this may not be in the right section, but since i have no idea what it is i have no idea where to post it. what do you guys mean by drifting. why is it such a good/cool thing to have or do?
thanks
matt

 

I think its when ure a$$ slides around in a controlled fasion...

 

yeah, I believe crazy hawaian (sp?) has some drift vids. get in touch with him.

 

Hey NJITIROC!
Do you go to NJIT?
I'm going there next year for mechanical and chemical engineering full time.

 

yes i do,
i am second year biomedical engineering student.
-matt

 

Search.. they've explained it a bunch of times.

 

Drifting is a sport that originated in Japan. I dont really know how to explain it, but basically drifting is a controlled loss of traction. You use techniques to kick the back end of the car out before a turn, take the turn sideways and countersteer out. But its more than just going sideways, its more about having total control of the car even though you have no traction. People who are considered good have enough control to break sideways 20 or 30 feet before the turn, use momentum and other techniques to get it sideways through the turn, then link 2 or 3 (even 4 or 5!!) turns in a row without having any traction at all. To some people it sounds silly (I know I know) but its one of those sports you have to try before you decide its a waste of time. I've heard people describe it as the 'WWF of Motorsports' and I think that is a good anology because it is mostly an entertaining spectator sport.

The argument of weather or not its a valid racing technique (grip vs drift) has been going on for a long time, and I'm not gonna get into that because I have nowhere near enough time in a real racecar to really argue any points. I just do it because its really fun. But to people who think it is a valid technique for racing believe so because you enter and exit the turn with more speed than grip. You actually go through the turn slower because you dont have traction but you enter faster (dont need to slow down! hehe) and you 'shoot' out of the turn at a better angle. Totally against the theory of grip racing (apex and stuff) but hey it sure is fun ehhehe. You can read more about it here:

http://streetracing.tiora.net/japan/drift/drift1.htm

and you can read about techniques here:

http://www.driftsession.com/technique.htm

Drifting is honestly the most fun I've ever had in my Camaro. One thing you must understand if you're going to try it is that you will crash. Nomatter how good you are, as you test the limits of traction, you will eventually push it too hard and totally loose control. Hopefully you won't hit anything bolted into the ground (light poles, walls, etc ... curbs are bad too!). So far I've crashed 7 times in my Maroon Camaro but nothing serious. I'm still learning how hard I can push it. The fastest drift I've done so far was at 45 mph (read 55mph on the speedo but off 9mph because of gear chance). Its a rush!! We have a 'Drift Session' every second saturday of the month here in Hawaii. I think we are the first state in the US to hold monthly comps for Drifting (hence the magazine coverage). If you'd like to check out the website its @ www.driftsession.com

And heres some vids:

Here is the JUN Supra Drifting Engine has two TRUST T78 turbine max output 1200ps, max torque 100kgm!! = Max power - 1000bhp at 2.2 bar boost * Top speed 249mph

And also here is a Mitsubishi EVO drifting, and here is a promotional video with a bunch of Nissan Skylines Drifting

 

And Here's some Thirdgens In Action (Srry you have to cut and paste the links because the websites they are hosted on really sucks).

Here's Revlimit -

http://www.speedhawaii.com/images/xs...1/Dscf0057.jpg

Here's me

http://www.speedhawaii.com/images/xs...1/Dscf0019.jpg

I think this thread should be moved to the Street Racing board? Pls dont close it mods ..

 

Sorry for bringing this back from the dead but I've been searching for about a week and this is the first thread that actually tells how to drift (sorta).

I was wondering what techniques would be the best for my car's setup(stock) and what is the best to start with. I've had limited experience on dirt and that's it as far as even coming close to drifting.

Please don't lock this. Move it to a racing board.

 

I'll move it to racing and see what they want to do with it..

 

I'll let it stay for now. Personally I don't feel it has anything to do with racing.

The closest thing to "drifting" in racing is dirt track ovals where they're constantly under power when going around the turns. In the controlled slide, they're forcing the vehicle to go around the track while forces are pushing it outward.

Drifting on pavement is counterproductive. Racing is about traction. A properly setup suspension with good traction can go around corners faster on pavement than vehicles that want to slide around a corner.

Even when I got to play around in a Legends car earlier this year, the last you want to do is slide around a corner. When you turn the wheels to turn, the car grips the pavement so hard that it feels like you're going to roll over. If you slide, you lose.

