Modifying & Rebuilding a Nissan 350Z - Part 8

[@wrexrally5084]

add spacer to the tierod it will give you enough angle that you needed. there are lots of videos of angle mods for 350z in youtube.

[@MeowMr2]

You need cones to learn. Just like a road course, you use it for guidance. Road course you want to keep a tight line. With drifting it's more of a wider line. Your suspension looks a bit soft. Also, you might be running to wide of a front wheel and it might be rubbing on the frame. Usually run x8-8.5 front wheel.

[@speedacademy]

Funny you say that, when editing this video I was like "why didn't we put cones down to define a course/line for us to work on? We don't have any tire rub so far, but we'll see if that changes as we add steering angle. We are learning as we go, which is half the fun.

[@MeowMr2]

@@speedacademy thanks for the reply. You can check out drift Bible, it will give some really helpful pointers, and things to practice on. Wish you the best of luck on learning the way of the drift.

[@KiranPatel-fk1pg]

The suspension looks quite sloppy did they install sway bars?

[@pballer2005]

@@KiranPatel-fk1pg they wont be able to run sway bars on the front anyway with an angle kit

[@dmasterson12]

Man I told you to take those steering stops out a month ago at least. But good first try, you've officially drifted more then me now.

[@speedacademy]

LOL ya we need to do something about the steering stops, for sure. Will look at some cheap angle mods next.

[@cheesedude453]

Went my whole first season without any angle mods and learned more that season than any other - you DO NOT need angle mods to learn the right way.

[@jakecarver4580]

Depending on which trim this z is it might have traction/stability control that is not fully disabled even with the button pressed. You need to either put a switch that disables the yaw sensor or unplug the rear speed sensors for the car to give you full power.

[@padlockbeats151]

Given this was previously a drift car I'd say that's already taken care of. But I'd def like to see an indepth video on it.

[@Eggx86]

Looking forward to how you change the alignment settings, and how that changes the dynamic of the car when initiating and transitioning drifts Awesome

[@snape1464]

I'd love to get into a RWD car again. Only ever "drifted" an old Merc diesel auto on snow once, but it was some of the most fun I've ever had

[@lb9gta307]

I find it interesting how Merc used to mean Mercury in North America for decades and then Top Gear happened and now it's used for Mercedes Benz.

[@snape1464]

@@lb9gta307 Well, where i live we don't have Mercury's, so it's quite a logical step

[@lb9gta307]

@@snape1464 oh, I get that. It was more a comment on how much influence that TV show has had here. And I know how random my comment was, I've just been seeing it a lot in various places including holiday family dinners and it got me thinking.

[@snape1464]

@@lb9gta307 Hahah, I guess the mind tends to wander sometimes

[@FEASTJAPAN]

Drifting in style, love the Z.

[@TheTopher]

And that gentlemen is an elaborate GoPro helmet rig

[@jimmehvideos]

You can lower your rear tyre pressures to lessen the snap back by those good tyres. I agree more angle and less rear camber will make it much more predicable for you learning. Slow speed in the wet at the skid pan will also be good for learning... Great work getting out to the pan guys, thanks for the video!

[@ChrisDrift]

lowering the pressures gives you more grip, and when it snaps back out of drift that's because it gripped up quickly, so how would lowering the rear tyres make it snap back less?

[@nathanyoung3078]

I know Riley is a pro driver, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve always thought it more beneficial to learn the car as it is. I feel like you aren’t comfortable or familiar with the car enough yet to add angle mods. I think that is only a band-aid rather than actually trying to learn how the chassis acts when it rotates and transitions.

[@speedacademy]

You're not wrong, we could certainly spend more time learning to drift with the angle currently available, but if it makes the car easier to drift then it's certainly tempting to make things as easy as we can (especially with cheap/easy angle mods, which are apparently abundant for this chassis).

[@unclebensriceballs]

Nathan Young couldn’t agree more

[@rileysexsmith770]

Normally I would totally agree, I'm a proponent of driver mod over car mods. However, the angle from factory is so pitiful with this car even basic maneuvers are quite difficult to perform. I'm not suggesting wisefab or anything extreme but maybe 5 more degrees of steering lock would make a world of difference in this case. So some super inexpensive basic mods and then leave it alone and focus on seat time.

