Drifting is a hard one to each, as its like instict, u no how u threw the car into the corner u no how u drift and wen to power and wen to counter steer more. Eg i learned to drift on blackwood reverse as i learnt as demo racer, but wen i started i was very light on thottle now i can pretty much hold full throttle thru most of the corners. Theres many ways to start a drift, a particular good one is to tap brakes (to shift weight to front) turn in and plant ur foot, u may find u spin at first, but then ull notice ull get better and u can hold the drift longer. Otherways r tappin the clutch (clutch kicking), this cause the rear wheels to suddenly spin reducin ur rear wheel traction. Classic is handbrake (E-brake) but u loose too much speed doing that i found. Others is changing down gear, which causes ur car to be traveling fast and the changing down slows ur rear wheels down (effectivly partially braking only our rear wheels) causes loss of traction. The method i now use is to drive to the out side of the corner and then sharply turn in which with the right set up will cause u to start to slide. I cant offhand think of any more ways, but i no drifters on lfs who use one or more of them for drifing.
Really the best thing to learn to drift is a good set up and practice. I think the best track is blackwood reverse and open flowing corners, not tight like other courses are sumtimes. Like i simply throw the car about as i said, but if i find im straightening up mid corner a quick press of handbrake increases angle again, a clutch kick wuld also do the same.
ive posted my set up see if thats any good.

p.s a good way to learn to counter steer i found is try to roughly aim ur front wheels to at where u wanna go, then wen wanna straighten up same thing, so it almost looks like wheels never change more car swings round to follow front wheels, its hard to xplain but i hope all this has been some help

hey another post me just hunted these out. One is from wen i first started to learn drifing, the second is a very recent one. I never looked up drift bible etc, i just practied practised yh u no the rest. neway, thought id show wat a differnce a month or two practice can do

Driftin some poeple can do it straight away like me.

if you know the basics. i startd drifting cause properly.

first i learnt how to power slide out of a corner and control the exit thats the hard part i find. then i just made a set that tunes into my needs having gear ratios etc. after that its just practis once you get the hang of it. join up with other drifters online. i wud suggest this as a must drift forums are probly the freindlyest ones out there. as for fxo not good idea to drift a fwd car thats why the fron snacthes.

eventualy move on to twin drifting like me.

I've been racing since before the full S1 was out, and started drifting then as well. I mostly use the XR GT Turbo, but the FZ50 is a GREAT car to use, even when using the standard road setup. Use the road_normal tires because they'll last you longer, and they'll allow the back end to slip out a bit more through the turn. Make sure you keep road_super's on the front though so it makes it easier to maintain control through the drift. If you play with the gears, differential, and center differential controller(75% rear, 25% front torque-split), you can make a pretty decent drift starter car without messing with the suspension.

I used to drive with amouse, untill bout 6 days ago i didnt have a wheel, but i do now. I posted the 2 replays earlier with me drifitn with the mouse and i can drift very wel with the mouse, the power is a bit of a problem but ive got used to it.
Anyway all my point is - now that i have got a wheel i cant drift for S*#t mainly cause i cant counter steer as fast as is need and now i cant seem to counter steer correctly as cometimes i dont enough and other times too much.
But i no i one thing - i need to practice, drifting does seem to come naturally to some people and other have to practice loads, but in the end pracice is needed whatever.

Try turning the Force Feedback on your wheel up, if it has it. You'll be able to feel the wheel get into a spot in which it will want to not turn farther on it's own, and not turn less on it's own... kind of a "sweet spot". In this spot, the car will stay true to the line you're in, and make it easier to drift. Your only worries will be if you apply to much handbrake at the bigginning of the drift, or too much gas twords the middle/end, and the point at which the "spot" is reached is too far out of your wheel's turning radius... Your car will go around. If you are hitting the spot, and drifting nicely, you can also turn the wheel farther to pull out of it early (like if someone is in the track, spun about), or if you turn the wheel less, you'll make yourself a higher angle of drift, but possibly move the "spot" out of your wheel's radius.

(Sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I tried to put it into words as best as I could.)

Quote from Hatemaker :

Try turning the Force Feedback on your wheel up, if it has it. You'll be able to feel the wheel get into a spot in which it will want to not turn farther on it's own, and not turn less on it's own... kind of a "sweet spot". In this spot, the car will stay true to the line you're in, and make it easier to drift. Your only worries will be if you apply to much handbrake at the bigginning of the drift, or too much gas twords the middle/end, and the point at which the "spot" is reached is too far out of your wheel's turning radius... Your car will go around. If you are hitting the spot, and drifting nicely, you can also turn the wheel farther to pull out of it early (like if someone is in the track, spun about), or if you turn the wheel less, you'll make yourself a higher angle of drift, but possibly move the "spot" out of your wheel's radius.

(Sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I tried to put it into words as best as I could.)

