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Drift Setup Discussion for our Goat's

15K views 43 replies 13 participants last post by  MattGTO 
#1 ·
Been searching for some drift setups but couldn't find a specific discussion on it. I recently purchased a '05 and am looking to start modding for drifting. Was wondering what advise or setups are out there targeted towards drifting. Suspension and drivetrain setups. My rear differential is blown and I'm going to have to rebuild was wondering what gear ratios are being used as well as limited slips and axle stubs.... etc... Looking for general discussion on what drifters have experienced. Looking forward to the discussion!
 
#2 ·
My current setup is lowering springs (not sure what brand they are blue but were on the car when I bought it). I have Koni Yellow struts and shocks. Right now I have the front and rear pretty stiff, about half turn from full stiff. Not sure if sway bars would help with drifting. All bolt ons as far as engine goes.
 
#3 ·
I can't wait to see this thread develop. I predict - Epicness!
 
#4 ·
I'm no expert on this but here's a link to an article on Rhys Millen's GTO:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/04q3/pontiac_gto_drifter-feature

and here's one on a Monaro Drift car:

http://www.v8.co.nz/articles/holden-incl-hsv/2005-holden-monaro-gto-against-the-world-40

You might find some other stuff if you search the web.

Sorry to hear bout your diff. Don't recall off hand where I saw or heard this but pretty sure Rhys ran a KAAZ 2 way LSD and 3.91 gears. I had mine installed by KAAZ (they're local if you're in SoCal), they did a nice job - I haven't had any issues so far anyways. Oh btw, make sure to click on "Spec Sheet" under "Downloads" in the Car & Driver article - they list spring rates and camber specs (for what it's worth).

Good Luck! Welcome to the Forum.
 
#7 · (Edited)
In all honesty, dont waste your time tryin to set the Gto up for drift. One major thing these cars lack is steering angle. Theres NO aftermarket out there making anything to increase angle. Ive talked to the guys at RMR and basiclly they said ship us the car, give us $5k and you'll have tons of angle after they do there job lol. Also another thing is run alittle bit more oil (1/2 to 1 full quart) in the motor so you dont accidentlly uncover the oil pick up because other wise your motor wont last long. Dont forget to drain that extra oil back out after having fun.

If you really are dead set on it, prepare for big dollar repairs!

If you really just wanna play around at the local spot or wed night parking lot event. Do coilovers, kaaz diff, get the car to breath a bit and tons of extra tires.

Or do what i did and go get a Nissan s14 (or any 240sx) to go drift. Parts are 10x cheaper and more avalible then gto parts are. You can smack a 240sx up, fix it and go back out in the same day.

Its really up to you though man.

I tore my gto up few times, smacked up the driverside fender, and killed a great set of bfg kdw2 tires up.

just some food for thought
 
#8 ·
Yes, this is important, as Tims05 mentioned, take precautions to prevent oil starvation which is a known weakness of our LS engines (unless you have a dry sump). If you read carefully thru that C&D article you will notice Rhys ran an Accusump. Many drifters and road racers run them.
 
#9 ·
My buddy Miro (took 3rd (if iirc) at the pro-am at irwindale) is running a stock ls1 in his pink s13 with a stock gto oil pan and has an accusump set up on it (not a dry sump) to help just incase if oil pressure drops. He's gone two seasons i think and hasnt had any issues with oil problems.
 
#10 ·
Good info on the oil issues with the LS engines and the steering angle issue. Never really even considered the steering angle issue but have noticed how touchy as well as limited the steering is. I will look into the accusump setup. I know the gto isn't a born drift car. I owned a AE86 in the best which is obviously a better platform. Appreciate the warnings. Not looking to make a full blown drift car just a streetable setup that I can play around with when I take the car out.

I am looking into getting the 2-way Kaaz. Was wondering if 3.91 gears is a noticeable upgrade since I have to rebuild the rear end. And also if axle and axle stubs should be upgraded as well.

Thanks all for contributing!
 
#14 ·
Tim,

Just a thought. You mentioned steering angle earlier. Would you happen to know if there's any more "throw" / translation / travel in the steering rack such that if one were to take (grind) some material off the steering "stops" you could get more angle? I wouldn't think you'd have to take much off being that close to the rotation axis to gain a little angle. Then the problem would become the tires hitting (compensate with less offset / small spacer / narrower tire?). I'm not saying you could gain 30 degrees or anything like that, but maybe 10 to 15 depending?

