I need your help

First i will start off that I am a 17 year old kid that has been in love with cars my whole life. I finaly am old enough and more importantly have enough money to buy a good car. I need a car that i will be able to street race/drift because i don't have enough money for two cars. The car i really want is a 300zx (twin turbo of course). I have heard from alot of people that a 300zx is to heavy drift and it would be better to get a 240sx or an ae. But the 300zx has so much power and I don't have enough money to do an engine swap on a 240sx. Is there neway to make a 300zx more drift viable, or a car better for both worlds.

My goal is to have a car that can run 12's-13 flat (no nos), and still be a great drifting car. I also was wondering if there was any race schools that I could learn to drift, or should i start out in parking lots.

also steering wheel must be on the left side ;).... i wish japan would starting more cars over...

Okay, first and foremost the 300ZX's biggest disadvantage in drifting isn't its weight (as most believe) it's the incredible amount of inherent grip in the chassis. Nissan really went all out in 1989 when they measured out the pick-up points for the Z32's multi-link rear suspension. That, plus the fact that there's some really healthy sized Michelins mounted at each corner, makes it difficult to break the Z32 loose.

However, the short wheelbase of the 2 seat Z32's and the torque of the VG30DETT make for a very nimble car considering its heft. By adding a few pounds of pressure in the rear tires and zeroing out the rear camber, then mounting tires about 5mm narrower than stock (you can get away with that on stock wheels, I believe) you'd have a much more naturally "loose" Z32.

You still would want to take out extraeneous weight. Sorry, but giant amps and underbody neons are big "no-nos" for a drift car. If you can afford it, fiberglass body panels and Perspex/Lexan windows (still available from Bob Sharp Racing, if I'm not mistaken) will drop the weight alot. Although you must keep in mind that the lighter panels and plastic windows sacrifice unibody rigidity, therefore a rollcage with good strut bracing is a requirement.

Finally, drifting as we know it is frowned upon in most all performance driving schools save for Jimmy Sils's Sprint Car Driving school based I believe at Terre Haute Speedway in Indiana. There's also a rally driving school in Britain that uses old 70's Cossie Escorts as student cars.

Yes, you're better off in a parking lot.

I suggest not getting the 300zx. Why? (i am assuming that
your paranets will be covering the insurance) and unless your rich and apparantly you are not sonce you cant afford and engine swap for 240. a) its a 300zx; insurance is already high b)your 17 insurance is al ready high

it seems to me that if you get a 240 and swap an sr (do the work yourself) it'll be alot less than a 300zx; their resale is very high like 9,000 for a '90 300zx vs 2000 for s13 and 2000 for sr (more or less)

hell i'm 17 and i found a s14 for ~$4000 and i'm swapping a rb20 since its cheaper than an sr

but making a 3z run 12's isnt that hard

yeah, i was just going to say. a stock, used TT 300ZX will run you about $8-9g's US. you can EASILY find S14's for way under $4000 (one guy on the 240SX forums here found an automatic one for $1200), and the engine swap will be about $3-4000 if you go to all the right places. so you could easily have an engine-swapped drift-ready S14 for less then a stock 300ZX.

also, S13's are even cheaper then S14's. do all the the same mods, and you could run even cheaper.

also also, i would suggest if you get a 240SX, to do suspension stuff to the car first. it doesn't matter if the engine is swapped. the KA24 stock is enough to get the car sideways, and at the local competition i was at last month, 3 of the top 5 placing cars in the amateur competition were stock KA24's. as long as the suspension is all set up nicely, you don't have to worry about the engine swap right away.

I will be paying for everything I have about 13k saved i have been working since 7th grade. I just thought it would be alot cheaper getting a stock tt 300zx puting out 300 hp then to mod a 240sx. Also I would like to say that I am in no way ricer (the neons and amp comment)... I have been in love with cars since i was little. My true love is old muscle cars but I cant maintain one with college coming i need something more dependable. From the first time i saw a drifting video i fell in love with it its just amazing how much skill it takes to slide your car from turn to turn. Any way id do nething to be to do that. And no matter how long it takes i will be able to. The reason i still want to be able to street race is to make money.

I myself own a 1996 Z32.. And sure enought I do Drift in it as well... Alot of people talk about the Z32 weight and how poor it is for drifting... But all i have to say is that you dont really know how the Z32 Handles unless you own one.. The factory suspension is pretty stiff for what they are.. nad the Z32 has tremendous torque so therefore it is really easy to break the back end loose... Just remember not to punch it once you back-end is loose or else you'll spin out really easy... If you ever sceen a Z32 Drift before... The car looks soo aggressive throughout the apex... heres a fact for you as well: 300z's body is based on a Touring Chassie.. The stance of the car is really wide for cornering... The car is made for Race tracks and not quarter mile runs... Again its a Touring Platform Car...

As for you wanting to get a TT300z All i have to say is you better have alot of money for repairs. I have 5 Friends with TT's and it is soo hard to maintain them because of the engine/turbo giving off too much heat... And as for you wanting to race for money.. Good luck.. not to many people out there are willing to race for money.. their too intimidated by the car....

Y did you get a 96 INismo Drifter? They are 20hp less than a 95:D

I drift my 95 300ZX TT 5 speed. It is not the best thing i have ever drifted in but you can do it quite easliy. But the weight is deffinetly evident when you are sideways. A good set of coilovers and some nice tires should help with the weight transfer. And any kind of chassis stiffing that you can do would be great to. I had my car seem welded when it was getting repainted. Makes a world of difference in the car.

Good luck with whatever car you choose to go with.

... I cant maintain one with college coming i need something more dependable...

yeah if you want a dependable car, then you wouldnt want a 3z. Hell, come to think of it none of the cars that drifters prefer are that reliable but it really boils down to how you maintain them. College students tend to be poor more often that not, so have fun paying for books, car parts, and insurance.

oh yeah and this thread is old. Im not looking at s14s anymore. Im getting a s13 hatch for about 1g.

Civics are pretty dependable... haha

Actually many drift cars are reliable, thats partly why they are drifted. Drifting does hurt the car, it hurts it quite terribly. Think about it, you are revving high while you are spinning the tires, it takes alought of effort to spin tires, and at high revvs there is less torque so it puts mutch strain on the motor. It is also exesively tough on chassis and suspentions. Also, for example, a MKII Supra like mine with a 5MGE were extremely reliable. The 5MGE is so reliable and strong that they were used in boats. Also you mentioned something about the S13, well Layla taught me this, the S13s suspention is connected to the frame lower in the front than in the rear. This leads to more droop. Thus the car has understeer under acceleration, and oversteer under braking. This means that you can do more last minute braking and be able to turn, but it also means that your drift will be not quite as clean, and not as high speed. For a suggestion of a car, I would suggest any FR car that you can get your mits on, that has a manual transmission, because you always especially with drifting need a good bit of extra money for tires, repairs, accidents, insurance and all those goodies. So never spend everything on the car and tuning. First you need to learn the sport.