TheRbKid

I am making this build thread because I see a ton of terrible information out there these days on building drift cars. People just spend a ton of money on parts they do not know how to use or ever need for what they are doing. So I wanted to give some insight on a very successful competition car and just some overall advice on how to make a car work without spending a million dollars. Ill Just do this in short segments.

To introduce myself my name is Troy Manners. I am 21 years old and I live in western Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney, PA to be exact. I am a pro driver in Formula Drift Canada. I have been driving for about 7 years now from the age of 15. I first got into drifting from a few friends and working on their cars and helping them. My dad owned his own company and I was always taught to work from a very young age so i had some money laying around and thought hey ill build a drift car. Well as you can imagine the 5 or 6k i had in the bank went out the window about instantly. I bought an s13 hatch which is actually the car i still drive today, and a series 1 rb25. So at this point in the game i really didn't know my ass from a hole in the ground but after some help from friends i got this car running and driveable. At this point i am still 15 years old without a drivers license but after getting this thing to some local events a few times i actually did have some real talent behind the wheel despite not knowing much. So here are some pictures for the first part of this build/story. Ill post this in a few segments so the timeline of events doesnt run together.

TheRbKid

Didnt realize this got posted up yet. So after a year of driving a pretty haggard rb25 swapped s13 at local events in Pittsburgh and getting invited to make a trip to Englishtown NJ to drive Clubloose I decided I would clean everything up over the off season to start the 2012 season. A guy I met in 2011 by the name of Jimmie Caldwell who is now a mechanic for Chris Forsberg in Formula Drift gave me a hand on some off season renovations. Basically just cleaned up the car and made it look decent. It was still a stock rb25, but we added a tubed front end with tubs and just some simple bumpers.









So in 2011 my Rb25 was super haggard but super reliable. So after I made it look nice for 2012 it just turned into nothing but problems. Constant misfire issues you name it. After 3 events in 2012 it blew up. Sooo being pretty much totally broke at this point and being 17 years old I took a loan from my dad and went and picked up a vvti 1jz to finish the season. Hands down best 17 year old decision I ever made. After I got that swapped in pretty haggardly being on a tight time frame to drive events I started doing some competition. I ran 2 Xtreme Drift Circuit events that year and 2 Pro AM events. Ended up being on the podium in both the midwest drift union events I attended. Back in those days Pro Am was a lot tougher in drivers than it is now. Back then there was no Pro 2. You had pro and pro am. I traveled with my long time friend, who now runs formula drift, Geoff Stoneback. That was definitely one of the funnest years I had competing in a pretty basic vvti 1jz s13 on coilovers, modded knuckles and some ebay suspension arms.

TheRbKid

Going into the 2013 season I got hooked up with a few companies and got some help on some power upgrades. I installed an apexi power fc, tomei turbo, headgasket, and a few preventive maintenance items for another season of competition. Upgraded my coilovers but all in all kept the car clean and simple. Had it dyno tuned at MA Motorsports in Maryland and it laid down around 350hp at 15psi.






I ended up running a full season of U.S drift in 2013 in its first season back as a Formula Drift Pro am series. I ended up finishing 3rd in points behind Geoff Stonback and James Evans earning my 2014 Formula Drift License. And even got put on the cover of a local magazine in my home town! Yes i live where groundhogs day is.







I have to search for some more pictures but I will update this tomorrow with the rest of my story and get up to current times and current car build with a lot more detailed info and pictures of actual build!

S14kouki805

Good stuff man, sub'd

TheRbKid

So going into 2014 competition I had a Formula Drift pro license but unlike most other 19 year old kids I knew i was in no way ready to go to Formula Drift. I didnt do a whole lot to the car for that year. I had a 2j exhaust cam machined to throw in the vvti head which actually gave it a ton more torque. Also switched my transmission to a tripod style shifter version of an r154 out of a toyota chaser. Shifts way better than the supra ones. Got the car retuned before the season at MA Motorsports and it made 380hp and 420ft lb of torque. For Pro Am this thing was an animal. I dont ever really let of the gas pedal so this was about perfect running a 245mm tire in the rear. I decided that year that I wanted to just do big events and drive in different places. So I picked the biggest pro am event on the east coast (Hyperfest) and the biggest one in the midwest (Streetlife tour) and also did another on in Florida with streetwise drift. Showed up to all three and totally dominated with 3 wins in a row. Needless to say 2014 was a good year!

SteeleBrothersDrifting_Mike

Sub'd.. Cool to hear your story!

TheRbKid

Thanks man!

