I bought a 2004 Crossfire a few weeks ago, and id like to make it a drift machine. I was wondering if anyone had any information on where to start. Im thinking throttle response would be one of the first issues along with forced induction. Can someone please help me out, and give me some input

 

Going to be very difficult with the non-locking rear diffferential. Use the search function and you will find limitless threads about forced induction, both supercharger and turbocharger.

As for a couple people who I would recommend looking through posts from:

Drifting: Infinite

Forced Induction on a N/A: Web 3.0


No matter how skilled mechanic you are, I can tell you right now it wil be quite cost prohibitive and downright expensive to do it right. No matter how many times someone claims they can get a $3000 turbo kit, or whatever. Keep searching, take things slow, and sell everything else you own...because then you might have enough money to get halfway there.

My $.02

 

Louie, welcome aboard.

Nice choice in car, but as Matt said, it may not be the best choice for your intended purposes. It can all be done, but just realize, you are trying to make a mercedes (every safety system and nanny electronic on the planet) into a drift car, so your pockets better be awefully deep

Good luck, the search function is going to become your best friend....

 

If this is going to be a dedicated drift machine just have the thing welded so its locked closed all the time.

With the rearend left open it wont last many events before mechanical failure sets in.

also the drive by wire throttle system is going to be a pain for you as well. It has a slight delay from your foot pushing on the petal and the throttle position changing. Its only a fraction of a second but im sure that would make doing a controlled drift a pain.

Other than that the crossfire would make an excellent drift car.

 

I am pretty much THE drifting guy here (not to toot my own horn)

If its an automatic, give up right here. you'll never be able to truly control the car.

The crossfire has 2 weaknesses, the stock traction control and its open diff

Pull fuses to disable TC and you have a car you can slide when its damp outside, but it will almost always snap oversteer on transitions.

You can weld the diff, but I suggest having a spare open one since our diff's are notorious for breaking under stress. Have the spiders welded and the pins that hold the spiders in place.

You'll find the crossfire will actually have body roll when you attempt to slide, more so than any other crossfire owner has ever experienced. To combat this I suggest srt-6 springs at the least, the stiffer rates make the car feel much nicer.

I'll sum it up quick, Pull TC fuses, Weld diff, stiffer springs, smaller tires(255's have too much grip to slide a 215hp car, you'll break something quickly)

That being said, I havent been able to slide my car since I lowered it. Body roll is completely gone. When the car was stock you could use the weight and roll to induce oversteer. Now it takes the rainiest of days to initiate anything. Im looking for a spare diff since I want to have a spare because I know I'll break the one I weld eventually.

I'll think of more to post later, If you have any questions feel free to pm me, or post here. Theres so much to go into on turning the crossfire into a suitable platform for even the most basic of drift events.

 

drifting is cool and all but dont do it. especially on this car your gonna ruin this car and never really be able to enjoy it. just my 2 cents

 

I work for Southeast Drift, we are a small company (more like family) of closeknit friends that hold drifting events in the southeast, mostly grassroots but we now have our own pro-am series in conjunction with Formula-D.

I've slid my crossfire many times. As long as you know what you're doing and you take the proper maintenance precautions, nothing will break.

 

Oh yea, the biggest thing this car needs is power.
Any car this heavy that does some form of drifting in our series makes at least 480 to the rear wheels and thats just to get it to the competitive point.

If you're serious about it, put the car on a diet. Stripping everything out of the interior, air conditioning, etc. airbags, superfluous wiring. Anything that you wont need to make the car go, steer, or stop should come off.

 

ok i can understand autocross cause all your gonna hit is cones. but drifting there is walls.....unless you guys just use cones. drifting takes a certain setup to do it right. its gonna cost at least 5k to make it even into a drift machine. if u don't have the right setup then you have to be going really fast to get this car to slide good around a corner. after a day of drifting go and get some new tires and an alignment. not something i'm willing to risk doing with my car.

 

Its not about speed. Ugh ok.

Our grassroots days are in the turner field parking areas, no walls just cones. Our pro-am events are on race tracks, so theres walls, rumble strips, kitty litter, etc.

Setup, well duh. But each driver could drive the same car and each would want it setup differently. Its all about personal preference

5k, no.... SRT-6 springs -150. Pulling fuses - free, used tires - 40/set, spare diff - 200, welding diff - 50.

