Drifting

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:42 pm

well did my first good drift today, wasnt expecting it but when it happened i handled it very nicly. 90 degree turn at 50mph and i started to drift. I wasnt sure how much longer the car would slid so it wasnt perfect. But it was beautiful. went right into the lane perfectly.

So much fun.

i wish there was a place with no cars and no curbs...

AcingTeam · Post by **AcingTeam** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:49 pm

It's no fun doing it with a FWD, you can't really drift till you rip the handbrake, since you have to kick the back-end out. It's not going to kick out otherwise... unless it's icey.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:43 am

It kicked out fine. It just takes alot more. I did a really sharp 90degree turn at about 50, maybe more.. i was going about 75 hit the break real hard and turned... I didnt accelerate out of it much though.

DomWoo · Post by **DomWoo** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:42 am

drifting in a front wheel drive isnt drifting.. all though it is fun on the ice

its more like skidding.. i dont think there is a professional front wheel drive drift car out there..

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:21 am

You were skidding the rear end... this is not really a power slide.

This could occur under two conditions for front wheel drive cars:

1) skidding the rear by the foot brakes, apply the foot brakes preferably after you start the turning action and the weight of the car will shift to the front making the rear too light and it will begin to skid to the outside of the corner.

It is really nice and very controllable, more brakes---> more over steer and vice versa.

First time I experienced that I almost crashed on a bridge - too much braking - then I knew how to control it very well after that.

2) skidding the rear by the throttle, accelerate gradually while turning gradually and the rear end will come out during the process, the rear end will face a gradually tighter turn with rising rate of center fugal force applied by the throttle.

Only once I was able to do this while I was over taking a car from its right then going into a 90 degree left corner... practically cutting the guy right off which is really stupid to do. First it was mild under steer then it turned to over steer that I had to turn the steering wheel half a turn to the right to control the car.

I could not replicate this again ever... the car always under steers and I personally prefer the foot brakes style... it is much safer, predictable and reliable too.

as for the hand brake... this is the last thing to try ever, the hand brake turns are way to dangerous and unpredictable... it could send you spinning big time and end up in a horrifying crash. This is because the hand brake turn is an on/off situation... meaning their is nothing to tune the process, it is either off and you are going on all four wheels gripping or on and you lose the rear...hopefully you can catch it back.

I usually use the hand brake turn during speeds up to 50 Km/h... any higher and it is way too risky. The foot brake can be tuned really nicely, the more you brake the more you drift and vice versa... you don't have that kind of control with the hand brakes.

Anyways drifting is a real thrill regardless of the type of car you have, I used to have a '72 VW beetle and drifting in it was fun too... although drifting was much easily produced in it than in the Woo but still it is pure fun :twisted:

MMamdouh

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:59 pm

There is a Pro - Drift FWD car. It is like a 1998 Integra, but as it drifts, it just looks wrong. It has to hand brake it so the back tires stop spinning and it just looks like and accident rather than purposeful drift.

Regarding street drifting, when you handbrake it, you only do it for a split second, just the brake the tires loose, you don't hold it there, you release and fairly easily gain control. The best drifting is after a light rain when the pavement is just barely wet. It has to be slow, but it works great.

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 2:00 pm

you are quite right about the hand brake on a FWD car... but still it is not as half fun as in drifting with a Rear or AWD car. :twisted:

i like the fact that you can slide the car with the throttle and if the car is powerful enough (500 HP BMW M5) you can drift even on the most gripping surfaces on the planet.

AWD are fun but needs really twesty road to have all the fun and full use of the car... in a much open space like a racing track or an airport field... the rear wheel drive rules.

in my Lanos i use the hand brake turns very little times and usually at low speeds, very sharp corners, slippy surface... other than that i prefer to take the correct line rather than using the hand brake in fear of loosing control.

i went into a 180 spin in a right corner when i was catching a Civic

...i used too much foot brakes with the hand brakes but luckly i didn't hit anything.

