# What does it take to build a VW Beetle Drift Car?



## DTIgolf (Oct 21, 2007)

I am thinking of building a VW drift car.
I will need to be in the 200 hp range, maybe turbo.
It will have to rev high.
I heard of the 356 swaps for the Porsche turbo engines.
Any suggestions? thought?


----------



## nicnaor (Apr 16, 2002)

*Re: What does it take to build a VW Beetle Drift Car? (DTIgolf)*

Why 200hp? You don't need that much. Why a Porsche 356 swap, way cheaper to build a tuned type 1 motor that'll give you better reliability for tons cheaper for the same amount of HP (or more)... save your $$ towards the drivetrain. Most importantly, what's your budget as that will dictate which direction to go with. Seen German autobahn-tuned VWs in the 6 figure range, massively tuned VWs aren't cheap contrary to the general public's belief.


_Modified by nicnaor at 12:34 AM 11-12-2007_


----------



## 1302Frank (Dec 16, 2006)

though interesting, a beetle is probably not the best choice for a drift car.
Too much grip and weight in the back. It would be more difficult to maintain any aggressive angle without spinning out or losing momentum, and when you try to change direction... Also wheelbase is probably 10 inches shorter than other popular choices for drift cars.
Put something as light as you can in the back.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=woqiFrnZqvE


----------



## Jeepr21 (Jul 28, 2004)

*Re: (1302Frank)*

you can drop a subaru sti engine in the back... give it so much power the wheels break loose all the time... it'll cause you to drift... regardless of the weight****
didn't mean HP i meant weight!


_Modified by Jeepr21 at 8:47 AM 11-12-2007_


----------



## air skooled (Oct 21, 2005)

*Re: What does it take to build a VW Beetle Drift Car? (DTIgolf)*

There is a guy drifting with a Porsche now. Everybody said it wouldn't work. He proved them wrong.


----------



## nicnaor (Apr 16, 2002)

*Re: What does it take to build a VW Beetle Drift Car? (air skooled)*

I've seen drift ACVWs in the past, it's totally possible


----------



## 1302Frank (Dec 16, 2006)

Nobody has mentioned that it would be impossible, I just think it would be harder. 
I'd still like to see someone do it.


----------



## DTIgolf (Oct 21, 2007)

Well people are droping in the 13B rx-7 motors. Great idea High reving.
There are kits to do it. Drifting with it wouldnt be that hard. You can drift a Kia sportage if it had enough power, as I already do on wet days...
Anyone Got a Solid Shell? I can travel 500-800 miles from Toronto it pick it up.
P.S where do you find a rx-7 motor?


_Modified by DTIgolf at 10:59 PM 11-11-2007_


----------



## nicnaor (Apr 16, 2002)

*Re: (DTIgolf)*

vw stuff: ebay, thesamba.com 
rx motor: ebay, mazda forums, junkyard
engine swap kits: kennedyeng.com
VW trannies are weak, so you'll have to beef it up or upgrade to a Porsche 914 side shift tranny or ??


_Modified by nicnaor at 6:01 AM 11-12-2007_


----------



## DTIgolf (Oct 21, 2007)

How hard is it to get a 914 tranny?


----------



## buggyman (Aug 24, 2004)

*Re: (DTIgolf)*

Shouldn't be tough http://search.msn.com/results....I=365 ,the choices for just as beefy and easily adapted trannys opens up when you add in late model bus trannys http://search.msn.com/results....=QBRE ,lots of offroaders use 'em.


----------



## Jeepr21 (Jul 28, 2004)

*Re: (buggyman)*

OOps i meant weight not hp in my post above... if you have the hp you can throw around all the weight still. the tube has a bunch of bugs with these engines thrown in the back... theres one called "angry bug" i think... its CRAZY cool sounding. i'd like to know what engine it has.


----------



## jamaicula (Jul 10, 2002)

*Re: (Jeepr21)*

I assume you've seen this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FujamEgz7uY


----------



## GEETi (Jun 30, 1999)

*Re: (jamaicula)*


_Quote, originally posted by *jamaicula* »_I assume you've seen this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FujamEgz7uY


_Quote, originally posted by *71DubBugBug* »_I think its the same one.
So i found some more pictures of the car, because it is just SO HOT. 

















































I thought this cars maker had a website.............


----------



## turbomurbo (Jul 8, 2014)

I wanna try to set my bug up to drift, I have a '76 and I just lowered it. I'm probably going to get a truss and get the camber adjusted to induce over steer; also planning a 1915cc to put in there so ill have the power but just thinking on how it's gonna handle. Good luck on going for that! I'm gonna try to stay updated!


----------



## buggyman (Aug 24, 2004)

turbomurbo said:


> I wanna try to set my bug up to drift, I have a '76 and I just lowered it. I'm probably going to get a truss and get the camber adjusted to induce over steer; also planning a 1915cc to put in there so ill have the power but just thinking on how it's gonna handle. Good luck on going for that! I'm gonna try to stay updated!


