Should TRUCKS be allowed to drift?

[OH240SE]

Hell yes they should allow trucks, why not?

Just as long as they fit the rules of the competition.
I'm wondering when someone is going to run an MR

[endosteel]

Absolutely trucks should be able to drift. Drifting should be open to as many types of vehicles as possible, it's what makes the sport so interesting.

I think the new Toyota Tacoma X-Runner would make a pretty good drifter from the factory. It pulls .89 g's stock and Toyota said that they used the 350Z as their target for the truck's handling.

[malcolm]

add weights to the rear, problem solved

sure, adding weight improves traction (friction force = coefficient of friction x normal force).... but what about momentum?

Adding weight is usually not a good thing. However, moving weight to the rear would be a good idea (ie. battery... transmission, corvette-style... or engine, Pikes Peak Tacoma-style...).

[craiglieberman]

I dont see what trucks have to do with NASCAR. Does that make any sense to anyone else? That NASCAR complaint is usually what people say when they have a personal problem with American cars or America. Oh this drifting is turning into NASCAR fast, yeah sure. Drifting has absolutely nothing to do with NASCAR, the sports are complete opposites. Drifting will never become NASCAR, period. If you hate American cars and trucks, good for you. I dont see what that has to do with drifting, trucks, or NASCAR.

Bad enough we're letting American cars run? Why are you complaining anyway? Seriously? You dont compete in drifting events but here I am tainting your sport? Please. I've put blood sweat and tears into my American drift car, damn right I get to drift too. The only people that I can see talking crap and having a valid reason are people that drift regularly and compete. Out of the 100+ local drifters we have out here (people that regularly participate in track drifting events), nobody has ever said anything like that to me. Even the guys from Japan are saying they want to see American cars drifting.

Good points....but if I may.

To me, the appeal of drifting is that the sport has a huge Japanese heritage. AS such, there are no other venues where an American can witness these hardcore Japanese cars in a competitive environment in person.

Conversely, you can see Camaros and Mustangs all day long at SCCA events.

For me, its a 'want what I can't have' desire. I've seen what the influx of American cars has done to import drag racing (if anyone thinks a Saturn running down the strip is cool, they're on crack) and I'm hoping that drifting in the US will still see a large presence of Japanese cars.

While I do respect Vipers, Vettes and such, I'm just not keen on seeing 10 year old muscle cars running around in these events. Again, this is just me...

[Ris4drift]

so youd rather see 10 year old nissan s chassis everywhere?

i LOVE s13 and its a great platform. but honestly its like the same 3-4 cars from japan in all the events. its fun to see something different thrown in there besides a s chassis, ae86 fc/fd.

[malcolm]

so youd rather see 10 year old nissan s chassis everywhere?

i LOVE s13 and its a great platform. but honestly its like the same 3-4 cars from japan in all the events. its fun to see something different thrown in there besides a s chassis, ae86 fc/fd.

I agree.

I would love to see a C6 Corvette out there, C5's, Vipers, Chevettes, BMW's, Mustangs, Camaros, etc, etc, etc. I like diversity among cars.

[craiglieberman]

so youd rather see 10 year old nissan s chassis everywhere?

i LOVE s13 and its a great platform. but honestly its like the same 3-4 cars from japan in all the events. its fun to see something different thrown in there besides a s chassis, ae86 fc/fd.

Yes...and no. The great thing about the old Nissans' and AE86's is that there's enough parts to make them look like authentic drift machines.

A Camaro is a Camaro...I've seen em all and they all look the same, no matter how many holes you cut in a Cervini hood. I'm bored with them, just as you may be with beat down Ae86's.

Again, to be clear, FOR ME, its' about seeing stuff that we wouldn't normally see. I'm not opposed to seeing some upscale American cars go head to head with Japans' finest, but trucks? No thank you. Thankfully, the sheer physics of drifting may exclude trucks naturally.

Conversely, the sheer expense of Vipers and Vettes may also exclude them from any grassroots domination of drifting. But while the American camp has but a handful of cars to submit (i.e. Mustang, Camaro, Vette, Viper...and yes, I'm aware of the GTO...but since no one is buying them and still fewer people are buying this $38K ride and gutting it for drifting, I'm not worried), there are tons of Japanese cars suitable:

FC RX7
FD RX7
350Z
240/260/280Z
AE86
Supra
240SX
and many others.

My bet? On the west coast, you'll be hard pressed to find a significant presence of Camaros' and such at drift events. In the midwest, there's a greater affinity towards these platforms, so I'm confident they'll have a secure future in drifting.

