5 Must-Have Drifting Modifications

We review the first five must-have drifting modifications for your car.

• Seat
• Suspension
• Differential
• Rubber
• Handbrake

Learning to drift can be addictive and gratifying. Sliding out of control, whilst in control is an exhilarating experience. It takes serious car control skill and driver precision to drift a car accurately.

Some of the most popular drift car platforms are Nissan S-chassis, Nissan 350zs, Toyota AE86s, BMW M3s, Nissan Skylines and Ford Mustangs.

If you are considering buying your first drift car, there are plenty of good cars available at Autozin.

Assuming that you have got the possession of an ideal drift platform (rear-wheel drive with a manual gearbox), you may need a little helping hand to get started.

To give you that help we have collated the best five first modifications to start you on your drifting adventure.

1. Seat

You must be comfortable and secure in your seat in order to drift. Wobblying out of your seat and clinging onto the steering wheel isn’t going to do you any favours when you are trying to learn your car’s limits.

Replacing the driver’s standard seat with a fixed-back bucket or racing seat along with a harness will be a good start.

As bucket seats are lower than most standard seats (as well as recliners), you will experience a more secure seating position at your next drift practice day. Essential.

2. Suspension

If you have already started drifting then you have probably felt that your stock suspension is a little too compliant for consistent sideways action. To make this easier on yourself you are going to need to spend out on some aftermarket suspension.

A combination of uprated shocks with higher damping rated lowering springs will work well.

If you are comfortable in spending some more cash, going for all in one coilover units will provide decreased body roll, increased controllability and overall improvement in handling.

3. Differential

A rear-wheel drive car is usually equipped with either an open differential or a limited slip differential (LSD).

If your car has the former, it will be better to switch to LSD to make it easier for drifting.

An LSD is designed to control particular situations like snow or wet roads where your car has risk of slipping.

The LSD restricts the target wheel from getting majority of power, ultimately helping in making it more controlled.

Aftermarket differentials are typically 2-way or 1.5-way configurations.

The 2-way LSD will help in applying 100% torque for wheels under acceleration as well as deceleration, whereas a 1.5-way will apply torque 100% on acceleration and 50% on deceleration.

4. Rubber

If you are getting into drifting then you are going to need tyres. Lot’s of tyres.

While used or re-mould tyres are a great way to start building a tyre collection for cheap, investing in some fresh and premium tyres is really going to help you out while learning.

Quality tyres will grip more predictably and offer longer life then cheaper or used tyres.

Building up some backup sets of wheel with tyres already fitted is a good idea to reduce downtime and increase seat time at practice events.

5. Handbrake (E-brake)

While you don’t need a handbrake (E-brake) to drift, it is a useful tool to help initiate and control a drift.

Handbrake not performing well? There are a few things you check on your handbrake. Check the handbrake cable has no slack and that it’s neither over-stretched nor in tatters. If so, replace it.

Secondly, your cars rear pads should be in healthy condition and engaging properly when the handbrake is triggered.

Need help in picking your first drift car? Try our best drift cars for beginners guide.

If you’re looking to upgrade your car, the AlphaRex Headlights will really elevate yours!

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