Firstly, if I crashed my current S14 drift car and had to get a entirely new car – It would be an S-chassis again. Probably even keeping the normal SR20DET engine.
For one I think the S-chassis is one of the great platforms in the drifting world. For its time, the suspension was that of a true sports car. Of course the later skylines came in with double wishbone suspension, but the MacPherson struts have proven to be more than up to the job, while keeping the car at an acceptable weight.
Having drifted heavier platforms (skyline) to lighter platforms (AE86) I maintain that a properly set up S-chassis car offers the ideal balance between weight and power. I don’t believe a drift car requires more than 350hp to be competitive on any track in central europe.
The standard issue SR20DET engine can easily be run at a stable 350hp with relatively minor modification. The entire head and block can be left stock. Even the stock head gasket has proven surprisingly strong if the car has a good maintenance history.
Having experimented with shiny headers, big aftermarket intake systems and other nifty-sounding parts – I came to the conclusion that the stock items are less prone to cause troubles and are more than enough potent to run the 350hp we are talking. Even numbers around 400hp can be run on a similar setup.
If it needs to be competitive, it mainly needs to be reliable.
What good is 500hp if it breaks down before the Top16 battles on an average 2-day event? Also, if you run competitively you drive so many trainings sessions and competition runs per season that you can’t afford to fix up your machine every second event.
At over 100 new tires per season, tire costs and fuel consumption also come into calculation. That’s why I envy the AE86 drivers. They rarely burn trough more than 2-3 sets of tires a day because the car is so light and there’s less wear and tear in general.
The S14 comes in right in the middle at around 3-5 sets of rear tires a day depending on the tarmac, temperature and so on. I’ve seen big power setups on heavy cars that will go trough a set of new tires in TWO LAPS. I’m kind of glad I don’t have that much power or weight or I’d lose valuable seat time changing tires constanly, and have even higher tire costs every season.
So we’ve established that for almost any S14 driver be it just for fun or for competitive use, especially beginners, they will not need anything more powerful than a mildly modified SR20DET setup for years.
Another point is that the weight distribution is not entirely perfect (55 / 45) but pretty good, and it has a long wheelbase. I’m always surprised by the angle and speed even an almost stock s14 is capable of if driven properly. We used to say it „almost drifts by itself“.
There’s also a huge amount of aftermarket parts available.. probably even more parts than for the skylines. And the performance parts tend to be noticably cheaper than for skylines and other newer platforms.
But even if you don’t want to get many aftermarket parts, that’s where the S14 never fails to impress me: I’m now running my third season on the same rear Wheel hubs that have been in for 3 years. The drivetrain is stock with the same stock gaskets and everything from 3 years ago, and that was 350hp in competition mode!
There’s just many aspects of the S14 which were over-engineered from the beginning so many of the stock parts are good enough even for drift competition applications.
I’ve crashed this car quite a few times, but the rear axle, differential, drivetrain and body just take it! It’s genuinely incredible.
Ok let’s get to some of the drawbacks I’ve experienced: (not necessarily the same for everyone 😉
– The turbo gaskets blow like every 5 minutes if you don’t make sure to reduce vibrations and tighten them really well (locktite, flexible tube in the downpipe, etc)
– Generally with the high temperature applications, a turbo charged setup is less reliable than a nice N/A motor. Vibrations, heat, more compontents that may break, everything gets a bit more complicated, and every time you strenghten or modify a part of this system, new problems could arise which could cause unreliability.
– Temperatures! With the high boost turbo application, make absolutely sure you have everything that’s going on monitored! Boost gauge, Oil temperature, oil pressure, exhaust gas temparature and ideally a knock-monitor are a must! You never know when suddently after a full throttle dirt drop some intercooler hose will rattle off, or the MAF gets dirty causing the engine to run too lean!
I’ve experienced a blown engine some time ago because I failed to monitor all aspects effectively!
– Transmission! The stock transmission’s 3rd gear is too weak for true drifting applications. If you are lucky a transmission *can* hold an entire season, but if you really go all out on very fast tracks, you will break 3rd gear often. Our team driver Dino Rockstroh destroys around 3 transmissions per season. On novice level this will not happen so don’t worry if you’re just starting drifting.
– Just keep in mind if you want a reliable S14 setup, it will probably cost you more than the popular BMW 3-series driftcar with an N/A motor. Also, at least in the German drifting scene, many parts for these 3-series cars can be found much easier, and cheaper.
– If you are a beginner I would say you can learn to drift easier by using a non-turbo setup (with more than 200hp!). Especially with a bigger turbocharger, the Sr20DET is a 2.0 litre after all so there will be a noticeable amount of turbo lag.
I believe it’s possible to almost fully eliminate the drawbacks compared to a N/A drift car with driving technique, but in the end it is always harder to drive a turbo smoothly at the limit.
Maybe that’s part of the reason why I’d never want an N/A setup. I just love the goabs of torque coming in suddenly at higher revs! It makes for a completely different drifting style than most N/A machines.
I could probably go on for hours but that’s the first thoughts that came to my mind.
