R33 As A Drift Car?

[ausdrift]

OK, this might sound like a dumb question, as you see skylines in all forms of motorsport holding its own. I have, though noticed something. I live in Japan and over here in the drift mags you rarely see R33s . On the track, the same is evident, it has a very low following. R32s seem to be out a bit, and you see R34s sometimes too, but its seems like the 33 is the forgotten car.

So whats the deal? why doesnt anyone like them? What might be the reasons why people are shying away from them for drift? Is it the weight? the styling?

The upside of this is that you can get a mildly modded one with average ks at fire-sale prices (hence Im weighing it up as a future purchase prospect)

So my real question is, drifters, whats the R33 like to drift?

responses from people who actually know or have experience please, as I can speculate too.

Thanks

[Guilt-Toy]

get one! and set it up. when you work out how to make it stop spinning after a big slide let me know. too much weight with too much power in a r33 = spin.

or maybe i need to learn how to slide better

[Baz]

They are actually superior cars to the R32's with a lot of people believing that they are alot heavier than the R32. This may be the case in standard form but stripped out there actually have similar weights (with an RB25 and RB25 box fitted to the R32) The R33's have there weight focused more towards the centre of the car as well, making them a more balanced car. The fuel tank is mounted in front of the rear axle and the rear strut mounting points for the R33 is further towards the front. The problem with them has been due to cost, with the R33 always being a lot more expensive than the R32. And a lot of people probably prefer the styling of the R32 as well. But yeah by all means the R33 is a superior car to the R32 unless someone can give me some good reasoning otherwise.

And yes I do own an R32 and drift it as well but I would have a R33 drift car if I could afford it.

[evil_weevil]

Im a shithouse drifter but mine goes ok!

I have seen quite a few r33's with initial drift australia at their practice days, even the old president of SAU NSW - Dan, has a serious r33 dorri car!

True though - dont see too many of them round...Im wondering why now also!

[Phobic]

r33's look homo full stop. hahaha thats why you dont see many drifting

there has been a couple of good ones in aus and japan though. the four dours with a big kit on them definately look better though. at one point in perth every man and his dog had a white r33, they were the commodore of the skylines

[NYTSKY]

Adam May and his R33 series 2 go pretty hard in the DA series.

[DRIFTER]

i have drifted one and it was very easy spin out in it. i suspect it had alot to do with the set up. it is going to be changed a bit and its going back to the track on the 15th of nov, we'll see how it goes. adam may's r33 is the only one that has impressed me.

[ausdrift]

Yeah, i thought it had to be something, as the engine/gearbox is certainly a competant combo, so I figured it had to be chassis, weight or styling. Interestingly if you flip through drift tengoku magazine here no one advertises the car itself for sale, and on the parts advertising R33 parts are uncommon. It seems to be a case of, " yes, we sell them, but your gonna have to ask, as we arent wasting page space on it". I guess with enough money you can do anything.

Any other ppl own and drift a 33?

[Boss-zilla]

Nothing wrong with the r33 as a drift car. Chris D competed in Drift Australia for a few years in a striped out r33 (as did a quite a few other drivers) and his only problem was a lack of power compared to the other teams, also my best mate has been drifting for 5+ years in a r33. The key, as with all track cars, is the set up. The current set up on his r33 is great feels like the car is on rails.

Ross

[Majanal]

I still own my R33, although it is in pieces at the moment and will be a while off seeing the track again.

The car in stock form was and is fairly easy to drift and I competed in it in the formula drift (now super dirft) series and did ok. I rebuilt it at the end of 2005 and took it out in the DA series in 06. It was good however it still needed to be developed and the set up tuned to suit drifting. Unfortunately I ran out of money and that was about that.

My opinion is that it can be a great drift car and Adam May proved that this year in the DA series, but they are fairly expensive cars to drift and run.

Hope that helps.

Dan.

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

mine is std weight with 285rwkw

car has only greddy 6/8 coils, front and rear sway's, struts, castor bushes, camber bushes, pineapple bushes and hicas lock

i find it VERY easy to control, although i am by no means a professional drifter

[NZM.031]

i had an r33 a few years ago... and set it up for drift, even though it was still a streeter.. for the most part it had a standard turbo.. and few suspension mods, coilovers, pineapples, strut bars etc... and a re shimmed diff.. and it was awesome.

i loved the extra weight and grip that it had... direction changes werent snappy like an ae86 thats for sure so severe angles werent its fortay, but it was smooth and powerful and flowed through the corners... i think the key to it was its ride height and wheel track.... very very very low... and wide deep wheels that sat outside the guards slightly to change its roll centre.. making it feel very flat and firm on the road. it was able to strip 255s down to canvas very quickly.. and 235s... well... yeh.

after that it got pretty much pigged up, big turbo, lots of boost, lots of stripping and lots of playing with the wheel alignments..

i also felt, with it being only 8 years old at the time, the chassis and the whole car felt much tighter.

i think that although the car is relatively cheap to buy now... parts are still expensive and harder to come by then r32 parts.

cheers

Linton

[Habler]

Probably has something to do with the majority of hipsters finding them ugly and drifters being scummy budget sliders who buy the cheaper S13's.

They are a great car to start drifting in because the brakes, gearbox, wheel choice and easy power is all there providing you with more than enough to have fun in but they do lack the after market support of an S13 in Australia. Funny thing is that you need that aftermarket support with S13 because you are forever upgrading everything.

As for being too heavy, crap set-up that's all plop. Take out the spare wheel and they close to the same as the R32. Without proper suspension set-up R32/S13's will handle like crap too. I have never had trouble with spinning out anymore than any other driver at the track. They will have a slower/longer transition due to wheel base but this makes learning easier.

I didn't like the look of the coupes so i grabbed a sedan. Does skidz and shit. Low quality pic attached for reference of skidding.

[sd9k]

i love my r33 for drifting

here's a few vids/pics

my car is pretty much stock btw except for a few engine bolt-ons, kaaz 2way and full susp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MdhDHxkUOM

(watch more towards the end on this vid)

Edited October 31, 2008 by sd9k

[PM-R33]

Nice pics/video man!

[sd9k]

thanks boss!

[Dawoudi]

I just picked up an ECR33 to use for drift/drag/circuit. As has already been mentioned, it's all in the suspension tuning, depending on the types of driving you plan on doing. For me, I like doing many types, so it is critical to know how to dial this car in for whatever situation. I have been in the S-chassis for over 8 years, and it was time to get something different. The R33 just kind of materialized, and I couldn't beat the price. It was a toss up between another RPS13 or an FC3S (the thought of rebuilding due to apex seals was the biggest negative). It's been a long time since the last time I have wrenched on an R chassis. I used to own an R32 in Japan, but got out of it because of the cost of petrol (my heavy foot and penchant for drag launches). I do remember the R33 being unpopular amongst the J crowd because of the styling and the slightly longer wheelbase. You have to admit, the R33 in stock form looks like a bucket of poop, but it doesn't take much to change up the aesthetics.

Anyway, again, it's the suspension tune that makes a great drift car, not the HP rating (a well-tuned suspension can get you sideways with a little HP). Big power doesn't mean anything without it.

[Habler]

Good first post. I agree the long wheel base does make it hard for the quicker transitioning.

[stathi]

What about the JMS R33 drifter that became Mark Phillips ppg then martini drift car? That car was mental. I remember the first time i went to a drift event at Mallala I saw that 33 tearing up the main straight. That car was awsome

[SDEWY5]

Wat about this one. Awesome thing, well set up with lots of power..

Click

Edited December 18, 2008 by SDEWY5