How to Drift a Car - Part II

Wed, Mar 6 2007 Car drifting on the road

You can watch other folks drift beautifully to your heart's content, but you'll never know what it's truly like to drift until you get in the driver's seat.
But before stepping into the driver's seat you need to tune up your car a little in order to get the extra powerful car.

The basic driving techniques used in drifting are constant, though each car and driver will employ some subset of these techniques. Here are some of the essential ones:

Acceleration Turn
In order to start drifting you first must learn to get your car to slide out. If you start from a stand still and turn the wheel to full lock, increase the revs and drop the clutch, the car will spin in the direction you turned it. The important part of this is dropping the clutch. If you let the clutch out too slow, the rear wheels will not spin up, and your front tyres will slide. This will put a considerable amount of stress on the transmission so it may be better to practice on a wet day when the road is slippery. Another way to lighten the stress on the transmission is rather than dropping the clutch, start off slowly and then put the foot to the floor and slide the car out.

Ovals
This technique is excellent for getting a feel for under steer and over steer. Using the acceleration turn technique, try to keep a circle going by counter steering. You will gradually be able to control it well. Once youâ€™ve got the hang of it, place a cone down and drift around the cone, making the circle smaller and bigger, maintaining control of the car at all times. You may have trouble at first, and there are 2 main causes for this:
1. Spin out - You may be spinning out because you are counter steering too late. Smooth acceleration also helps to keep more control so try not to accelerate roughly
2. Under - Under steer is worsened if the rear tyres have more grip than the front, so at this stage you should have higher grip tires on the front. Again, smooth acceleration helps to prevent under steer. It just takes time to get the feel of it.

Handbrake Turn
Set up a cone for you to practice with. Try this in first gear. As you head towards the cone, turn the wheel. At this point put your foot on the clutch and pull up the handbrake, and once the car starts to slide out, take your foot off the clutch, and let off the handbrake. Also light braking will help control the drift, but you must find a good balance. Braking too strong will bring on under steer. Also, to help with your handbrake turn technique, some good brake pads will help.

Power slide
This is also a technique to help you get used to sliding your car out. This is quite hard to do without good LSD. Firstly, grip it into the corner until the apex and then at the exit of the corner put your foot to the floor and slide the rear out. By the time you have finished counter steering, you should be at full throttle. This will help to return counter steer smoothly.

Handbrake Drift
This is a basic technique where you can begin to drift from the approach of the corner. When you come to the approach of the corner spin the wheel, and at the same time pull up the handbrake. Pulling up the handbrake will lock up the rear tyres, so donâ€™t forget to put in the clutch too. As you gradually get better you can increase your speed and pull up the handbrake further from the corner, and lengthen the distance that the rear slides. Better pads will help with this technique too.

Clutch Kick
This is the simplest technique. With your foot still on the accelerator, kick the clutch, and the will cause a sudden increase of power at the wheels and the tyres will spin up. This is often used in the middle of a drift to get the revs up again. It is also used together with the handbrake to increase the angle, and the distance of the drift. This is a very effective technique, but puts a lot of stress on the transmission.

Feint Drift
This technique is a combination of many of the techniques above. In right hand corner with a left after it, drift into the right corner, countering left, and then once youâ€™ve past though, face the car to the direction of the left corner by using the brakes or taking your foot off the gas to rebound the car off the grip.

Braking Drift
First move all of the weight of the car to the front, by braking. Then spin the wheel hard. This will cause the rear wheels to slide. Now accelerate to continue the drift. You must increase your speed into the corner to do this. The faster you are going, the easier the tyres spin up and the easier it is to continue the drift on. Adjusting your settings for this will help to make this easier. Even just changing the pads will make it feel better.

Important: We don't take responsibility if you might want to drift on the public road. It might seem fun, but It is illegal.

Tue, Mar 19 2007
sam says:

yeah i have a rx7 and it seems to drift pretty good but im not keeing control to good like i would spin out wut should i do

Thu, Apr 11 2007
Jeremy says:

well what type of techniques are you using because if you just takeing a corner fast then braking, if your braking to hard that might also cause it or if you are holding the e-brake to long that could also be the cause as well. now it also could be your tires, just make sure your front tires grip better than the back ones, and if none of those ideas work, just slow down on overall speed through out the turns.

