Drift entrance techniques/form

[adamer]

Originally Posted by Flybert

I agree with Colin. An important part of learning is riding in cars with people who are better drivers than you. Letting instructors drive your car is also a good thing because you can mimic their techniques and you know it will work in your car because they just did it in your car.

Occasionally, instructors like myself sometimes have a difficult time drifting student's cars the first lap or two due to improper setup of the car. I can usually give people advice on how to better set up their cars for better consistency especially if it's s-chassis related. That is also another good reason to let an instructor drive your car.

I even drive other staff members cars to help them try and diagnose what's wrong with their setup. There is always room for improvement. I remember letting Ryan Tuerck drive my car before I rebuilt it from the bottom up when he came out to one of our ASB's and it gave me a better idea on how to setup my car when he gave me his feedback. I was still stuck in the lower is cooler trend and he noticed that my front tires were bottoming out under transition at Balcony but since I had grown so accustomed to it, it felt normal to me. I was supposed to drive his FD s13 coupe later on so that I could feel what a well setup s13 felt like but I never got around to it because him and I were so hung over and we both got a late start the next day at HTM. We had time for a nice tandem battle where my car got smoked because it didn't drift as fast and I finally realized the difference between a "cool" drift car and a well setup FD s13 is like.

listen and learn.
having someone help you with your car setup/technique who knows what the hell they are doing is priceless.

[jspec240]

Originally Posted by BoostSlideWayz

well.. my motor is bad.. and i lost my job.. so the car is just not coming together as fast as i wish it could.. im not like every other guy on here that can afford all the parts in 2 months im not rich all i can do is sell things when i can and when i do then i can get a part or 2 but untill i somehow get another job the cars just not gonna run.

Im in your same position. Im using my GI bill to go to school so I only get 1k per month Im married with a 3yr old but I still manage. You got to hustle man. find out what parts sell cheap in the junk yards clean em up and resell. Ive been doin that for a couple years now and has helped tremendously. I was honorably discharged from the AF with an AS degree and a clean record almost three years ago and am still on the prowl. DONT GIVE UP MAN that feeling of sliding around a corner w/smoke flying beats any other fix out there too me any way

Originally Posted by Flybert

I agree with Colin. An important part of learning is riding in cars with people who are better drivers than you. Letting instructors drive your car is also a good thing because you can mimic their techniques and you know it will work in your car because they just did it in your car.

Occasionally, instructors like myself sometimes have a difficult time drifting student's cars the first lap or two due to improper setup of the car. I can usually give people advice on how to better set up their cars for better consistency especially if it's s-chassis related. That is also another good reason to let an instructor drive your car.

I even drive other staff members cars to help them try and diagnose what's wrong with their setup. There is always room for improvement. I remember letting Ryan Tuerck drive my car before I rebuilt it from the bottom up when he came out to one of our ASB's and it gave me a better idea on how to setup my car when he gave me his feedback. I was still stuck in the lower is cooler trend and he noticed that my front tires were bottoming out under transition at Balcony but since I had grown so accustomed to it, it felt normal to me. I was supposed to drive his FD s13 coupe later on so that I could feel what a well setup s13 felt like but I never got around to it because him and I were so hung over and we both got a late start the next day at HTM. We had time for a nice tandem battle where my car got smoked because it didn't drift as fast and I finally realized the difference between a "cool" drift car and a well setup FD s13 is like.

I def agree with having someone with more experience driving while you are the pass in your own car. Ive rode with JR a few times and make sure and study the reactions of my car in relation to JR's actions such as when the ebrake is being used, throttle control, especially during entry to the first drift angle of attack as well as transitioning.

lol at the hung over part... those guys party hard Ive been to a few of their partys. Dont ever pass out first... you could be sitting on a perfectly good couch one minute and the next your dancing around a bonfire where it used to be. another favorite is the ice luge and bounce houses...

Flybert ... are you going to the track on the 4th? I know you know how to drive... hope you do.

[wrek240]

Originally Posted by jspec240

. DONT GIVE UP MAN that feeling of sliding around a corner w/smoke flying beats any other fix out there too me any way

Isn't that the truth! I've been wanting to get back but no moneis for my blown engines!

