thanks.

 

drifting = controlled oversteer (intentional)

slide = recovering from stupid driving


generally, drifting is used to help a car rotate through tight corners, to get a good exit; it's where the rear end is coming around, but not so much that you're looking out the side window rather than the windshield. that would be sliding, where you "out-brake" yourself and/or are not smooth with the steering/throttle. there's a fine line between sliding and drifting; simply put, they're both oversteer, but drifting tends to lower your laptimes and sliding the opposite.

also, in lesser-powered (and/or less torque) vehicles like the S2000, drifting is a way to keep the revs up, thus preventing the engine from bogging.

but in the s2000's case, the chassis is so finely-tuned that it's best not to overdrive it. it's a car that bites you in the ass before you hear its bark. what does this mean? well, the s2k's a car that either sticks or slides - nothing in between.

 

Oh .. I don't know about that You can break the rear end loose in a corner and keep it nicely under control whilst continuing to break traction quite easily. The car performs quite well under these conditions if you don't overdo it.

 

I agree w/ Muz. Once you are comfortable with the car's handling, it almost seems to WANT to drift. I'm sure I will be buying rear tires often.

 

i know what you're both talking about (ever so little oversteer), but that is not drifting. well, technically, it is, but not traditionally. when i said the car is unpredictable at the limit, i meant it's hard to get the car relatively sideways (enough to draw some ooohs and aaahhs) without overdoing it.

 

If your tyres are sufficiently worn and you push hard enough through tight corners (ie. gradually increase the speed through a constant radius turn rather than just overpowering the vehicle) you can four wheel drift quite easily - much safer than trying to drift just the back end.

 

4-wheel drift? uh-uh, no. that would be a slide or spin. while drifting the front wheels are countersteered to... err... counter the car's rotation. the car may be goin sideways, but the front tires are not slipping

 

one questioin for you guys, exactly how do u pull a drift? What are the steps behind drifting? Not that i'll go out and try anytime soon, but just curious and always wanted to know this. Is the e-brake involved at all?

 

None of you have got this quite right. Here's what drifting is:

Imagine if you wiil that your tire is made of numerous different sections of rubber as you go around the tread's circumference. As you drive in a straight line each section in turn contacts the road as the tire rotates. Now you enter a hard corner, lets say a right hand turn. As each section hits the road, it bends or deforms slightly to the RIGHT of the tire's centerline (the car moving slightly to the LEFT) so that the next section of the tire contacts the road slightly to the LEFT of where the previous section did. And so on and so on. This is drifting. In other words it's the deformation or bending of the tread and/or sidewall rubber that causes the car to DRIFT left but there is no actual sliding or loss of grip between the tire and the road.

Incidentally, it is much harder to drift modern tires than it was 30-40 years ago because the treads and sidewalls are so much stiffer than they used to be.

 

well, the only easy was to drift when you're not driving 10/10ths is to jerk the wheel hard as you simultaneously lift completely off the throttle. as soon as the car unsettles, floor the hell out of it and if you're lucky, you'll break the rear end loose.

now, if you're really into it (on the street or track), i wouldn't suggest the above procedure. let the car talk to you. through the steering wheel, brake pedal and seat-of-your-pants feel, you'll know when the rear tires are about to break traction. let the drift come to you. it takes practice.

also, i would suggest practicing in open spaces for two reasons: 1) you don't embarrass yourself when you lose it, and 2) for safety reasons

another easy way to drift (or almost spin out) is to find a tight corner with uneven road surface and/or negative camber, or anything that will unsettle a car. now, as soon as the car gets upset, do what i said in the first paragraph. this is the easiest way, but it's also the easiest way to crash and burn - literally.

so be careful!