Post-Drift Vehicle Maintenance In 2020

As you probably know, a drift car is far from being a normal car, especially when it comes to how you clean and service it after a drift session. For example, you don’t check your car after every time you drive it - say, after a short shopping run.

checking tire pressure

However, given the very nature of drifting, it is rather essential that you give your drift car a thorough check after every session of engine-pumping and wheel-squeaking.

As such, in today’s article, we’ll show you the things that you have to do to your car after a drifting session - in terms of maintenance and cleaning. Let’s begin!

The Essentials

There are a couple of essential things that have to be done once in a while in order to make sure that your drift car is in perfect condition, as well as to ensure that you won’t come across any serious issues in the future.

For example, after drifting, it is recommended that you:

Look around your car for the usual wear and tear and address any issues as soon as possible.
Check the hoses.
Change the motor oil - this has to be done more often, when you are close to 2,000 miles rather than to 3,000 miles, as it goes for common vehicles. This is because the high RPM operation increases the wear.
The LSD oil should be replaced every six months or so.
The transmission fluid, on the other hand, lasts a bit longer - replace it roughly every year.
Regular checks should be performed on the clutch fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Brake fluid is to be changed once every three months, especially if you do a lot of driving. However, it should be replaced after every track day.
The pressures of your tires should be checked weekly.

Keep in mind that, according to a couple of sources, the LSD should be overhauled every four months or so.

Other than that, professional and experienced drivers recommend you to look for vibrating noises and check the way your car idles - it should always idle normally.

Cleaning

Depending on where you drift, you may need more power when it comes to cleaning. If you are an off-road drifter, then you must have a top-notch pressure washer in your garage to get rid of all the mud and dirt.

Still, don’t get one that’s too powerful so as not to strip the paint off your car.

When cleaning the vehicle, make sure to pressure wash only the parts that can handle pressure washing.

For anything else - parts under the car, under the hood, the interior, you should either lower the power setting of your pressure washer or rely on the good old bucket and soap.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, a lot of things can be taken care of if you are paying attention. On the other hand, a lot of things can be prevented if you know exactly when to do them.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that you thoroughly check your drift car and all of its important components once or two times a week - and especially after every intense drifting session.

There are also drifters who recommend that you use a lift and do a car inspection prior to every track day or drift session.

If you find any issues, fix them on the spot and, after the drift, do a check once again to see if the components are in order!

Written by Joe Terrell Drifted.com founder, motoring journalist and all-round car enthusiast. Read more about Joe and the Drifted team on our about us page.