[freckle]

some really good info

[BoostSlideWayz]

[QUOTE=jspec240;3394902]Im in your same position. Im using my GI bill to go to school so I only get 1k per month Im married with a 3yr old but I still manage. You got to hustle man. find out what parts sell cheap in the junk yards clean em up and resell. Ive been doin that for a couple years now and has helped tremendously. I was honorably discharged from the AF with an AS degree and a clean record almost three years ago and am still on the prowl. DONT GIVE UP MAN that feeling of sliding around a corner w/smoke flying beats any other fix out there too me any way

thanks i appriciate it.. i recently sold an old truck thats been sitting. now im selling my dirt bike... someday i will be able to.. or atleast i hope) and ill then know what its like..

ive tried drift with one of my cars once... in the magic mtn parking lot.. and i was like fuck it cuz the parking lot is soo huge. so i got it up to 60 and slighty pulled the brake. and i go one constant slide but then the transition spun me around and at the same time the security guy came and hes like.... What .. The Fuck are you doing ??? and i just looked at my steering wheel ( just practicing sir) and hes like ( alright well go do that somwhere else) its was cool

[!Zar!]

You don't need to go 60 to learn how to drift. Practice countersteer donuts first. Keep it low speed, the faster you go, the faster things can go wrong.

[jspec240]

[quote=BoostSlideWayz;3395266]

Originally Posted by jspec240

Im in your same position. Im using my GI bill to go to school so I only get 1k per month Im married with a 3yr old but I still manage. You got to hustle man. find out what parts sell cheap in the junk yards clean em up and resell. Ive been doin that for a couple years now and has helped tremendously. I was honorably discharged from the AF with an AS degree and a clean record almost three years ago and am still on the prowl. DONT GIVE UP MAN that feeling of sliding around a corner w/smoke flying beats any other fix out there too me any way

thanks i appriciate it.. i recently sold an old truck thats been sitting. now im selling my dirt bike... someday i will be able to.. or atleast i hope) and ill then know what its like..

ive tried drift with one of my cars once... in the magic mtn parking lot.. and i was like fuck it cuz the parking lot is soo huge. so i got it up to 60 and slighty pulled the brake. and i go one constant slide but then the transition spun me around and at the same time the security guy came and hes like.... What .. The Fuck are you doing ??? and i just looked at my steering wheel ( just practicing sir) and hes like ( alright well go do that somwhere else) its was cool

what kind of dirt bike? size?. I might be able to get your project goin if your interested in trades. ill send a pm

lol at the MM parking lot your crazy man... Id love to do that tho...

Originally Posted by !Zar!

You don't need to go 60 to learn how to drift. Practice countersteer donuts first. Keep it low speed, the faster you go, the faster things can go wrong.

True that..and the more skill needed to keep it controlled

[Flybert]

Yeah, I'll definitely be at this year's ASB. I don't think I've missed one yet. I didn't drive at 2 of them but this year the car is ready to go. It's going to be hot as shit again, hopefully not as bad as last years.

[jspec240]

Or we can just wait for the 4th... lol i need to take care of my drift craving and june was sounding a little far and warm.

anyone even remotely interested?

[jspec240]

I was also wondering about shift lock... can you use it? if so how?

[DJPimpFlex]

Shift lock is ok, but its pretty hard on most components. A well executed ebrake is better imo. Similar effect, but with less wear on clutch/tranny ect.

[slamburger]

100% agree with this guy ^^^

[cfrost]

Originally Posted by jspec240

I was also wondering about shift lock... can you use it? if so how?

don't bother ever doing that

it sounds cool, which is why it's good for domain names, but as far as driving goes.. I've driven a lot of different cars and different tracks and never needed it

[240XTC]

IMO....Shift lock does wear the life of the drivetrain but great because you can keep both hands on the wheel

Versus

the original E-brake that and only wears on the brakes but takes a hand away from the wheel.

Shift locking is something to do here and there. Not every initiation/transition because my budget says so. :/

[fcdrifter20]

Originally Posted by jspec240

I was also wondering about shift lock... can you use it? if so how?

i dont think i have ever once had to use that, i've never found it necessary to have to use

[!Zar!]

I use to shift lock. Never again though. Way too much stress I felt on the drivetran, plus it doesn't allow as precise control of how long it is locked up unlike using the ebrake.

[jspec240]

how is it done? but i doubt I will be exploring that method. Im assuming is would be like doin 80 and down shifting into 3rd gear.. lol

[240XTC]

As a beginner it was down shift about 100 feet before the turn and lift up on the clutch once you've gone through the turn.

During comps its done later. Down shift and lift up, after you've steered into the turn.

-If you might want to try it one day, do it in the rain. Less trauma to the drivetrain

[SUPERSTAR]

I stick my foot out and place it in between the blades of left rear wheel and bammm instant sliiiiiiiiiiide.

[renegade_ewok]

I didn't read the thread, but I think I can post a few of my experiences.