Tue, Jul 23 2007
pat says:

is it possible drifting with an atomatic car

Mon, Aug 19 2007
Jerome Celera says:

I got a 1982 Mitsubishi lancer.It's rear wheel drive though and upgraded headers(4-2-1)...All I can do is handbrake turmn.I got a problem with my steering...It doesn't turn back after I steer so it's difficult to counter-steer.Is there any way you can help me with to fix this problem.Another thing,my rear wheels don't turn at the same time.Why is that?can you email me pls to jerome_celera@yahoo.com...thanks...

Wed, Aug 21 2007
jake says:

i began drifting in a 85 bmw 528e autotragic, just hand brake drifting, now i have a 93 535i manual, and i love to clutch kick, its funner than ebraking

Thu, Aug 29 2007
Damon says:

will drifting screw up my transmission

Fri, Aug 30 2007
c.j says:

after time maybe.but it sure has hell will fuck up your tyres lol

Fri, Aug 30 2007
c.j says:

pat,yes it is possible

Tue, Sep 3 2007
DIABLO says:

FUCK YOU ALL NOBODY NOW HOW TO DRIFT LIKE I DO,I MAKE ALL THE STREET LOOK AT ME AND MAKES VOICES TO ME IN MY C280 MRECEDES.life_nothing14@hotmail.com

Fri, Sep 6 2007
diablo blows goats says:

they all look at you becuase you're a moron 12 year old who can't even spell MERCEDES despite claiming to have one.

Thu, Oct 24 2007
big nasty says:

I barely started drifting

Fri, Nov 1 2007
camarolover says:

i have a camaro, and its an A4 (automatic four speed), would i be able to drift this car. its got stock everything. pushing 200hp to the rear. its curb weight is (i believe) a little over 3400 pounds. ive got aftermarket suspension (not sure on the specs excatly) and stock tires. any info would be greatly appreciated.

Sat, Nov 2 2007
Drift In Japan says:

Noce article...I've been drifting for about 2 years in Japan now...i love it! Just about any car can drift....even front wheel drives..it's the driver..not the car who makes a good drifter

Stu More drifting tips here... www driftinjapan dot com

Sat, Nov 9 2007
Tyler Rambo says:

I have a 2001 geo chevy tracker it is most easiest car to drift. I have drifted it 4 time no and I have not had a colinsion yet.

Sat, Nov 9 2007
Tyler Rambo says:

Camarolover you will beable to drift that like it was nothing try it and see.

Sun, Nov 17 2007
mousam@gmailver says:

can i have a video please

Sun, Dec 1 2007
DriftUtah.com says:

Wow... the majority of you guy's don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Including whoever wrote the damn "article." Congratulations you read a few other articles online and now you're supposedly an expert? You can't even get the fucking terms right. What he describes as a "powerslide" is actually known as "power-over." And the Feint drift is simply steering away from the corner and then sharply turning into it. Not drifting one turn after another. Funny how he doesn't even mention other common techniques like the Kensai or the Shift-lock drifts. As for camarolover's question... that depends. What generation is it? What engine does it have? And what type of differential to you have? If your car is equipped with an open differential, then you're going to have a hell of a time trying to drift it. I know that a common differential for them is the Torsen differential that is supposed to act as both an open and closed differential. But I've never tried to drift any cars with the Torsen differentials, but I'd imagine that it wouldn't work well seeing as the differential doesn't act as a closed differential until one tire is receiving all of the power. It might make it a little bit unpredictable and dynamic. Also with the auto trans, the car my be a little sluggish downshifting in a drift if you start losing RPMs. Just my two cents on that one. And as for "Drift In Japan," I don't care if you live in Japan or not. You're a moron. FWD cars DON'T drift. Yanking the e-brake around the corner doesn't constitute a drift. That technique is known as the powerslide and anything with a handbrake can do it. You all need to just keep your mouths shut and stop acting like you know everything about drifting just because you've played a few video games. I've been practicing consistently for 2 and a half years and I'm still just scratching the surface. Drifting isn't a sport you can learn from reading articles or playing video games. One of the most important techniques that is never mentioned and that you can't learn in these dumb-ass articles AND is used in EVERY single type of drift is learning to keep yourself calm while sliding a 3,500 lb chunk of metal at speed through a corner. Now all of you need to shut the fuck up and stop acting like drifting is a walk in the park. Otherwise some of you dumbass kids are going to end up killing yourselfs and/or someone else.

