mm front and back (IIRC), later ones used 253 on the rear, 280mm on the front). For track use you might want to stick Skyline brakes on it.

There's some very easy power wins on them, rip the cat off, fit a decent panel filter and use a drill on the airbox to make it look like swiss cheese and you'll probably get another 15hp out of it. There's some easy boost increases, but they soon start to cost money.

Have fun!

AtomicBanana · 11 Feb 2006 at 13:03

what sorta money are we talking for larger upgrades? I don't want to carry them out straight away as I'm not even going to pretend I could drive it without dying

It's more for a kind of future proofing... so we can keep adding to this car and not have to get another one if we out outgrew it!

EDIT:

How much does a decent s14 go for? the s13 looks good.. but the s14 looks tempting, obviously depending on how much more they go for!

Morba · 11 Feb 2006 at 13:36

from what i understand, £1k should get you near on 300bhp

AtomicBanana · 11 Feb 2006 at 14:05

From what i understand, £1k should get you near on 300bhp

Really? woah, that's not *too* bad

Bear · 11 Feb 2006 at 14:36

AtomicBanana said:
How much does a decent s14 go for? the s13 looks good.. but the s14 looks tempting, obviously depending on how much more they go for!

£2-3k will get you an s14 and a bit more and onwards for an s14a. I would say the £1k worth of tuning parts will get you about 270 - 280bhp on an s14/a, from there on it gets gradually more expensive for the individual parts.

Personally I would get an oil cooler, uprated fuel pump and FMIC then you should be able to run around the track at pace without worrying too much about the car. Then go for suspension/subframe bushes/strut braces/ARBs/alignment and brakes sorted then it will let you can drive a bit faster. Finally then worry about more power.

TomO · 11 Feb 2006 at 15:17

Bear said:
£2-3k will get you an s14 and a bit more and onwards for an s14a. I would say the £1k worth of tuning parts will get you about 270 - 280bhp on an s14/a, from there on it gets gradually more expensive for the individual parts.

Personally I would get an oil cooler, uprated fuel pump and FMIC then you should be able to run around the track at pace without worrying too much about the car. Then go for suspension/subframe bushes/strut braces/ARBs/alignment and brakes sorted then it will let you can drive a bit faster. Finally then worry about more power.

agree with above advice. SXOC is your friend for in depth advice.

on that note though, i really must get an oil cooler for mine

Dogbreath · 11 Feb 2006 at 15:49

Why not consider rallying rather than the rather stupid sport that is drifting? You get to do all the drifting you want on gravel stages, with the bonus that you win by driving quickly rather than performing perfect 60 degree drifts. It's a far more accessable grass-roots motorsport as well, you don't need to spend a fortune to make a competitive car for local events, and there are many events held all over the country.

Mic · 11 Feb 2006 at 16:04

I dont really see the attraction people have with drifitng. Track days on the other hand :cool:

The Running Man · 11 Feb 2006 at 16:28

costs will onyl go up if u need the parts fitting by a mechanic.. hours of labour will equal parts clost i reckon.

AtomicBanana · 11 Feb 2006 at 17:15

I dont really see the attraction people have with drifitng. Track days on the other hand

What can I say, seen enough drifting to know 'I want to do that!' but each to thier own! I'm well up for track days too!

costs will onyl go up if u need the parts fitting by a mechanic.. hours of labour will equal parts clost i reckon.

thankfully, my father should have no problem fitting the stuff - and I'm hoping to learn a few things at the same time!

edit: whoops, missed a few

Why not consider rallying rather than the rather stupid sport that is drifting? You get to do all the drifting you want on gravel stages, with the bonus that you win by driving quickly rather than performing perfect 60 degree drifts. It's a far more accessable grass-roots motorsport as well, you don't need to spend a fortune to make a competitive car for local events, and there are many events held all over the country.