Keep in mind I’m not saying the S14 is better than many other drifting platforms – But it just feels right for me and I wouldn’t want to drive anything else so far!
Firstly, if I crashed my current S14 drift car and had to get a entirely new car – It would be an S-chassis again. Probably even keeping the normal SR20DET engine.
For one I think the S-chassis is one of the great platforms in the drifting world. For its time, the suspension was that of a true sports car. Of course the later skylines came in with double wishbone suspension, but the MacPherson struts have proven to be more than up to the job, while keeping the car at an acceptable weight.
Having drifted heavier platforms (skyline) to lighter platforms (AE86) I maintain that a properly set up S-chassis car offers the ideal balance between weight and power. I don’t believe a drift car requires more than 350hp to be competitive on any track in central europe.
The standard issue SR20DET engine can easily be run at a stable 350hp with relatively minor modification. The entire head and block can be left stock. Even the stock head gasket has proven surprisingly strong if the car has a good maintenance history.
Having experimented with shiny headers, big aftermarket intake systems and other nifty-sounding parts – I came to the conclusion that the stock items are less prone to cause troubles and are more than enough potent to run the 350hp we are talking. Even numbers around 400hp can be run on a similar setup.
If it needs to be competitive, it mainly needs to be reliable.
What good is 500hp if it breaks down before the Top16 battles on an average 2-day event? Also, if you run competitively you drive so many trainings sessions and competition runs per season that you can’t to fix up your machine every second event.
At over 100 new tires per season, tire costs and fuel consumption also come into calculation. That’s why I envy the AE86 drivers. They rarely burn trough more than 2-3 sets of tires a day because the car is so light and there’s less wear and tear in general.
The S14 comes in right in the middle at around 3-5 sets of rear tires a day depending on the tarmac, temperature and so on. I’ve seen big power setups on heavy cars that will go trough a set of new tires in TWO LAPS. I’m kind of glad I don’t have that much power or weight or I’d lose valuable seat time changing tires constanly, and have even higher tire costs every season.
So we’ve established that for almost any S14 driver be it just for fun or for competitive use, especially beginners, they will not need anything more powerful than a mildly modified SR20DET setup for years.
Another point is that the weight distribution is not entirely perfect (55 / 45) but pretty good, and it has a long wheelbase. I’m always surprised by the angle and speed even an almost stock s14 is capable of if driven properly. We used to say it „almost drifts by itself“.
There’s also a huge amount of aftermarket parts available.. probably even more parts than for the skylines. And the performance parts tend to be noticably cheaper than for skylines and other newer platforms.
But even if you don’t want to get many aftermarket parts, that’s where the S14 never fails to impress me: I’m now running my third season on the same rear Wheel hubs that have been in for 3 years. The drivetrain is stock with the same stock gaskets and everything from 3 years ago, and that was 350hp in competition mode!
There’s just many aspects of the S14 which were over-engineered from the beginning so many of the stock parts are good enough even for drift competition applications.
I’ve crashed this car quite a few times, but the rear axle, differential, drivetrain and body just take it! It’s genuinely incredible.
Ok let’s get to some of the drawbacks I’ve experienced: (not necessarily the same for everyone 😉
– The turbo gaskets blow like every 5 minutes if you don’t make sure to reduce vibrations and tighten them really well (locktite, flexible tube in the downpipe, etc)
– Generally with the high temperature applications, a turbo charged setup is less reliable than a nice N/A motor. Vibrations, heat, more compontents that may break, everything gets a bit more complicated, and every time you strenghten or modify a part of this system, new problems could arise which could cause unreliability.
– Temperatures! With the high boost turbo application, make absolutely sure you have everything that’s going on monitored! Boost gauge, Oil temperature, oil pressure, exhaust gas temparature and ideally a knock-monitor are a must! You never know when suddently after a full throttle dirt drop some intercooler hose will rattle off, or the MAF gets dirty causing the engine to run too lean!
I’ve experienced a blown engine some time ago because I failed to monitor all aspects effectively!
– Just keep in mind if you want a reliable S14 setup, it will probably cost you more than the popular BMW 3-series driftcar with an N/A motor. Also, at least in the German drifting scene, many parts for these 3-series cars can be found much easier, and cheaper.
– If you are a beginner I would say you can learn to drift easier by using a non-turbo setup (with more than 200hp!). Especially with a bigger turbocharger, the Sr20DET is a 2.0 litre after all so there will be a noticeable amount of turbo lag.
I believe it’s possible to almost fully eliminate the drawbacks compared to a N/A drift car with driving technique, but in the end it is always harder to drive a turbo smoothly at the limit.
Maybe that’s part of the reason why I’d never want an N/A setup. I just love the goabs of torque coming in suddenly at higher revs! It makes for a completely different drifting style than most N/A machines.
I could probably go on for hours but that’s the first thoughts that came to my mind.
Keep in mind I’m not saying the S14 is better than many other drifting platforms – But it just feels right for me and I wouldn’t want to drive anything else so far!