Toydrift 2 December 2014 Best Day Drifting

Had a Splendid time at Toydrift on December 13th. Was driving really well and the car was awesome. Unfortunately the day ended short at 2:30pm due to a weld failing on my suspension.

amdrift.com killed the photo taking game! These guys always get great shots of pro and grassroots drift events. Check out their articles and albums!

 

Team Inca Madness Racing was out there killin it, they took some awesome shots and put together this really well done video. Check them out, they are going to compete in FormulaD for the 2015 season!  Team IMR's YouTube Channel in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDQNLtDmBZ3BMGbCjVNKtQ 

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMDRIFT.COM
To see the rest of the photos from that day and of all the other drivers go to
http://www.amdrift.com/2014/12/just-drift-toy-drift-2-december-13-2014-gallery-2

Adjusting Suspension at HTM

Killed it at Horse Thief Mile yesterday. Got the suspension all worked out and made some huge changes. The car was way to stiff before so I removed both the sway bars and changed the springrates to 10K front and 7K rear. I also used really nice Swift springs.

I had alot of great runs but unfortunately I accidental deleted most of the video...

Increasing Steering Angle without Increasing Front Track Width (40 Degrees)

 Its fairly easy to increase the angle on an S30 using the stock components. There are 4 things that you can do to increase the steering angle. You can shorten the knuckles, modify the inner tie rod, and fabricate or buy new lower control arms (LCA). Depending on your wheel/tire size you may need to remove the inner fender in front of the shock tower and you may need to cut out a portion of it behind the shock tower, I needed to do that.

Requirements for 40 degrees
If you are looking to get a modest amount of angle you must have a tubular front end, unless your running some crazy -offset wheels with spacers and some kind of crazy body kit/flares. You will also need lower control arms that have the tension rod incorporated into them like mine, the wheel will rub up on stock or aftermarket LCAs with the OEM design tension rods.

To modify the steering rack you remove the metal spacer and cut the extra threads off of the inner tie rods. Leave the lock nut because the inner tie rod likes to back out if you remove it.

 The end of the rack should look like this when its all done. I have been using my rack like this for over a year with no problems.

To shorten your knuckles just remove them from the car, put them on a miter saw, cut a portion out of them and TiG weld them back together; you can MiG weld them but the bead is going to be much bigger and you will need to grind the face of the weld down which will compromise its strength. I cut mine 18mm, they weld very very nicely. Also make sure you weld them both the correct direction, take a picture of them before you cut them.

Lower Control Arms are needed because the stock ones are too wide and cannot be adjusted, the outer tire rod ball joint or heim will hit it and bind the suspension causing you to spin or have other problems. I fabricated mine using DOM tubing with high quality heims. The rub marks were caused by a set of tires I was using, they were too large, I changed to a smaller size.

New Trailer and Balcony Nov 23rd

I finally leveled up! No more obnoxious process loading onto a high flatbed trailer or worrying about my car in terrible weather at the track. 60mph winds and hail can obviously be hazardous to a racecar with plastic windows and no door windows.

 I purchased the trailer from Apache Trailers directly from the factory and it took them about a month to produce it from the time I bought it. Its a simple trailer, 8 1/2 by 24 foot enclosed with a side door and rear flip down ramp. Also has electric brakes on two axles and a breakaway controller. Such a great purchase! Was $6500 all said and done.

 I plan on putting my tire machine inside along with a compressor and generator. That's for later though.

As for the balcony, it was probably one of my worst days of driving I have ever had. I dont know exactly what It was but nothing was really working out for me. I knew my line was terrible so that may have been throwing me off. But by the end of the day I was figuring out clutch kick entries in 3rd gear and getting on the power after downshifting to second so that was a success I suppose. Pictures and videos will be updated shortly.

R200 Diff Swap

I finally did my R200 swap, the R180 I was using was doing fine but I would like to be a lot more aggressive with the throttle and clutch. Picked up an R200 out of a Z31 at the junkyard for $100 but the Z31 R200s do not come with the right "Side Flanges" for the bolt on S30 axles. So I also picked up a spare R200 with the Side Flanges and Axles from a fella on Craigslist for $200.