Yes, we had still thought about this, and if I'm 100% we could still change our minds between now and when we raise the cash for the car. The amount of times we've almost bought a 205gti to do up ... well

The title is *research*... just wanted to see what was what. In other words, expect to see a thread asking about rallying again soon

Also, thanks bear for the advice. Wasn't planning to go mad with the power before getting the car up to spec - was just curious to see how much money we were talking for more

TomO · 11 Feb 2006 at 17:51

a 200 will make a good track or drift car. you will need a different setup for each to be really good.

but quite feasible to do.

Lopéz · 11 Feb 2006 at 21:56

-Mic- said:
I dont really see the attraction people have with drifitng. Track days on the other hand

Whereas I can't see the attraction of track days.

No competition. No prizes. No winning, no losing, just guessing (hoping) the guy you tore past on the last lap was actually trying.

Rallying for me please - or sprints/hillclimbs.....

Mic · 11 Feb 2006 at 22:00

Lopéz said:
Whereas I can't see the attraction of track days.

No competition. No prizes. No winning, no losing, just guessing (hoping) the guy you tore past on the last lap was actually trying.

Rallying for me please - or sprints/hillclimbs.....

Ah thats where your wrong. There is a winner, fastest lap, the loser, slowest lap and knowing the guy you tore past was trying.
Its pretty tight nit in the paddock. You know whos there to race and whos their to just have fun.

chopchop · 11 Feb 2006 at 22:53

imo you use the car 99% for tracks and the occasional drift which u would get from overcooking it. if u want a drift car to read me about in, then buy an old bmw for a few hundred quid.

@lopez dont be silly, u know what track cars are good for... thrashing the pants off on a racing circuit!!

Mic · 11 Feb 2006 at 22:55

It would be even cheaper to get an old sierra and weld the diff.

Lopéz · 12 Feb 2006 at 00:05

chopchop said:
imo you use the car 99% for tracks and the occasional drift which u would get from overcooking it. if u want a drift car to read me about in, then buy an old bmw for a few hundred quid.

@lopez dont be silly, u know what track cars are good for... thrashing the pants off on a racing circuit!!

Round and round in circles.... it just seems a bit robotic to me.
I can understand people getting enjoyment from it but I'd prefer to try and beat the stopwatch/other guy.
I think it's more fun to have an unknown road fold out in front of you - you're thrown in with little or no preparation, you have to deal with each situation as it comes, constantly improvising rather than learning each corner by repeating it time and again.

And -Mic-:

For insurance & legal purposes, the definition of a Track Day is:

A Non Competitive Motoring Event where, Racing, Timed Practice and Pace Making are NOT ALLOWED

Any customer seen to be in breach of any of the above 3 definitions may be asked to leave the event.

So, no fastest lap/slowest lap, winner/loser.

Mic · 12 Feb 2006 at 00:32

Lopéz said:
For insurance & legal purposes, the definition of a Track Day is:

A Non Competitive Motoring Event where, Racing, Timed Practice and Pace Making are NOT ALLOWED

Any customer seen to be in breach of any of the above 3 definitions may be asked to leave the event.

So, no fastest lap/slowest lap, winner/loser.

You really trust definitions?
I work track days as a marshall. I even time a few people for them. I know what goes on.
It doesnt matter wha the rules are, people will race. Just like the law says no racing on the road.Still happens.

Trickle · 12 Feb 2006 at 16:38

Mr_Sukebe said:
The S13 would make more sense than an S14 as it's lighter.

Not by much. S14 is maybe 5% heavier.

AtomicBanana · 12 Feb 2006 at 17:30

Round and round in circles.... it just seems a bit robotic to me.
I can understand people getting enjoyment from it but I'd prefer to try and beat the stopwatch/other guy.
I think it's more fun to have an unknown road fold out in front of you - you're thrown in with little or no preparation, you have to deal with each situation as it comes, constantly improvising rather than learning each corner by repeating it time and again.

Yep, I can see what you're saying. I want to do both drifting on a track and road rally type stuff - sadly I can only afford to do one at a time

200sx drift/track car research

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