Regular Subaru Forester Driftable?

[Drift For Food]

Ok, a search through the forum didn't come up with much more than a couple STi posts. I'm basically curious if a stock 2.5 would be enough to drift a 4wd on pavement. I don't mind gravel or snow and such. I know it can do that. Asphalt requires a little more power. Anybody play with their stock Imprezas or Forester on asphalt? Driftable? Decently driftable? I expect lots of body roll and a need for suspension tuning to make it good, but I'm not worried about that at the moment. This is more of a question of adequate power for a 4wd system to drift.

[raging panda]

the thing is, youre not gonna be able to spin the tires with that much power, so you must go into a corner with incredible speed, im talking freeway speeds here, so unless youre good (or really stupid) I wouldnt do it. Its never about power, always about techinque. Youre technique will always require a lot of speed, even if you had STI power, those wont do 4 wheel burnouts very much.

[Drift For Food]

I'd have to get used to the car first before I go to asphalt. It will be gravel first to get used to the car, 35-45mph corners, a couple sweaping 50mph ones. Asphalt is just stickier and requires more speed. I'll work my way up. Grip first and push it. I'll ease into drifting on pavement. I'd expect at least a month to get comfortable with the car. Then I can really start pushing it.

I know you kind of need a certain minimum to work with. It's nice to be able to keep the tires spinning. It gives you a little more freedom in manipulation. If you don't have the power to keep/break the tires loose, you're a little limited in what you can do, compensate a little. I'm just curious if other owners of a regular Impreza/Forester have tried some drifting. That's all.

[Drift For Food]

Just bought my Forester

Well, I just purchased my Forester and brought it home. She's fun to drive. I pushed it a little around the back roads, and the 4wd is definately something to get used to.

It's got a bit of body roll and seems to understeer a little. You can really feel the weight staying on the rear in a turn. If you're just gripping it, it'll start to push a little when you start to slide. However, if you get all 4 to break loose, it feels more neutral but still a little understeer. It almost needs a little turn in to keep the rear out. I just got it so I haven't really pushed it hard.

Braking really throws the weight up front. Some light braking or even just blipping the throttle off durning a turn gets the rear end out. It's nice for you to shift weight forward that easy, but I think it's a bit much. Heavy braking may make the rear end a bit sketchy.

Once you get the rear end to start going, you just lay on the gas and she pulls you around, very controllable, but it has a feel of understeer. You kind of have to turn into the corner a little to keep it going.

Beyond all that, it's got a great ride. Big bumps are almost completely soaked up, kind of nice when you live in pot-hole heaven, lol. It's quiet inside. High speeds are confortable and very controllable. The 4wd helps some in that department. The seats are comfortable and hold you well when sliding around, good amount of side support. It's even practicle with plenty of cargo room and a hitch to tow with.

All-in-all, not bad for a stock ride that's set up for normal every day driving. I just need to get the rear end a little looser and stop the understeer(stiffer rear springs and rear sway bar perhaps), and put heavy shocks on the front to control the weight a little better, initial thinking anyways. Nah, I'll play with this one a little but not really push it. In a couple years I'll get myself a dedicated drift car and I'll mod the heck out of it. This one's gotta last and look nice, lol.