FF Drift...help, newbie and FF, uh oh

[Liro]

i know this topic has been out there, but im really talking about transferring what i can do on snow to pavement...

this is the first season ive been pulling ebrake drifts in the snow in my 01 civic, and its not bad but im still limited to what i can do in a FF.

any tips on progressing to normal dry pavement, there isnt gonna be snow here forever...do i even stand a chance at being able to do this?

also, im really impressed with the acceptance of FF on this site. im a huge fan of the s13s and s14 but when i made my choice i didnt know about drifting....oh regrets...haha

[chrisfromda909]

search the site a little bit and you find some posts by me about FF drifting... i drift on pavement never have on sno

[Drift For Food]

I a basic sense, it's the same but faster and with higher forces. The same concepts still apply, but you have to do it at higher speeds. The added forces will change your car's behavior though. It will lean more for one, and you'll probably be working a little harder with the steering wheel also. I'm not sure how much feedback the civic has.

Yes, do some searching too. People on this forum don't like repeated posts too much. Be kind and search a little first.

[plinker]

I have seen a lot of JWRC cars (FF 1600cc NA) drifting to clear hair-pins and integra type-R drifting in an elk-test in a TV.
so it's possible. but might be hard with stock set- ups.

if you are serious about drifting get an FR.
if you are serious about drifting in snow, get a 4WD.
if you are serious about driving an FF or have to keep
what you have now, get a clutch type LSD while there is snow.

see the picture
this is my senpai's EK. completely stock.
his driving is good, but this is what happens to an FF
at the exit of a corner.
the inside front wheel is barely touching the ground,
and the engine power goes only to that tire
if you don't have an LSD.

[Drift For Food]

^yep

Behold the power of a regular diff, lol...and stock suspension. That thing leans a bit. It reminds me of my Lesabre...sniff, memories.

[180sx2nr8u]

the best i can tell you is that you wont know how your car will react until you take it out on the pavement and see. find a parking lot and set up cones or something. although it is very different, the snow should have taught you how to 'fell' your car. you should know when your car loses traction, but it wont slide as much on pavement as on snow, so dont get all the counter-steering in at once. take it a bit slower. but like i said, just go out and cut it loose as if you never drifted before.

[Liro]

thanks for all your advice. i will definately do a search for related topics.

also, im not running a stock setup so the roll isnt as dramatic, its been lowered with race springs and tie bars are installed...

i managed a little better results last night by exaggerating my technique on snow.

ive found so far that i need to brake much harder to shift the weight to intiate the drift and its still hard to really get it sideways. i will also try using a bigger out turn while using the feint motion to start the ebrake drift. i will keep working at it though, thanks everyone!

[S13_Steve]

switch ur whole powertrain...get a FR and switch it backwards on ur civic soo the engine is in ur trunk and the rear tires are in the front of your..... put ur car in reverse and go reverse drifting/ civic lolz i dunno what im talkn about....came outa my mind.....

[chrisfromda909]

^^lmao makesd me wanna go buy an EK and do that now

but really let the car countersteer itself... well i dont really know how to explain that... but when i do it... it kinda does just that... the steering just kinda counters on its own... is that not normal?? is my car possessed???

[Digital Sol]

Not entirely too crazy idea

The idea about making a civic MR isn't too far off from reality. A long time ago in Super Street the featured the Top Secret Del Sol. Which is what I have except no MR and not Top Secret. They Stuck an H22 in the trunk and put a turbo in and it was rear drive and they only ran the quarter with it. The only issue is the weight balance because it turned out to be like 20% front 80% rear. so yeah lots of strange scattered thoughts in one post.

[Digital Sol]

sorry...



its also by Top Fuel not Top Secret. Mid Engined, Turbo-Charged, Used to be FF, total goodness.

[Drift For Food]

quote from Liro:
"ive found so far that i need to brake much harder to shift the weight to intiate the drift and its still hard to really get it sideways. i will also try using a bigger out turn while using the feint motion to start the ebrake drift. i will keep working at it though, thanks everyone!"

Yeah, that what you need to do in a nut shell.

There's not much else you can do except for suspension adjustment. You could think about softening up the front suspension, lower rate springs or softer shocks, get a little more weight to the front easier.

If you want to get some oversteer or get rid of some push in the corners, a lower front spring rate will help. Less front sway or more rear sway will do the same when cornering.

Weight transfer is dependent on the spring stiffness and the amount of dampening of the shocks. So if you want to get the rear end to come out in a corner during braking, make the weight shift easier. Soften the front suspension and lower the dampening of the front shocks or even both the front and rear.

The hard part is that it's really a balance of everything to create certain car characteristics. It would take a bit of drive time and a lot of trial and error with parts to fine tune the suspension. You'd love it in the end, but it's a hastle, not sure how expensive either. Do places let you take springs and shocks back after you've used them?

You also have the factor of safety. For example, if you make the rear end loose when braking, you have to worry about it under normal driving as well. If someone stops hard in front of you at a light, you better be careful when slowing down hard to keep that rear end straight.

[ProjectD]

um, drifting in the sow, is alot different from dry surface in that in the snow, you can break traction alot easier, like in the dirt. in pavement, well, good luck *Censored**Censored**Censored* dragging.

[Liro]

i like the idea of changing the components of my car to create a more drift friendly FF. but thats no longer and option for me, much like the purchase of my civic, im stuck with what i got now.

i know its best to change to a FR, hell i want to very badily....but i cant. if i ever do find an FR when its time to get rid of the civic though i will definately do it...then return here to seek out help again.

thanks all for you input. FF cant really drift, i have come to realize that too....so i will just do the best i can to get close

[HasNoTiresLeft]

heh im a little late on the input... but ff can drift trust me...i had two ff cars... wrecked one, sold one. As a matter of fact theres a clip on this site of a ff civic drifting and hes damn good.... I dunno where though u gotta use da search.

As for going from snow to pavement... parking lot is the best place.... nice open one... just try what u did in the snow... if u get no slide... increase speed and try more e-brake... dbl tappin the old e-brake is good to initiate the slide, and you dont have to kill the cord by holdin it up... Once you get the feel of how the car slides on pavement, youll want to try longer drifts... they require more speed and you have to use the e-brake to keep the angle... I learned alot with ff drifting... specially the limits, but if you want to know more, my AOL messenger is xxdriftaxx cause i get tired typin all this stuff at once.