I want to hear your thoughts and feedback on what you prefer and why, the more in depth and technical the better. If you have driven all or went from one to the other explain the driving feel and reasoning on which is better than the other in your opinion.
There is no right or wrong answers here, just priceless info people might need to get their build off in right direction!
I've driven some form of each of the 3 but only truly pushed a SR20 s-chassis. There's something magical in the configuration it was intended.
V8 baby! Only thing ive ever drifted, so im very biased :) Cant beat cheap, reliable power though.
I think there's a lot of different criteria. What is your goal? What are you doing with the car? What's your driving skill level? What's your mechanical skill level? Where do you drive the most?
I'd say if you're an American amateur comp guy with a small budget and all you care about is running a full season in your track-only car, LS is the obvious choice, but if care about style and have a bigger budget, jz/rb may be more your style.
If you're an experienced casual drifter who dabbles in lower level comps and your local track is high speed, you'd probably lean towards an inline 6, but if your local is a kart track, a sr/ka-t is probably plenty.
To have a perfectly functioning, mild, streetable, driftable s-chassis, sr or ka is the easiest route. You don't have to science anything, it was all meant to go together (aside from a turbo maybe).
My personal criteria:
Balance and longevity are the goal
I want to be able to grip, drift, and cruise on the street
Driving skill is "advanced"
Mechanical skill is MEH
Local track is high speed, but the majority of the events are on the skidpad
All of these factors led me to the k24a2, which has the power of a stock sr for a much higher initial investment, but lower cost over time shoud I window the block. Also it's an easy motor to work on and to source parts for in North America. It's got enough power for the big track (with a little extra rear tire psi) and is perfectly suited for skidpad or karttrack. Lack of a turbo and the compact size of the engine help keep the weight down and shift it further behind the front axle. The only area I sacraficed a bit was in the streetability department, where I gave up air conditioning and cuise control, but aside from that, I have no issue curising around town. I think the biggest perk is that if my goal changes, I want more power and to enter an ameture comp, I'm only a turbo and exhaust manifold away.
*note: I've only ever drifted an s chassis with a k, ka, or sr in it so I probably don't know what I'm saying.
Dark red S14 with a KA-T is probably my favorite