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lets say my insurance company talks to me one day and I buy my 14a back to turn into a drift car...
what are my advantages in terms of parts/setup that I can gain by not needing the car to be road-legal (it would be trailered to and from events)
BanjoMaster
29-11-2003, 15:37
Well for a start, you could have a stiff/rigid-as-hell suspension setup that would be undrivable on the road but would make a great handling drift car, no need for anything to be road legal apart from the things required by any event organisers. 2-way LSD which is scary on the road but perfect for drift, roll cage without your insurance going doolally, loads of cool stuff you couldn't have on the road e.g. take out one headlight and induct air through the space (looks dead cool too), in short it would be a dream come true! The list of advantages would be endless, providing you have the funds (...)
Originally posted by BanjoMaster
take out one headlight and induct air through the space (looks dead cool too)
thats a definate as that's the light that was broken in the impact :D
lots of weight-saving can also be done...
funds.... always the problem, isnt it? must.....find.....generous....sponsor :wack:
PhilMorrison
29-11-2003, 19:00
James and I had to make a similar choice with the drift car.. we opted for road going, as the cost of a trailer and a car capable of towing it, far outwieghed the cost of MOT and insurance, we also have nowhere to store a trailer, and the drift car might be a usefull 2nd car for when 1 of our main cars is off the road.. It does mean that we might get to a stage where insurance limits us, but we're doing this on the cheap, so rollcages etc ar'nt really an option at the mo..
yup :nod: what Phatty said.
If you're going to be trailering it, if the total weight of drift car and trailer exceed 750kg (which it certainly will) then the trailer needs to have an active braking system on it so it's not just relying on the towing car's brakes. I've seen second hand braked trailers on loot starting at about £500
Braked trailers tend to be bigger (ie will not fit in a normal sized garage) and heavier than normal trailers too so you're probably looking at (just very roughly) 1400kgs for the car and couple of hundred kg for the trailer. Each road going car has a limit for what it is legally allowed to tow so you'd need a fairly beefy car (big 4X4 or something) to legally and safely tow it.
Having said that it took me the best part of a week to find that out as noone seems to know and the chances are you would never get stopped if you had a normal trailer and a large family sized car.
here's (http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39024) the thread from when I was trying to work this out before and here's a link to the National trailer and towing association website (http://www.ntta.co.uk/faq/default.htm)
been going through this exact dilemma myself.
found an insurance company that specialises in competition and track day car insurance.
see this thread (http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65523&perpage=20&pagenumber=2)
everything declared for 2000 miles a year including roll cage, perspex windows the lot, 300 quid. (third party only, but it is a track car and not parked on the road..
hope this helps.
Steve
the dilemma is that this would require fixing and sorting the car to being roadgoing - considerable more expensive than stamping the door flat and removing a headlight....
.... decisions, decisions ....
That's a cracking quote mate :nod: Can you confirm whether it's 3rd party only or 3rd party fire and theft?
I'd pretty much made my mind up anyway but if it's that cheap that signs and seals the question about whether to try and get a trailer for me.
The details again for anyone else are:
http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk or call them on: 0115 941 5255
Third party only, purely to be legal for driving to a track.
I have a fire extinguisher in the car :D :wack:
Oh sh1t the anther factor which may be a killer for some people is that you have to be over 30, I am in January so that is when I'll start my policy.
they do competition car insurace too, so if you have a race license and do a few events a year then you would be ok. Not sure on age limits for that one but you see more young drivers than old ones.
If you are entering drift comps then I would have thought that would count as it is a proper competition.
sorry about the age thing only just remembered...
/Steve
Originally posted by stoofer
lets say my insurance company talks to me one day and I buy my 14a back to turn into a drift car...
what are my advantages in terms of parts/setup that I can gain by not needing the car to be road-legal (it would be trailered to and from events)
a trailered drift car would have the same sort of advantages as a formula one car.
no lights. save weight at the front
no concern of speed bumps/pot holes, so slam it as low as you want, solid sussy etc
no concerns over mot things like emmisions
no need to change your number plates when you arrive
dump the horn
washer bottle
wipers
wiper motor
heater
although saying that, does drifting set sertain standards for a car? for instance must it have an mot? do the cars get inspected at all?
Originally posted by Grim Turbo2
no concern of speed bumps/pot holes, so slam it as low as you want, solid sussy etc
you'd think so, but bear in mind you'd actually have to drive it up some reasonably steep ramps to get it on and off the trailer which might mean taking the bumpers off each time.
agreed.
it's probably like steve's idea to weld the diff, on a drift car. ok when you are on the track, but a right bastid in the pit lane/service roads.
so what stoof needs is the sussy of an old citroen bx......
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