Drifting

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IceBolt

Senior Member
Hey, this may seem nub, but how do you drift?

And I hear that there's a perfect drift where you actually gain speed through the curve, is that true?
 
first you need a rear wheel drive car, preferably something light and with good weight balance. to drift, you basically get your speed up so that when you enter the turn, and yank the wheel sharply, you will slide into the turn...and i mean SLIIIIIIIIIIIDE :D...like totally sideways. you input some throttle as you are sliding to keep the drift happening. of course, you will be going a bit forward as you do this, but the goal is to stay as sideways as possible as you go through the turn.
 
drifting looks incredible
drifting is not fast (although it can be done at high speeds it still is not the fastest way through a corner)
 
Anytime your wheels loose grip, you are slowing down.

That said, when you drift while racing you take take more speed into the corner and, hence, more out. That is if you don't hit anything. If you watch NASCAR you can see the guys sliding at the exit of the corners at tracks like Martinsville, Pocono, or Darlington for example. At the big tracks like Atlanta or Talledega they'd crash if they slid around.

The pros are the rally drivers over in Europe. Those guys are amazing!! The control they have over a car that is basically out of control (oxymoronic, huh?) is incredible to watch.

As far as how do you do it..... in a RWD car with lots of steering and throttle input at the same time. It's incredibly difficult to do on purpose without hitting anything or remaining in control. When you do it, you know it, and it feels even cooler than it looks. When you do it wrong, you call your insurance company. :D
 
drifting may not be the fastest to get thru a turn all the time it depends on what kind of turn some turns u can clear faster by drifting than by gripping you just have to know when to drift and when to grip
 
hi i am new here at honda swap. Drifting? only rwd car? no.
Drifting mean that you turn on the edge of the grip. you must not be full brake side on street! on tarmac, cause i dont think you like gravel road at all even if you are not rice :p !

drifting do not creat speed, it conserve it! :) if you acceletrata that mean you have break to much our the curv is not constant radius, it open :)

on tarmac drifting on a fwd car : you come to corner fats break late will releasing break, you turn sterring to put car into curve. remember that you tire can only handle a certain load in traction, breaking our turnig... not allin same time. so you decreas your speed, then turn car by using the transfer of weight ta happen to the front of car when breaking. this will help slide the rear wheels :)

on gravel road, you must now about left foot breaking :D a raly technique invented by fin's :p first you have to slow the car for the curve, oncxe the car is in rotational motion ( you begin turnig) you now be able to left breake in way to controle the rear wheel slide. when breaking in same time as you acceperate. ta partly lock real wheel will transfert of weight to front ! that literaly turn the car.

left break is use when the car tend to understeer .. you put break in same time as gaz. that will make car oversteer :) tri it home :) on safe trac :) like here in bromont and shefford.


if you need tip will be please to help you. and help me if you get some thing new :)

have fun and drift in fwd :)
 
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Originally posted by E_SolSi@Mar 10 2003, 10:29 PM
drifting is not fast (although it can be done at high speeds it still is not the fastest way through a corner)

A neutral (what a "real" drift is, and what they do in moutian pass racing, is when all tires lose traction and you slide through the turn - think someone already mentioned this) will put you through a turn faster than not breaking traction. Take a line through a turn doing 100 sliding, then see what'st he fastest you can go without breaking traction. as long as the speed you lose while drifting doesnt equal the speed you gain by taking the turn too fast for your tires you're good.

brian, think about it, if dirt drifting puts you through it faster why cant you do the same on pavement if you have enough hp to lose the same ammount of traction
 
in theory it does sound like it could work
but in actual race conditions (on tar/other clean solid surface) you have to look at the facts

your tires have a limit of traction (the limits will change under different conditions)
this limit must be divided between lateral and straight line directions
basicly if you are using 70% of your tires traction for braking you can only use 30% to turn or you will slide and you will be off "the line" (fastest possible track through a turn) the same applies for accelerating while turning
to get a full 4 wheel drift going like you see in rally you need to pass 100% of the lateral grip of the tires.... so what does that leave you with for forward acceleration out of the turn???? .... nothing... you need to wait till your lateral movement slows to a point where you will obtain grip for forward acceleration.... this will lower your exit speed, thus lowering your speed at the next braking and turn in point and lowering your lap times....

most of the distance covered on a race track is done in a straight line... so you want to gain as much speed in the straights as possible

if you are going to sacrafice speed anywhere in a corner you want to do it at the entrance this will alow you to do a few things :
brake later for the turn
turn in later
apex later
accelerate sooner
carry a higher exit speed
have a higher speed down the following straight

now if you enter the corner at a higher speed (as you would to initiate a drift) you need to do a few things that will hurt your overall time:
brake early
turn in early
apex early
you will not be able to accelerate untill you regain traction, and if you are already aimed for the next straight you need to wait till you are in line at the exit point (accelerate late)
you will now be carying a much lower exit speed
this will make your speed down the folowing straight much slower

this does not apply to soft surface like in rally racing
but on a road course with 2 cars of the same ability one drifting and one following "the line" id put my money on the one folowing "the line" every time


**** for more info on this subject i highly suggest picking up the book "Going Faster Mastering the Art Of Race Driving" it is put out by the Skip Barber Racing School and is one of the best learning tools out there (aside from actual track time with professional instruction)
 
ah, i see you're point :huh: i'll have to check that book out, sounds like a winner.
:worthy: E_SolSi's knowledge of racing
 
Formula Drift 2005 Championship Review

Hey, check out this e-card for Need For Speed: Formula Drift 2005 Championship Review:

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link doesn't work. and good job finding a 3 year old thread.
 
im no expert but i would have to say drifting would not slow you down at much at you think your tires are spinning and keep going at a bit lower rate you were driving but to me when you come out of the corner you will gain speed as your car still has that speed that you cam into the corner with roughly idun but it would be awsome to learn how to drift
 
Oops, I banned him... er, it.

phillet, no. Sorry man. There are really only two situations where drifting is good on a pavement course, and neither of them resemble any kind of "drifting" that you see on TV.
 
agreed.


drift on pavement is for show, and WICKED fun!
 
That's why all but the best of the best drift "racing" in the japanese circles has a judging criteria that is based on style points. If it has "Style" points, then it's all for show.
 
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