Where the hell are they going to drift at a drag strip?
Here.
Following my ears, I walked toward the action at Greate Lakes Dragway while a huge grin spread across my face as I heard the screeching tires. I could hear two different screeching qualities; one came from something like this--
The other from front engine, rear wheel drive layout cars like this Nissan s14 below. As I mentioned in the sunset Dori Post, I fell in love with the s14 at this event as I didn't really think about it previously. Simultaneously overshadowed by its younger brother S15 in looks and older sibling S13 in analog/vintage class, the S14 has fallen in a weird place in drift car history--at least to me.
It seems like a hodgpodge-effort here, where the tail lights seem to have been designed by an intern, while the rest was sculpted by experts..but--like I said--I changed my mind and I'm for it now. This one below actually has an RB20 swap, where the owner finished a front end swap just in time for this event. I'm told control arms, bushings, and camber plates where adjusted but I'm not really sure...will find out 8-)
Everybody helped.
Whether it be getting a car started, moving it off track, re-setting up cones, even getting this 240 running! The guys and girls of Drift Chicago really make it seem like they are one big family who just care about having a good time.
They'd been working all day in the heat, but still managed a smile because this shit is all about bringing what you got and driving the pants off of each vehicle.
It was also pretty nice to see some different stickers here as most of the other ones I see are forgettable..
Panda, splatter paint, trump bandaid, and 'KINDA LIT' (my favorite sticker to-date)
I thought this Miata looked especially planted and comfortable mid-drift. I wasn't suprised, however, as I understand balance on the race track makes for balance on the skid pad. Since Mazda made over a million of these roadsters, you can--and probably always will be able to--pick one of these up for 2-3k USD.
86 LEVIN !&@^#$!&@%^#$&!@ ferkin love this car...I didn't get a chance to see what was under the hood of this one but I think I remember it sounding like a 6 cylinder something--perhaps an RB or JZ? Although these old corollas don't seem like they're getting much angle on film, the feeling from inside is MUCH different. It feels like you are constantly riding the thin line between oversteer and understeer and--I know you guys will say "hey that's what drifting is ya fricken dummy"--but hear me out on this one.
An older Hachi Roku has a live rear end right? That offers the driver less control when at the limit than, say, this FR-S with an independent rear end. There is more give, more leeway and room for error in a newer car, which--in turn--makes it seem like the line between over and understeer is larger. I can't really say which is more fun, or if it really matters, but that thin margin is what really endears the old 86 to me
Poised to attack the skidpad, these BMW E36s arrived as a group and tried to drive together as much as possible...if it's between an E36 and an 86 which would you take? On one hand the 86 as raw AF and will definitely teach you proper driving...but the BMW has so much more engineering, power, safety, and potentially more fun packed into an affordable package. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this one----
E36, AE86, or S14? [I'll have all three thanks]
This new Fr-s defs looked amazing all day, but had some trouble staying sideways...maybe too much grip? Needless to say I'm glad I saw this setup as it looked amazing once the sun started to set.
Unfortunately, the day ended with a pretty serious crash [everyone was ok]and it brought everything home to me. By that, I mean cars forge bonds like nothing else I've seen, but I feel most think nothing substantial can be real when the subject matter is material...I disagree fully. Anyway, DriftChitown was an awesome event that's way closer to Chicago than a lot of others.
-Al
AE86, 240 played out?
Extras :]
