Modern Drift Cars

With how many modern cars came automatic only, I wonder if automatic drifting is going to become more prominent. That opens the door for 3GS and newer, 3IS and newer, Q50/60, Mercedes (W211s are super cheap and came V6 and V8, W204s did come manual but are rare, otherwise they’re plentiful and cheap), etc.

Really interesting thread.

They’re getting quite old already as well, but E36’s are quickly taking over as the next generation cheap drift car here. And for good reason, there’s a lot that’s good about them and are still a dime a dozen and parts everywhere.

I do think S550’s will gain a lot of popularity as well not only because they technically have a lot going for them as a drift car, but also because Ecoboost mustangs are rapidly getting cheaper, and with all the ones they’ve produced for car rental companies there will be plenty for some time. That said, repairing say a flood damaged one though is VERY involved because of the Canbus. Swapping my Ecoboost for coyote took 3mo to get running and I had nearly every module from the donor car the engine came out of. Ford master techs didn’t know how to even help/ where to start. As such I think with newer cars picking one that can make the power you want with the native engine will be much more important.

Electric steering racks are also pretty much ubiquitous now, though people are figuring out ways to make them drivable, and adapting ourselves. It was a learning curve for sure and for me at least an angle kit was essential, I just couldn’t drive it before.

And agreed about the cost of drifting rising. Drifting was cheap because there used to be simple chap cars. There are no simple chap cars made anymore, so as the old models fade away the cost of drifting along with all other production car based motor sports will increase too.

All the obvs ones have already been mentioned. I would def put more emphasis on the ZN8/ZC8 (?) cars tho, feel like they're gonna depreciate a bit more rapidly than other current day enthusiast cars and having driven them they're really awesome out of the box despite being new.

Other predictions:

• Gen coupe will be much more prominent in a few years

• E90/E92 will be more prominent in a few years, I'd even expect to see M cars (I will never say E chassis)

• I think people will start to get more creative. I bet 5 years from now we'll see a decent amount of manual swapped Q50s and Q60s (that one dude on here already has a manual 3.7 Q50), the few manual IS250s that still exist will be snatched up quickly and after that I bet people will start manual swapping 350s which very well could already be happening I haven't really looked that hard, RWD converted WRXs and shit maybe, etc

  
  

No potential drift platform will ever be dirt cheap like they once were ever again, and I think 5-10 years from now drifting will be as difficult to get into as other more "serious" forms of motorsport if that makes sense

Thinking about the whole "analog feel" thing. I wonder if it'll become more common for people to build dedicated drift cars from the ground up like Mad Mike's 787D or Crick FIlippi's tube frame s13, rather than trying to source some over priced 20-40 year old rust bucket or new digitally-numb Techno-Vehicle™. I think we're almost to the point where people are going to start producing frame kits like they do for old muscle cars and Jeeps and 3D printing shells like funny cars and RC's. Hell, Cage Kits alreayd offers nearly an entire front clip, for an extra 5k maybe he could include the rest of the car. Just need someone to invest in a big ass 3D printer and we're set! 😂

S550 and ZN chassis have the most promise to be something actually exciting. Though I do feel the ZN8 is really the car to consider for the discussion at hand. ZN6's are practically a top 4-5 most common chassis (behind Z/G, E46, SXE10) at most events these days. At least in my anecdotal world of the northeast where 75% of S13/S14/Corolla/RX7/E30/E36 have been lost to rust, prior to drifting's recent uptick in popularity.

One car I'd like to add just for the fuck of it is, and yes I'm too lazy too google the correct model: Didn't Genesis have a 4 door RWD 6 speed car available around the time Genesis became their own brand apart from Hyundai?

When it comes to the new chassis (Mustang, Frs and all alike) and cars that come from the factory controlled heavily by computer systems, it is much more difficult to get into drifting with them as apposed to something 10 years older. Using electronic power steering and having that mimic the feel of a hydrolic system has proven difficult. However finally there have been solutions developed to remedy these things. I think when it comes down to it, the right people with the right knowledge as well as a passion for drifting have to come along to really push and develop a chassis for it to really gain traction as a good drifting chassis.

Leigh with the FRS/BRZ/GT/GR86 platform is a perfect expample. It has taken someone with a large amount of drifitng skill and experiance to jump into a chassis like that and start to push it to do things many did not know it was capable of, and knowing what it lacks.

The Mustang and ZN platfroms are getting good development in, I just wonder about other platforms for the future;

• 400z

• New Miata

• A90/91 Supra

• New BMW chassis

That being said, the EASIEST cars to get into at the moment will probably have to be

• 350/370z and G35/37

• E30/36/46 BMW (as much as I really don't like them persoanlly)

  
  

But were still talking about cars a the youngest 10y/o up to 40y/o. So what ends up being the better option nowadays?

I think there are five factors: what came manual, what makes easy power, what has plenty of aftermarket support, what is reliable, and what is affordable? If you can check at least four of the boxes, you've got a solid beginner car, but I'm going to only address the cars that meet all 5.

Personally, I really didn't understand what a balanced and predictable car felt like until I got a Miata, so I'm a bit biased, but here's my list:

1. Mazda Miata (na to nc) - I would say it's leaps and bounds above #2 as far as a beginner car goes.

2. Lexus is300 - 5/5 if you can find a manual one that isn't trashed.

3. Nissan 350z/Infiniti g35 - checks all 5, just looks/sounds not good and I hated how my z33 drove regardless of what I did...

4. Ford Mustang (s197) - I don't really know much about them, but they seem to meet the criteria.

ZN6's, 370/g37's, c6/c7 Corvette's, and s550 Mustangs are cool, but they're all still a bit expensive for a car that's pretty much garunteed to go into a wall at some point IMO. I'd say the're a great step up 2nd, maybe more long-term drift car (not that there's anything wrong with sticking with one of the 4 on the list above).

As far as modern drift cars go for more experienced drivers with a bit more budget, it seems like there are two categories of options:

1. For people wanting a taste of the 90's with all the features of the 2020's: ND Mx5 or GR86/BRZ

2. For people who want a modern modern car: s550 Mustang, mk5 Supra, 400z, m2, or m3.

If I had the budget, I'd go for the Supra in a heartbeat despite not having physical handbrake. I'd gladly settle for a GR86 though, having already seen a few throw down at local drift events.