How difficult is it to get good at drifting?

[G-moore's s13]

The thing that helped me the most when i first started drifting was letting the wheel slide in my hands or "throw" the wheel and catch then counter steer to hit your points. I also learned alot from riding along with someone who was a fd driver. Instead of trying to find a ride along, find some in car footage of a good driver and watch what they do with the wheel, ebrake etc. But like anything else, nothing beats practice...

[StayinSidewayz]

"there is no wax on wax off for drifting, you learn by doing it"

[Driftwire]

Step 1. Buy 240sx

Step 2. 5 speed swap

Step 3. Weld Diff

Step 4. Enter Event and Crash and Ziptie

Step 5. Realize you didnt really want to drift

Step 6. Buy Honda and Delete Zilvia Acct.


I dont always drift but when I do, Its because im playing Forza.


OP. Go to an event and watch others. Ask questions. Join local groups and make friends and boom. Practice

[HB_Alex]

It all depends how much time you spend behind the wheel and your finances. Someone going to the track won't go as hard/receive as much experience as someone who came with a car on a trailer and doesn't care if they beat the crap out of it.

[pacotaco345]

Well since the thread got bumped I guess I'll add my 2c. The best way to get better at drifting is to have a car that doesn't break every time you go to a track or... the streets. I have several friends who's cars are constantly broken due to abuse, neglect, whatever and I have progressed much faster than them.

[Cjkouki2010]

Personally think it can be the person or car but really more the person.. Simple basics really but practicemakes pperfect! I drove my 6th or 7th event yesterday with my na ka and for a ka car u would have thought it been double tht time... Just practice and focus on them steering and throttle

[Cjkouki2010]

Drifting is a lot harder than it looks but also a lot easier than it looks. Jus gotta do it to get what im saying

[aca240]

Originally Posted by pacotaco345

Well since the thread got bumped I guess I'll add my 2c. The best way to get better at drifting is to have a car that doesn't break every time you go to a track or... the streets. I have several friends who's cars are constantly broken due to abuse, neglect, whatever and I have progressed much faster than them.

This^. I have stuck with the stock KA for three years now and it has made me a better driver mostly because it just runs and runs, as well as it requiring commitment and balls to drive well.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[SidewaysS13ka]

everyone can judge me, but im throwing my 20 cents in on this....if you want get good at drifting, honestly have zero fucks about your car and have fun.. well maybe 2 fucks, but have fun and just kick it out..dont be afraid to just go out and spin out over and over again, because sooner or later or next run your going to rip it and hang on to it. ive been drifting for about 6 months after i built my car and its been at a local undisclosed spot and on the streets which im not happy about,but the turns were right lol and then one night i got huge head and thought i could cut a lane at full lock and smashed my front end, but dude honestly if you want to get good at drifting, just be yourself and have fun and let your friends that drift and other drifters give you pointers,but take them with a grain of salt and develop your own style, DO NOT TRY TO COPY someone elses style..its the same thing with riding bmx or skating or snowboarding everyone has there own style....honestly when i was going out with my friends and going to local spots i would just try to have as much fun as i can even if i spun out or not, and if i did i would try and perfect what i did wrong the run before..they always said practice makes perfect and they didnt lie..just do you and have fun sliding

[JBBNH]

^^^awesome advice man. that gives me hope i just need to get my car up and running so i go spin out at events!

240sx lover

[shogunstyles15]

So I'm not going to claim that i know everything about drifting however i have noticed a direct correlation between seat time and skill level. Basically the more time you have behind the wheel practicing the better drifter (driver) you will become. I don't know about all of this don't give a fuck about your car and go smoke into a wall mentality but if you go and practice the basics (donuts, figure eights, j turns) and then work your way up you will find you have built a reliable platform for your drifting/driving skills to grow from. Don't be so cautious that you wont try things outside of your comfort zone but at the same time remember that there is a healthy level of fear that will keep you from seriously hurting yourself or your car. Id rather see you spin out 1000 times than understeer once. In saying that remember that drifting is about having fun, your skill will grow along the way.

[Thedriftbadger]

I think having a good feel and understanding of what your car can and can't do is also important. Not even specifically drifting but just hard driving in general. Just understanding how the car behaves can help you a lot.
But like others have said, the more you do it the better you'll be. Don't practice on the street. Find an abandoned something and practice practice practice.

[JBBNH]

will take all this info into consideration once i Finnish my swap, its been about half a year since ive driven her so ill have to get seat time like u said just driving hard. i look forward to gking to events and tackle the learning curve. thanks for all the info. i know its not my thread but great advice here Haha

240sx lover

[VegasDrifterS13]

My $0.02 ; Drifting Requires a reliable missle, tons of tires, and you must only " Give a F**k" about your Functioning parts. Aesthetics must not matter to you. Getting better will introduce you into a wall or cone or barrier or Dirt. Your Clean Show stopper is not what you should slide. At the same time drifting is about style so wait til your not hitting shit and spinning anymore then worry about how she looks after youre invited to a ProAm. Being Attached to your car only hurts worse when you smash the quarter panel @ 65mph trying to kiss the wall. Most Importantly HAVE FUN.

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[Thedriftbadger]

Originally Posted by VegasDrifterS13

My $0.02 ; Drifting Requires a reliable missle, tons of tires, and you must only " Give a F**k" about your Functioning parts. Aesthetics must not matter to you. Getting better will introduce you into a wall or cone or barrier or Dirt. Your Clean Show stopper is not what you should slide. At the same time drifting is about style so wait til your not hitting shit and spinning anymore then worry about how she looks after youre invited to a ProAm. Being Attached to your car only hurts worse when you smash the quarter panel @ 65mph trying to kiss the wall. Most Importantly HAVE FUN.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

I mostly agree. Don't be too concerned about the car getting damage, just about everything can be fixed. On the other hand if every time you go drifting you are just crashing and shit you're not getting much out of it. So try to avoid hitting shit, but don't be upset when it happens cause you can just fix it later.

[stk910]

The five most important things to me when learning to drift were:
1. First start drifting in a place with a LOT of runoff room, on both the inside and outside of each corner. For example, I started drifting at a large gymkhana course with pylons, and spun all day. Sure you can just buy a drift missile and crash it into everything, but if you care about the look of your car too, that's not an option.
2. Have a properly set-up car. Not just tires, camber, suspension mods, 2-way or welded diff, etc... but the interior as well. Putting in a bucket seat, 4-point harness and a Nardi wheel vastly improved my car control, and gave me proper support during violent transitions.
3. Don't be a pussy. It's far better to spin in every corner than understeer through all of them. You will learn more from spinning than from understeering. Don't be afraid to pull the e-brake at a speed you are very uncomfortable at, or to clutch kick the shit out of your clutch, or to throw the weight of your car from one side to the other at speed.
4. Understand the different drifting techniques. Watch the drift bible, and some of the earlier drift tengoku videos.
5. LOOK at where you want to go. Look at the next corner while you are in the middle of your drift, or at your clipping point. If you just look around aimlessly while drifting, you will often spin.

Number 3 and 4 are the most important. I started drifting about 8 months ago, and have only been to 7 drift sessions. I can continuously drift all of Fuji Drift Park and Honjo Circuit, now rarely spin, and have yet to crash. Another guy that started about the same time I did and has been to more events still can't drift to save his life. He is too scared to kick his clutch because he doesn't want to break anything, and doesn't want to pull the e-brake. He just mashes the gas mid-corner at low speed and spins out, or understeers almost every corner. A lot of seat time is important too as many are saying, but if you are doing nothing with that seat time, it's worthless.