 

I read many thread that turned into flame wars over whether or not it is racing or useful. I don't want this to turn into one of them. I'm simply curious as to how you do it. I've gone sideways at 60 before and it was hella fun but that was in a 400 lb. go kart(with driver). I know that in Japan they actually do race against the clock in drifting. It is also possibly faster on courses with many sharp turns very close to each other. While drifting you don't lose control, you just control a different situation.

Sorry I'm done.

Edit: I also want to salute Crazy Hawaiian and REVLIMIT for having the ***** to try it and fight on its behalf.

 

not to flame, but drifting is not racing. Its a waste of good tires. Using drifting in autox is ok, but there are some people that just do drifting thill there tires blow... that is not a sport by any stretch of the imagination.

 

As mentioned above, it depends on the course. If you have to go around a hairpin turn that has a shorter turning radius than what the car can do then you need to do a controlled spin to get around it without having to back up. Rally racing does this a lot but it's not on pavement.

Import (small) cars have a better chance of being able to do it because of the shorter wheelbase. Just as they approach and enter the turn, they use the park brake lever between the seats to lock up the rear wheels. It takes lots of practice to know when to apply the rear brakes and when to release. Add a manual transmission that you have to shift with the same hand at the same time and it starts to get difficult.

 

I agree with BigAL and Stephen.

 

drifting is fun. i've been doing it for almost 15 years. started in my 82 Z/28 and continue to have some fun drifting in my Vette.

trick is stay in 1st gear (30-45 mph slower for rookie) come into the turn hot and slam the brakes. this pitches weight forward off the rear tires nose down then turn hard while rolling hard on the throttle. trick is don't stab it just roll on it after you pitch the car cause now the a$$ end is light. let the torque work for you while the @ss kicks out. steer into it like in the rain.

good luck! it takes alot of practice with out looping your car i've drifted in my Z over 60+ mph before easily. i swear my 82 Z/28 could take any 90* turn at 45 mph+ drifting

i don't push my Vette that hard but in both cars just after you kick the @ss out just point the front tires and the A$$ will follow. these cars are very forgiving in that aspect.

Good Luck

*Note:

Don't be stupid. only Drift when there is absolutely no one around you. best to have spotters. if your gonna do it do it safe so if you do wreck your only hurting/wrecking your own property.

 

Im sure its fun, but I see ZERO need for it to be a sport.

"ooo you can lose control of your car... yippie" I cant belive they have a whole mag made for this either...

 

I wouldn’t go as far as to say drifting is not a sport. Weather or not it is a useful racing technique is a good argument, but as for it not even being a sport, I disagree. I think drifting is one of the fastest growing motor sports in the USA right now. Like it or not, it is drawing big crowds, and for a sport that was pretty much unknown in the USA last year, its amazing how much support its getting. For example, this past August they had the first D1 Gran Prix Professional drifting competition in the USA at Irwindale California. The crowd was over 10,000 strong, and even the people who run the track say that was the biggest crowd they've ever had at any event at that race park ever. It drew more spectators than any other type of racing event they have ever had there. For now you will see most drifting events at the grassroots level, but I would not be surprised if there are enough spectators in the future to support a drifting venue with multiple events per year and prize money.

As for it being a useful racing technique, all I will say is that you have to understand the difference between the flamboyant showboating types of drifting you'll see at drifting events, and the very short, unwanted type of drifting you'll see at grip events. Anyone that grip road races knows the feeling when they've passed the limits of traction. At that point they are drifting, but for them the object is to regain traction as quick as possible as to continue trying to make the fastest lap time possible. On the other hand, a drifter will try to keep the slide going, trying not to regain traction as best they can. They do this because drifting is a style sport, judged by the style of your drift, not the best time or finishing position. If you can understand the difference between those two types of drifting then I think you can agree that the first type of drifting (showboating) is not considered a racing technique, while the second type of drifting can be considered a part of racing, but not necessarily a technique you would use to take a turn faster. I also agree that on some turns, drifting might allow you to take the turn faster, but from my experiences you wont find a turn like that on any road racing course. You will only find those types of turns on roads that were not designed for racing (mountain roads maybe?). Which pretty much explains why drifting started up on the mountain roads (or tongue as the Japanese call it) before it evolved into the track drifting spectator event you see today. It all depends on the situation.

