Hello from Australia! looking for advice on west coast trip!

[trentpalmer]

Hey mates.
My name is Trent Palmer and I hail from a town called Hobart in Tasmania, Australia.

The reason I joined this forum is I am planning a holiday to Nevada and California and I'm interested in checking out the grassroots drift scene while I'm there. My plan is to buy a car for drifting purposes while I'm there and enter a couple of matsuri or practise days, in similar fashion to the Japan ebisu holidays that are popular, but in a road legal car. Thankfully I have an Australian friend who lives in Vegas that can make organising this thing so much easier.

So what I want to find out is..
what's the name of the local comps/organizations in this region?
What are the best forums besides Zilvia that I should look for a car? And just any other advice you think I should know would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys. Trent.

[fatduece]

So let me get this straight. You want to spend a sh8t tone of money on a boring Country, with sh8tty cars? What the hell is wrong with you!? You guys have all the nice cars that we never got from Japan. The only thing youll be seeing at these drift events are piles of sh8t!

[future]

Grassroots is not something I typically think of in the California drift scene

[trentpalmer]

Hey mate, sorry to hear you're so down on your country and it's range of imports. But yes, you are right, I will be exploring the west coast and I want a tough as f*ck car to do it in. Really interested in driving at willow springs and places like that. Then when I leave, I sell the car (obviously). Now tell me all the things I wish to know God damn it 😊

[zooopreme]

The West Coast isn't known for "grassroot" drifting as other places in the US and you probably won't be able to have practice days on the track as often you want when you're out here.

But to answer your questions, in California, we have events at Willow Springs. We also have groups like 626drift that organize events (however, they were only able to plan 2 events in the year and the last one just passed) and organizers like Just Drift. Out in Vegas, check out Vegas drift. They have a couple of events lined up. There may be more but those are usually the pages I check out for event listings.

As for purchasing a vehicle, we use a combination of forums, locals, and craigslist to find our cars. It isn't something you can just come into and expect to find a decent car to drive in. Unless you really just want a junked car, craigslist is the way to go. Choose a chassis, search, purchase and go.

[unwtdhero]

Come to the east coast, and honestly if you dont find a car on zilvia your next best option would be a fb group... specific on area...

[future]

Much more informative then my post but same idea ^^^^


We don't have grassroots.

[drumer_boy456]

lol you guys are making america look bad..... haha but then again haha... america

we aren't trying to discourage you, as far as finding a solid car to get a hold of and start to beat on it the chance are slim.. there are allot of well built cars here but most arent drift ready.. or some are and are kind of expensive.. we call it drift tax hahaha

[ixfxi]

personally, i would spend my time exploring the mountain roads of southern california as opposed to doing anything "organized." the roads out here are stunning. you can explore from the southern most region such as san diego and basically drive up the coast, then explore los angeles and all of its mountains... from the angeles forest area all the way to the santa monica and malibu areas. you can easily spend a LOT of time and money if you decide to go north and explore santa barbara, santa cruz, and all the other coastal areas along highway ONE. you'll eventually hit san francisco.

i would not buy any old car though, relatively speaking. if you think you're going to come here, buy a 240SX and do this all, you're highly delusional. you might be able to get away doing this in a 350Z, but that would be costly. dont know how wealthy you are, but if you want to drain your balls and your account you've picked a good country - the USA will gladly oblige. be warned, there is plenty of law enforcement poking their nose out on the streets so you need to be civilized. you are a guest in our country, treat it with respect and all will be well. this applies to practically any country, if you ask me.

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also, there are countless shops worth dropping by and visiting while you are out here. COUNTLESS. i would highly advise plotting and visiting various tuning shops along the way. plenty of people have visited my shop while touring abroad. you are more than welcome to swing by, my doors are open - its always great to meet the folks that make the community.

if i would ask anything of this forum, it would be a list of roads or spots that they love about their region, as well as shops they recommend as well.