how did everyone learn how to drift?

[CrazyHawaiian]

Originally posted by markeese180sx
oh yeah and another newbie question...negative cambers on both front and rear or just front? and how much?

It depends. Here's what I recommend. First understand why people use negative camber when drifting. The momentum caused by the lateral motion will change the contact patch your front tires have on the ground. When drifting left, your right front tire will be the grip tire. Vice versa when drifting right. At 0 or a level setting, this lateral force will cause the outside tire to lean in, causing the contact patch to move from the center of the tire to the outside. On a tire with a big sidewall, you can sometimes see this (marks on the sidewall caused by the flex). This is bad because it lowers the ammount of contact the front tires have with the ground, effectively lowering the ammount of control you have. Dialing in negative camber will even out this contact patch while the car is sliding. The goal is to use the correct ammount of negative camber to give you the contact patch you want (while sliding) for your specific tire setup. Because of this, no single setting will work for everyone (though everyone is somewhat close). To determine the best setting for your car, I recommend you study your front tire tread wear after you've been drifting on those tires for a while. If all the tread wear is on the outside of the tire (or uneven heating), then you need more negative camber. If its all on the inside then you're using too much negative camber. If its even then you've found the right setting. The edges of the tire and sidewall should not look melted or defective. If you feel too much grip in the front, then think about making the contact patch smaller. As for the rear, it also depends on the car. Cars with IRS (like a 240) will allow you to change the camber of the rear wheels. Cars with a solid rear axle (Hachi or a Camaro) give you no adjustment. The changes you make will affect the contact patch of the rear wheels, sometimes making it easier to spin the tires, but also affecting how long they last. You can get the same results by playing with tire pressure.

[boro240]

for the most part, a little negative camber has no adverse effects on tire wear (within reason). its the toe that kills tires.

[rusticmeattank]

I have like 12 schools within about 10 mins. Huge parking lots, and alot of them are new so the parking lots are very smooth and well paved. Just took my 94 vert for a spin. It's rainy so I don't destroy my tires.

[driftnutz]

done lots of street but the real learning and improving was at a DWYB (drift what ya brung) at Santa pod. Amazing fun. My car is slowly looking battered like a drift slag

[rayray]

i grew up in japan on a navy base (i'm not japanese) had friends that drifted and would go out to nambu(the street they drifted on in yokohama which is now not driftable since the police put up barriers in the median...)

now that i live in tampa all its all about the industrial parks at 2 in the mourning like johnny said...i also talked to a lot of people about their set ups and questions i had when i was gettin my drifts the way i thought they should be

forgive me if i am incorrect but this is the area you are talking about, and these people dont seem to be stuggling too much
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ZmjkP2N1MXE

[Cavi Mike]

2003? Damn. Didn't know this place was even around that long. Happy 10-year d dot c.

[Lifer]

Crazy Hawaiian is my hero. Loved seeing videos of that Camaro.

[Ekun]

Skidpan is the best place to learn