Drifting upgrades

[Gary]

Hi all, just so I can blatently use the spanking new forum :)... I wanted to ask some really n00000000b like questions :)

I do realise I am yet to even try driving properly (let alone drifting :)) what sort of upgrades should I be looking at for my little lovable rust bucket... and any particular makes?...


Cheers guys :)

[dtmpower]

suspension - true drift spec - rock hard with loads of rebound
shock towers linked with bar
roll cage
bucket seat/harness
small steering wheel
uprated lsd

anyone else ?

[PazzaAE86]

First off, re-fresh old suspension bushes with nice new urathane ones. Powerflex, Energy or TRD all work fine. Its very important to do this on such an old car and it will restore alot of feel back into it. I still need to get new bushes in the rear of my car, the axle hop is terrible somtimes!

Next, some uprated shock absorbers will probably be key, because 18 year old suspension is never going to be working too well. At this point however, it makes no sense to buy more stock shocks if upgrading is your plan for the future. Id steer pretty much well clear of all UK market shock absorbers on AE86's (bar LEDA), ive yet to see any that are good. Tokico HTS or TRD Blues are best for the money, both have adjustable damping and both are "short stroke" units. The TRD ones are 40mm shorter and the Tokico ones are 60mm shorter. These are ideal partners for some KG/MM or TRD Technocraft Japan Springs (make sure you dont get TRD USA Springs, they are terrible). KG/MM and TRD do a huge amount of spring rates to choose from and 6kg/mm Front, 4.#kg/mm Rear seems a common setup, as does 8kg/mm Front and 6kg/mm Rear. The short stroke Shocks will require a spacer in the bottom of your strut casing at the front, you can buy these from www.technotoytuning.com (while youre there, have a look at the AGX coilovers they do, amongst other things.. Nice!)

After you have lowered an AE86, it is ESSENTIAL to get some Roll Centre Adjusters, or RCA's. The idea is to match your drop in hight with the size of the RCA, but in practice this isnt really possible... However, any RCA is better than non, and transforms the car, reducing understeer and preventing the majority of "bump steer" (this is the change in the cars toe as the suspension compresses and de-compresses). I have a sizable drop on my coilovers and only 40mm RCA's (the biggest you can buy) but they do the job most excellently. 40mm RCA's will not fit behind 13 Inch wheels btw, unless you are running wide, negative offset 13's. I think T3 (link above) also does RCA's, should be around $100. I have Battle Version ones, not sure if they are discontinued. Aswell as RCA's being essential, anytime you lower the back of an AE86, the axle shifts to the passenger side. To correct this you need an adjustable Panhard Rod or Lateral Rod. Its very important to buy one before you lower it, because if you go too much on the stock Lateral Rod, the Prop Shaft could hit the transmission tunnel and cause some serious damage if driven. And again, having an adjustable one pays off because the axle moves towards the passenger side unless you go even lower, beyond the point where the lateral rod mounting point is no longer above the axle, this makes the axle shift back towards the driver side. With me having just a shorter Lateral Rod, my axle is now out of alignment by a few mm's. Demontweeks sells Whiteline Adjustable Lateral Rods for AE86's at around £40 i heard.

Your standard 1.5 Way LSD, if not worn out will do the job fine as you learn, im still on a stock LSD and find it quite effective. And as such, its a safe bet to leave the LSD alone for a little while as its costly to buy an uprated one and it isnt quite as essential to replace as it is on say, an RS13. I plan on a new LSD quite soon however. A smaller steering wheel is important i feel, but dont go too small. 340mm should be fine. Stock AE86 seats are OK i guess, or i used to think that untill i got my Bride Bucket... So, if possible and youre feeling flush with money, purchase a bucket seat and rail, and some 3/4 Point 3" harnesses (2" Harnesses are cheaper but are known to cut in the event of an impact.. I want to get some 3" ones to replace my 2" ones soon).

Id guess, that was the basics covered in some kind of logical order. Those key basic mods should see you through for the life of the car and shouldnt really need changing out again, they are quite highly adjustable and as such can accomodate all skill levels. Coilovers are a step up, but only due to the adjustable ride hight. Some nice tyres wouldnt go amiss either :)

Next, Pillow Ball Upper Mounts would be a good move, as increased camber gives more front end grip and after a while you will find that with stock camber and drifting, the outer shoulders of the tyres get annihilated after one session in the dry. Cusco Pillow Ball Uppers are very good, and should provide enough adjustment really. I found a TRD Technocraft Rear Sway Bar helps also. Then chassis stiffening, be it strut tower bars, Do-Luck Power Bars, full weld in Cages or simply having the chassis of your 86 repaired and welded up professionally, it will all help. You could spot weld some of it up, but AE86's are designed to incorperate a certain inherant amount of chassis flex and if this flex is removed totally, the body can start to suffer by way of cracking... After this, it gets deeper with 2 Way LSD's, Traction Brackets, Adjustable 4 Links, NRCA's and Rose Jointed Lower arms, Adjustable Tie Rods, GT Knuckles on the GTV Manual Rack, Spin Turn Knobs, etc etc.