TheRbKid

So to move on into 2015 after coming off a perfect year in 2014 I was pretty pumped for the new year. This was really the first time that I actually made an attempt to get any sponsors. Which if anyone knows marketing is extremely tough. Pro drifting is about 25% driving skill and 75% marketing. Although i really didnt know what I was doing on the marketing end of things I did manage to pick up a few sponsors. XXR Wheels hooked me up with all the wheels I could ever use. Neo motorsport came on as my suspension supplier, and a company called PRL Motorsports who is a manufacturer of their own line of products and an engine building/tuning shop located in Pittsburgh PA came on board with my program as well. Impulse design also agreed to wrap the car for my 2015 season. For 2015 PRL Motorsports built my 1j. We did CP 9.5:1 pistons bored it .020 over, H beam rods, and Tomei Pon cams. Tuned on 114 octane VP fuel it made 475hp and 450tq. 2015 turned into one of those years I just really wasnt enjoying competition. I just really didnt feel challenged at a pro am level anymore so it really just took the fun out of it. If i am not having fun or motivated my driving really suffers. But beyond that in 3 events I still had 2 2nd place finishes.

TheRbKid

Heres a few random videos from 2015 as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp_pjV1MO1Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7IoTXzgxuc

TheRbKid

Moving on into 2016 my last season of drifting I decided it was time to move into pro level events. Formula drift pro 2 really didnt seem like a good option for me way to much travel and money for not that much exposure. So I decided to do the Canadian pro series Formula Drift Canada. I also ran a series in Tennessee called Turismo drift. Here is a run down of what my car was to start the year off last year.

Drive train:
Prl Motorsports Built VVTi 1jz 500hp 460tq
Cp carrillo 9.5:1 pistons
H beam rods
tomei cams
tomei m8280 turbo
tomei log manifold
Apexi Power FC djetro tuned by PRL Motorsports
Tex Racing T101 4 speed dog box transmission
Xcessive manufacturing clutch and adapter plate
Mishimoto dual pass radiator
Mishimoto intercooler
Drift motion oil cooler

Suspension and steering
Iconcepts modded knuckles
My own extended and gusseted control arms
offset rack spacers with tein tie rods and spl outter tie rods
Neo Motorsport Green series coilovers
Pbm rear drop knuckles with wilwood dual rear calipers and asd handbrake
3 way adjustable rear sway bar

Interior Exterior
Duraflex body kit and fenders
XXR 552 wheels 18x8.5 and 18x10
Sparco circuit seat
ARC 8000d switch panel and wiring

Chassis
1992 240sx
Iconcepts tube front and 8 point roll cage
Fuel safe 12 gallon cell
Fire suppresion system


Here is some pics of the car build:

greenwood

where is the do's and dont talk

TheRbKid

Im getting there. Just want to get to current events first.

gerson408

+1 i dont see a do and dont.

hotlavaflow

In for more info

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EarlsWorld

was looking for the do's and dont's as well hahaha

regardless its an awesome build and its really cool to hear your story!
very impressive for your age.

keep posting im liking this thread!

TheRbKid

Since everyone wants a do's and dont's post ill do that haha. So these days in drifting I see a ton of people at a pro am level and even at a grassroots level just driving for fun that when building a car spend a ton of money on parts and things that are just totally unnecessary and that they have no idea how to use. Rather than driving and becoming a good driver their car is sitting in their garage with a set of $2000 hot boy wheels and a wisefab steering setup while they finish their turbo V8 setup and they talk about how they cant wait to finish their car in 4 years.......

Don't get me wrong drifting is cool because of the vastly different styles and car builds. But if you have never even drifted on a real track before you dont need $5000 worth of wisefab parts on your car. In the right application their products might be a good option for cost effectiveness but definitely not on a 240sx. My steering setup works amazing and has ton of angle. It literally consists of modified $40 moog control arms, stock cut and welded knuckles and some decent heim joint bump steer adjustable tie rod ends. Suspension is one of those things that makes or breaks the way a car drives. Fancy parts can be cool if you know how to use them. But i would say at least 75% of the people that buy that stuff have absolutely no clue how to set it up. In that case you are way better off to have just used simple adjustable parts to put a good alignment on the car. I also see people all the time that have this kind of stuff and they are running tires they found in a dumpster. Having a consistent feeling car is key in building driving skill. So take all the money you just saved by not buying stupid expensive parts you dont need and go buy a good set of sticky front tires and a few sets of (even if they are the cheapest thing you can buy) new tires to drift on.

