How to make my truck more "drift-able"?

There are no curvy roads around here (central valley) and I would have to drive too far to get to one, so the only way to really enjoy driving is to slide around on the lonely country roads between home & work.

So on to my unorthodox question: what can I do to my truck (08 4.7 6spd with 3.92's, Bilstein HD's, & rear drop shackles) to make it more prone to losing rear traction on demand other than adding power or changing gear ratios? Some ideas & Q's...

1. Add a DTT or Auburn (leaning towards the DTT) - nothing annoys me more than turning one-wheel burnouts, so planning on adding a limited slip in the next few months, once the 5yr LPT warranty inspection is complete

2. Add a rear sway bar - How much does this actually affect ride quality? I do drive 40k+ per year on beat up country roads, so can't absolutely destroy what ride quality I have now. Which sway bar would you guys recommend?

3. Increase rear brake bias - how can this be done? I realize that I would have to be careful as too much rear bias can make the truck too spin-happy. How does one adjust f/r brake bias on our trucks?

4. Install a handbrake - anyone actually done this? Would love to convert the truck over to a hand lever actuated e-brake. Then I might use it for more than just parking...

More power. Thin tires

The LSD in the rear I would think would be a big help to. My Dakota (5.2L, 5-speed, 3.92s with LSD) was awesome for drifting around on the snowy roads here. Now that winter is back I'm starting to really miss that truck.

Drive faster, turn sharper

The most effective addition would be a posi. A rear sway bar would really do nothing to increase driftability, and generally stunt brakes are only on one rear wheel, not both like the factory parking brake. Also, I wouldn't mess with the brake bias, as drifting is based on throttle control, not cranking in more rear brake.

In all honesty though, you should be able to drift your truck pretty good as is, especially with a 6spd. Even with an open rear end I can throw my truck around pretty good on dirt roads. But if you really want it to perform better, a posi is where it's at.

LSD for sure. Agree on brakes, drifting is all about power.

What kind of road surfaces are you referring to?

Pickup trucks aren't designed or intended for Tokyo-Drift stuff...

Originally Posted by MadCatPhil

Drive faster, turn sharper

Lol

More power. Thin tires

That would help, but alas can't bring myself to fudge with the motor & LPT warranty.

Post #3
The LSD in the rear I would think would be a big help to. My Dakota (5.2L, 5-speed, 3.92s with LSD) was awesome for drifting around on the snowy roads here. Now that winter is back I'm starting to really miss that truck.

Absolutely it would, and is the only certain upgrade left for my truck at this point. Never had trouble sliding in the snow even with a peg leg, but on dry or slightly damp pavement its all inside wheel spin. Unless of course I go into the corner hot & use weight transfer to kick the tail instead of just throttle

Drive faster, turn sharper

Lol, I believe that's the recipe for understeer

The most effective addition would be a posi. A rear sway bar would really do nothing to increase driftability, and generally stunt brakes are only on one rear wheel, not both like the factory parking brake. Also, I wouldn't mess with the brake bias, as drifting is based on throttle control, not cranking in more rear brake.

In all honesty though, you should be able to drift your truck pretty good as is, especially with a 6spd. Even with an open rear end I can throw my truck around pretty good on dirt roads. But if you really want it to perform better, a posi is where it's at.

Agree on the Posi, but disagree on the other points. Much more important than throttle itself is balance & weight transfer. A rear sway bar will increase rear roll stiffness, which will make the truck much easier to pivot under lift throttle, trail braking, or feint (left/right weight transfer). Once the tail has been kicked, then the throttle comes in to keep the wheels spinning. Perhaps i need to find a 3G with a rear sway to ride in, just to make sure it doesnt hurt the ride too much.

Increased rear brake bias not only keeps the vehicle flatter under braking (less nosedive), but it will also pivot more easily. However, after thinking about it, I'm going to leave the brake bias alone. The bias on our trucks is pretty good, and I seem to be able to overheat the rear brakes just as easily as the fronts when carving through the hills.

It is very easy to drift around on dirt/mud/snow and even in the wet sometimes and yes the 6spd definitely helps. But with sticky 275mm all terrains on dry asphalt, there's no forgetting it's got a peg leg.

LSD for sure. Agree on brakes, drifting is all about power.

Perhaps for doing donuts or sliding around a turn while accelerating from a stop, but actually throwing a vehicle into a slide while at driving speeds is much more about handling balance & weight transfer than power. LSD for sure, though

Post #7
What kind of road surfaces are you referring to?

Pickup trucks aren't designed or intended for Tokyo-Drift stuff...

Paved country roads...sure they aren't designed for it, but why should that stop us? YouTube truck drifting, as in tractor trucks...now THAT is cool!

Just to clarify, I have no intention of "professionally" drifting or participating in any events. It is purely to add some driving fun to these boring, straight, & flat country roads that I'm forced to spend so much time on.

find dirt roads!

Originally Posted by Ron380

What kind of road surfaces are you referring to?

Pickup trucks aren't designed or intended for Tokyo-Drift stuff...

You don't say :-)




Get yourself a hemi stroker, you can do very very long burnouts/drifts then :-) you do have to watch out for concrete guardrails though

Wouldn't caltracs help a lot? Whenever I do stupid stuff and the rear wheels starts spinning, the rear starts jumping, caltracs should prevent this?

^ At first glance I thought you hit the guy on the ground!

Originally Posted by MadCatPhil

Drive faster, turn sharper

You got to buy those special drift tires...I've got a set I'll sell you!

Well, I was having the same problem. With the BF Goodwrench tires I had to replace the stocks, I would give it a tiny bit of extra gas around the corners in the rain and the back end was gone. Not enough to spin out, just to get the back to brake free to where I was running off the front tires.

When I got my 22" Boss 334's I had to get new tires so I got some nice low profile street tires and it is freakin hard to brake free! I have to dup it down a few gears and it draws to much attention (cops) for it to be worth the fun. But given the right conditions, I can drift in the wet weather. I did it yesterday in fact.

My solution so I don't lose my insanity is going out to a field that is muddy and throwing a lil mud doing donuts.

Originally Posted by 86bcook

More power. Thin tires

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

It would also be a lot easier to keep it sideways if your had a better weight distribution front to rear. The rear end is so light compared to the front there is no energy to keep it kicked. Hence the popular drift cars such as the 240 and FC rx7 which have near 50/50.

An LSD, locker or welding the spiders would work wonders but you could still throw an open-diff vehicle into a power slide it just takes a bit more speed and practice, torque breaks one wheel free and inertia will do the rest. I don't know about skinny tires..my truck will power slide just by feathering the throttle and that's with wide and heavy A/T tires.

stiffer suspension, lower gears, good clutch work, weld your rear end haha

Originally Posted by musikman

Thats what im talking about. Haha. Skinny tires and lots of power!!!!

Don't weld the spiders on anything you drive on the street! You can probably find a complete rearend w/LSD in a junk yard to swap out. Make sure it at least has 3.92 gears, better if it's 4.56.