Thu, Jan 2 2008
Damien Greene says:

my mustang drifts like a god. Me & my cuz drifted around city hall for an hour or so till the cops came, but any way drifting is the best & its easy & once u get the hang of it it becomes so much fun. if u want to race me send me a message on my myspace or at Damieng2004@yahho.com. u can use this e-mail to find my myspace page

Sun, Jan 5 2008
JAKE W. says:

Amen DriftUtah, amen.

Tue, Jan 7 2008
... says:

damn, i would love to drift. i've tryed a few times but it just never felt like an actual drift. i always spin out when the car starts to majorly slide. the wheel just won't turn back. oh well, my car isnt exactly the best car for drifting either. i dont think a stock FWD drive 2002 Honda Civic will ever be able to pull off a good drift, or even a powerslide, without completely destroying my suspension. Im no expert though, so can anyone tell me if it's possible in my car? or do i need a new one?

Thu, Mar 12 2008
zczczxczc says:

Mon, Mar 16 2008
fatty says:

hey Utah, you may be right, but that is a little harsh... Don't worry whether others are actually drifting, you will never seen them in a competition anyways. So chill out man... phatfatman1227@hotmail dot com BTW what car of yours is 3500lbs? my mkiii supra is, are you a supra slider?

Mon, Mar 16 2008
howtodrift.blogspot.com says:

howtodrift.blogspot.com Dont succumb to BS like this article, read what the pros have to say at: howtodrift.blogspot.com Get this url everywhere and close the gap between drift lovers and real drifters.

Tue, Mar 31 2008
Your mom has a scrotum says:

ive been drifting 25 years. drfiting is something homeless people do. i drifted through central park, and everyone saw me, they loved my techniques. you havent included all the other types of drift, the 'bin drift; its when you see someone put a piece of food in a bin and drift over and eat it before any mofo catches ya. the 'crack drift' is when u smoke a rock of crack while casually walking through a public area. i am a born drifter and drifting is my life.................................................................................................................................................. i just soiled myself people

Sun, May 24 2008
Re: Damon says:

Depends on how you drift. Generally it shouldn't screw up your transmission if you're doing it right. At most it should mess up your clutch and wheels. Also your alignment, but your transmission should be fine.

Sun, May 24 2008
Don't bag on Japan... says:

I agree with most of what you said. Except, just don't make fun of Japanese cars. I'm sure you know already that they made the Sylvia, Skyline, Supra, Z series, Evo series, etc. They are the patriarchs to the drifting world. You should also know that their cars released in Japan are much better than those shitty Hondas and Toyotas released in the U.S, and for a lesser price I might add. Skyline GT-R (VQ35DETT) goes for 3 million yen (which is 30,000 USD). Anyways, yea. Here are more cars that you don't see in the U.S every day : Honda Civic (B16 Engine, single turbo 180+ HP) Civic Type R Nissan Skyline (RB Engine, single/twin turbo ; 220, 250, and 320 HP for the RB20, RB25, and RB26 series) Honda NSX Toyota Supra (JZ1 or the 2JZ Engine, well over 300 hp; twin turbos) Did I forget to mention. These cars are STOCK. And are as cheap as S2ks over here in the U.S. Almost every stock car in Japan comes with the option of a turbo charger. And... no these cars aren't FWD. Only maybe... their Hondas and that's it. Their ratio of FWD to RWD cars are just as the same as in the U.S. (In the U.S there are a lot of shitty FWD cars too. American-made.) They just make better, faster stock economy cars in terms of price.

Sun, May 24 2008
sam says:

That depends on how you're doing it. Based on what you're telling me, I could imagine that you aren't counter-steering correctly. Get the timing right and it should be fine.

Wed, Jun 24 2008
stupid says:

stupid

Wed, Jun 24 2008
casdf says:

3wq4r

Wed, Jun 24 2008
2 says:

43w5r

Fri, Aug 7 2008
random kid 1993 says:

drift utah, ur and idiot FWD CARS DO DRIFT!!!!! i'm only a 14 year old. and I can drift. i race speedway, i drive a fwd suzuki and every corner i take is sideways.

Wed, Aug 19 2008
Drift Passion says:

Ok i need someone who actually knows what they are doing.... I own a 1996 300zx A/T and i need to know what upgrades i can do to my car to make it drift better.... I know how to drift... Granted that was when i owned a 240 sx with a RB26 but i do know how to drift. I just want to know if anyone know what i can do to my A/T Car to make it a decent drifter. IF you have any Ideas let me know my email adress is spanglerjames@yahoo.com

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