Lexus IS200 - No Power Just Clutch
Here's my IS200 drift build. I’ve owned it since 2021. From the very beginning I knew this would become my daily drift car. I started my journey in underground parking lots with the stock open diff and no mods at all to help drifting. I still remember how hard it was to get the car sideways, but I was determined to learn. I pushed it so much that I saw the exhaust manifold glowing red hot more than once. I quickly realized that while the car could slide, in stock form it sat way too high. So I went for a cheap set of fixed shocks with lowering springs. Instantly the car felt better, and with a bit of “drift sauce” (rain) it became possible to link some slides, so I moved on from the parking lots. Over time though, I realized that the fixed suspension was a limitation. The car was way too low, scraping everywhere, and every bump made the shocks bottom out. Then I came across a great deal in the IS200 Facebook group and treated myself to a set of MeisterR Zeta CRD coilovers. They were practically new, with only 3k km on them — all done at the Nürburgring. That was the funny part: I later found out that this exact suspension had been mounted on the fastest IS200 at the Nürburgring. It’s a small backstory I always enjoy telling whenever I talk about my car. Since it was my daily, I took every chance I could to practice, and soon I realized that if I really wanted to progress I needed an LSD. I ended up getting a helical diff, and again the car completely changed — way more consistent and fun to drive. From there the build started to grow quickly. I added a lock kit and adjustable rear upper camber arms, and began experimenting with alignment to find more grip and even tire wear. After about a year and a half, the car was sitting on full adjustable Hardrace arms, which gave me the chance to really fine-tune the setup. More recently I picked up a Vertex V2 for some style, and now I’m planning to turbo the small but mighty 1G-FE. At the moment it’s 155 hp of pure joy, but I’m hoping to bring it up to around 250 hp on stock internals.
Mods
Driver
My name is Fabrizio. I’ve been passionate about cars since I was a kid, mostly because of my older brother. At first, I was more into motorcycles, but he was always sharing his knowledge about cars with me. Over time, I ended up knowing more about cars than bikes. Video games were also a big part of my story. I grew up playing every Need for Speed, and later moved on to more sim-oriented titles like Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon, which became my daily bread for years. Even back then I always preferred the “dirty” driving style — sliding out of corners in a way that looked cool, rather than taking the fastest racing line. That naturally led me to start learning more about drifting, and I quickly fell down the rabbit hole: watching Option videos, Tsuchiya’s guides, D1GP competitions, and of course countless Noriyaro videos. When I eventually discovered that there were drifting events happening in my area — which in Italy is not common at all — I couldn’t resist joining as a driver. At my very first event I managed to hit three metal poles with the car freshly painted, but from that day I knew I wanted to take drifting seriously. Since then I’ve tried to learn as much as possible from stronger drivers, both about driving techniques and car setup. My passion eventually pushed me further, and I ended up becoming part of the event organization itself, helping the team create new drift events for the community.