When it comes to the drift scene
its mostly S body nissans, Beamers and not much else, when it comes rotary the rx8 in particular doesnt get held in very high regard especially vs the RX7 purely because of the renesis engine.
I am however interested in seeing if anyone on here has drifted a stock RX8 and then a stock RX7 FD3S and would like to hear what you prefer and why.
It always falls into 2 categories when ive trawled the net, its either rx7 because its a rx7 and has turbos or a rx8 due to its newer chassis etc.
Mad mike Whiddett who is a personal hero of mine said he would take the RX8 over a RX7 in a OEM battle purely because the rx8 apparently has more torque?! and the chassis is overall better and less snappy and violent.
I currently own a RX8 and I will be using it as my first drift car, its a 231 6spd ive had a lot of "opinions" from people saying dont bother its crap and they sold theirs instantly, however upon further research they had the 5spd 192 which in all accounts is not a car to be drifted ..at least without a lot of effort, Or more a ton more effort than the 6spd version anyway as both will be hard work in comparison to a S body
My car is all OEM at the moment with the exception of a SOHN 2 stroke adaptor, havnt even lowered it or anything, going to buy a few sets of cheap 17 inch wheels for the rear and then have some fun on the 27th of august.
This is mostly because i am saving for a FD3S so dont particularly want to plough loads of money into this..
but i digress
RX7 the rotary rocket vs RX8
RX8 is a far less edgy chassis than the rx7. It\'s got a wide spread of torque although the peak figure isn\'t huge. You can certainly make it slide but you\'ll be working the clutch a lot to keep it sliding.
Yea that is exactly what I was thinking.
I just never understood why the rx8 "is a terrible drift car"
yet ask the same person about the rx7 and its "a very good drift car"
also compared to the s14 car handles great so to initiate the drift your trying to upset the handling of a great car. whereas show an s14 a wet roundabout and little boost and its a fishtailing death trap....had an s12 and 2 s14\'s. The s14 is the daddy of drift because its dreadful handling car! whearas the rx8 is great handling car.
Yeah i have a few friends in the BDC who all use S Bodies of some description.
You do get a fair few different cars but there is not a mazda in sight! ..shame really. it is full of S Bodies n other obvious drift car choices.
I think really drifting in general with these cars probably is not the best route forward but rotary runs in me like S bodies n pistons do in others.
So with that mindset i guess really the rx7 vs rx8 in drift is a null and void argument?
as they are both in reality a bit crap lol, you either choose school boy dream looks and boost or a more modern capable chassis which in one way is good, another way not so much, depends really if you are a rich privateer or part of a team who will build either RX for purpose.
Cheapest way to go drifting mx5 and fit 2 space savers on rear...seen it done. Hilarious!
lol Mx5\'s are becoming more prevalent in the drift scene now.
Had one before I got the rx8 however was rotting away so parted ways, fun little cars but wouldnt own another to be honest.
Theres a few lads drifting mx5\'s at my local track and they do perfectly fine, which makes me laugh because on paper a mx5 should be even worse than a RX8 to drift so i never understood the opinions against a rx8 for drifting yet will say yes to a mx5?
i dunno people be crazy, saying that im crazy because i want to drift rotary rockets haha
Only thing i am wary about buying a FD and doing drift days etc, is parts ..with the RX8 i can buy from japspeed every suspension part from trailing arms to front toe arms the whole shabang so if anything gives way its not a huge drama.
I am not seeing the same sort of support for a RX7 FD ..either that or i am on the wrong websites.
I think S chassis Nissans only became drift cars because that\'s how they drive, they always go sideways. I\'ve only driven one S chassis, an S14 with a manual and maybe 250 bhp, the engine was excellent, lots of go and not much lag but it was altogether too much for the chassis which felt wayward and twitchy. I dread to think what one with twice the power is like.
my friends RB powered sileighty has around 400 at the wheels
and..its mental..utterly utterly mental.
Few of my friends had/have S14 drift cars. Overall balance of that car is quite good. But they said that its impossible to go straight with that car. :)
Maybe the main reason for those being popular in drift scene is that they are easy and cheap to get. And LOTS of parts available. Btw, I dont like that SR engine. You have to bang rev limiter all the time and there is no torque ;)
I have heard that FD has is quite similar handling, very tail happy. But I imagine that RX-8 would be different. Just because its more modern chassis and (I think) its taller and wider...
Btw, nowadays there is lots of rx-8 in drift scene around the world :)
You see a few RX8s
there are very few rx8\'s here in the UK that have stayed with their owner for longer than one drift day.
They blame the car rather than their lack of talent and poor choice in car model, for some reason most go for the 5 speed.
my only issue is, how far do i go with the RX8, i dont want to modify it etc and then find i cant sell it, but at the same time i want to prove to others that rx8\'s are not a poor choice in drift cars.
I guess the answer to that lies when i return from the cars first drift day in late august.
I would do some basic modifications. Then, if car feels good, go a little further. Maybe supercharger at some point. It think that 5speed box is because they is not much time to change gears at drifting...
