Ideal CA18DET engine spec?

[Mad Man Dan]

Howide,

if you were/are building an S13 for drifting, what do you recommend doing under the bonnet?

(taking into account stuff like suspension, diff, brakes, etc, taken care of. Wheels are 8.5x17 front and 9.5x17in rear)

Cheers.

[Jason]

hmmmm.... if it was just for drifting, id want around 350hp with no lag at all, hybrid T28, forgies, balanced bottom end, flowed head, tubular manifold....
basically lots of stuff to keep lag to an absolute minimum :)

[arry]

t'would have to be strong tho since its gonna be bouncin off the limiter a lot :nod:

[Hates_]

Getting a CA20DET? :p

[Gary@APT]

buying my engine:thumbs:

[Adam_AE86]

not sure you really need 350hp.........lol

Paz gets the job done with 121.34539978520356hp

[mittomatto]

buy garys engine!

mat

[dunc]

Originally posted by Jason
hmmmm.... if it was just for drifting, id want around 350hp with no lag at all,

Interested in this comment too, is loads of power really necessary?

Dunc :)

[arry]

not really necessary but it would sure be nice:nod:

[Adam_AE86]

need somthing to put it in first mat RING ME !!!

:thumbs:

[dunc]

Anymore comments from the hardcore drifters about the bhp?

Dunc :)

[PazzaAE86]

Im not just saying this because i have a low power car, but the concensus in Japan suggests that drifting with a low power car takes abit more doing than in a high power car.. The way i see it is it seems to be quite a differant style of driving needed and so i dont think its "harder" as such, it just depends on what your used to drifting in... If a drifter used to a high power car tried to drift an 86, i think they would struggle, as they have to change their style totally.. But a drifter going from an 86 to something with more power would probably find it an easier step to make...

But in my opinion the bottom line is.. You dont *need* heaps of power. :)

My 120hp was good enough to drift the final corner at Silverstone in 3rd gear, dry tarmac, with a decent amount of angle. I was sure my car was good enough for it, but at first during practice, my driving clearly wasnt. At no point did i lay the blame on my lack of power cus in my eyes, power has little to do with it... At the end of the day however, id (almost :D ) got to grips with it.

Paz

[dunc]

I've not really had the opertunity to try a long third gear drift (it's usually all 2nd gear at crail oval), is it safe to assume that a mildly tuned (~200bhp) s13 can do this? Is 4th ever used for drifting in the UK?

Dunc :)

[Jason]

i thought id would be easier with more power, ie the ability to break traction through accelerating (although this is obviously not the only way to break traction)

i thought of a hp figure where you will still have power through a lot of the rev range, ~ 350hp:)

[Mad Man Dan]

Having watched plenty of Option, Best Motoring DVD's, etc, I think the amount of power needed depends on the vehicle.

Apparently S13's are known for suffering from understeer (I presume HiCas alters this? Cos I can't remember getting anything other than oversteer? Then again I do have a size 11 right foot :o :thumbs: )

Therefore, S13's benefit from more power, whereas an S14 is better balanced, meaning you don't need as much power to provoke the rear end. Similarly, a Haichiroku doesn't need as much power 'cos it's lightweight and well balanced, so on the 'limit' you can be quite brutal with the power without fearing the car will suddenly spin (though stiffer suspension settings will obviously make the car more 'twitchy')

Also, you can combat turbo lag by using a different drift style (obviously, lag is never welcome, but it's effect can be minimised) For example, set the car up before the bend (using the handbrake possibly), then apply power and 'settle' the car sideways at the entrance of the bend. You can now apply constant (but not full) throttle all the way through the bend to the exit. The only problem will be that as you pas the apex of the bend sideways, the car will probs want to spin if you're on the correct line, but that's the 'art' of drifting I s'pose. :)

lag-free power is always good to get you out of trouble though if it does go pear-shaped...

I'm sure people like Paz, Ade, Phil, etc. will correct me if this is wrong! :cool:

[Genjuro]

I might be wrong but i'm sure i read somewhere (i think it was the first version of the velocity site) that torque is more important than power when drifting.

This would make sense as it would be easier to break the traction with a big a wallop of torque, which is why turbos are good for it. That said it could be difficult in a turbo due to the lag which has already been mentioned. More to Pazzas credit though it makes it even harder in a car with a narrow power band like an AE86. :thumbs: