Check Out Chelsea DeNofa’s Mad Steering Angle Setup For Drift

Steering Angle. Do you have it? Chelsea DeNofa does.

When you’re starting out in drifting, stock steering lock and angle might work just fine but step up to the big leagues in drifting and extreme steering angle is more a prerequisite than an option. Earlier today (Nov. 15, 2015) Formula Drift pro driver Chelsea DeNofa gave us a close-up look at what his steering angle looks like from underneath his BMW E36 drift machine. Check out that Instagram video below. Don’t worry, if you hover your mouse over the image, the familiar triangle play button should show up.

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Typically your OEM car will have 20-25 degrees of steering angle. That means for the 2-3 turns of the wheel it takes you to fully lock your steering wheel (thus called full lock), your wheels up front will be turned that many degrees in either direction. We’re not going to pretend we’re seasoned drifters at Art of Gears but it looks like the more steering angle your car is capable of having, the easier it is to initiate a drift and hold your car at that angle for maximum showmanship and tire slippage resulting in copious amounts of smoke.

With a couple of modifications like a shorter steering knuckle (where wheel meets suspension meets steering) and adding spacers between your inner tie-rod and steering rack you are able to increase your steering angle by a whole lot more. We’re talking about 60-65 degrees in some of the more professional setups (like Chelsea DeNofa’s)

Add in some other key suspension modifications for drifting like functional front-wheel and rear-wheel negative camber, play around with a bit of front and rear toe, throw on a quick ratio steering rack and shod your wheels with a set of sticky tires that give you proper grip but predictable handling and you’ve got the ingredients for a proper drift setup on your hands.

Next: Daigo Saito's Lamborghini Murcielago Drift Car Is D1GP Ready

Around that time you start burning up tires, a tire sponsorship or a homie hookup on some spares might come in handy too.