My S14: Almost anything worked. Ebrake entries were pretty consistent in 2nd gear (never got on a 3rd gear track actually with this car) but the key I found was keeping the revs at a good level, ready to hit boost right away if necessary for minor angle corrections.

I loved turning in and clutch kicking and just letting the car do its thing, but its kind of inconsistent (depending on what tire, speed, etc would dictate how fast the rear would start rotating out). Using the ebrake was always a, "Oh shit, I'm coming in too shallow" response for me... then again I don't have too much experience (only circuit patterns I've driven was a Wall, NJ layout and a skidpad with cones).

I never really did instantaneous entries until this weekend in a lexus GS300...

With that one I did a very quick flick, power into the corner till you can feel a mild slide in the rear. Once that happened I immediately got on the brake (not ebrake) to bring the rear of the car around. Its not a technique I ever really considered because I thought I would lose too much speed or the car would over rotate too quickly but it worked just fine. After you get enough angle I got right back on the power (mind you this was on open diff automatic non turbo GS300).

Drifted just fine but my line is still usually off.

Here is something I hear a lot of people talk about but haven't heard a true verdict...

Rear sway bar. Run one or not?

I know a bunch of people who drift without one but I do have one on my S14. The one difference I gathered from the two is that if you have a rear sway the car is less likely to "come back" when you push it harder. But then again, thats only a handful of driving experiences so yeah...

[!Zar!]

I am using a swaybar. I liked the way the car handled better after installing an aftermarket. Only car I wouldn't run a rear sway bar on would be something like an FC.

[renegade_ewok]

I hear FCs grip monsters and get good once you know how to drift and use the grip to your advantage... am I right in that assumption?

[eberle]

Originally Posted by payne219

Seriously watching this helped me a ton. 6 different techniques all badass
Best Motoring Drift Bible

Amazing in car views and detail

[jspec240]

Wow.. Ive seen that before but didnt realize the significance until now.. thanks for the link. I really never liked to use either brakes and have always used weight transfer or "dynamic" drifting to enter my turns except for tight turns where I do use the ebrake but I really need to practice using the breaks because I want to learn how to use all methods so that I will be ready for any situation.

One thing I didnt see him do was double clutching. or if he did I missed it. Anyhow this really inspires me to go out and practice/study and enhance how I initiate a drift, hold it through the turn, transfering into the next turn/connecting multiple turns, and following through with a smooth finish.

[RentonD]

So I have a really quick question. More of a setup question but what's the minimum tightness (tension) an e-brake should have in order to be effective on the track?

[DJPimpFlex]

Originally Posted by RentonD

So I have a really quick question. More of a setup question but what's the minimum tightness (tension) an e-brake should have in order to be effective on the track?

That is a 100% preference setting. I prefer hydro.

[jspec240]

Ive had success by tightening the tensioning bolt on the ebrake most of the way but dont overtighten. Just tighten gradually and test until you are satisfied. If that doesnt work change the rear breaks if they are worn. Ive never used a Hydro brake but Im in the process of purchasing one because they are the shit from what I have heard . That and most of the pros have them so it must make a significant difference.

[ericcastro]

I have used shift lock in the past.

I actually like what it does and the control you get.
But It will beat the shit out of your car.

So I suggest learning it.
Do it once your tires get real hot and slick.

Just have your RPMs up pretty high, so maybe 40mph in second gear, (KA)
clutch in, turn in, lift on clutch.
The engine will lock the wheels up for a minute while the crank and everything gets back up to the RPM's your driving at.

Now you actually have stepped the car out, have both hands on the wheeel and have instand access to RPMS.
But unlike a clutch kick, you didnt launch the car forwards when you initiated, you slowed it down like a ebrake, but have the RPM and sterring wheel control of a clutch kick.

make sense?

It is really ruff on the engine.
Its super rare I do it now.
And never on cold tires.

Its good to learn though.
Cause if you start doing grip/scca type events, you will probably do it on accident and should learn what it feels like and how to do a quik counter to keep control and your line.

[jspec240]

which case do you personally use the shift lock? have you used it in an event

[ericcastro]

By event you mean?

Like a contest.

Or just a track day?
I do everything and try everything at a track day. (no homo)

I usually will do it at the J turn on balcony.

Oh, I do it when i want to do a quick u turn.
Like on the str**t.
Or pulling back into the grid on balcony.


I think like everyone said, you should learn it to know it.
But its not a comon technique.

its also not as reliable as a clutch kick or ebrake.
You dont want to feint and turn in, clutch lock, and it doesnt step out, leaving you pushing towards the outside of a turn.