MMamdouh

scourge · Post by **scourge** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 7:07 pm

WooHoo wrote:drifting in a front wheel drive isnt drifting.. all though it is fun on the ice

Yes it is fun to do and no it is not drifting. The ONLY people on the planet who say that FWD can drift are young American males who own FWD econoboxes and don;t want to invest the money and start over at the bottom of a fad when they have already taken so long to get to the top of another.

If you have FWD, you're just sliding not drifting and never will be. Just have fun and stop trying to jump the latest bandwagon to be cool.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 7:34 pm

So what exactly is the difference between what i did and drifting? The back wheels didnt just slid out.. the front wheels slid too, not nearly as much as it was a tight turn and they didnt have nearly as much room to slid as the rear did.

So whats the difference? I didnt touch the handbreak. I didnt touch the breaks... i down shifted and half way (err little more) through the turn i put a little bit on the gas again

scourge · Post by **scourge** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 2:58 am

Drifting is a controlled* slide prior to even entering a corner where the car is guided as much as or even more by the rear wheels pushing the car than just by using the steering wheel. FWD cars simply cannot do this. Its just a matter of physics. The process can be nearly imitated but never duplicated. No FWD car has even completed an "S" curve slide without losing its momentum and ability to slide at all.

In Japan, this isn;t even an issue as its a known and accepted fact that one must have AWD or RWD to drift.

What you did was fun; there is no question about that. I did it all the time in my Suzuki Esteem. Have fun sliding and don;t bother with your inabiity to drift. Drifting is about having fun not following a fad anyway. Now go rip up some corners and have a blast. FWD cars can kick ass of the touge anyway.

*FWD cannot be controlled as the driver merely hangs on during the slide rather than being in control.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:49 am

Ok i totally just realized it. I understand now.. i just needed to put the things togather in my head

Although i cant drift i still kinda like FWD better... well id take AWD but if it was a choice over RWD or FWD i perfer FWD.... i like going on dirt roads and screwing around and i seams to have alot more control with FWD.

My moms getting a CLK320 mercades and im totally going to try to drift it. Its kind of heavy though. I think its like 3,300 pounds or something. 0-60 in 5.5 seconds though, and shes letting me put wider stricker wheels and tires along with an CAI and maybe full exhaust system. Im going to have so much fun with it

AcingTeam · Post by **AcingTeam** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 7:15 am

kinkyllama wrote:Ok i totally just realized it. I understand now.. i just needed to put the things togather in my head

Although i cant drift i still kinda like FWD better... well id take AWD but if it was a choice over RWD or FWD i perfer FWD.... i like going on dirt roads and screwing around and i seams to have alot more control with FWD.

My moms getting a CLK320 mercades and im totally going to try to drift it. Its kind of heavy though. I think its like 3,300 pounds or something. 0-60 in 5.5 seconds though, and shes letting me put wider stricker wheels and tires along with an CAI and maybe full exhaust system. Im going to have so much fun with it

Trust me you do not like FWD better. RWD are 100% more fun.
Even if they do make parts for that mercedes, they will be WAYYYY more expensive than for other cars like Daewoos, civics, whatever.

Post by **Efratech** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 7:44 am

scourge wrote:FWD cars can kick ass of the touge anyway.

Like Keiichi Tsuchiya says: "Its all about balance"

woo · Post by **woo** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 1:17 pm

my brother is currently "negotiating" with a dude for a 300hp 304ci V8 and tricked up auto for my commodore. The combo is good for top gear static burnouts. Can you spell fun..............

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:27 pm

Trust me you do not like FWD better. RWD are 100% more fun.
Even if they do make parts for that mercedes, they will be WAYYYY more expensive than for other cars like Daewoos, civics, whatever.

For messing around on twisty roads and in dirt i perfer FWD, and i do that alot so yeah. If i were to go in big parking lots or the streets (wish i could on the streets but theres too many people usually) all the time and mess around id probably perfer RWD.

Ive already looked at parts for the CLK.. springs and suspension stuff isnt much.. which surprises me ALOT. I dont know if she wants to spend money for power (its already fast for my mom). I think its just going to get bigger, wider wheels and get lowered.