Maybe you've tried this already?

Thanks!
 
#16 ·
I know they had some custom tierods made. Im guessing so they can run some spacers to gain some angle. Im not sure if they make other parts for the rack or modify another rack to fit.

Now im gonna do some searching to find out what they did exzactly. Since they havent really said.
 
#17 ·
Well, from the C&D article I posted up earlier:

"...The most obvious was in the steering system. Millen's crew left the rack alone and shortened the steering arms by about an inch so the tie-rod ends were closer to the kingpin axis (the line that a front wheel pivots around). This change allowed the wheels to turn farther. Think of opening a door: If you push three inches at the knob, it doesn't open very far, but push the same three inches near the hinges, and the door opens a lot farther. The same principle was applied to the steering system. Millen says that being able to turn the wheels farther lets him hang the tail out more dramatically without spinning. That modification also increased the overall steering ratio. Millen, however, wanted even more responsive steering, so he installed a quickener. It's a planetary gearset that looks like a hockey puck and is mounted inline between the steering wheel and rack. It multiplies the rotational distance of the steering wheel by 1.5 so the front wheels turn farther with any given input..."

They must have done something else to allow more angle (either grind the stops down, like I mentioned earlier, or replaced the knuckle entirely (besides relocating the tie rod attach point). Moving the tie rod attach point and the steering "quickener" only improve the steering ratio, they don't in themselves allow for more angle (from what I could tell, the stops limit the angle). Let us know if you find anything else.
 
#18 ·
Stops are ground off the knuckle and control arm and the actual steering knuckle is cut down and re welded on. Tie rods are then extended.
 
#20 ·
Hey guys, just a heads up a rack spacer will not work for our cars (at least with OEM 17s). The outer tie rods hit the wheel. That will need to be addressed before more angle can be attained. For those of you who are wondering what these are:


Also if your diff is acting up you can reduce the stress on it by pumping up your tires to 40psi (reduce if you find yourself spinning out). It also just makes it easier to learn too since you don't need to commit as hard to initiate the slide.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Is an accusump #1 mod for drifting or can you get by just overfilling the oil by a quart? Can you get by on the stock drivetrain if you aren't doing a lot of clutch kicking?

Mtung how thick are those steering spacers? Could they work without rubbing if you used a thin wheel spacer? How much angle did you gain?
 
#23 ·
You don't absolutely have to accusump if you don't want to, baffling the oil pan can help greatly, I never did anything but changed the oil on my last gto but that was 5 years ago I drive much faster and more aggressive now. If the car is going to be purpose built for this sport though I would highly recommend an accusump and do some reading on it and see how bad these motors can be with oil starvation on turns
 
#29 ·
You dont need to pull the motor. Just jack the car up on stands support the tranny and motor with jack stands and drop the front cradle. Its really not back. 4 cradle bolts, front struts and it falls to the ground. Be mindful of your brake lines and power streering lines. With the cradle down you have full access to the pan.
 
#25 ·
I mean if you're up in the air I would get an electronic oil pressure gauge, and see how things go. Hopefully Cebo04 can shed some light on this he's had the engine in and out if his drift GTO. Btw, if you get an accusump and you're running a lot of stock interior pieces think about using the 2 quart sump my 3 quart is incredibly large and very hard to hide. But the clamps for it but don't buy the install kit, they don't have the correct adapter for the GTO.
 
#26 ·
What did you end up using for an adapter? I have seen people use the wide open design adapter, but does it create issues because there is no check valve to prevent oil from going back to the pan instead of the engine?

I've thought about getting a vararam cai and mounting a 2qt accusump where the stock airbox is, but havent pulled the trigger on it. Do any of you use an electronic valve or do you all use the manual one?
 
#27 ·
The wide open design is what I'll be using, I put the gto on a temp. Hold for this week for some dr. Appointments so my accusump isn't done. I wasted 125 on the install kit because the filter adapter is probably not the way to go plus the threaded piece I ordered for the adapter was incorrect anyways. The AN fittings were good but to run the wide open adapter you'll need a 45 or 9o degree, so I say make your own install kit for the same price. Everything with the accusump is made to work like factory so oil return and everything will be exactly the same, the pressurized side of the accusump will circulate oil and in low pressure situations it will add oil but as it adds oil the air pressure goes down and when the extra oil isn't needed it will return itself to the accusump. The accusump users manual does a better job explaining it, there's a PDF on their website www.cantonracing.com.
 
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