*Help* Low Power Drifting

[Ghost of Duluth]

In that video it looks like you are going straight in the corner and expecting power and weight to kick the rear end out. Ain't gonna happen. What you need to try is clutch kicking at the beginning of your slide. Either way you are gonna need mondo speed so you can carry it through the corner. The way I do it is to run hell bent in the middle of the line, go inside then flick back to the outside, clutch kick it then tap the brakes as the rear starts to go out then full throttle. My car is bone stock on an open diff and anyone can tell you I pretty much linked the entire course repeatedly at the DG Turner event. If you start to lose angle, throttle lift it and apply some E-Brake in there. Linking is harder on low power but if you can hold the first turn through the apex then you can straighten the wheel and use what power you do have to shoot you across the line into the next turn and use a little e-brake to initiate and hold.

I also run 45 lbs of air pressure in the rears at the start of the day. As they heat up this will build. Higher pressures make it easier to break out and hold it. I ran some harder compound Kumho's and they were great. Later in the day I switched over to some Fm901's (140 tread count I think they were) and had a lot of trouble getting it to hang out and break out like on the Kumhos. I would def use a harder compound tire. Cheaper that way too.

In a lower powered car, especially one with open diff, you cannot relay on power to initiate. So many people try to power over in stock cars and especially S-13s and they either hellishly understeer or get it out and then snap back. Gotta learn other techniques.

[FluffyBunnyFeet]

that is what im going around the track doing, turn in, out, in/e-brake, clutch (again if needed) and its really coming out good. I dont have any video of this yet cuz it was too dark

This is one where you can barley see it but its when i just got the idea of clutch kick. I went in and didnt get it sliding before the cone so i just stood on the gas and kicked it and was happy with the results.



And understeer slides, alot of them, and this is the damage caused, thankfully now i can get it sideways before this happens.


Oh ya, btw, that is the right front wheel.

[Drift For Food]

Yeah, it's tough in an underpowered car. You don't have the freedom to just gas it and break the rear end loose.

Good things were stated so far.

You'll need to rely on more speed. Get used to coming in as fast as you can. The throttle will only allow you to maintain speed and that's about it.

How are you coming into the corner/drift? How wide are you going with the drift?

Up to the apex, you're really not throttling the car. If anything, you're still bleeding speed through braking and/or from a feint into the corner. Let it slide and bleed off. You'll set up for the corner using the right entry speed. You'll start the drift with braking or feint if coming fast. If you're already at the corner speed, you'll be pegging the throttle and attemping to break it free. clutch kick, stabbing the throttle on and off quick, downshifting into a lower gear without rev matching, e-brake, anything that will upset the rear tires. Be mean to the car; you almost have to sometimes, whatever works. Things will smooth out when you get better and can hold the car at the limits better.

Now here's the trick to making it work. Drift shallow, very shallow, and use very little countersteering, drift with the steering instead. What this does is allow you to drift carrying speed and you'll actually hold the drift with the front tires, NOT the rear. You don't have the power to drift wide and "showy." Shallow drifts are efficient, and efficient is what you need in a low powered car. As well, steering is your control. In a high powered car, you can adjust throttle and play with the rear end. In a low powered car, you can't. You just peg it and hope it stays out. How you keep it out is with the steering. Use less countersteering. If the rear end isn't staying out, steer in more. Pull the front end in more and force the rear end out. You're using the extra front grip you have to make the drift work. This creates a more efficient use of both the front and rear tires around the corner. As well, you can run faster into the corner as you will be pulling harder into the corner with the front tires. It's kind of goofy thinking about the drift this way, but it works. This'll keep your drift going. If it ends too early, i.e. can't possibly maintain the drift longer, you came in too slow. It's all momentum and efficient use of both the rear AND front tires.

That is all after you start the drift. If you are having trouble even starting the drift, then you'll want to work on your initiation techniques. Braking generally works well. Come in hot, and brake some into the corner. The added weight shifted to the front can get the rear end to come out. A variation is just a stab of the brake just before the corner. Brake, let off and imediately turn in. If more persuation is needed becuase of too much understeer or a very front biased brake setup, you can feint as well. Coming up to the corner, turn away from the corner and load the cars weight to one side. Then flick the weight out by quickly turning the other way. This will essentially toss the weight of the car outward and force the car to rotate. It can be combined with braking as well and is pretty much capable of making any car start a drift. It also requires no throttle input and thus no power needs. Any car reguardless of power or drivetrain configuration can do these techniques to start a drift. I started on these in my old fwd Lesabre on my gravel back roads around my house. 2 years later, and two very different cars later, they're still my staples and still get the job done. Through feint, braking, and steering adjustments, you can bring any car into a drift and hold it through the exit with no throttle input. Getting on the gas just allows you maintain speed.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Yea man, and for god's sake don't be like most other boobs out there and run like hell from teh start line, spinning tires trying the manji and then slam the brakes on and cut it to half speed to enter the corner to power over....god I hate that.