Thats not even close to 5,000 dollars.

and if you dont have the right setup, you shouldnt go fast. Thats a quick way to injure and/or kill yourself. Our average private days see's entry speeds anywhere from 45-65mph. Thats slow and the speed decreases through out the course.

You dont need an alignment after drifting, unless you hit something.

 

im just saying that this isn't something i would want to mess with for my daily driver. too many risks involved for me to try this. i might try this with an early mazda miata cause you can pick one up for about 4k in mint condition. the crossfire is too valuable in my opinion.

 

yet they arent valuable. in 2 years the value of my car has dropped to less than half of what I paid for it.

 

ok yes they depreciate fast but i'm saying that this car is really nice and if you mess up the body work at all in an incident on the track or anything you could be looking at big money to fix or even worse have to total the car out.

 

Well I have full coverage and my insurance company is good to me. I've damaged cars at events before, they pay for the damage.

If it came down to totaling the car oh well. Time for a new project at that point.


You can slide virtually any RWD car, its just that some platforms are better suited for it. If the OP bought this car JUST to turn it into a car he can slide, clearly he made the wrong choice and he knows nothing about the sport and the mechanical aspects to it.

Drifting is not what Tokyo Drift made you think it is.

 

ok drifting is not what tokyo drift made you think it is and i'm not taking it from the movie. i pay attention to the drift scene every now and again with some interest. formula d is very interesting and the cars look cool going sideways next to each other. i value my car and i would be devastated if i wrecked this car. like i said i wouldn't mind doing this in a car that was a lot cheaper. idk how your insurance would pay for your car when your racing it.... unless you told them something else. your attitude towards everything reminds me of a lot of some of the import guys around our age. they think the same way you do. "who cares if you wreck the car". sounds to me like a good way to go in debt quick unless you have unlimited amounts of money. your insurance has to be through the roof with the damages that have been repaired. if you wanna drift in a world dominated by the japanese and japanese cars filled with kids who take inspiration from that movie then go ahead as long as you have the deep pockets for the sport.

 

Its just a car, they can be replaced. I dont get how someone can be so attached to a vehicle sometimes, but thats just me.
I own 2 240's that are purpose built drift cars, the crossfire is just a toy. Im just saying, if you're building a crossfire just for the purpose of drifting... There are more economical and practical options

 

ok i understand that it's just a car but i like to take pride in what i have achieved. the crossfire to me is like what it would be for you to win to win a formula d event. you get satisfaction from going sideways fast and i get satisfaction from driving it daily, cleaning it, and starting at it. i know how you feel about what you do. i do autocross myself but not with my crossfire. i actually use a 1994 mazda miata

 

OK this is really simple from where I sit. Louie, enjoy your Crossfire, it will never be a good drift car. Infinite, you work in the drift industry, set up Louie with a 1/2 prepped 240 or AE86 or? for just a few grand and he can get into drifting in a chassis much more suiting to the sport. FWIW I've been to the Irwindale finals the last couple years, I've got the bug (a little) I came really close to pulling the trigger on purchasing a drift prepped Plymouth Fire Arrow a few months ago but it was wrong coast and slipped away


Mike

 

Just search yahoo answers ..

Question : Can the Chrysler Crossfire drift?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

~Just about any car in Rear-Wheel drive can drift with the best techniques. It would just need tires called "slicks" which mean they can help the car drift better and easier. Hope I helped


~Yes because it is a rear wheel drive car. Just about any rear wheel drive car can drift. The Crossfire is not a good drifter because it is weak and does not have a lot of power. Only the SRT-6 Crossfire made in 2005 would be a great drift car because it has over 300 horsepower and torque
Reference: collision center manager.



There you have it .. get an SRT with slicks to drift, the limited is too weak and does not have enough power. If you need to know more, ask your local collision center manager.

 

I'm not into drifting at all, unless it's on a very large (obstruction free) snow/ice covered parking lot. But since I don't drive the XF in the winter, I'm out of luck. And what I do drive in the winter has front wheel drive, so again, I'm out of luck.
But couldn't you compensate for the "NA" Crossfire's pitifully weak power by simply installing skinnier tires?