Drifting Skills

Drifting refers either to a driving technique utilizing a difference in slip angle between the front and rear tires of a car, or to a sport based on the technique. When the rear wheels are slipping at a greater angle than the front wheels, the car is drifting, or "power-sliding"? The rear end of the car appears to chase the front end around a turn; the driver utilizes both front tires and the rear tires to control the actual direction of the car. More throttle induces more rear wheel slip angle and the rear of the car wants to overtake the front. The goal is for the driver to achieve opposite lock and use the throttle to fine tune the car’s angle and direction.




How do you drift?


There are two ways to drift. First is through the rear wheel drive (also known as the clutching technique) while the other is through the front wheel drive. In the clutching technique, the driver pushes on the clutch and shifts his car into second gear when he approaches a turn. After revving the engine up to around 4,000-5,000 rpm and slightly turning away from the turn, the drifter cuts back towards it hard enough, while at the same time, he pops the clutch causing the rear wheels to spin. This will cause a loss of traction and the drift car begins to slide around the curve.

The hard part is having to hold the drift until the next turn. The drifter must keep the foot on the accelerator, while at the same time, he adjusts the car through the steering wheel so that the vehicle doesn’t spin out. Upon reaching the end of the turn and approaching the next turn which is in the opposite direction, he must cut the wheel towards the right direction. In some cases, if the previous drift was too slow and he starts to regain traction, he must pop the clutch again to get the wheels spinning.

The second technique is through the front wheel drive. This technique uses the side-breaks. When approaching a turn, the drifter pulls the side brake to cause traction loss. And the rest is pretty much the same as the clutching technique except that it’s much harder to take more than one turn with a front wheel drive.

Where do you drift?

Drifters would normally go to the mountains, also known as "Tohge"? to drift (having a small number of people around). Mountains are fit for drifting because they are relatively desolate and they have perfect groups of S-turns that can really challenge a drifter’s ability. Other places to drift are docks or just any isolated parking lot. And the most famous place to drift is the “circuit"? Drifting competitions are held in "circuits"? and drifters are judged on a specific group of turns on a 100 point scale.

What cars are used in drifting? Some common cars used for drifting are:

* AE86 Levin/Trueno - its rear wheel drive lay-out is fit for drifting and it’s relatively inexpensive
* Silvia S13 and S14 – it has a high horse power and free-revving engine making it excellent as a drifting car
* 180SX - lighter and has a better front/rear balance ratio
* FC3S RX-7 – not problematic
* Cefiro - has a powerful RB20DET engine and good handling characteristics
* Laurel - powered by the RB20DET
* Skyline GTS-T - has a rear wheel drive layout and boasts a 260hp engine