Since this is a drift car I welded the spider gears together using a plate so that the rear end is locked and both wheels will move with one another all the time. I would also do this if the car were being used for road racing.

I did the swap differently than everyone else, I did not use the ridiculous mustache bar. Instead I plasma cut out a plate, drilled the holes for the rear studs of the differential, welded it in between the "Link Mounting Braces" and reinforced it. I used 1/8 steel plate and reinforced both sides with 1/8 plate.

R200 Left/R180 Right

(The fuel pump is in a much better spot today than where it was when I was doing the swap!)

 

Weighing My Car

People always ask how heavy it is and what the weight distribution is (I needed to know as well), so i borrowed a set of car scales and got to it.

The results were... surprising. I figured the car would be around a 40/60 (Front/rear) weight ratio but...

 The car has a PERFECT 50/50 weight distribution, the front and back of the car are off by 1 pound....

These figures are without driver and a 3/4 full tank of gas.

The Car (Previous Setup)

Its a 1974 260z (RLS30 Chassis).
All work and fabrication done by Alex Grimm.

Drivetrain:
13B-REW 280hp from a Series 7 RX-7 Stock Twin Turbos. GReddy ProFec Boost Controller.
Frontmount Intercooler
R15M-D Transmission, stock FD Transmission
OC Driveline Driveshaft
R200 Welded Differential (O'l Weldy)
XXR 531 16x9+0 Wheels with 225/50/16 Fuzion Tires All Round

Suspension:
Fabricated Front Lower Control Arms
Megan Racing Coilovers, Swift Springs 10k Front 7k rear.
Removed both Sway Bars
Motorsports Auto Roll Center Adjusters
Polyurethane Bushings where Applicable

Brakes:
Stock Front Brakes
ArizonaZCar Rear 4 Pot Caliper Kit, Wilwood Brake Calipers
Wilwood Proportioning Valve
In-Line Hydro E Brake

Steering:
Modified Steering Rack, Spacer removed and Inner Tie Rod modified
Shortened Steering Knuckles
Front Inner Fender Removed
Rear Inner Fender Partially Removed
Fender Spacers
Techno Toy Tuning Outer Tie Rods (Not Shown)
Techno Toy Tuning Tension Rods (Not Shown)
With mods steering angle increased about 20°.

Body and Chassis:
8 Point Roll Cage FormulaD Spec, includes Anti Intrusion Bars
Custom Bash Bars Front and Rear
Motorsports Auto Fiberglass ZG Flares
Polycarbonate Windshields cut out by Industrial Plastic Supply
Rattle Can paint job, primer/base coat/clear coat. Rust-Oleum Khaki

Interior:
Cobra Racing Seat with Schroth 6 Point Harness
Momo Steering Wheel
Auto Meter Gauges. Tach/Oil Pressure/Water Temp
Stock Pedalbox
In-Line Hydro E Brake

First time at Horse Thief Mile Sept 28th

I went out to Horse Thief Mile on Sunday with 805lide. This was the first time I have driven the car with the new coilovers, roll center adjusters, and extra steering angle. The coilovers made all the difference in the world. This event has been the most fun I have had drifting yet.

Horse Thief is definitely my favorite track so far, the inclines make it very interesting and the corners are just perfect. It is very frightening however, being my first time out I was very cautious. I built a skidplate for my car before the track day and my god it saved my engine at least 10 times. You would be crazy to do Horse Thief without a skidplate since their is a 4 inch drop from the concrete to the dirt.

Dealing with an odd chassis

Drifting an uncommon chassis is really rewarding but you need to put in an incredible amount of labor to make it work. The S30 chassis has aftermarket support but the parts can be expensive and none of them are meant for drifting. Making it work takes access to fabrication equipment and a bit of know how.

If your like me and your on a tight budget you really need to learn how to weld and fabricate. The only way I have been able to make this work is by learning how to build all the parts I needed myself, not to mention the engine swap.