I think i no what you mean. Do you like when your driving straight theres no FF and when drifting the wheel auto turns to the front wheels least resistance and you can feel the FF drop in that spot. so hold it there and will drift perfect,
My only problem is then fightin thr FF to then straighten up lmao but oh well, ill go practice

Yeah, it takes some practice, and trust me, I came from driving with a mouse as well, but that was like a year ago. When straightening out though, the whell (depending on how high the FF is) will kind of want to straighten a little bit, but tou'll still have to do most of the work yourself. No worries though, it shouldn't be hard to pull out of it (and I seriously doubt you're a 5 year old little girl), you should be able to manage quite easily.

Drifting isn't very easy. It can't be described on paper, only demonstrated. But everything Hatemaker has said is correct. When centering your car to go straight on the track, your wheel cannot help you out there. If you continue to get the so called "Hot spot" of a wheel/car, the car will start to fishtail, A.K.A. Manji down the road. The only way to center is to counter the FF by slowly returning the wheel to center at the end of the turn. To link turns simply oversteer in the opposite direction.






Oh, and practice practice practice practice.

it's always easy to say it... describing the techniques and stuff but actually using the theory on the track is the hard part. It will come with time, ppl.

edit: i suggest getting started with the RB4

yes, to all the ones that know me, i'm the 4WD hardcore dude

Oh yes, so am I. I'm only going to buy a AWD car for my street car, allthough, I like to do the drift comps IRL, and for that I have bought a Silvia S15 from Japan. 425hp, and 410lb/ft torque... gets the job done. I have no gimp ricer body kits on it, it's stock looking, except for the rims, because I got some good looking Ray's on it, and I usually run Kumho tires. I'm still saving for the set of Tein's that I want to buy for it.


Oh, and before I forget, If you find yourself having trouble using the RB4 at first, PM me, and I'll give you a good beginner's setup for it. I have other drift setups for it, depending on the track, but this beginners one is pretty good for all courses.

I started drifting when i downloaded the demo right after new years eve
(here's a vid: http://home.no/bomex/mhm.vmw ). i havent driven much, and drifting came naturally, all you have to do on the XR Turbo, is 60/50 clutchdiff and Road_Normal tires. it works for me

i would just like to say ROFLMFAOOL!!!! drifting is done how ever you want i can drift a XFG by clutching and steering quick into a corner. or FO8 just quickly let off the gas and gun it till sideways and just aplly a little gas till through the corner. XRT just constanly gun it keeping the rear out through the strait and corners. or just use the lift-off technique from the driftbible for the FZR. learn to use difrennt thechniques for difrent car's and sets. it all about practice put in the hours and you will get the reward

HI all,
I have been reading posts here and still couldn't find out the answers to the following questions. I would appreciate any pointers:

- I was able to drift around a corner but most of the time I was out of control. When I was drifting sideways on a turn and found that I was going to drift out of the road and to the gravel, how do I stop the drifting so that I can stay on the road?

- Let's say you are flat out on top gear and coming up to a 90 degree rigth turn. When you start drifting, what gear will you be? And what gear are you going to keep during the whole drift?

- During drifting in the middle of a corner, how do you correct the direction of the drifting? Just use the steering? What's the effect of applying throttle versus releasing throttle during the drift?

- I saw some replays posted here that somebody can make the car sideway (almost 90 degree to the road) a long way before the turn. How do you do that?

- what's a common differential power/coast setup? 60/30? Is the "coast" side supposed to be less than the "power" side? Do you want lots of lock on the power side for drifting?


Thank you.

i'll bite.

- you can try to direct your way out of a drift by easing up on the throttle, which sometimes will allow your tires to regain grip. also, depending on your stage in the drift, steering into the slide then centering *can* pull you out of the drift.

- this really depends. back in S1, i would never drift in any gear except for 3rd, because its powerband was smack in the middle of what i was comfortable in. but with my current gearing in my FZ5, i drift more in 2nd. it's all in personal comfort levels. when i drift, i maintain high revs all through the gear i initiated in, i don't shift in a drift.

- you can correct the direction of the drift by using a combination of throttle and steering. releasing throttle abruptly during a drift *can* cause you to spin, because of the sudden weight shift off the rear wheels and to the front. i correct my angle mainly using steering though, because i use a mouse and throttle control is more or less non-existant. i can use the abrupt throttle cut to my advantage though. learning to clutch-kick is very advantageous in this scenario.

- basically it's a setup issue. depending on the car, it can be easier or harder. for example, the FZ5 (which you can't drive) is much harder to flick into a 90* drift because of its rear-engined arrangement. in the XRT, basically it takes quick reactions with the steering wheel and some throttle control, and full lock usually.

- can't answer this one, everyone has their own taste.

hope this helps

Quote from newdriver1 :

- I was able to drift around a corner but most of the time I was out of control. When I was drifting sideways on a turn and found that I was going to drift out of the road and to the gravel, how do I stop the drifting so that I can stay on the road?