[@nathanyoung3078]

Riley Sexsmith thanks for the reply! I guess when I hear “angle mods” my mind naturally tends to sway the direction of Wisefab or Powered by Max angle kits. Sometimes I forget there’s simpler, less extreme options out there. I just thought it was kinda wild to think about going out for the very first session and start thinking about angle mods (like the ones I originally mentioned). Looking forward to more videos of you and the Speed Academy guys out shredding!

[@rileysexsmith770]

Nathan Young I usually recommend to work with what you got right out of the box. If this was a bmw it would be fine stock but it needs just a little more steer to be ideal. Thanks again, hopefully the speed academy boys will have me back for some more hoonery in the near future :)

[@pFbSpecV]

Riley is a badass for sure haha pretty sweet series!

[@bakamotorworks505]

Looks fun :) ready to see some at speed drifting!

[@mylanknowsbes.t]

Remove the bump stops on the knuckle and LCA, buy p2m extended inner tie rods, and boom, should be plenty enough angle for the time being. If you look it up you can actually get a decent amount of angle with just those simple mods and you'd have less than $200 invested.

[@jamessweeten6926]

Real gear heads watch Speed Academy😎

[@gsppuffer]

Needed cones for something to aim at and shoot for

[@speedacademy]

Agreed! We'll do that next time, for sure.

[@ChrisDrift]

With my 350Z all I've got is steering rack spacers and managed to come 4th in our entry level drift championship here in the UK last year with just that. I made the mistake of putting a big angle kit on my first drift car (GT86) as soon as I started drifting, and to be honest I wish I hadn't. So yeah I'd say don't go for any crazy angle mods just yet

[@gwynn1104]

Daver see if there's any local ice-racing. It's a really good, low-risk way to spend all day going sideways and getting the feel for slip balance. We used to set up a massive road course on a frozen lake out here in the rockies - surely Ontario has something too.

[@mas921]

Guys guuuuys! NO MODS!!! please watch the drift bible by tsuchiya! Do 90 deg and 180 deg turns first. THEN do Figure 8s, which by then would just connecting 2 180 deg's.. WORST thing you can do to learn drifting is starting with mods before absorbing the actual techniques. And I wont start learning on a grippy tires either. That will rob you guys lots of experience in dealing with low grip rear.

[@danino66]

Can’t wait for more drifting video 😃👍

[@therealboofighter]

In Alberta we are snow drifting!

[@earnestbunbury2103]

Go do that voodoo that you do!

[@therealboofighter]

Earnest Bunbury I do voodoo?

[@BboyWhiteNinja]

It’s better then Christmas!!!

[@The_True_]

Hate to break it to you Dave, but you built a drift car and drift it at the track, so you are officially a drifter man! Not everyone is a Sexsmith ya know! Lol! Great job on this build guys, much fun to come!

[@mikee.742]

Love the channel guys!

[@Subdubbin]

Let Riley speak man!

[@Z33Garage]

Will adding a killswitch for the VDC help in this situation?

[@diporayinda3860]

it’s so beautiful

[@benrittenhousedotcom]

Nice video. Any comments suggesting you don't need angle mods are by people who don't drift and shouldn't be giving advice. Hitting locks is the cars shortcomings interfering with you driving it to YOUR potential. Fix it. I do suggest to anyone that they make one change at a time so they can correctly attribute the changes to the mod/adjustment.

[@brianspiess1420]

Angle mods needed?? NO, DRIVER MODS REQUIRED

[@RhysFjFrankland]

Think I prefer the colour matched bonnet, looks nice!

[@padlockbeats151]

I'm keen as to see what you guys do for angle mods. I've just 6MT swapped my 2002 JDM V35(G35) sedan and am trying to set it up for as a street/drift car. Basically the same as a 350z just longer wheelbase which should help.

[@ChrisDrift]

for what its worth, I just put steering rack spacers and tie rods on my 350Z and I find its enough for drifting. Plenty of videos of me drifting it on my channel if you want to see what its like

[@ChrisDrift]

also if its still going to be a street car, I'd try and avoid going for a proper angle kit. I did that on my GT86 and it made it drive like ass on the road

[@lb9gta307]

I think LZ got enough angle out of just tie rod spacers and removing the steering stops

[@BlakesGarage]

yep, do that first and drive it for a while.