Hi murbo  ,
You're probably gonna need $omething like a https://www.google.com/#q=vw+air+cooled+super+diff or




installed 1st in order to pull this off if you want it to last .
Rather than drifting, or as a supplement to just drifting, you may want to take a look @ adding in a https://www.google.com/#q=vw+turning+brake
https://www.google.com/#q=vw+turning+brake+buggyman which gives you much better ability to both initiate & control/counter control a drift, it's more like set angle, point, & shoot the power you have in the direction you want to go by lust locking or slowing the rear wheel on the inboard of a turning apex while still applying power to the outboard wheel so you don't scrub off speed https://www.google.com/#q=drifting+without+scrubbing+speed





















You'd also probably want to install a https://www.google.com/#q=vw+air+cooled+quick+steer
https://www.google.com/#q=vw+air+cooled+quick+steer+buggyman








which allows you to control the steering wheel only with your left hand while your right hand controls the TB & shifter

















I can tell you that it takes some time to coordinate all 6(steering(7 actually)counter steering/shifting/gearing/gas pedal/clutch pedal/brake pedal) in concert with each other to be able to feel like you're flying a plane .

:beer:


----------



## turbomurbo (Jul 8, 2014)

Oh man that's awesome, and I'll definitely look in to the differential! Thank you very much!


----------



## WFox93 (Dec 22, 2012)

I drift our bug all the time, its not easy but definitely doable,

you can check out the build to see what exactly we are running but its a decently tuned 1600 (bigger now and estimated at around 130HP) with disc brakes and some low. I credit its slidablity to the narrow cambered wheels.

wet grounds, all it takes is a heavy foot in second gear with the occasional clutch kick
dry ground is a bit hard, I need to gain as much speed as possible before the corner and brake heavily on entry while steering into the corner, listen to the front wheels and as they just start to give, kick the clutch, give it a boot full and the back end comes right around. The real trick is knowing when to get off the skinny pedal, too soon and you grind to a stop sideways, too late and go for a spin.

I might recommend a big steering wheel though (stock or slightly smaller should be fine), our tiny one is a bit hard to handle when all the weight is on the front end after the heavy braking.


----------



## buggyman (Aug 24, 2004)

turbomurbo said:


> Oh man that's awesome, and I'll definitely look in to the differential! Thank you very much!


Watch this guy's right hand as he accelerates through turns & watch how little his left hand moves the steering wheel




Watch the YouTube version of the video & keep hitting "Show more" @ the bottom of the comments .




On the differential, I would contact http://ranchotransaxles.com/ :thumbup: & have them economically build what you want, tazzit  has a close 1st, 2nd & 3rd, with a stock 4th for gas mileage on the road.
https://www.google.com/#q=close+gears+for+racing
https://www.google.com/#q=close+gears+for+road+racing
https://www.google.com/#q=close+gears+for+road+slalom+racing
I had a close 1st, stock 2nd & close 3rd, with a stock 4th for functionality off-road in much tighter quarters & just high(~120MPH) speeds on the straight flats like BIG desert lake beds 2086cc ~180HP, the camshaft differences are seen in his video, I was running a VZ14 off road https://www.google.com/#q=vz14+cam+buggyman after switching out from a 140 for street & strip, my 140 idled rougher like his @ idle & came on later & higher in the power band, the VZ was instant power off a smoother idle with the same HP, just placed earlier where I wanted it for off road, my rail only weighed ~700LBS https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q=power+to+weight+ratio+calculator . 








I had to get to that lake bed by doing some slow rock crawling https://www.google.com/#q=hammer+trails through those mountains in the background, so since you're looking into slalom/street I'd probably go with close 1st, close 2nd, stock 3rd & 4th, if you're going to dedicate it to slalom only then lock in on the close 3rd because you'll rarely hit 4th in cone directed/short courses.

:beer:


----------



## Superveedub (Jul 30, 2009)

DTIgolf said:


> I am thinking of building a VW drift car.
> I will need to be in the 200 hp range, maybe turbo.
> It will have to rev high.
> I heard of the 356 swaps for the Porsche turbo engines.
> Any suggestions? thought?


What it really takes









356 engines are practically the same as a type 1 VW engine, neither have factory turbocharged options. You don't NEED to rev high either, just need decent power to keep the wheels turning and some sort of over-rev control. 

While a beetle can be made to drift, its not the best choice for the job. If you just want to have fun and powerslide, go for it, but if you're trying to actually compete/go to events and whatnot then you should look at any of the usual cars.. BMW 3 series.. Nissan S chassis cars.. Mazda Rx7s.. Hell even late model domestic stuff.. Mustangs/Camaros/etc will be more drift-able for less hassle than a beetle will be.

Its not all in the weight distribution, but the suspension on a beetle would need modified quite a bit to allow for the alignment adjustments necessary for proper drift setups. Its not a cheap route, you're better off building the beetle just to enjoy it, and if you want to drift pickup a E30 325IS and beat the piss out of it. :thumbup:


----------



## el_cuate_hector (Oct 11, 2021)

DTIgolf said:


> I am thinking of building a VW drift car.
> I will need to be in the 200 hp range, maybe turbo.
> It will have to rev high.
> I heard of the 356 swaps for the Porsche turbo engines.
> Any suggestions? thought?


I am looking into this same idea for a bug. I was thinking about doing a front engine swap for a v6. The problem is the bugs floor frame because for it to clear the drivetrain you must mount low and cut and weld and etc. So, another option is to weld a costume bottom frame based on a small truck like the nissan hardbody, c-10, mitsubishi mighty max, etcs... Then mount the bugs shell on top. Personally I want to try my luck moding the original floor frame "couse it keeps it more of a real bug", rather than just a bugs shell on top of a truck, but also that might as well be the fastest way. 

Over all, a drift car must have more grip up front so that the rear can slide. A bug is a great plataform for any kind of motosports, just get over 200hp and run the front tires at a lower psi than the rear, youll be sliding greatly.


----------