Anyway, sorry for getting sidetracked there darkhorse91. To answer your question I would say start out with the handbrake or E-brake. This is the easiest way to initiate a slide so it’s the best way to learn. When I first took my 89 RS out it was completely stock (L03, 700r4, stock suspension, etc) with the exception of the rearend (2.73 peg leg 10 bolt replaced with a 3.23 B/W 9 bolt posi rear). I recommend you start out in a big empty lot, perhaps a parking lot or a truck stop (?) with no light poles, guardrails, fences, walls, curbs, etc. Basically no hard objects that you might hit and damage your car and as much space as possible around you to practice and mess around. Get your car up to about 20 mph, steer left and yank the handbrake. This will cause the rear end to slide. Quickly let the handbrake down, counter steer to the right, and slam the throttle. You will find if you apply too much throttle you will spin out. Not enough throttle and you will re-grip. If you counter steer too fast or too slow you will spin out. With the right amount of throttle, and a good timed counter steer you can keep the slide going. This will teach you two important things about drifting, how to counter steer, and throttle control. Doing this over and over will give you a good feel for how the car reacts, how the weight transfers, and how far it slides. Keep doing this until you are able to kick the rear out, and continue in a big wide sliding doughnut, called a drifting doughnut. Pretend there is another car in the middle and you want to do a drifting doughnut around it. If you can go around 3 times in a row without spinning out, then you're making progress. You will find that over time, using the handbrake is very hard on your car (it will break over time if you keep doing it), so you should explore different techniques. I noticed that the body roll of the stock suspension made weight transfer very pronounced. I read about a technique called a feint which uses weight transfer to initiate the slide and it quickly became my favorite technique. This is very effective for our cars because they are heavy and produce alot of inertia really fast. Get up to 20 mph again, steer left, but instead of yanking the handbrake, steer right real quick. When you went left the weight of the car transferred to the right rear of the car. The quick steer to the right transferred the weight over to the left rear of the car. Your car should start sliding. Counter steer to the left and use throttle control. If the car is not sliding, try a 3-point feint (builds up more weight transfer). Get up to 20mph, steer left, then quick right, then quick left again. Counter steer to the right and use throttle control. Use this technique to initiate your drifting doughnuts. Once you get bored of the doughnuts, use some cones or other soft objects to make a small turn. Keep trying to drift the turn without knocking any cones over. Remember that if you were drifting a real course, hitting a cone is the same thing as hitting a wall and possible totaling your car. At this point you are ready to attend local drift events. Check the drifting websites and try to find local events.

If you want to play around some more, try changing the setup of your car. Tuning is an important part of drifting. A different set of rear tires with a smaller width (aka contact patch) will make it easier to initiate the slide. Installing a bigger sway bar in the rear creates more over steer. There are lots of things you can change that will help match your driving style. This is why I recommend you start out on a stock suspension (like you are), and once you have an idea of your drifting style, tune the car to match or accentuate your style. Have fun!!

 

that was alot of typing. drifting just seems like a r**er sport to me. but thats just my two cents.

 

You could make the same argument about the "sport" of drag racing.

"ooo you can hold the gas pedal down for 10 seconds... yippie" And how many drag racing mags are there?


I have no real opinion on the subject, i'm just making a point.

 

Yeah, but drag racing.. there is a start and a finish like every other sport. In that mind set you can say...."ooo all you need to do is go 100 yards to score a touchdown?" Drifting... its as useless as a burn out contest.

 

There's a lot more to "drag racing" than just holding your foot to the floor for 10 seconds. If it was that simple, I'd have a lot more wins than losses.

Drag racing is kind of a loaded term since at least 80% of all the racing done is bracket racing. All the pro classes (top fuel, prostock etc) are all heads up drag racing. Whoever has the most HP or the best traction wins. Super classes (Super Gas, Super Comp etc) are also heads up racing but all the cars in the same class run the same index so unlike a bracket car that changes it's dial in on the window, a super class car needs to change how the car runs to run the same index. Since it's still a heads up race, it can be considered drag racing. Everything else is a bracket race where speed means nothing and any car can win regardless of how fast it runs but it takes more to win than just putting the throttle to the floor and going down the track.