But probably above all of this..... Practice! Practice, practice and more practice. Then, when you break shit, you'll know what to replace :D Anyways, i gotta go to bed! I can spew some more shite out later if you need any.. :)

Paz

[Gary]

Woah! :eek:

Paz, as always you are the God of giving good 86 advice :thumbs:

(of course we know Adam is cool too because he is sorting a nice zaust for me ;) :thumbs: )

Would you recommend any performance upgrades?... I was thinking filter and zaust?... anything else?... *dreams of GZE or Weber carbs and HKS Cams :)*

[PazzaAE86]

Heh, thanks :)

The 4AGE and mods.. I guess, the 4AGE isnt about high power outputs really and they arent particularly needed id say. The key thing a 4AGE should have is a willingness to be revved and any mods which help this is a bonus. Filter and Exhaust is the obvious start, it must make a small amount of differance. The stock manifold isnt actually that bad, but if cams/carbs were to come into the equation id say replacing it was essential. Seeing as Janspeed ones *shudder* are quite cheap, it couldnt hurt to have one... Could be why my car sounds so horrible tho.. Id love a nice TRD Manifold in the future. Covering the basics should make the car feel that bit more lively and eager! A TRD Head Gasket couldnt hurt, a bit more compression ratio would be nice, especially with cams (see below).

After those mods, as with most all NA engines, its about money and time. Now the following, i have no first hand experiance with, these are things ive picked up from various people along the way but i can assume its accurate enough and should give some basis to start from.. Some 264 degree In/Ex Cams would be nice with the basic mods listed above. They wouldnt provide huge top end power, but it would be usable and the stock throttle body should be able to handle that nicely, along with the manifold, filter etc. Any bigger than 264's and ITB's or Carbs would be a nice compliment, along with an increased rev-limit of around 9k rpm. Stock Valve springs should cope with that just about. With 288 In/Ex, and Carbs/Throttle's setup correctly, 160hp shouldnt be out of the question. 288's put the power band up a bit too much for everyday use i guess, its a bit harder to keep in the power band im told. 300 Degree Duration requires a very high rev limit to get the most from them, and Yaris/TRD/Toda Valve Springs would be needed.. Were talking 10-11k rpm's with 300 degree duration cams! :eek: Ive no idea what bottom end youd need to run this reliably and i dont think ill ever find out :)

Anyway, yeah.. Id just start with the basic mods and keep the engine serviced with new Oil and Oil Filter as often as you can. Genuine Toyota Oil Filters are waaayyyy better than the Fensport ones, so if you can get ahold of them, thats a good thing! I use 15w50 oil in mine. Also, id guess your distributor seal leaks oil from the gasket and onto your manifold creating a stink? Id replace that gasket too if it does... Although i havent in over a year!!! Oops :)

But there are tonnes of other options when it comes to power, from the AE92 Hi-Comp conversion (like mine.. its more torquey, but the top end isnt quite there) to the much overated 20V conversion, the world is basically your oyster provided you got the money and/or time...

Paz

[Gary]

Wow, cheers man :)

Just thought of something else... if thats ok :)

What sort of wear and tear can I expect from drifting?... anything I should be prepared for? how I can minimise it?.

Thanks guys :thumbs:

[PazzaAE86]

Oh, i just thought of another thing you should make/buy. An Oil Catch Tank. My air filter is covered in oil due to the shitty design of the Oil Breather and the state of my engine :) Cusco do one for like, £80 and Coke-a-Cola do one for 70p (comes with a free drink too!) + DIY Piping. Its up to you.

Wear and tear.. Shit will break, i can guarentee it... I dont know if you can prepare for it as such, because you cant bring all the replacement parts with you, and you never know which you will need. Joining the AA or somthing is probably a good idea.

General Maintenance is the only thing you can do really, just keep a check on everything before you go drifting. A key thing is to put fresh oil in and an oil filter on there before you go drifting. Its pretty much the only thing you can do to help your engine and thus the engine will take a bit less of a pounding. Most practice days are on airfields/carparks etc so there isnt much you can hit that will damage suspension.. So no snapping of Track Control Arms etc.

The best thing to do is to be alert to what your car is telling you and acting upon it to avoid further damage.

Oh yeah, and take Zip Ties. Sounds daft, but they are the most usefull things. My exhaust has fell off 3 times now and each time, zip ties got me home (well... Home, or got me to somewhere i could leave the car till the next day).

Not much help really.. hehe :(

Paz