Should be interesting to see how it shakes out over time, right?

[Craftsman]

Rednecks go drifting all the time... It's called Circle Track...

They do tandem best!!!

[CrazyHawaiian]

Well damn Graig, if you want to be that JDM tight, why dont you spend more time in Japan? It just seems unrealistic to live in America and hope not to see any American cars anywhere.

Every time I go drifting I see stuff I wouldn't normally see. Thats the allure of drifting for me. Its different, its a rush, and its alot of fun. I'm not stuck on the drifting "image" because thats what "posers" do. I dont care what car anyone is driving, nor do I care how it looks. What matters is the drift.

[CrazyHawaiian]

Rednecks go drifting all the time... It's called Circle Track...

They do tandem best!!!

Circle Track (aka Dirt Track) is not drifting. They're racing, we're drifting.

[Goodwrench Z]

But while the American camp has but a handful of cars to submit (i.e. Mustang, Camaro, Vette, Viper...and yes, I'm aware of the GTO...but since no one is buying them and still fewer people are buying this $38K ride and gutting it for drifting, I'm not worried), there are tons of Japanese cars suitable:

FC RX7
FD RX7
350Z
240/260/280Z
AE86
Supra
240SX
and many others.

You list a couple of the same cars more than once and say there are a ton of cars available, I think the number of cars is pretty even. But I guess I could do the same with american cars. Maybe start with the fox body Mustang, the '05 Mustang, 3rd Gen Camaro, 3rd Gen Firebird, 4th Gen F cars as well, C4 Vette, C5, C6, GTO, Viper, Chrysler Conquest, Chrysler Crossfire, and im sure there are a few others. I think you need to realize that this is not Initial D, and there are more cars than the 5 cars you mentioned.

[Ris4drift]

Again, to be clear, FOR ME, its' about seeing stuff that we wouldn't normally see. I'm not opposed to seeing some upscale American cars go head to head with Japans' finest, but trucks? No thank you. Thankfully, the sheer physics of drifting may exclude trucks naturally.

according to physics the truck is a much better platform than the el camino weve been using. and minus huge braking problems from lack of shakedown in irwindale resulting in a lot of jokes involving a wall and derrick ( and some buffing out) and a n00b ground wire issue we had at sonoma it seemed to be pretty competitive in houston on used, dry rotted tires and nothing proffesional about it. drifting really allows a LOT of unethical things to go on that auto-x/road racing wouldnt allow. basically the major factors from what I as a driver feel as the main elements of control are how much tire/power you have. once you initiate the drift ive notice the suspension doesnt incredible change the feel of the drift and i dont really go a lot faster in a stiffer car like i would on an auto-x course where the amount of g's you can pull actually matters. but main point is we did pretty darn good for our driver derrick (who never did tandem in his life) in an el camino, with nowhere near as much power as most the cars out there, a lot crappier suspension, and extremely crappy dry-rotted tires, and were able to be imho pretty competitive. derrick qualified 7th and put on a pretty good show. im not going to lie and say taht we should have had to go again against chris as he was the clear winner every time but none the less, drifting is a bit different than most any other motorsport, and i honestl think that a truck can be highly competitive. its all about the seatcover mod, you cant do anythign without someone with some good God given ability behind the wheel.

[REBEL-D]

My 2-cents for what it's worth- I heard the Japanese drifters back in the day were inspired by the European rally drivers and their techniques which makes sense. Japanese did it for fun and not against a clock and now they do it for points at the D1 GP. Drifting is by no means new as a technique, but as a "competition" kudos go to the Japanese for making it happen.

In regards to car types I think it's somewhat irellevant what the choice of vehicle is, I personally think drifting is about diversity, diversity from the traditional motorsports and diversity in the cars and drivers competiting on the same course. This is what is appealing to me anyway.

The day we start saying you can't do this or that for no other reason than it's "not normal" then we lost what drifting is about: Freedom from the strict rules and regulations of traditional motorsports, freedom for this sport to grow and attract an audience that typically dosen't care about racing.

I say bring on the bring on the trucks, compete against the two and four door cars big and small after all it's the driver who is scored on his car control. Let the drivers decide what works and what doesn't. However - personally I would never drive a truck

[Goodwrench Z]

an easy way to make everyone happy is to have classes, like a Japanese only class, and vice versa, a truck class, and no classes for the main tournament. But it seems like too much if u ask me, I think it could would make things worse but i could be wrong

[Craftsman]

Circle Track (aka Dirt Track) is not drifting. They're racing, we're drifting.

Where is OCTAGON!!! Bring him in here...