Few drifters here in Finland have come to weird problem. They have modified they car so heavily that it wont pass international rules. So I suggest that what ever you do, try to follow international rules. So if you have to sell that car, you can sell it to other country...
For example, my friend has old Mercedes with massive power and its very heavily modified. Lots and lots money has gone to build that car. That car would be compatible in every drift series. Now he wants to sell it. Nobody here wants to buy it because its so expensive. And he cant sell it to other countrys cause its wont pass international rules...
http://youtu.be/dRi9SNP9aew
That\'s a serious bit of kit! Why sell it? just use it and enjoy it for what it was built 4.
Was thinking the same!
In terms of people choosing the 5 speed 192 version of the rx8, they think because it has a few more torques than the 6 speed on paper, it will better for drifting which is entirely wrong, overall effective power and torque on the 231 6 speed is what you want if anything.
To be honest super charging the rx8 etc i will never do, far too much money that will be used to buy a RX7, in terms of what i meant by modifying my rx8 was possibly lowering it etc, but will see if that needs doing after august.
RX8 is an amazing chassis for handling and RX7 is amazing car for drifting but requires a lot of skill to do it well as it has its vices but it usually has the quickest entry speed of any car.
With an RX7 fd engine in an RX8 you would be able to make a seriously competitive drift car too.
Turbo RX7 s actuallyc an be made to drift extremely well but multirotor naturally aspirated is the way I would go if I had the budget for the best ever drift car cos control would be really good.
Hey Hayward rotary, nice to have a big player in the rotary world such as yourself to chime in!
Yeah If money was no object and i could afford it, a naturally aspirated 3 or 4 rotor would be the ideal way to go.
Its a strange situation with these 2 cars, obviously no chassis from factory was designed for drifting thats a given, the RX7 however was always about grip, then again all sports cars are for grip, its a time attack favourite for a reason however. The RX8 i never really knew where it sat because the whole purpose of the car was not pure sports like the rx7 was but a more every day friendly sporty car.
Its a strange one, I guess really between these two and nothing else, It comes down to what car you personally prefer especially if you can afford to do 3 or 4 rotor swaps.
The only caveat is if you are a privateer such as myself, in terms of what is more viable then i feel a FD3S is the better route to go over a RX8 purely because as soon as you feel you need more power, you come at a bit of a loss with the RX8 because going the turbo route is difficult, engine swaps are RX7 money and then some.
At least with a RX7 you can tune, single turbo conversions and have the horse power youll ever need.
Ironically that route is basically what i am doing but a FD3S is on the cards for me regardless.
It will be interesting to see what its like skidding a RX8 in August, Ive already been in a FD3S and its very ...hmm how to explain it because the word ill use will make it seem like a negative but its not, anyway its very ..wooden, stiff, you dont feel disconnected from the rear as it comes round its always right there, the car turns as a whole if that makes sense.
where as in comparison to say a S Chassis, the rear comes round like a bendy bus at an airport.
terrible analogy lol but hopefully you get the gist.
Also drifting is also about looks, and you dont see many RX8\'s on the privateer field, ive seen 2 in Formula D and thats about it, the car doesnt carry that "oh my its a X" swag like the RX7 always has.
The lines and looks of the RX7 has always got me, just always takes my eye, if you park a bugatti veyron next to a FD3S, ill look inside the veyron for 20 seconds and that will be it, all eyes on the FD3S...Not sure why either, i guess its the same feeling others get for S Chassis, or RX8\'s ..they love them, i love the FD3S.
FD takes some serious skills but also is very rewarding when you can drift it well.
Practice practice practice and good suspension setup are required and around 500 plus hp to be comptetitive.
Pete Barber drifted and RX7 and came 2nd in European drift championship some years back with car we were involved in and built and tuned the engines.
I can imagine, I know I\'m already going to be giving myself a hard time trying in a rx8. At least it will lay hopefully some solid foundations.
And yea I\'ve seen some the cars you have been involved In, quite an eye opener and very impressive
I dont know what kinds of tracks you are drifting. Our tracks here are quite "small" so cars has to react fast and has to change directions fast. So I would imagine that Fd would be better here as it is quite agressive car to drive. I think that Rx-8 would be better for faster tracks cause it has more neutral handling(I think).
my tracks are varied but mostly technical and small.
Quote from: PurcyP;881297It will be interesting to see what its like skidding a RX8 in August, Ive already been in a FD3S and its very ...hmm how to explain it because the word ill use will make it seem like a negative but its not, anyway its very ..wooden, stiff, you dont feel disconnected from the rear as it comes round its always right there, the car turns as a whole if that makes sense.
where as in comparison to say a S Chassis, the rear comes round like a bendy bus at an airport.
Having moved from an SR20 S13 to an FD, I laughed at your analogy... \'a bendy bus at the airport\' is the best I\'ve heard it put. Squeeze the power on out of Clearways gradually, bit more, uh oh there goes the back end, still going, right off the power, tail still going, opposite lock nearly onto the lock-stops and she comes back.
The FD is just so much easier to catch, as it moves all of a piece and proportionally, rather than letting go and making you a passenger.
Hahaha i am glad you could see where i was coming from then.