[@budgettech3398]

Nicole LZ had no problem learning on stock angle so

[@lb9gta307]

@@budgettech3398 I doubt Riley would have said it needs more angle if it had stock S13 angle

[@mondomoleno.3404]

Those new mics? You guys sound a little clearer the last couple episodes. Thank you for using pop filters. So many people don't, and it's one of my biggest pet peeves. Also, I thought DP had a MOMO steering wheel? Am I crazy, or did the NRG appear out of nowhere?

[@supersevenn]

Seems like you needed a couple of cones for a reference point to aim at

[@dpedd12]

Pbm angle kit. Pretty cheap, great customer service and reliable.

[@speedacademy]

Cool, will check em out

[@MrDiego57101]

Did you guys ever install a kill switch for the VDC. Or was that already done from previous owner? Please fill us in.

[@speedacademy]

This is a base model Z so it didnt have VDC!

[@helllokitty138]

when did the damage to the rear quarter panel happen?!?!

[@wdy7472]

Is that a carbon fiber hood ?

[@TABRO284]

The back end looks like it squats down a lot.

[@marcelopagan2059]

What body kit is this ?

[@Qgal5kap123]

Nice nice!

[@DoubleVthree]

Who knows the name of this front bumper ?

[@speedacademy]

Amuse Bumper

[@RobertKohut]

Nice!!

[@neomeg2232]

Get a few sets of the cheapest nastiest tires you can and roast them off. You'll build up muscle memory. Then worry about fine tuning the suspension. Figure out what you like first, everybody runs different setups to accommodate their own style. That sounds kinda confusing lol. I always tell riders at track days to work on themselves first. It's not the car, it's you. Not trying to be mean, it's just how it goes. You know that from grip though. Keep at it, you'll get there. Quicker than most from the looks of it lol. 👍👍

[@davemiddleton8104]

Do it Ronnie Mac styl

[@BadDFWDrivers]

Is that harness angle correct? I thought it's supposed to go down from the shoulders, not straight or up.

[@jetsmini]

It’s good

[@magnetic0314]

It's supposed to go as close to straight as possible, but not too far down, as it can pull you down and crush your spine in an accident if it has too much angle. How they have it looks pretty safe

[@speedacademy]

the angle is a bit deceiving on camera, but it's slightly below level which is in the happy zone for harness installation (should be between zero and 20-degrees decline).

[@earnestbunbury2103]

Straight? Try "Gaily Level" ;-)

[@dc5_pinoy246]

Liked the video just because of the "boner" comment. You are too funny.

[@HarlanMangulis]

3:04 Holds the wheel too long.

[@VS666]

pretty good lookin, for a DE...

[@Josephasaurus]

666th person to like. 2019 is great so far

[@muhdsyakir9502]

try to learn with stock angles first and make your way up so you'll be a better drifter

[@wangfields8074]

Bring back Connie Celica

[@stevethorne9605]

Letting the wheel do its own thing is too slow, you need to flick it like you asked. If you watch the "pro" drifter, he is flicking the wheel. (find a Nob Taniguchi video, he explains good and safe wheel technique in a few of them) Also jumping straight too lock mods before you learn how to drift will hamper your talent in the long run, just use less angle and learn the basics first. Then later on when you have more of a clue and want to progress, then add rack spacers and grind down the lock stops. But lock mods come later, first you need to get the basics down.

[@mas921]

No views AGAIN! needed my fix!!

[@Miccio1]

Ah, yes the mystery of drifting. So you have the wrong tires on the car and that actually helps you drift?? That should tell you something about drifting right off the bat.

[@lb9gta307]

Why do you think they would be the wrong tires?

[@Miccio1]

UHP tires when used near freezing have much less grip than a "normal" tire would have . (at freezing temp.)

[@mrphiscal]

First.

[@1one3_Racing]

That stupid puffy jacket wouldn't help.

[@thunderbirdizations]

Loser shaves their beard? 😜