Any drifters out there?
 

I have a issue. Whenever I try to exit a drift my car gets really snappy. My entry is on point and it holds the slide really well, it's just my exiting is not up to par. My buddy Marc( from we" drift) says its my diff attempting to correct my driving. Anyone else car to chime in?

If you're on your stock diff then it's your diff slipping. The stock vlsd is very hard to control because it's never on full lock and its locking point is inconsistent at best. A diff doesn't try to "correct" anything, it only controls where your power is going. Its behavior is purely mechanical in nature and is not dictated by anything else.

Been to two drifting events with the stock LSD. Donuts/figure eights are fairly easy to control but long slides are difficult because when you try to modulate the lsd will fail to hold. I'm still working on getting my new LSD installed. Just waiting for parts.

I see, but my problem is finishing the slide.
How long where the long slides that you found difficult?

You say you understand and yet you say you're having problems as if the question had not been answered. You are going to continue having problems finishing your slides cleanly because you/we do not have a mechanical locking LSD. I'm not going to say it can't be done, I'm sure someone much better than I can do it with relative ease, but the characteristics of a viscous LSD is that it will never lock 100% and thus your car will retain grip at unexpected moments (IE at the end of your drift).

The key to drifting is to constantly keep the rear tires spinning so they cannot achieve grip. With an open diff you're basically only spinning 1 wheel which is not adequate to maintain a drift. As the VLSD heats up the viscous fluid that allows it to operate basically turns to mush and you're essentially trying to drift with an open diff. This is the problem. You have maybe 30 min to an hour on a track before that happens. Even when it is operating properly it's maybe 80% lock because the LSD is being turned by a liquid and fins instead of gears and discs.

Someone correct me if some of this is way off.

I'm actually not sure exactly how long the section of the track was. I want to say between 75 to 100 feet from entry to exit? but I could be way off... Never exactly walked the track.

Want Drift, need proper LSD, end of story.

Im prepping my Z for drifting now, a proper LSD is at the top of my list, I am still unsure which one to go with though, I like Kazz, had it in my S14.5, I also like the Nismo GT PRO, I dont think you need to spend over $1500 for a quality LSD.

Suspension is next.

Okay, I get it.That explains why things progressively got worse. My car also went into limp mode👎and the frustration got worse. Thanks for the reply btw

Yea, I noticed. I'll just deal with it for now since I don't drift competitively. Suspension, wheels, and exhaust are coming soon though.

Do you have an oil cooler? Our car desperately needs one if it's going to see the track at all. I recommend 25row stillen kit (you have difficultly getting to optimal temperature with anything larger). If you were not hitting high temperatures and STILL hit limp mode then disconnect the battery and drain it (sit on the brakes or something) and then reconnect. Should fix the issue. I hit something similar to limp mode without going over 220 oil temp. No CEL, nothing. Had to disconnect battery and do the drain thing before the car would let me go over 4k RPM again. I don't know why it locked me up but it did. After the reset it didn't happen again for the rest of the day though.

If you like drifting I would suggest an LSD over the suspension. Our cars don't exhibit a ridiculous amount of body roll so a full coilover can wait a bit. The benefits of the LSD over the suspension for drifting is going to be higher. Or get the suspension and wait on the rims. Our sport rims are great. Infact I'm considering buying base rims to drift on since they'll be easier to break loose.

I would highly recommend you do something about the fuel starvation the 370z suffers from as well.

