Turning a 6ltr thunder into a wknd drifter

[VZSSL986LTRUTE]

Hi all, just picked up the vz thunder manual and wanting to have it set up with drift on the weekend in mind. Few dollars saved and planning on sitting it on 20's as well. Were do i start?

[SharkBiscuit]

Disclaimer - never had a set up drifter b4 but my 2c

20's for drift? Really?:confused: anyway, if you're serious, That'll keep the wallet busy. Also not a lot of side wall so I'd half expect you to roll tires so far onto the shoulder that you'd damage the rim on cheaper tyres.

Also, not sure how much lock you'll be able to put on the front wheels before it scrubs.

Lastly, I guess you'd want it very low and very stiff and even the rears could scrub at a low height on a VZ with 20's.

Apart from that, a locker (diff) is a must (I wonder how an ARB air locker would go if you want to street it as well?) and a big cfuk off clutch.

umm, hydraulic hand brake, maybe brake bias adjuster, big bolsters on seat

engine - sky's the limit (or budget)

[Tre-Cool]

I wouldnt bother with going 20's. Personally i reakon they dont suit the old models. Anything bigger then a 19" is just a waste, spend your money on go fast bits and some brakes. Wheels are last.

[VZSSL986LTRUTE]

20's on week days i should have said. Un sure of drift size?.. The hydraulic handbrake would be worth a look at. Was thinking a textralia clutch and see stone brothers about the diff. Is air bags an option, I do want it sitting rather low and obviously coil overs will be needed for 20's. I do agree too big does not work on the vz's in my opinon but 18 without dumping is just not big enough. the HSV VZ 19's in black works great but i've got my eye on some Giovanna's just featured in the latest Perth street car mag.... Engine unknown the sky is the limit??

[Evman]

20's on week days i should have said. Un sure of drift size?.. The hydraulic handbrake would be worth a look at. Was thinking a textralia clutch and see stone brothers about the diff. Is air bags an option, I do want it sitting rather low and obviously coil overs will be needed for 20's. I do agree too big does not work on the vz's in my opinon but 18 without dumping is just not big enough. the HSV VZ 19's in black works great but i've got my eye on some Giovanna's just featured in the latest Perth street car mag.... Engine unknown the sky is the limit??

I wouldn't go any bigger than 18's for drifting, simply for tyre availability. Definatelly a hydraulic handbrake, more so than most other mods... I'd avoid airbags. I'd imagine tein's or any other high quality adjustable suspension setup would be the go. Adjustability is gonna be the key for makin it work...

[VZSSL986LTRUTE]

What coil overs should i go?? will it work with moving back and forth from 18's to 20's??

[Evman]

What coil overs should i go?? will it work with moving back and forth from 18's to 20's??

Definintely talk to a suspension shop mate... I highly recommend WA Suspensions after having my car lowered there. Great workshop.

WA Suspensions (http://www.wasuspensions.com.au/)

[BADTMPRD]

Definintely talk to a suspension shop mate... I highly recommend WA Suspensions after having my car lowered there. Great workshop.

WA Suspensions (http://www.wasuspensions.com.au/)

Il second the work of the above shop, I think one of the boys may even run a skyline there that drifts or does circiut work as well....

But if i was drifting in my ute the list would go as follows I reckon.....

17" rims = cheap tyres
Tex single plate clutch
RIP shifter
3.9's or even 4.11's in the diff
Good quality drivers race seat
Teins coilovers
Head an cam package

An learn how NOT to hit the plastic barriers like I did drifting at powercuise lol

[185iboy]

- coilovers, strut bar, sway bar - suspension as rigid as possible, atleast you can adjust on the street
- turbo setup if you can with 3.9's, or else cam & tune would do nice with 4.11's
- get a set of 17 or 18s, something nice but you still wouldnt be in tears over damaging
- probably a button clutch and hydraulic handbrake

btw remember your car is also at risk, by other drifters aswell lol

[Evman]

There are chassis strengthening kits around... I'm sure one of the forums either makes them or sells them. I was reading up on them a few weeks ago and they look great... Maybe someone else on here will have a better idea of who sells them... I'll have a dig as well...

Same sort of kits as this, but I thought a sponsor was selling them... More digging required lol...

Link (http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=77772&highlight=chassis)

Bingo (http://vcm-suite.com.au/performance/undercarriage.html)

Same kit, but through VCM Suit :) (scroll down the page a bit)

Someone with experience (http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=83125&highlight=circuit&page=6)

:)

[VZSSL986LTRUTE]

I thought a big cam package would be the preferred option over turbo.. The general theme is to have it strong enough to handle being out of control most of the wknd and be driveable to and from work during the week.. No need for close combat bumper to bumper stuff but certainly able to push a high kw read out higher rev availablity capable of keeping it churping through 90% of the track. Thanks for comments so far... Would be nice to have it working like the 10 sec VE SS GMmotorsports freak show..

[TH0R]

I thought a big cam package would be the preferred option over turbo.. The general theme is to have it strong enough to handle being out of control most of the wknd and be driveable to and from work during the week..

well considering the demands you have i wouldnt even go down the NA path. you will need a decent amt of torque throughout the whole rev range, a driveline to back that torque up, a wheel/tyre package that will not be overly expensive, a chassis/suspension setup that provides stability throughout drifts and the gonads to back it up.

so how serious is this weekend drifting?

p.s. if not so serious, do the suspension, then tyres/wheels,then brakes... learn to handle the power you already have.

