| .:Initial Drift:. v1.0 |
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Do not copy any contents on this page, if you do, please add a link to your site as to give me credit~! Have you ever wonder if all those car drifting in InitialD were possible or not? I thought that was impossible to do on the road because, gosh, who would drive that fast and making those sharp turn at the ultra-high speed... however, in the past year, i began explore the possibility of making a turn with my car, trying to get the maximum speed out of the road; and i realized by taking a different path for the same curve can be a totally different world. So i started to surf and search on the net and try to find out more infomation about car racing/drifting... And here is a little something that i found on the net by Ryan Stevens of Velocity Racing Team:Japan. Hope you enjoy it! =) |
| .:What is Drifting?:. |
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| Basically, drifting is getting your car sideways down a road. It doesn't sound very hard does it? Sounds a lot like power sliding huh? Well it isn't. It's much more complex. Instead of a drifter causing a drift and then countering to straighten out, he will instead over-counter so his car goes into another drift. That is the reason many drifters do it in the mountains, because there are many sharp turns strung together. So in essence a good drifter has the ability to take five or six opposing turns without having traction at any point in time. |
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.:How is it done?:. |
| There are two ways to start a drift. The first is the clutching technique. When approaching a turn the driver will push in the clutch and shift his car into second gear. Then rev the engine up to around 4000-5000 rpm (it all depends all the model of the car being used) and then slightly turn away from the turn and then cut back towards it hard while at the same time popping the clutch and causing the rear wheels to spin. At this point the drifter has a loss of traction and is beginning to slide around the curve. Now comes the hard part. You have to hold the drift until the next turn. To do this you must keep your foot on the accelerator while at the same time adjusting your car with the steering wheel so you don't spin out. It's not as easy as it sounds. Then as the drifter reaches the end of the turn and approaches the next turn which is in the opposite direction he must cut the wheel in that direction and in some cases, if the previous drift was to slow and they start to regain traction, they must pop the clutch again to get the wheels spinning. And that is how you drift a rear wheel drive car. |
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The second technique is used by a few drifters in rear wheel drives, but is the only way you can really drift a front wheel drive. You have to use the side brake. A front wheel drive can not whip it's tail out because the tires are being driven in the front as opposed to the rear. So when approaching a turn you pull the side brake to cause traction loss. And the rest is pretty much the same except that it's much harder to take more than one turn with a front wheel driver.
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| .:Who does it?:. | |
| Who Does It? On the average it is men in their early to late twenties, but more and more often you will see girls participating. There are some older men who do it such as Keiichi Tsuchiya (the drift king) who is in his fifties. |
| .:Where do they Drift?:. |
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| There are three places where drifting occurs. The first and probably the most popular is in the mountains (Tohge). Drifters flock to them because they are realtively desolate with few people and they have perfect groups of S turns to test a drifters abilities. This is usually where you will find the hardcore drifters driving Hachi-Roku's without bumpers. The second is what I like to call the docks, but it is also done in isolated parking lots. This is where drifters learn or warm up for the mountains. Last but not least is the circuits. This is where competitions are held and contestants are judged on a specific group of turns on a 100 point scale. Circuits are very popular but are usually only open one day a week (Sunday or Saturday) and you have to pay to get in. |
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.:What cars do they use?:. |
| There are seven cars most commonly used for drifting. The first is the AE86 Levin/Trueno (referred to as a Hachi-Roku), because of it's rear wheel drive lay-out and the fact that it's relatively inexpensive it is probably the most common drifting car. The second and third are the Silvia S13 and S14, which come in two different models: the turbocharged K's and the non-turbo Q's. Because of their high horse power and free-revving enginges they are excellent drifting cars. The third is the 180SX, related mechanically to the Silvia, the only difference is in the body style and the fact that is lighter and has a better front/rear balance ratio. The fifth is the FC3S RX-7. I believe that this would be a more popular pick among drifters if it was not as problematic as it is. The Cefiro is another excellent drifting car. It has a powerful RB20DET engine and good handling characteristics. The last is the Laurel which is also powered by the RB20DET. . Another good drifting car is the Skyline GTS-T which you don't see very often. It has a rear wheel drive layout and boasts a 260hp engine. A car you also don't see very often, but is the epitome of a drifting car, is the Sil-Eighty. It is a hybrid of a Silvia and a 180SX, either with a Silvia S13 front end and a 180SX back or the opposite. Because of their rising popularity Nissan started manufacturing the Sil-Eighty last year. |
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.:Is it illegal?:. |
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| Yes and no. It's kind of like a don't ask
don't tell thing. The Kesatsu (police) usually ignore it unless it is done
in a public area. The docks which is a very popular drifting spot is about
half a mile from a police station but they very rarely bother coming down
and passing out tickets. - by Ryan Stevens of Velocity Racing Team:Japan |
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| .:Techniques:. | |
| Drifting is a technique used through a turn to change a vehicles attitude for a proper exit. Practicing these techniques is good for a vehicle that has under or over-steer problems in cornering. (These were used in Rallying but also useful in Road Racing!) There are so many types of drift techniques, some of them are... |
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Braking Drift - This is performed by trail braking into a corner, then loss of grip is obtained and then balance through steering and throttle motions. Emergency Brake (Hand/Side Brake) Drift - This technique is very basic, pull the E-Brake or (side brake) to induce rear traction loss and balance drift through steering and throttle play. Can also be used to correct errors or fine tune drift angles. FF Drift (Front Wheel Drive Drift) - The E-brake as well as steering and braking techniques must be used to balance the car through a corner. Clutch Kick - This is performed by depressing the clutch pedal on approach or during a mild drift to give a sudden jolt through the driveline to upset rear traction. Shift Lock - This is performed by letting the revs drop on downshift into a corner and then releasing the clutch to put stress on the driveline to slow the rear tires inducing over steer. This is like pulling the E-brake through a turn and should be performed in the wet to minimize damage to the driveline etc. Long Slide Drift - This is done by pulling the E-brake through a strait to start a high angel drift and to hold this to set up for the turn ahead. High speed only. |
Race Drift - This is performed at race speeds, when entering a high speed corner a driver lifts his foot off the throttle to induce a mild over steer and then balances the drift through steering and throttle motions. The car that is being used for this style of drift should be a neutral balanced car therefore the over steer will induce itself, if the car plows through any turn this technique will not work. Faint Drift - This is performed by rocking the car towards the outside of a turn and then using the rebound of grip to throw the car into the normal cornering direction. This is heavy rally racing technique used to change vehicle attitudes during cornering, mainly tight mountain corners. Dirt Drop Drift - This is performed by dropping the rear tires off the road into the dirt to maintain or gain drift angle without losing power or speed and to set up for the next turn. Jump Drift - In this technique the rear tire on the inside of a turn or apex is bounced over a curb to lose traction resulting in over steer. Swaying Drift - This is a slow side-to-side faint like drift where the rear end sways back and forth down a strait. Power Over - This performed when entering a corner and using full throttle to produce heavy oversteer (tail slide) through the turn. |