Fundamental Five: Vital Suspension Mods For Novice Drifters
Limited Slip Differential
A limited slip differential (LSD) gives the chassis the balance of power needed to control the roll. At the edge of adhesion, the LSD funnels power to both wheels all the time, making the transition to drifting manageable, but more importantly, allowing the exactness needed to maintain that drift and achieve maximum angle. The big choice is between using a 1.5-way or 2-way LSD. Generally speaking the 1.5-way will unlock under deceleration where the 2-way stays locked. The 1.5 is good for weekend warriors that will see street, drift and road circuit time. The 2-way is more of a competition-only setup, but it can be run on the street. 
Adjustable Tie Rod Ends
The LSD’s partner in crime, adjustable tie rod ends, enhance the front wheels. They are all about angle. When properly set-up, adjustable tie rod ends increase how far the front wheels can turn lock-to-lock. If you’ve seen pro drift cars come in at crazy, sideways angles and miraculously not spin out, you’ve seen adjustable tie rod ends do their job. With stock gear that same car would not be able to keep its momentum moving forward using all four tires. It would come up short, stop turning, and the tail would continue to swing around the car; they call that a spin out. Adjustable tie rod ends may be the least glamorous of the Fundamental Five, but I think it may have the biggest impact on initial success, and how far you can take a mildly modded ride. 
Coilover
Body roll and weight transfer upset balance. A set of adjustable coilovers are key because they dictate the neutral balance, or corner balance, of the car. They also stiffen the chassis, and tune in, or out, understeer; a condition that is totally counter intuitive to drifting, where tail-happy is enthusiastically embraced. 
Camber Plates
Camber plates are part of high-end coilover systems and they make the list for the their ability to maximize the all-important contact patch. Side loading is a byproduct of drifting. The big g-forces generated by drift cars tend to roll the tires on their sides, dramatically reducing the contact patch footprint. Hardcore, adjustable camber plates allow teams to tune camber, kind of tricking the suspension into maintaining a flat, full contact patch under load when it would normally want to pull the tire up. Granted tire wear and contact patch are compromised under normal driving situations, but pro drifters don’t do normal and enthusiast drifters can set their ride back to street mode before leaving the track. 
Tires
It is easy to see how important tires are. And it’s hard to fathom that grippy tires are important in a sport where long, three- to four-minute burnouts are the norm. Again you want consistency. Sidewall performance is the key to a good contact patch. A stiff sidewall will not give up the ghost and roll over on itself under the intense, aforementioned, side loads seen in the heat of battle. So select a tire with a low profile and try to find out about the model’s sidewall stiffness. 