Here is my guide lines of things you need to be able to drift proper. I have little over 13 years of drifting and being heavily into it. I have seen my share of cars go to the scap yard, including one I put there myself.
My last drift car engine build www.ka-t.org :: View topic - My build

#1, A good LSD 1.5way for more experienced drivers and 2way for the newbies. can't afford a good diff and still going to drift no matter what, you might as well just weld it. (yes you can daily drive a welded diff)
#2, Good brakes, and no ABS
#2 1/2, Cooling, oil, diff and power steering coolers, the Z's are known to boil their diff fluid, and that is a bad thing specially for a clutch type LSD, drifting puts a lot of heat in to your car, keeping the engine fluids, power steering fluids cool is important.
#3, Suspention, good coilovers (look and see what Chris Forsberg is running and his setup on his 370Z FD car) also include adjustable arms, bushings, and solid bushings for the diff, subframe, steering rack, and rear knuckles are best for drifting. Reason for these is the play you get from the rubber or poly bushings can be a little bit unpredictable, and installing solid bushing will make the car very loud, but it will handle more predictable and that is something you want.
#3 1/2, Get your car corner balanced and your suspension proper aligned for what your doing, it will make a huge difference.
#4, Fuel starvation, right hand turns are a bitch when you pushing those lateral G's in the 370z's.
The advice section:
#5, Make sure you have a second car, difting will break the things.
#6, Remember it's not if you wreck, it's when you wreck, and drifting can be damn expensive, don't be a cheap *** on parts either.
#7, Drifting is something you do before, in, and out of a corner. Power sliding, doughnuts, and power overs are not drifting, no matter what anyone else tells you.
#8, Work on your short game build a foundation then work your way up to the big stuff. Driving an under powered car is the best way to build a solid foundation. Cars like the AE86, and the S13/S14 etc (aka your drift bitch, something your not afraid to hurt and usually is ugly as hell but cheap for parts), will help you lean more and be a much better driver/drifter.
#9, Good Luck!

Is there a fix for fuel starvation?
Does it start starving at certain fuel levels only?

People have reported it at around a quarter tank. I usually fill up before sessions and have yet to experience fuel starvation.

Happened to me a little under a quarter. After taking a hard right turn pretty aggressively. Seems to happen mostly on hard right turns

+1 has happened to me twice with a quarter tank. Just last night actually.

my 370 is not a drift car, but i run the Cusco Type RS clutch type differential, which has alot of tuneability. It can be setup for both 1.5 way or 2 way, as well as other settings that dictate lockup behavior

Yes there is. You have to install "phunk's" road race pump kit. It's a second fuel pump that gets installed in the tank on the drivers side. It's not cheap. You're looking at a $1000.00. It will take you about a day to install it. Here's a link to my install, and another talking about the problem.

http://www.the370z.com/track-autocro...p-install.html

http://www.the370z.com/track-autocro...l-product.html

Uff, Ill stick to always making sure my fuel level is above 1/4 tank.

Good luck. I got fuel starve at a half tank on the street. Some guys was/is getting it at about 3/4 full on the track. :eek:

Jeez, really Nissan?!?

if you dont do the road race fix kit, do what us road course guys do and just top off. drifting you should be fine, we are and we're under sustained G load

I put in a quaife LSD and love the way I can power slide and drift now. the OEM VLSD is terrible.

I chose helical gear (quaife) for ease of maintenance and durability.

for drifting a 2 way is ideal at either 80% or 100% lock up. since 2 way has the same lock engagement under acceleration and decel, it makes it consistent under the rapid "on/off" throttle inputs during drifting

Here is something inspirational for you guys.

http://vimeo.com/32479489

When it comes to parts look what the pros are running in track and drift, and use that as a good jumping off point. Everyone has an opinion but most people have only run one of whatever it is, and don't know anything past that.
You can hit up the guy that runs the Nismo RC on this site and you usually can hit up Forsberg on Facebook or hit him or his team at one of the FD events.

:iagree:I preach about #7 more than fat girls eat.

:tiphat:Great advise though. My last car was the end of cheap/ fake parts, no worries here.

I'm currently building a sr20det powered e21, but i might just sell it and get a 240. I want to start getting competitive soon. Hopefully getting a s15 in a few years:driving::yum:

:driving:

Sweet vid :tup:

The vlsd is a piece :shakes head:

how does the quaife perform against other diffs?