There used to be some very good drag racing magazines. Now there's only a couple of high priced magazines directed more towards the high end racers like top fuel or promod. The magazines that were directed more to the grass roots racers have all folded up.

What about monster truck racing? 20 years ago it was interesting because of all the different configurations of vehicles. Now it's more of a demonstration sport since all the trucks are now tube chassis and all run about the same.

Same thing goes for NASCAR. Under the sheetmetal of the bodies the cars are all the same. The racing just isn't as interesting as it was 30 years ago.

Drag racing is the only motorsport with so many diverse makes, models and styles of vehicles trying to do the same thing. Go look at some Comp Eliminator vehicles for weird racers. 4 cylinder dragsters to blown alcohol alterds to door slammers with all sorts of different sizes of engines.

How about, "You can make lots of money in the stock market. You just need to buy low and sell high"

 

Hey Crazy, thanks for the help. I already planned on going to a parking lot and trying to drift I just wasn't sure what to try first and drift session didn't really expound upon how to do the techniques very well.

It's funny, I read about drifting a couple years back and thought "Wow, that's interesting." and never really thought anything more about it. Then last week we started talking about rotational motion in my physics class (still in high school) and it really got me thinking about it until I was just itching to try it. Now I can't wait to see how it all works out.

Would an 81 Chevy LUV have enough power to drift? Just curious because I got one for $50 and wouldn't be heartbroken if it got some body damage.

Thanks, Peace.

 

I dont really know where this thread is going. I dont think anyone is saying that drag racing is as easy as pressing the gas. I think the point that Pontiaddict was trying to make is that the way bigals87z28 supports his opinion about drifting makes no sense. It has more to do with his personal opinion than the reality of this world we live in. Unfortunately he does not have enough control to stop imposing his biased opinion onto everyone who reads this thread which was started to ask what drifting is, not how everyone feels about it. But just for your information bigals87z28, drifting also has a start and a finish. And although you cannot seem to grasp the reasoning behind drifting, it does have a purpose. TO HAVE FUN!!!!! So you dont like it, thats fine. Thanks for the input. Have a nice day.

Monster truck racing is not a good anology to drifing because they are judged and scored on time. Drifting is very different from alot of other motor sports because everything is style based. There is no best time or top speed. On a single run, drifters are scored by a number of style based elements like speed (not measured, but scored), entry angle, length of slide, smoothness of transition, ammount of smoke, style for extra points (like one hand out the window), etc. The only time placement plays into your score is when drifters battle eachother, doing tandem drifting. One guy leads the first round, second guy leads the second round. If you can pull away from the person behind you then you win points. Or if you are behind and you can keep up with the person in front then you win points. And then they still factor in the rest of the style based points to come up with a winner.

Drifting will have just as much variation as drag racing. There are no rules as far as what car type you can use or what mods you can do. Its an open field with the best driver winning, not the best car. And the good thing about drifting is you dont need alot of money to build a fast car to have fun. Even a slow car can be alot of fun with the right techniques. Drifting is skill based, so the type of car or mods done are not as important as the skill of the driver. Kind of like how NASCAR is a drivers sport with everyone running the same equipment as to ensure no one has an equipment advantage, this demonstrates driver skill over the tune of the car. Except drifting has no equipment rules meaning you can do whatever you want to any car and compete. And the type of racing is very different of course. Now I'm not saying that sports that reward perfect car tuning secrets (like drag racing) are any less, but just explaining the difference.

darkhorse91, was the article you read in Car and Driver? They came to one of our events one time (August 2002 issue). Not to sure about a 81 Chevy LUV but I say for $50 you cant go wrong. Go for it!! Have fun!!

 

i just look at it this way:


burnouts on the street are a waste of tire, yet people do them for fun........

burnouts on the street do help you know how when the time comes to pull into the waterbox at the track.....


i feel simiar about drifting the car..


its pointless on the street, but fun... so just enjoy doing it, and if you think its stupid, dont do it...

and when you're going around a track too hot and your *** end comes around, you already have the reaction on how to counter correct it...




anyhoo.... while im not a drifter, i do like to toss the *** end of my car around for the hell of it somtimes...... personal amusement.

howto

easiest and most common way for me:

be stopped waiting to turn.
i have a pegleg, so its usually a left hand turn
you want the outside tire to break loose..
i ease then nail the throttle.. so im rolling, but i brake the tires loose...