Well, perhaps the problem you are having is that you are keeping throttle 3/4 or even full then entire turn. The thing to control the drift is to feather (Tap) the throttle, and if you need more angle, then perhaps increase the throttle, or even hit the brakes a little bit. If that didn't help, then post here again with a replay, and you'll get the answer you need

Quote from newdriver1 :

- Let's say you are flat out on top gear and coming up to a 90 degree rigth turn. When you start drifting, what gear will you be? And what gear are you going to keep during the whole drift?

That really depends on the turn. For FE Black Rev, right after the pits that don't work when you are about to go onto the bridge, I usually feint into 4th gear, then take the first S turn in about 3rd or second, then usually hit it into first at the actual 90 degree turn so I can whip my car around, then usually come out of that section in second gear.

Quote from newdriver1 :

- During drifting in the middle of a corner, how do you correct the direction of the drifting? Just use the steering? What's the effect of applying throttle versus releasing throttle during the drift?

Applying throttle will increase your angle, I.E. if you are going way too wide, hit the throttle down and increase your angle. When you let go of the throttle, it will keep the designated angle, and in turn make your drift more controllable. The reason for feathering the throttle would be to balance out the two.

Quote from newdriver1 :

- I saw some replays posted here that somebody can make the car sideway (almost 90 degree to the road) a long way before the turn. How do you do that?

Practice and skill my friend. Usually Feint drifting a long ways before the turn would help.

Quote from newdriver1 :

- what's a common differential power/coast setup? 60/30? Is the "coast" side supposed to be less than the "power" side? Do you want lots of lock on the power side for drifting?

That depends on your own preferance. I've never really been good at setups, but I'm sure somebody else can answer that question for you


Hope this helped Post back with your progress/a replay.

Thank you so much for your explanation. It's clearer now :-)

- On Blackwood track, there is a long straight coming to a 90 degree right hand turn. What gear do you use while drifting in this corner?

- you said to apply throttle "to increase angle". Then will "release throttle" also "decrease angle"? (as the rear tires will regain traction?)

THanks again.

- assuming going blackwood forwards, i usually decelerate quite a bit if i'm trying to drift nice, ususally take it in 3rd gear.

- not necesarily. if you decrease throttle abruptly, then the weight will shift from the rear to the front, thus unloading the rear wheels. this can do one of two things: make you spin, or help you regain traction. but usually you really only regain traction if you are going slower. no this normally won't decrease your angle alone, but throughout a drift it can. kinda hard for me to explain :|

Quote from RevMonkey :

- assuming going blackwood forwards, i usually decelerate quite a bit if i'm trying to drift nice, ususally take it in 3rd gear.

:|

Yes, it was BlackWood forward. Then do you carry 3rd gear all the way thru then accelerate in 3rd gear for the next right hand corner again?
Thanks!

one more tip though, there's this thing called the E-brake.

It can be a great tool in drifting, you can use it to initiate the drift, slow down your drift, extend your drift, and even adjust your drifting angles with it.

But don't rely on it too much either, it'll only hinder the progress of your overall skills.

Quote from newdriver1 :

Yes, it was BlackWood forward. Then do you carry 3rd gear all the way thru then accelerate in 3rd gear for the next right hand corner again?
Thanks!

i usually keep my revs high up near the redline, and once i pull out of the drift (if i decide not to link it) then i shift up to 4th for a quick stint. this also sets me up for using the shift lock technique, which allows me to downshift back to third, initiate a drift, and keep my revs up all in one go.

i usually like a high power value on the lsd, like 65-70% or so, so torque is transferred to both drive wheels.
i like a low coast value because when its higher, the car tends to understeer on entry...i have it around 15-20%

you also link the S-turn to next one (right before the long straight) by either using shift lock but i like using that little clutch kick technique, slow and speed ups the roatational speed of your rear tires, reducing even more the friction (a.k.a grip)

Quote from -DrftMstr- :

you also link the S-turn to next one (right before the long straight) by either using shift lock but i like using that little clutch kick technique, slow and speed ups the roatational speed of your rear tires, reducing even more the friction (a.k.a grip)

I take it you mean blackwood reversed (as said S turn to nextone before long straight) If im right you dont need to clutch kick, I got down the hill in 3rd feitn drift at the 50m board flick down to 2nd drift the S turns. THen coming out the second corner of the S if you straighten the wheel earlier than you should you can continue the drift onto the straight and then its jsut counter steering to flick back the other way than back again for that last corner, Hope that makes sense. If it doesnt ill find a reply but im at uni now so cant post one.

Also if you want to learn to drift check this thread out http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=5270

Quote from Greboth :

THen coming out the second corner of the S if you straighten the wheel earlier than you should you can continue the drift onto the straight and then its jsut counter steering to flick back the other way than back again for that last corner, Hope that makes sense.

there's nothing wrong with your approach, but what DrftMstr is referring would be linking the drift from the second corner TO the last hairpin corner. Basically in one whole drift, if you're using the XRT there, clutch kick or E-brake may be applied depends on the situation.