Austarion

Just thought that as we are discussing weight I took the bathroom scales to the shed SOHC HEAD 18 KG
DOHC HEAD 42 KG
So the TC conversion puts another 24kg over the front wheels

The "boat anchor" 4G54BT is a good motor, well capable of 300kW and a truckload of torque. That's getting towards the top end of the scale, though.
I've seen one make 212rwkw using second hand factory parts, but you'd probably be better off with new forgies, rods, etc.
Someone on here will be able to give you the deets on how to build a decent '54T. I've only ever dealt with NA motors so I won't be much help :P

G54 gets no love around here, maybe because equally moded it smokes the 2.0 sohc ;)
Torque is unmatched, stand a better chance challenging with a 2.3/2.4 sohc.
Dunno if either of the sohc or the twincam 4Gs proven as "good" drift powerplants tho.
Is the starion a suitable platform ?
If long heavy inline 6s compete, are the weight of these 4s even worth mentioning ?

What about motors used in burnout (skids as you folks call it) contests ?
Quite a few oz/nz rwd corollas obliterating the tires for extended periods, seemingly effortless torque from the tough compact buick 3800 V6 motors they swapped in.

I've also witness a local 1st gen 300zxt at the regular hang out 'spot', often destroy his street tires literally, until they burst.... whenever he got bored waiting for a drag race. What impressed me most was that internally stock 3L V6 would return to a glass smooth idle and not puke a drop of coolant after such punishment repeatedly, and he was the 1st car there next day.

Either of those V6s are plentiful, dirt cheap and have been swapped into starions.

there's one starion here in aus with a gen1 300zx single turbo v6 implanted. the original owner has sold it now though :(

and yes, you are right to say drifting is more about power/torque than weight.. which is why most muscle cars are actually rather good drift cars.. even to the point that re amemiya modified their rx7 to such an extent that they changed the weight distribution from a the stock 50/50 to a 70/30 by moving the fuel tank and other stuff forward within the car.

and to top it off.. any rwd can drift.. some are just easier than others to control eh? and the problem of weight comes in when tyres are mentioned. for obvious reasons, tyres wear out very quickly while drifting - added weight multiplies the shortness of the tyres' lives.. so i guess the point with weight is that you need to be careful to make sure your weight won't cause your tyres to disintegrate before the race is over.

150kw at the wheels is more than plenty to get your tyres spinning.. and keep them spinning. the reason most pro drift cars require 400+ rwkw is that they need to travel at high speed WHILE spinning the wheels AND dealing with air resistance while SIDEWAYS. moving sideways at say 100km/h, it requires a LOT more power to overcome air resistance than it does when doing 100km/h with your car straight.




My advice would be.. start off with something simple and AFFORDABLE to you. I don't think "what" engine is important. Your skill behind the wheel is more important. engine can be changed later if it's not suitable.. don't use it as an excuse to procrastinate. if you lose the first races due to lack of power, big deal. you've learnt something useful. As the money tree grows for you, your car's power can grow as well. If you are starting with a starquest, then just start with the g54, since that's what it comes with stock over there. spend the money getting it to an OK level of power, and take it to the races.. you never know.. you may find that it's more than plenty for that particular level. when you win races and move up classes, (or if it's not powerful or revvy or whatever enough), by then you will have saved more money to make some serious changes eh?

and.. if you're a millionaires kid.. then fuck it, go all out and stash a v8 in there or something :beer

depending on your funds I would recommend basic engine mods like lifting boost and a hot cam and then spend more money elsewhere like suspension, roll cage, strut braces, drive train and lightening it

So this is my new plan: rebuild my head with new rotating assembly (I have two heads and combined the best of both parts to get my car running now, but it has bad lifter tick) and start beating the crap out of the car.