How to Create Your Own Drifting Car
Drifting is a unique form of racing that involves drivers competing against one another by executing a series of controlled power slides. Drifting started in the 1970s and gained popularity again with the movie "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift", released in 2006. Drift racers receive points for style rather than racing against other drivers or a clock, like traditional racers. By replacing the strut assembly, increasing the performance of your car and lowering its weight it's possible to create your own drifting car.
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Things You'll Need
- Hydraulic jack
- Jack stands
- Lug wrench
- Standard and Metric wrenches
- Strut bar
- Coilovers
Instructions
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1
Jack the front end of your car up with a hydraulic jack and place jack stands behind the front wheels at the jack points. Remove the lug nuts from the front wheels with a lug wrench and take the wheel and tire assembly off. Pop the hood latch and open the hood.
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2
Unbolt the strut assembly for the front right wheel by removing the bottom bolt first (under the wheel well) and then the top bolts (in the engine compartment, over the wheel well). Unhook the bracket that guides the brake line in the front, if it connects to the strut assembly. Remove the strut assembly and discard it. Repeat this step on the front left wheel.
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3
Place the strut bar over the engine, lining the holes on the ends up with the top bolts of the strut assembly. Install the new coilover springs for the front right wheel by following the removal procedure in reverse, ensuring to place the top strut bolts over the newly installed strut bar. Repeat this step on the front left wheel. Put the front wheels back on and tighten the bolts. Remove the jack stands and lower the front end with the hydraulic jack.
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4
Lift the rear end of the car up using the hydraulic jack and then place jack stands in front of the rear wheels, on the jack points. Remove the lug nuts from the rear wheels with the lug wrench and take the wheel and tire assembly off. Pop the trunk or hatch latch and open the trunk or hatch.
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5
Remove the trunk or hatch lining and discard it; the lining is unnecessary weight for your drifting car. Unbolt the strut assembly for the rear right wheel by removing the bottom bolt (located in the wheel well) and the top bolt (located in the trunk or hatch, right over the wheel well). Hold the strut assembly as you remove the bolts so that you do not drop it.
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6
Install the new coilover spring by following the removal procedure in reverse. Repeat the strut assembly removal on the rear left wheel. Bolt the rear wheels back onto the vehicle and remove the jack stands. Lower the rear end of the car with the hydraulic jack.
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7
Rid the vehicle of extra weight by removing the carpet lining, spare tire, console housing and the extra seats. Adjust the tension of the coilover springs to suit your drifting style, once you test the drifting car in a safe enclosed environment.
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Tips & Warnings
While you can perform these modifications on your everyday driving vehicle, it is best to use a separate vehicle specifically for drifting, as racing puts extra stress on your vehicle and can cause it to need maintenance much more frequently.
Be cautious when attempting to drift. You can easily lose control of your vehicle causing damage and possible serious injury to yourself.
Ensure that you are on a level surface and that you always use your parking brake when you lift your vehicle up on jack stands.
References
- Photo Credit yellow car, a honda japanese sport car model image by alma_sacra from Fotolia.com
