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THE SCO DRIFTING PRODUCT GUIDE
Transforming your ride into an awesome drift machine takes more than just technique—it takes the right components working together to let you break through the traction envelope smoothly and consistently while still maintaining control of the vehicle. If you're looking to transform your street/strip car into a drifter, you're in the right place! SCO has everything you need to make your car a drifter: suspension upgrades, engine bolt-ons, limited slip differentials, deep bucket seats, harnesses, tires, wheels, body kits, and much more. Don't know where to start? Here's the 411 on what you need and why:
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No doubt about it, drifting is nothing without suspension. Springs and dampers (or coil-over systems, if you bend that way) should be your first buy. Look for sport-oriented springs and dampers with high stiffness. Drift cars need very high spring and damper rates to keep all four wheels firmly planted through the curves. There's no perfect height setting or spring/shock combo for any car; each driver has his or her own personal preference. And since drifting beats up a suspension more than any other motorsport, a high-quality bushing kit is a good investment. It will protect your suspension components and help ensure high durability.
The SCO Tuner Pros have the basics of performance handling covered with our exclusive Progress Suspension Package. Here's what's included: Progress Sport Springs, Progress Rear Sway Bar, and Progress Alignment kit for perfect camber. This is a well-put-together package that stiffens your ride enough to drift through corners faster than the Drift King! If that ain't enough, our Progress Suspension Package saves you $50 over purchasing everything separately!
If you need guidance, call our SCO Tuner Pros™ and they'll help you find the best suspension package for your application.
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The right clutch is important in drifting. Unlike clutches designed for street use, clutches on drift cars need to allow for rapid "clutch kick" techniques that upset the balance of the car, helping it to skid. They tend to be very tough ceramic brass button or multiple-plate varieties.
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Engines and gearboxes in drift cars need a lot of shock-proofing, and stock mounts are clearly not up to the task. Instead, most drifters replace their mounts with urethane mounts and dampers to control the violent motion of the engine/gearbox under race conditions.
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Because of the large sideways G-forces involved in drifting, you'll need to be retained firmly by a bucket seat specially designed for racing, and held in place with a four- or five-point harness. Proper cockpit restraints allow you to use your hands to merely turn the wheel instead of bracing yourself against the wheel. For optimal control, your steering wheel should be relatively small, dished, and perfectly round, so that it can be released and allowed to spin through the hands as caster returns the front wheels to center. If you're planning on using the E-brake in your drifting technique, you'll need to replace the locking knob on your hand brake with a spin-turn knob. This prevents the hand brake from locking on when pulled. Some drivers move the hand brake location or add an extra hydraulic hand brake actuator for greater braking force.
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Although a drift car's engine needs to put down enough power to spin the wheels, engine power doesn't need to be extremely high. In fact, if your car has too much power, it can be very hard to handle during a drift. Typically, drifters tune their engines for linear response rather than maximum power output.
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For safety and durability, you'll definitely want to equip your engine with an upgraded cooling system. Not only will you be pushing your engine very hard, creating lots of heat, but you'll be driving at an angle, which reduces airflow through the radiator. If you have a turbocharged engine, your intercooler's efficiency will be similarly reduced. You should consider an oil cooler as almost essential. For best performance, look for V-mount intercoolers and radiators; this configuration improves flow through these components and keeps the expensive intercooler out of harm's way in the inevitable offs. Finally, you should consider getting a vented hood. Besides looking great, a vented hood provides much needed airflow to the engine.
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Hard steering at high speeds causes excessive roll and body flex. Front and rear sway bars help distribute the stress of cornering, keeping body roll to a minimum, while strut tower bars add tremendous strength to your car's chassis, virtually eliminating flex.
Other chassis preparations are similar to those on road racing cars. If you're planning to drift competitively, a roll cage may be a safety requirement, and adding one helps improve the torsional rigidity of your car's body. Other chassis-stiffening components include B-pillar braces, lower arm braces, and master cylinder braces.
Most serious drifters lighten their cars by stripping their interiors of extraneous seating, trim, carpet, sound insulation, and anything else that is not absolutely essential.
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Professional drift cars tend to have a low, wide look, so most drifter wannabes like to capture that look with a drift-style body kit. Pro drift also often sport rear spoilers and wings, although they are strictly optional for most street vehicles. Unless you plan to drift on large, open tracks where your car can develop enough speed to create a need for more downforce, skip the wings and focus your cash on something more fundamental.
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A single afternoon of drifting can destroy a brand new set of tires. When shopping for tires, look for special drifting tires for the perfect blend of traction and spin. As a rule, put the better tires on the front for good steering. Put hard-compound tires on your rear wheels if you want performance, and use softer tires if you're interested in showing off a huge cloud of smoke. As for wheels, most drifters like 15" rims on the rear, because 15" tires are cheap. As your drifting technique gets better, you'll most likely want to upgrade your rear tires for a set with a higher grip compound. Although cheap, hard tires are fun purely for their slipperiness and ease of drifting, but they quickly become a hazard for high-speed drifts.
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