Can I drift a stock car?
You can get a standard car sideways. Holding it there is a different question, and the answer is one part.
Short answer: you can get a standard rear-wheel-drive car sideways, briefly, and you will learn something doing it. You cannot hold a line or link corners, and the reason is not power, tires or suspension. It is the differential.
Why a stock car will not hold a drift
A factory open or viscous differential sends power to whichever rear wheel has least grip. In a drift that is the unloaded inside wheel. So the inside wheel spins, the outside wheel does nothing useful, and the moment you need drive to hold the angle there is none available. You will initiate, the car will straighten or spin, and no amount of throttle control fixes it because the hardware is working against you.
This is why every build guide, every drift school and every forum thread says the same thing: the differential is the first purchase. Getting both rear wheels spinning is the modification that makes a rear-wheel-drive car a drift car.
What a stock car is genuinely useful for
Learning what the car does before you change it. Driving a standard car at a skidpan or an open practice day teaches you weight transfer, where the grip limit is, and how the car talks to you - all of which transfers.
Finding out whether you actually like it. Some people go to one event and discover they prefer grip driving. Finding that out before spending money is a good outcome.
A drift clinic or school. Many run cars you can use, or will take you out in a standard car for the first session on purpose.
The cheapest route to a car that works
You do not need a build. You need four things, and three of them are cheap.
1. A locked differential. Welding is $100-300 at a shop. This is the one that changes everything. 2. A helmet with a certification your event accepts. 3. A mounted fire extinguisher. $50-160 including the bracket, and the bracket is the part inspections fail people on. 4. Cheap rear tires. Part-worns at $25-60 each, as many as you can carry.
That is a car that will hold a drift. Everything after it - a seat, coilovers, angle, cooling - makes it easier, more consistent and more durable, but it is not what separates "sideways briefly" from "drifting".
What about the rest of the stock car?
Suspension. Factory dampers on a thirty-year-old car are tired, and the car will roll onto them in transitions. You will notice. You will also learn perfectly well anyway.
Power. A stock KA24DE at 155 hp or an M50 at 189 hp is enough. Torquey is better than powerful for this, which is why the straight-six cars are easier to learn in than a high-revving four.
Cooling and fluids. This is the part not to skip. A drift lap is sustained high rpm at low road speed, which is the worst case for a factory cooling system, and overheating is the most common reason a first day ends early. Fresh fluids and a cooling check cost very little and are the difference between a full day and a morning.
Brakes. Make sure they work and the fluid is fresh. You are about to use the rears harder than the car has ever used them.
So where does that leave the build order?
Exactly where it is. Phase 0 is fluids, cooling, brakes and the wear items - the cheap things that let a stock car survive the day. Phase 1 is the differential, a seat and tires. You can go to your first event having done only those two phases, and plenty of good drivers have.
Sources
Questions
Can I drift without a locked diff?
Only briefly, and not in a way you can control. The inside wheel takes the power the moment it unloads, so the car will not hold a line. Welding a differential is $100-300 and it is the first thing to buy.
Do I need coilovers to start?
No. A locked differential on factory suspension will teach you plenty. Coilovers make the car more consistent; the diff makes it possible.
Is a stock car fast enough?
Yes. The grassroots field mostly runs 200 to 350 hp and a standard KA, M50 or 1JZ is in or near that range. Torque matters more than peak power, which is why the straight-six cars are easier.
What is the absolute minimum to go to an event?
A helmet your organiser accepts, a mounted extinguisher, no loose items in the cabin, fresh fluids, working brakes, and tires you do not mind destroying. A locked differential if you want to actually drift rather than just slide.
Put it in a plan
This decision sits in phase 1 of the build order. The planner shows you where it falls relative to everything else, and what it costs on your chassis.