Best 300 for drifting?

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vovo
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by vovo » 29 Nov 2009 07:44 pm

i got a quote for a 340 1.4 im 22 no no claims but no accidents or anything 360 i thought that was dirt cheap considering my diesel caddy is £500 thats with direct line and i always find that fully comp is cheaper except on my 78 alfasud that was the only car that was cheper tpft strange i think :D
1987 volvo 360 saloon
1989 vw caddy custom
1978 alfa romeo alfasud
1996 ford escot van

CWA
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by CWA » 04 Dec 2009 03:08 am

To try and persuade this back on topic a little.. in terms of drifting Volvos.

Does anyone else find them really hard to 'feel'? I was out having a play in my 340 tonight and it was nice and damp so was getting the back end out fine. First real cheeky little sesh i've had in it.

Found it fine getting the rear out, but really hard feeling when it was about to snap back in. And more so, once it did snap, it was hard feeling when the wheel was fully straightened. I would find that once the back regained grip, i would whack the wheel straight but find myself messing about a lot after - wiggling wheel left and right as i would correct a little or not enough, and i just couldn't feel when it was all nice and 'balanced' again.

This is after driving an old beetle about, i found it much harder to feel and knew what the back was doing alot more than this volvo. Saying that though, I had been driving the bug for at least a year before i started pushing it, and I've only had the Volvo a couple of weeks. Maybe I just need to spend time getting used to it? Also the steering is much heavier than the bug, so once my arms have beefed up some.. maybe it would be easier then?

This is with standard suspension by the way, which I'm guessing doesn't help?

Thoughts, tips and experiences appreciated!

Oh.. and this is all done on private property, not the open road of course!

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Chris_C
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Chris_C » 04 Dec 2009 04:25 am

Sounds like your front end alignment is screwed... chopped springs per chance?
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

CWA
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by CWA » 04 Dec 2009 05:26 am

Na not at all mate, it's a standard car. Not been fiddled with, as of yet lol

It drives fine when the back follows the front, its just when you go skidding.. I can't seem to 'feel' it properly. It's not like the tracking is out or whatever.

I just find it a bit of a boat at the moment lol, should have some of Dai's springs up front soon enough though.. should help tighten things up. It will be easier to feel then, won't it?

Plus we just haven't clicked yet, I'm sure all it needs is time and practise ;)

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Chris_C
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Chris_C » 04 Dec 2009 09:58 am

Strange, could be you arn't used to it, but they have a huge amount of feeling through the wheels. I'm not a drifty type though, so not up on whats normal!
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

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SteveP
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by SteveP » 04 Dec 2009 09:59 am

Worn steering damper?
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

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Speedy88
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Speedy88 » 04 Dec 2009 03:47 pm

I'd go for one of the above. Mine was a little hard to learn for the first few months but then it's also my first rwd car. A lot of guesswork was involved but I usually got it 90% right. TBH I don't really think about it when I'm counter turning, kinda comes naturally. It always straightens up true though with no over-countering. I find it to be quite easy, under 35mph. Over that it skips a little bit but I can still keep it straight quite easily.
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

Stav2
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Stav2 » 04 Dec 2009 04:21 pm

IMHO get a 360, any 360 will do, but PAS is nice to have for drifting IMO, and ive owned and drifted ones with and without.

A stock carb 360 in good nick and a stripped interior can pull 5 car lengths on a stock but mint Mk2 Golf GTI from 40-100 or so, and that is me in the Golf (its my daily) and my friend in his 360.
SteveP wrote:I don't think any 300 is particularly good for drifting as they are inherently well weight-distributed.
IMO they are one of the best basic car BECAUSE they have good weight distribution, they are fantastic considering how un-sporty they are.
Most cars are front heavy so unless have been made to be sporty are understeery and shite, 300 series are very very neutral for an unsporting car, which is a god send.
Ive owned countless shed cars to drift, including turbocharged 200, 700, and 900 series volvos, and 300s are about the best of the cheapo drifters due to the balance IMO.
SteveP wrote:Totally agree with volvodspec, if anything PAS makes it harder as it loses some of the self centering properties that you get with a manual rack.
Thats a funny one too, ive always got on much much better with the 300s and other drift cars with PAS than the ones without. Theory says its better without, reality is ive never found it. Aside from very few AE86s, you never see people removing their PAS on their drift cars, infact a few people have and hated it.