Another huge mistake i see people make is they think you need a turbo v8 or a 2jz to be a good driver. If you dont know what you are doing you will learn more in a day with a stock ka than you will with 500hp. Drifting with no power teaches you how to make a car do what you want while actually driving the car and putting it where it needs to be versus relying on power to make you look like you know what your doing. Once you learn how to wheel in a car with not much power someday when you actually have a lot of power you can take what you learned from your 150 hp KA and apply it to your 500hp car. Thats how you learn to wheel a car. There is a reason you dont see all these rich kids in Formula Drift dominating. They started out with a $50,000 car and have no idea what 200hp feels like. Understanding how to make a car with no power do what you want will teach you a lot. Money doesnt buy talent so dont let that hold you back even if competition isnt your goal with drifting always keep it simple. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS SEAT TIME!

I personally love competition but its not for everyone. If you want to compete you still dont need a crazy car. You might need more than a stock KA to be competitive in Pro AM but you definitely dont need 500hp. Also I see all these kids that run a season of Pro Am and do ok and maybe get a podium and the next year they go balls out and they think they are going to show Chris Forsberg how to drive in Formula Drift next year. I can promise you regardless of how good you think you are after you compete in pro am for a year you're in no way ready to move up. I went to Formula Drift Canada this year thinking i was going to show these French dudes how to drive...... Haha turns out they know how to drive too. Dont go into competition with the mindset of i am going to be a pro. It takes the fun out of it and drains your wallet real fast.

I would love to help anyone with car setup questions and things like that as well don't hesitate to ask!

TheRbKid

Thanks man!

hatch4life

I like reading stuff like this, very inspiring

240sx_sr20det

Coming from a Road Racing background, I 100% agree with what you're saying. Too many guys are just throwing money at their cars and hoping it makes them an excellent driver.

It's safe to say that drifting is one tiny portion of driving skill; controlled oversteer. Too many are thinking they are gods gift to driving because they can hold a car sideways around a parking lot.

Ego's are what ruined drifting, and it's sad to see it.

I started drifting because it was fun, and a way to blow off stress from the competitive aspect of Road Racing. More and more I see people dumping boat loads of money into these cars and they still can't put a lap together. I'm talking more money than it costs me to race a full-season; it's nuts!

Anyways, cool story, and I enjoyed reading about your journey. Keep up the good work, and try to get to Japan sometime. Your mindset is perfect for their style of competitions.

TheRbKid

Thanks! And oh for sure. I enjoy any kind of driving because at one point or another they all overlap and you can use skills from one form of racing to help you in another.

TheRbKid

Moving onto the 2016 competition season I had decided to do Formula Drift Canada which is the highest level of drifting in the country. I also decided to do a series in Tennessee called Turismo Drift because of the large payout. Ill recap Canada first.
I had high expectations going into Canada to do really well. Once I got there i realized the competition wasn't as easy as I expected. No one really seems to give the Canadians credit. Ill tell you from experience these dudes would mop the Pro 2 field in the U.S like a bunch of little school girls. So in the first round I qualified 12th and ended up finishing in the top 8 but from the get go at 500hp my car was simply not even close to fast enough. Going into the second round it was a smaller track so i had a better chance being underpowered. My first qualifying run I exploded the differential. Me and my crew had 10min to change it and be back to the line. We changed it in 7min I got back to the line and qualified a terrible 15th. In top 16 i took out the number 2 qualifier by passing him haha. Won in top 8 against one of Canada's best and made it to the final 4. I was super pumped on those results. Round 3 was a total disaster I went to Tennessee 2 days before i was supposed to head for Canada. Ended up winning $5000 down there but car took a beating and with no time to fix it had to leave for Canada. Didnt qualify well and ended up almost stuffing it into the wall due to a slipping clutch but managed to save it but still got knocked out in the top 16. I skipped round 4 because i was installing a bigger turbo to make some more power.

Under pressure racing development hooked me up with this awsome twin scroll manifold and we went with a precision 6062 turbo. PRL Motorsports killed it on the fabrication work and tune and the car made 620whp and 560ftlb. This thing rips. So going into the final round of Canada at a competitive power level I qualified 8th battled to the final 4 losing to Dave Briggs and ended up on the podium in 3rd place. So in my rookie year I had 2 top 4 finished in 4 events and finished 7th in points despite missing a round of competition. I feel as if that is pretty respectable. On to the pictures.