Like this guy at the DG event. Man I think he was the only one to spin out before the first turn. Was in a Z06, it was a sweet car too but he would just burn out like a drunken Nascar fan leaving the drive-in after seeing Smokey and the Bandit 1-3 in a triple feature, then slam the brakes and do a combination of power overs and snapbacks around the rest of the course. Great stuff. Nice guy though and he was trying. His snap backs were less dramatic by the end of the day. He cut it down to maybe 20 per run instead of 35.

It just makes for cleaner run to be going the speed you want to enter with when you enter, not on the brakes. Less things to concentrate on because god knows, there's plenty to concentrate on when hitting that first corner. Set up, line, throttle, brakes, asian girl squating in a mini-skirt, angle....lots of stuff. ADD rules.

[Tuner]

.....there's plenty to concentrate on when hitting that first corner. ....asian girl squating in a mini-skirt....

How did you find out my secret!!?!?!?!


Yep, low powered cars need to carry speed through the turns. Don't even try to power over.

[Ghost of Duluth]

We both from the ATL boyeeee, we think alike.

Heard you were at the Dragon this weekend....so was I. Both days, almost got head on'd by a Jesse James wannabe with is grotesquely obese wife when they overcooked the corner by the dam on their Harley Fat Glide. I had to actually run off the road and banged up the exhaust to miss em. Them 2 whales wold have wrecked the entire front end on the car. Oh and the cops!!! 50 oficers and a Helicopter for 11 miles of road. Sad sad. They did have 2 fatalities though Friday night I hear and add that to the Hiyabusa club weekends 3 fatalities and the cops are a little uptight. You see their new trick? One of em stands in the road so you have to go around him, then they pull you for crossing the double yellow. I got it on video tape, it's great.

[Tuner]

Yea, the GAP is getting bad. I wasn't there this weekend though Who do you think this is?

[Ghost of Duluth]

Wow then there is another Miata Mike with a green supercharged Miata with black 3 spoke rims. Some guy was running with your doppleganger up there. Told me all about you (doppleganger) and your car and some guy that was with you named Lawrence. Even knew that Lawrence is a friend of Chads or something. We must catch this bandit.

Yea the Dragon is getting real bad. Harleys, cops, Semi's and pretty much anything else you can imagine have consired to detroy the perfection that was the Dragon. But the record got lower. Under 9 mins from the Bridge at the bottom to the State line. Video of it but you can't get your hands on it. In the video he drives one handed

Insane.

[Tuner]

Wow then there is another Miata Mike with a green supercharged Miata with black 3 spoke rims. Some guy was running with your doppleganger up there. Told me all about you (doppleganger) and your car and some guy that was with you named Lawrence. Even knew that Lawrence is a friend of Chads or something. We must catch this bandit.

Yea the Dragon is getting real bad. Harleys, cops, Semi's and pretty much anything else you can imagine have consired to detroy the perfection that was the Dragon. But the record got lower. Under 9 mins from the Bridge at the bottom to the State line. Video of it but you can't get your hands on it. In the video he drives one handed

Insane.

GAWD I need to change my avatar. I'm not Miata Mike. It's Marty!!!!!! My street Miata is white, but I also have the flat black one that was at SFS2 LMAO!

[FluffyBunnyFeet]

Carrying the speed is what im doing, and no, im not being a "boob" and spining the tires and the line just to slow down at the corner, i get it up to around 40mph, feint, e-brake and once its lost traction, clutch kick for more angle when needed

http://www.drifting.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14464

Thats from my drift session this past sunday. And yes, i did crash. Gotta learn, at least im out there trying. Just wish i didnt smash my mesh, now ive got a odd ball set

[Ghost of Duluth]

Lol freaking Marty. You are quite the terror on the course man. Awesome slides you got going on there and the car sounds like a bee who has lost it's honey. MAD!!

Fluff, i'm not trying to be mean to you just trying to steer you in a different direction. In the beginning of your driving career whether it be sliding, gripping, whatever, you will do things a certain way and you will develope habits. Some good, some bad. That is a bad habit to start doing. Once you get a habit and it works, (because that will work just doesn't look clean and gooey goodness feeling) it will be hard to break yourself of it. Plus if you progress on to events and what-not, people don't score highly on that. Ask any of the pro's on here. The slide is meant to be smoth and seemingly effortless, not herky-jerky. If you watch people on the course, you can plainly see who is fighting the car and who is "Gliding" around the course like they could be cooking breakfast while they drive and still be doing amazing.

Sorry to hear about your wheel though, nobody likes a trashed wheel. Sort of like a large woman hitting on you, just leaves you feeling all dirty inside.

[KristianAE86]

IŽd say that all you really need is PRACTICE.

I have been drifting in competitons for almost 2 yrs now with a STOCK chassies & stock engine the first year - & last year i uppgraded the suspention & fitted a rollcage aswell.

NO engine mods except for 2" exhaust & TRD heaers. - power figures... about 125-130 bhp

Kristian - Sweden

www.ae86.se