[eldan89]

Il second the work of the above shop, I think one of the boys may even run a skyline there that drifts or does circiut work as well....

But if i was drifting in my ute the list would go as follows I reckon.....

17" rims = cheap tyres
Tex single plate clutch
RIP shifter
3.9's or even 4.11's in the diff
Good quality drivers race seat
Teins coilovers
Head an cam package

An learn how NOT to hit the plastic barriers like I did drifting at powercuise lol

That's pretty good, but I'd work more on handling mods for the car rather than power. Many Jap cars have half the power of an SS and still manages to stay sideways.

Other Items which would be important are...

Race harness (safer and stops you falling out of the seat)
Heavy Sway bars
Oil Cooler
Improved Fuel pump/swirl pot (starved engine = bad)
A collection of rims / tyres
EG. 19" GTS for street (keep these away from the track so they don't get ruined)
4x 17" stocko's for smoking up
2x 18" or 19" with good rubber for the front when at the track.

[HSV Listy]

I will be giving drifting a go next year

If I was to start from scratch and based on what I have learned from circuit racing mods. I would do the below.

Get a PS cooler
Few sets of cheap 17 inch wheels and cheap 225 tyres
Hard springs front and rear and lower it a bit. Stock shocks would do for a bit
Locker diff or Trutrak diff. My trutrak seems to lock nice in the corners
Maybe 3.9 gears while you are changing the diff
Basic tune, ORI, headers and straight out exhaust
Hydraulic handbrake are pretty cheap too
Try to find some mods to the steering arms to get more steering angle

If budger allows to go further
Get a Tex clutch (good idea to plan for one atleast, the stock one will die)
Ripshfiter
Sump baffles or upgraded sump to handle Gs

I am no guru but IMO that would be a good start and keep the budget down until you get better at it. From there, better suspension, more power, wider tyres and chassis strengthening stuff etc etc.

[wagnman]

Make sure you put some research into finding someone to do your wheel alignment for you that has had experience with drift and or circuit cars.

Correct wheel allignment can make or brake a race car no matter how much $$$ and hard ware you throw at the thing.

Oh yeh and dont be shy to go to the drifting and have a crack and talk to all the guys and gals there as you'll be suprised how welcoming most racers are. People will help out with advice when you are just starting out.

[VZSSL986LTRUTE]

Yeah all the posts so far have certainly helped. Race harness, hydraulic clutch, 3" system with 1'7/8", 4 to 1 ceramic coated heads with big cats all being priced or fitted within the next 2-3 wks. Then playing with clutch and diff package. A big question is turbo or supercharger..
HSV Listy u said something about a mod on the steering arm?? Any advice on were to find info on options??
And in Perth who's the man to see about wheel alignment and suspension who's working with the drifters?
Thanks all..

[Evman]

Yeah all the posts so far have certainly helped. Race harness, hydraulic clutch, 3" system with 1'7/8", 4 to 1 ceramic coated heads with big cats all being priced or fitted within the next 2-3 wks. Then playing with clutch and diff package. A big question is turbo or supercharger..
HSV Listy u said something about a mod on the steering arm?? Any advice on were to find info on options??
And in Perth who's the man to see about wheel alignment and suspension who's working with the drifters?
Thanks all..

Good to hear it's all go for ya mate, I'll be very keen to watch this build, and depending on the area you live, even bring the tools around and give you a hand if ya ever need one! The turbos and superchargers have very different characteristics, as you might well know. It's really going to be up to you to do a lot of digging and research to work out exactly what you want from your car. In just about every instance, when the question has been asked here it's turned into a shit fight between the supercharger fans and turbo fans... I'm sure either way you go it'll have the mumbo to spin the treads, but if it's still a street car you need to think about where you want your power/torque bands :) Obviously if you go the turbo, hold off on getting any exhaust work done too.

Another idea would be to get your exhaust done however for the street, but a set of dump pipes as well that can bypass the cats/exhaust to get some loud noises going...

WA Suspensions or Wilkinson Suspension Centre would be my two picks to at least talk to some pros about suspension mods :)

[vyssbeast]

Dont buy the extractors if you are contemplating turbos

P.s. with the power on/off/on/off style of driving involved in drifting, wasnt it mentioned somewhere that is not the most supercharger friendly style in terms of belt problems ??

Im no expert but thought i might be able to jog someones memory on that topic and they could chime in with alittle more help than that

[Evman]

Dont buy the extractors if you are contemplating turbos

P.s. with the power on/off/on/off style of driving involved in drifting, wasnt it mentioned somewhere that is not the most supercharger friendly style in terms of belt problems ??

Im no expert but thought i might be able to jog someones memory on that topic and they could chime in with alittle more help than that

I can see where you're comin from, but there are quite a few aftermarket belt tensioner kits that'd solve that... Wouldn't they? (I'm in the same boat, learning here as well :))

[HSV Listy]

Sorry but can not help you where to go but the jap cars add bits to the steering arms so the wheels get additional turn to hold the drift without spinning around. Check the drift shows on TV as some of those cars run near on 90 degress lock. Also sureflow exhausts runs a professional drifter so maybe he can help too. There is a LS1 member that runs a high spec monaro drift car in NZ. Try a search under drift and see what info you can find. Also in the circuit racing times thread there is some details.
Also CAPA will know allot as they did Boldgers drift car set up. Pretty mean car too. I think he used to run a side mount V7 supercharger but now it is a big cube NA car (I think)