50/50 (damn near) weight distrubution independent suspension..tends to over steer..

 

I have a question to add on2 this topic. I know people talk of the s14 (and even s13 chasis) being easy 2 drift. But whenever I've read or heard people talk about this i've never heard if the car being discussed had the KA or SR engine. Does it not matter!?!? I would think it did in some way; w/ more than 50 flywheel hp on the redtop and almost 100 more on the s15 blacktop. I've never gotten a chance to really drift my s13 so I can't say from personal experience how easy it is 2 drift my s13 (w/ the ka24e) engine; even tho I do know people do drift them. But when most people talk about how easy it is 2 drift the s14/s13 do they consider which engine is in it? or automatically assume it has a jdm motor?

(Just for your knowledge where I read and heard this is from, SCC mag, SS mag, Drift mag, Drift Documentary, and of course Drift Bible.) I might be wrong about Drift mag, read it a while ago but I think I remember them touching on the subject.

 

Any car is driftable. It's how the suspension is setup. 240sx are just very popular and the easiest car to obtain. Cheap car to make power out of. A lot of aftermarket support. In japan, you'll be supprised what car people are drifting. IE: family van, Big rig, FF honda, bikes (no joke), etc.

 

for some reason the S14 is easier to turn sideways or roatate faster. being in S13's and in my car...it seems that i could make it go sideways when i wanted. but other than that...i have nothing.

 

Supposedly the s14 seems to respond better than the s13s due to a stiffer chassis and overall better suspension. Nothing aftermarket parts couldn''t replace, so if you put the money in, you'll improve the performance of course. As for the motor, KA or SR, it won't matter. It's all technique when you're drifting because a good driver will always keep the car in the powerband for the turn.

 

is it tru that the Kouki (s14) has a stiffer chassis then a Zenki (s14) ?? or is all the s14s just have stiffer chassis then a s13....?

 

Supposedly the s14 seems to respond better than the s13s due to a stiffer chassis and overall better suspension. Nothing aftermarket parts couldn''t replace, so if you put the money in, you'll improve the performance of course. As for the motor, KA or SR, it won't matter. It's all technique when you're drifting because a good driver will always keep the car in the powerband for the turn.

my thoughts exactly, watch the drift bible too, you'll get it

 

is it tru that the Kouki (s14) has a stiffer chassis then a Zenki (s14)....?

this has been an ongoing debate, but i dont see why, someone please own this, cuz i wanna know too.

 

all s14 are same, s14 are stiffer then s13, and i have both

 

yeah but what about the zenki kouki deal? i side with you on that but i hear alot obout it being stiffer

 

The only thing different between the kouki and zenki s14 are the front ends(lights and bumper) so how would that affect the stiffness?

 

they are the same frames, so there is no difference, and if anyone tells you other wise smack them on the back of the head

 

real drifting is about balance (to make it easy)....the 944 turbo is probably really the easiest to drift, but not common both in numbers and now about 20 years old.

I came to my 1998 SE as a solution to finding a nice 89 turbo S.

Now I need the turbo

 

miata's are 50/50

 

240's are so easy to drift it also helps having a large selection of drift parts.

 

240s r easy to drift like what others said above, but also b/c it's lightweight. SRs r better than KAs for driftin b/c it has a higher rev, to 7k. So basically when you are making that slide aroudn the corner, instead of having to shift in a KA, the SR can sustain the powerband longer so you don't really need to shift in a middle of a powerslide.

 

You guys ought to try out the 1st gen rx7. Talk about a slide happy car, I don't think you can understeer in that thing. you can induce oversteer by just whipping the steering wheel. I gave up drifting a while back though. Just couldn't pay to play(if you know what I mean).

 

so the s14's have front independent suspension?

 

Yes, as well as rear independent suspension.

 

SRs r better than KAs for driftin b/c it has a higher rev, to 7k.

Don't you just love america!

 

i just bent the hell out of my control arms, so do u think all i have to do would be to replace those and the shocks, and u think ill be up and running again, or what else do u guys think

 

hm i was looking for more reasons as to why the -S14 specificially- is considered the best/easiest drift car, I know 240s in general are inexpensive and have a huge aftermarket support but I guess I was lookin for more reasons dealing with the chassis and the suspension system

it can't be just weight balance, a lot of cars are 50/50 or damn near so I want to know what sets the s14 ahead of the rest or is the idea totally wrong and its all up to preference and tuning?

 

I wouldn't say best/easiest, maybe best/easiest in the Japanese segment of things as well as 'affordable'. I am willing to bet the 944 turbo 'S' is the easiest....it was sort of made from scratch to be that way (although drifting is not what you want to do if going for best time).

From the S13 stand point you can buy a really nice $1500-2000 car, throw $3000-5000 at it and really dominate the road both straight line and corners.

My friends and family thought I was nuts to buy a 1998 vehicle...(to the flamers: yes my last car was 96 saturn SC2...but I *was* back in college for a year or so...I sold a brand new VR6 GTI to do that...), however, at the sub $15k price point (cash) I found it to be the best car for my needs....number one was the 88-89 944, but now that I know about the easy mods the 240sx has I am glad I didn't find one.

However, to answer your question it is exactly the point you have found: Price and Availability + great aftermarket support + sort of practical (forget the backseat). My ex-Saturn, believe it or not was a great road car...the FWD fuxored hard cornering but other than that it was quick, light and nimble...HOWEVER any mods were 2-4x the price of other cars as there is no aftermarket. If money truly was no object I doubt any of us would be in 240sx's (Skylines though yes! at least I would be).

 

240s r easy to drift like what others said above, but also b/c it's lightweight. SRs r better than KAs for driftin b/c it has a higher rev, to 7k. So basically when you are making that slide aroudn the corner, instead of having to shift in a KA, the SR can sustain the powerband longer so you don't really need to shift in a middle of a powerslide.

Does the width of the powerband affect as much as the magnitude? I mean you can have a powerband from 1k to 6k but if you're only putting down 100 ft/lbs of torque, it still isn't going to be easy.

 

I'm going to thread jack here, sorry.

Besides drifting, how do the S14 and S13's compare to other cars in terms of circuit racing, auto-x, and over-all handling. How do they rate compared to other high-quality, high dollar cars out there (like Skylines, EVO's and STI's, Porshe's and Ferrari's, etc). Can they even compare? Maybe once they're built up?

I ask because I am seriously considering buying a 240sx. I don't want it as a straight drag car, I love circuit-style racing. But I'm not wanting it just to get into drifting, but rather to race it circuit style too. I just wanted to get some opinions as to how it compares to other cars out there. I dunno, I drive an FWD, and I'm kinda craving RWD power.