Here is a SpeedHunters artical about the car, including some of the parts and engine they used
CAR FEATURE>> CHRIS FORSBERG'S FORMULA D 370Z - Speedhunters

Ive only driven the Quaife, (and OEM) but for my mostly DDing and occasional dirt road drifting around the back woods it is great. It is much more predictable than the OEM VLSD (sport) and does not build up nearly as much heat. I believe it will be much more durable (than OEM) and know it is much more fun.

Bear in mind I'm more of a powerslider and doughnut spinner than a drifter, so I would look for more experienced drivers for advice if you are going for a "track drifting" upgrade.

I chose Quaife over locking clutch type LSD. (I think NISMO makes one BTW) due to this being mostly a DD and the clutch diffs are a bit unpleasant for DD. I understand there are "clunking noises etc and jerky around parking lots etc. Also I understand that the clutch plates inside 2 way diffs eventually wear down and require maintenance and go through diff fluid much more quickly due to heat buildup as they are friction operated.

overall I think they (clutch-plate style adjustable 1.5 and 2 way diffs) are better for "serious" drifters (which I am not) but the tradeoff is more maintenance and harsh DD.

Good luck with your choice. I recommend hitting up some drift events and talking to the guys before you decide. If that's not possibly bolt in something fun and decide for yourself! your real expense is going to be tires, you will hardly notice the money you spend maintaining your diff lol

Quaife LSDs are used in a lot of rally cars, so I know they are build for speed, but you would have to ask a real racer for a better understanding of the nitty gritty pros and cons.

FINALLY some more 370 guys into drifting...where have you been??

OP, yes I have that issue every time I exit, it snaps like crazy but Ive gotten used to it. I thought I just need to be a little more smooth on releasing the gas but the whole VLSD stuff makes sense. I need to get an LSD but trying not to spend right now on anything but tires. If you check my videos you will see the snap.

This thread makes me happy though as the more 370's we have into drifting, the more aftermarket support we may get for items such as tie rods and 2nd caliper setups.

I have started my built yesterday.
http://i.imgur.com/adakdjQ.jpg

-KW Veriant 3 coils
-H&R spacers with replaced longer studs
-SPC camber upper
-Stillen intakes

Next to come:
-Eibach adjustable sway bars
-Z1 brake lines with RBF 600
-Invidia Genesis CBE
-Megan down pipes
-SPC rear camber arms.
-Kaaz 2way SuperQ LSD
-Nismo finned diff cover
-Oil cooler

That should be enough for now

now that's a good looking wheel well

Good list there. Lmk how you like the SPC arms, I was waiting on SPL but I want to have something for the next event. Im wondering how much camber they can get and if they slip. Been having crazy understeer issues.

Just fyi guys, Im working with Mike at NST to get a tie rod adapter made for our cars that will add more angle ;)

NICE! when do you think those adapters will be ready?

I was supposed to drop off my steering rack with him this weekend since he just got back from Formula D but didnt have time to take it off. I need to call him and ask if hes available still. He wants to try a few different sizes, 10mm~20mm.

Clutch type LSDs are better for rally btw. Also with a proper clutch type diff tune and fluid choice, a clutch type LSD can be fine for street and very smooth, OR just buy a OS giken which is one of the smoothest operating clutch diffs on the market

When I drift the OS Giken LSD is perfect. I can hold tail out no issue and it tucks back in when I let off go pedal very smoothly.

Anybody else but me on a Quaife?

Nah, I went with OSgiken. Still waiting on some parts to install it...

like i posted earlier, Im on a Cusco Type RS with custom settings

im pretty sure jason (eventhorizon) is on a quaife

I'm somewhat of an outsider here since I'm drifting on a 2008 G35 Sedan, but as the Z34 suspension is identical to it, I'm hoping to get some insight on other peoples' setups.

I'm on a 1.5 OS Giken LSD, but I'm suffering from lack of steering angle at the moment. @VDC_OFF - I'm also interested in a set of tie rod spacers. I will be collaborating with Powered By Max in San Diego,CA to figure out an LCA solution, as well as roll center correction.