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SteveP
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by SteveP » 04 Dec 2009 05:09 pm

Hmm perhaps we have different experiences. My 940 Wentworth with locking diff had far more steering angle and hung it's arse out far easier than the 360's I've driven. Considering these are now cheaper than 300's I'd rather start with one of these. I've driven 300's alot so maybe I don't appreciate the fact that other cars can have the ol' inherent understeer :lol:

You wouldn't remove PAS from the typical drift car's (SX's , Skylines etc) because surely you'd be using a power assisted rack without assitance - I'm not sure how that'd work? Unless you can buy off the shelf manual racks for these? Certainly with the 300's a non-PAS car has better self centering (the wheel practically spins back by itself!) at the expense of a slower steering rack.

Horses for courses, Ali used to love the non-PAS when drifting but when his mate Andy (Andy_F) on DW tried drifting it he really struggled being used to the 200SX with PAS
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

Stav2
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Stav2 » 04 Dec 2009 05:27 pm

I think a 940 Wentworth being easier is a lot to do with driving style etc tbh, getting it out with power is easier, holding it at angle is easier as its long, but actual drifting ive always got on with 300s far better.
Even with PAS rack the 360 self centres quicky, doesnt tug you so much when driving normally, but on the rack it sure does.

Regarding off the shelf non-pas racks, yes and no, but simple fact is most top drift cars and race cars are mega budget items, and countless less big spec drift cars have racks off other cars, so fitting a non-pas rack would be done if it was a help.
But it never ever is, as its not.

I have Ali's old 360 now, and the lack of PAS sucks for drifting compared to a couple ive had in the past. Its no killer but its deffo no advantage.

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SteveP
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by SteveP » 04 Dec 2009 06:31 pm

Oh I certainly agree about the PAS on the 360's being pretty damn good for self centering anyway... but I noticed this more on the non PAS cars.

If you fancy a PAS conversion for yours it's a pretty easy swap anyway
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

CWA
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by CWA » 05 Dec 2009 12:25 am

When you mention 'self-centering'.. is this actually applicable when drifting?

Like, if you turned a corner normally the wheel will want to self centre when you are straightening the car.

But when you are starting to slide.. as the back creeps round, the wheel actually wants to automatically put on opposite lock, as opposed to 'self centre'? And then when you actually want to centre the wheel after the back has regained grip, that actually requires all the effort?

So what has self centering actually got to do with it?

Maybe that's just my take, and I haven't really done it enough to be sure of it yet..

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Speedy88
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Speedy88 » 05 Dec 2009 02:02 am

Speedy88 wrote:I'd go for one of the above. Mine was a little hard to learn for the first few months but then it's also my first rwd car. A lot of guesswork was involved but I usually got it 90% right. TBH I don't really think about it when I'm counter turning, kinda comes naturally. It always straightens up true though with no over-countering. I find it to be quite easy, under 35mph. Over that it skips a little bit but I can still keep it straight quite easily.
I make myself laugh sometimes. Tried to impress some celica boys tonight, went into the corner all relaxed and one-handed like, thought "I'm gonna drift this bitch" ended up struggling to keep it on the road with plenty of counter steering until I took my foot off the throttle :lol: I'm a muppet.
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

CWA
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by CWA » 05 Dec 2009 02:44 am

hahaha.. wake you up a bit? :lol:

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Ian Mac
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Re: Best 300 for drifting?

Post by Ian Mac » 18 Dec 2009 04:05 pm

Just a thought but maybe insurance premiums for young drivers are so high because the insurance companies know that a daft barely 17 kid with next to no driving experience is going to drift the thing around an island, lose control, go sidewards across the pavement and wipe-out a group of pedestrians in a bus stop, any one of which could be your mother, my wife, somebody elses daughter etc etc.

I really think that as hopefully mature adults we should dissuade new drivers from even thinking about drifting and modifications until they've got a few years driving experience under their belts.

Also, to address one of the earlier posts on this thread there is no such thing as a modification which doesn't affect your insurance - ALL modifications have to be notified.

And to the guy who asked what he should buy as a first car I think I'd probably suggest a Citroen 2cv or a Morris Minor but whichever you choose I'm more than relieved that you won't be taking MY daughter out in it..

And yes, I was young once and like all new drivers I thought I knew it all. Now I KNOW I know it all I feel compelled to allow you to benefit from my experience.. :wink:
Ian

No Volvo 340 at present.

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