because im going so slow, its easy to control, and easy to break loose..... if anything bad happens, one touch of the brake and you're stopped.

just when you nail it, tighten the turn of the car a lil more.... the nose will be pointed toward the inside part of the turn, but you will still be going out some....

counter correct and you're out of it.



nice and simple.. lets you get the hang of when the rear kicks loose in the corner atleast... and its fun.... btw, the worse the rear tires are, the easier it is to do. its also easier after it just rained.

for some great shots of this technique, go rent Bullit... or the orignial gone in 60 seconds... or the blues brothers....



other incredibly easy way to do it.... going 10-20mph (you dont need to go faster) mid corner, pull the ebrake, mash the gas as you release the ebrake

ebrake should jerk the wheels loose, then the gas keeps them spinning and loose.... the car will slide the rear to the outside of the corner.... or point the nose in, however you look at it.. counter steer as it slides to keep the front wheels pointed where you want to go..... LOOK where you want to go, not where the car is going


that about covers it.

 

drifting is VERY FUN. And anyone who says it isnt a sport has either tried it and is not very good at it or hasnt tried it. The fun thing about it is you see all kinds of cars doing it. It is easy to get used to controlling your car around a slide (as long as you are an ok driver) We ( me and my co workers) Got bord at work (the co is closing and moving so we dont have much work) so we set up a drifting course in the back. We had all kinds of cars drifting, from my firebird to a 88 chevy wagon! lol (didnt work too well) even a pickup. Now i think its a little outa hand now because i find myself sliding around turns when im on the street driving someplace. Im sure one of these days a cop is gonna see me. Theres more to the driving/racing sport than driving in a circle or a straight line. P.S. If drifting isnt a sport maybe bigal should tell Englishtown raceway since they have made a track just for drifting!!! :rockon:

 

They have a big track for drifting eh? yeah... its called a parking lot.

 

uh no its not. have you tried it? Its fun once you do it. last time i went to etown i spent more time at the drifting track then the 1/4

 

That big track? The one thats there, but I never see people on? I wanted to go on there, but wasnt sure where or how or if it cost $$$ to run around that big thing. No, I dont wana throw my 16 year old car into a controled tail spin just yet... I rather just beat her up on the drag strip.

 

ok.. do this then.

i used to live in springfield.


go find barber st... i used to live on it.... about halfway down, theres a slight downhill... and a street you can turn down.


wait until it snows, then try to turn from barber st onto that street.


you will slide into the curb.



after several trys though, you will learn how to drift the *** end around so you can use the power to go around the turn.

 

16 years old, damn mines almost 19! lol. but its in good condition, the milage says 107k but it runs great. 2.8 with a posi 342's ton of crap removed under the hood.gotta have the Rlcer air filter, i even have a 5.0 mustang coil. (Not for a performance upgrade just because mine died and i had the coil laying around from my old car) Seems like it has more power then it should maybe someone threw a 3.4 in it. anyway, I wish atco would make a drifting course. etown is WAY too far from me.Plus it seems like etown is going under, not many people there. oh well.

 

ahahahah the day etown goes under is the day all of drag racing falls apart.

 

its called winter.


i may be in the south right now, but even i know that.

 

ahahahahahahahhahahahehbwahahahahah! That too. Yeah.. etowns going uner.. I got 2 runs in from 5pm to 10pm last time i went; its usualy 1-run-and-your-done....

 

No jackass last time i was at etown it was dead summer , it was the fbodie car show/race with the vettes and all. Same 10-15 cars all day. Very stupid. The exact date was august 16th.

 

Hey... relax buddy. Dont get all bent out of shape cause you make a mistake.


Now, I was also there, and thoes days are usualy low. Try going on a weds night or friday night...

 

I didnt make any mistake, you read my post and *** umed i ment i went to etown now, in the winter. Ill try weds and fridays.

 

big al... dont worry, i got this covered.


br()bert:


OF COURSE NOONE WAS THERE! it was the middle of summer.... and way to hot out for everyone the be there...




see? i got a answer for everything.



btw, noone comes in the fall because they have to rake, and noone comes in the spring because of the high chance of rain.




and if you cant tell im joking, that lobotomy went well for ya eh? :lala: