Building a Drift Car

Shores NZ Team
Mar 17, 2023
4 min read

Drift car building can be overwhelming with so many options available.

Choosing a car

The most obvious step!

Cars such as the Toyota MR2 have proven their capabilities over the years. The tried and tested drift car has the FR layout.

Here are a few that we have worked on:

BMW E36 M3
Nissan Skyline R33 GTS-T
Nissan 240sx S14
Mazda RX-8
Mazda RX-7

Calculating a realistic budget

Now that you have chosen your drift car, you will need to consider whether you are looking at a budget street build or competition.

Building a drift car with friends who have the tools, knowledge, and spare time can work in your favour when building a budget. Just make sure you return the favour!

If you have limited knowledge of the mechanical aspect of cars and very little in the way of space and tools, you may need to factor in the cost of labour along the way. Unfortunately, this can rack up into big bucks pretty quickly.

Either way, you’ll want to make sure you have a "racecar account" to allow for the most important aspect - seat time!

Keeping the end goal in mind

Too many drifts are close to the final stages of completion only to realise that the money pot is almost empty. Trust us - we've been there!

It's crucial to remember that completion and seat time are the most vital aspects of drift car building.

Don’t worry if you’ve not yet unleashed the full power potential. It’s far better to enjoy the power that you have currently while learning to drive the car properly.

Additional power gains can be added further down the line when you have reached the skill level where you are genuinely able to use it to your advantage.

So, whether you’ve chosen to go down the JDM route, with the likes of the Nissan 350Z or Mazda MX5 or perhaps the Euro route, with a BMW E36 or E46 - these steps will provide you with the ultimate steps to drift car building.

Steps of Drift Car Building

Now that you’ve calculated a realistic budget for your drift build, it’s time to look at what else you’re going to need to consider.

If your end goal is to keep things simple and enjoy shredding tires in your missile car while knocking doors with your buddies at the weekend, then you won’t need to consider all of these upgrades.

However, if you’re looking to throw down some epic skids and potentially consider competitive drifting in the near future. In that case, it’s worth checking out these steps to see which are best suited for your requirements.

Interior

We’re starting from the basics here, and although a ridiculously sized engine is the end goal, we would first focus on the essential aspects.

Those fancy leather heated seats you have? It’s time to put them for sale.

Get rid of the luxuries and return your drift car to the bare essentials. That includes any unnecessary interior panels, potentially the rear seats, and even the headlining and carpet.

All of these things will weigh an astonishing amount, and by stripping out as much as you can from your drift car, you’re provided with free weight savings.

Once you’ve ripped out all the overweight stock parts, it’s time to get a lightweight racing seat. If you need help, we have a contact who can help you with this.

As well as saving weight, these seats hold you firmly when throwing your drift car down sideways, alongside providing additional protection and the ability to add a racing harness conveniently.

Once you’ve got the ideal seats, we recommend swapping out your stock steering wheel for an aftermarket upgrade, which will be far more enjoyable when it comes to drifting.

Wheels & Tires

While these upgrades may not be essential just yet, it’s worth considering what route you want to go down with your setup.

Lightweight wheels not only look good but come in a far superior selection of sizes and often provide significant weight savings.

If you’re going to be opting for a widebody kit, the chances are you’re going to need wheels to fill out your arches.

Either way, it’s worth considering getting some spare wheels, as it means less time waiting on the tire guy and more time on the track. In addition, it’s the perfect opportunity to utilize the space you created by stripping out the interior!

Chassis

For many, chassis upgrades will come far earlier in the drift car building stages, but many of these upgrades will only apply to those looking to compete.

Since most drift competitions allow for substantial chassis improvements, it’s worth checking out the specific competition rules to see how far you can take your upgrades.

Stiffening up the chassis limits the car’s ability to flex and deform under the extreme pressures of drifting, providing the ultimate handling.

While it’s an expensive option unless you’re able to do it yourself, it’ll be worthwhile when it comes to competing at the highest level to keep up with the competition.

Contact Shores NZ Fabrication - we can help you with this.

Building a drift car can be an expensive game. Is it worth the time, effort, and cost? We certainly think so!

When it comes to upgrades, we highly recommend not getting too carried away with wanting all of the shiny, premium temptations and ensuring that seat time stays at the top of the priority list.

There are going to be a lot of additional costs along the way, and as your build gets more impressive over time, you may even need to factor in the price of a trailer to get it to events.

When it comes to taking things to the next level, you’ll need to consider additional safety equipment, such as a racing suit, gloves, shoes, and helmet. We can help you with this.