Here is a video of the first test day after the new turbo and tune. This thing is an animal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1GRhnaG_B0

TheRbKid

Moving on into the other part of my 2016 season was doing a new series called Turismo Drift in Tennessee. It was 4 rounds of competition. Two rounds in Nashville 1 round in Memphis and 1 round in Knoxville. The series pays $5000 to win so that was my draw to it. If i didnt have bad luck in this series i wouldnt have had any luck at all. Showing up to round 1 the track in Nashville was wicked. The bank was absolutely insane and i simply did not have enough power to get around it and neither did anyone else really. I ended up finishing in the top 8 so wasnt that great. On a side note if you havent been to Nashville Tennessee its worth the trip. Going into round 2 in Memphis i was getting low on cash i told me crew we need to win this haha. We battled from top 32 all the way to the end and took the win and brought home $5000. After this round i had the point lead going into round 3. Round 3 was a disaster the track was a terrible parking lot that a stock KA would have shredded. After some dirty driving and some questionable judging i got knocked out in top 16 i wasnt happy but ill leave it at that. Going into the final round in Nashville i needed to win to have a shot at the championship. I went in there and was straight destroying everyone in practice no one had a thing for me. Like it wasnt even a competition. I destroyed my top 16 battle and in top 8 my serpentine belt decided to fly off on the bank. So rev limiter in 4th gear i lose power steering let off the throttle to try and roll out of it and go straight into the wall hard. I hit so hard it ripped the motor off the mounts. I ended the season 3rd in points but with any kind of luck at all i should have won the championship. Here is a video link to the crash below then off to the pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49kE_okW-l0&t=32s




My crew chief Harry Hog aka Nick Criss








So that was my 2016 season I will update this with the 2017 car updates as soon as i get that finished up. My car was salvageable after the crash but this will be the last year for it and me driving an s chassis in general. For 2017 my main focus is Formula Drift Canada. My plans for 2018 are Formula drift pro in the U.S but we will see what happens this year. I will try and update this as much as I can throughout the year but follow me on Instagram and my driver page on Facebook for more frequent updates. Thanks for reading my story and checking out my car!

Instagram: @1JZSQUIRT

Facebook: Troy Manners 'Squirt'

TheRbKid

I havent updated this in a while so ill give a little run down of some off season upgrades getting ready for the 2017 competition season. After 2016 the car was working well other than a few minor issues so i really didnt change a whole lot just addressed some issues and fixed the damage from my crash at the last competition of the year.

The last 2 seasons i have been running offset rack spacers in combination with my in house made lower control arms. It made for an great butter smooth steering feel but they are very hard on racks. Since i junked my crossmember in the crash i decided to move the rack forward 1 inch to take care of steering bind problems.



I also had some issues with drivetrain vibrations last year so i rebuilt my dog box. It was in pretty good shape just had to replace the 4th gear face plate. The driveshaft shop hooked me up with a sweet deal on a new aluminum driveshaft as well. They balance their shafts up to 10,000 rpm which is a lot more in depth than any of your local shops do.




I also went through the factory vvti 1j harness and removed every unnecessary plug and wire on the whole harness cutting the amount of wires in half.




Ordered a full new kit repainted that as well as laid down some fresh pain in the engine bay. Yes i am aware that their is some orange peel this was the first time i attempted to paint anything and literally have no idea what im doing with a paint gun so it didnt turn out half bad!







I have worked with Neo Motorsport for several years now but for 2017 they really are helping me out with expenses and product. They sent me one of their 4 piston front big brake kits. I was extremely impressed with the quality of their kit. The performance of their suspension is second to none as well. If any one needs a hookup on coilovers or brakes shoot me a PM i can get you a deal!




While i was getting the car buttoned up my boys over at PRL Motorsports were giving my engine a refresh. Cp Carrillo and Brian Crower came onto my team for this year and hooked me up with some internals. After 2 full seasons the engine was still in great shape. New rings bearings and a good cleaning and it went back together. We upgraded the springs and retainers as well as some oversized valves and 272 cams. Should dial the car in at about 700hp to the wheels. PRL Motorsports engine builds and tuning is second to none. For a full race engine to look that new after 2 seasons is unheard of especially with my always on the limiter driving style!






Car is being dynoed this week and after that it should be ready to roll. It will be going to canada to get a full wrap from Neo Motorsport before the season starts. 2017 will be my last year in an s13. I have a wild build in the works for 2018. I am hoping to make my pro debut here in the U.S for 2018 and this car will be one of the wildest in the pro field! I cant wait to get the build started!

RawSx

Holy shit, I remember watching you drift in Dayton a while ago with Mike Pollard. It's nice to see you're still at it and making some big progress. Keep up the awesome work. Can't wait to watch you drift in person again and excited for this crazy build for 2018.

TheRbKid

Haha damn that was wayy back in the day.

bataangpinoy

Interesting. I was under the impression that the only subframe mods that could be done were to only allow for oil pan clearance.

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TheRbKid

Rack relocation is allowed just not moving suspension mounting points.

TheRealSy90

Good thread. I'm surprised you're still on a factory rear differential and axles.
Seems like at this point the 240 is pretty much fully built to a pro level.

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bataangpinoy

Did you ever drive XDC at Monticello or CLNJ? I was there with my silver e30 coupe, never finished more than 2 laps before it broke LOL

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Grenade180sx

Youre a weird looking girl.