Wrapped up in 7 steps, here's how you build a drift car from a regular 4-wheeled!

Crank has always been a lover of motorsports since he watched the FAST & FURIOUS movie in 2002 so he had always been dreaming and plotting on how to get involved by getting a fast car. I am Crank and I feel very embarrassed telling you all this story of how I made one of the dumbest moves a car lover could ever make but guess what? I crawled so you guys could run.

There is a particular group of motorsport enthusiasts in Abuja, Nigeria that go by the name "DARKKNIGHTSMOTORSPORTS" headed by Ibrahim who is a Lebanese living in Nigeria.

He and his comrades modify and setup the BMW E30s and E36s for street racing and drifting activities which normally cost a lot of money because of the process involved. Won't it be nice if you know the processes of drift car build?

It sure would so let's get to that before I tell my short story.

The BMW E30 drift car by DKMS Abuja, Nigeria
How to set up a drift car in Nigeria

You have to be willing to start and finish because it is very frustrating to build a car up for the tracks and corners. It costs a lot of money also and time but the processes are very straight forward as long as you work with the right people.
Step 1: Picking the right car

For drifting and track related motorsports activities, the best car to use is a lightweight rear-wheel-drive car that comes with a manual transmission and that is why the BMW E30 and E36 are the most common in Nigeria because of how easy they are to acquire.

Just try and find a donor car that carries a rear-wheel drive and you are ready for step 2.
Step 2: Stripping and reducing weight

Once you have the car in good condition, you have to strip the car of the unnecessary weight like rear seats, speakers, interior panels, centre console, and any other part of the car's interior apart from the gear stick, handbrake, steering and dashboard gauges.

When building a drift car, you have to eliminate forms of in-car entertainment that could distract you.

A car being stripped of interior trims and upholstery for the purpose of a lightweight drift car build
Step 3: Engine/Transmission run

You have to make sure your engine and transmission are in good sync and are running optimally after weight reduction. You can tune your engine anyhow you want it depending on how much power/torque you want it to generate.

A drift car builder in Nigeria checking the engine of the BMW e30

Step 4: Install heavy-duty clutch

The clutch on drift cars is always in use and clutches are leather-like materials that wear off as they are actively in use so the clutches on your drift car must be upgraded to handle heavy-duty tasks.
https://file.naijauto.com/2020/03/09/bBccmoxH/drift-6-2584.jpg

Step 4: Installing LSD or welding your differentials

You have to install a Limited Slip Differential with a conversion kit on your differentials so that your two rear wheels rotate at almost the same speed at all times.

A limited-slip enabled rear differentials ideal for a drift car

Rear-wheel-drive cars with differentials always turn at different speeds when going around a corner to allow the car to stay on track but this is very bad for a drift car so you have to limit the variation of the two rear wheels.
Another way to do this is by welding the differentials so that there is no more differential and the two wheels just rotate at the same time always.

A differential that has been welded to avoid slipping

Step 5: Installing hydraulic handbrakes

Hydraulic handbrakes lock up your rear wheels faster than the cable system that comes with the car.

A hydraulic handbrake set up for a drift car that locks up the rear wheels faster than normal cable handbrake systems

You have to buy the hydraulic handbrake kit and install it on the drift car so that you can easily swing the car sideways by oversteering and locking the rear wheels and it gets better when the handbrake lever is extended.


Long handbrake bars for faster application

Step 6: Installing Rollcages

A roll cage is an external framework that is installed on the interior of drift cars to stiffen the chassis and protect the driver as long as he/she is wearing a protective helmet.

A roll cage installed on a drift car to stiffen the chassis

In case of a crash, the roll-cage protects the driver from leaving the confines of the interior, and even when the car's body crumples, the driver won't be affected.

Step 6: Installing Coilover suspension

The suspensions on drift cars must be very stiff so that the drift car can balance on the ground as it glides. The best form of suspension for drift cars is coil-overs.
https://file.naijauto.com/2020/03/09/bBccmoxH/drift-9--07eb.jpg
Coilover suspensions recommended for drift car builds

Coilovers reduce the centre of gravity on the car and increases roll stiffness of the car so that weight transfer is minimal when the car changes direction. This is what drifting is all about, changing direction.

Step 7: Increasing the steering angle

You need a wider angle when steering on a standard drift car and this is only possible by increasing the steering angle of your car with a drift angle conversion kit or a manual cutting and welding process.

Wide-angle steering that helps to increase the turning radius of a drift car

Please, note that drifting activities can only be done in dedicated spaces in Nigeria. It is illegal to drift cars on public roads/places as it poses a danger to lives and properties.

This is all I wanted to achieve when I bought a beat-up 1995 BMW E36 model with an N100,000 my dad gave me for a school project. I was in communication with DARKNIGHTMOTORSPORTS because I was going to join their DRIFT LEAGUE 4 competition once my build was over.

I was just 18 at the time without no source of income and I could not even drive manual.

This BMW I bought was the ideal car but I never got money to build it up. I can't believe I never thought about where all the money will come from before buying the car. I parked it for long in my University Campus while I was using my father's Toyota as a taxi on a cab-hailing platform making N30,000 weekly. I was giving my father 70% and keeping the rest for my budget saving which was ₦600,000.

2 months into my savings, my University security service towed my precious BMW away to a junkyard because they placed a removal notice on the car which I ignored. It was too late to get my car back and that's how I stupidly threw away my drift car to the wild.

Ok, my sad story would end my article on the process of processes of drift car build, but sure enough, there will be more interesting articles like that on Naijauto.com in the near future. Stay tuned!
>>> Read this post on Naijauto: https://naijauto.com/car-maintenance/how-to-setup-a-drift-car-in-nigeria-6289

Good writeup. Racing sports are quite expensive and it's not like you'll be making your money back anytime you race/drift. Besides it takes a lot of practice to perfect the art and a lot of money to run through worn tyres, brakes and other car parts.

Side note: I thought the handbrakes were fo holding down the front wheels so the rear ones can squeal as they go into oversteer.

We need more content like this!

No be everyday "Benz is the greatest" rubbish.

That looks like jaybash in the 3rd photo

Abdulsobur02:
That looks like jaybash in the 3rd photo

It is.

HeavenlyBang:


It is.

I can see you are also a fan of the drift prince

Don't try this with Kia Picanto, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent, etc.

Try only with Mercedes Benz, BMW and other performance cars.

naijadrivablog:
Don't try this with Kia Picanto, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent, etc.

Try only with Mercedes Benz, BMW and other performance cars.

You need a limited slip diff anyway. That rules out most Mercs and Bimmers, apart from M's and AMGs.

Welcome my bros )

Abdulsobur02:
I can see you are also a fan of the drift prince

EbukaIam:
Welcome my bros )

Thank you sir