American Drifting heading the wrong direction?

[IzzyTrippin]

[Seriously, why don't American car manufacturers get anything the Japanese do, it isn't all about horsepower. I think that is why everyone booed at the GTO, they will never take interest in it or the Viper. It seem to me that they put themselves in quick-sand. [/B][/QUOTE]

I think the Pontiac Solstice will fit the bill. along with the partner GM's based on the platform, the Vauxhall 220, Saturn Curve, Chevy Nomad. Remember from design to market takes a while... it's coming, be patient.
Whats going to make the USDM market fun is the use of superchargers instead of turbos, and shadetree mechanics mixing and matching parts to build frankenstein motors.

If the big guys in the big cars are getting too much attention, and it's wrongfully deserved, the points system should reflect that. Maybe a handicapping for excessive horsepower?

My first time, I was doing 72 around a corner, and a cop was sitting on the corner with a speedgun. 84 Honda, rally suspension and rally trans, 5th gear stripped. All junkyard parts, and yes it was spray painted panda style before i got ahold of it for free. Took her 15 minutes to even catch up to me, only because 4th gear would only put me at 103 MPH with the engine redlined. She said she pulled me over to meet me, to find out who could do such a corner with such control, and never even make the tires chirp. I got a ticket for driving without a license, $69 and told not to do it again. The list of my violations she could have gotten me on is another paragraph in itself, nothing about me or that car was legal.
Whats my point? it's not about noise or smoke & mirrors (or flashing neon as the case may be), it's about skill, and the rush that no drug can match.

I'm not concerned with the direction drifting is going other then forward.

[GranMastrDrift]

its turning into a trend

[baboon's a$$]

Okay I haven't posted for a long time cause of dumb shite like this so I'll put my foot in the fire and see how it comes out:

The ONLY REASON drifting could become lame is that the people actually watching, driving etc. MAKE IT LAME themselves. I bet half u pantywaists pissing and moaning are armchair driftin' "I play NFSU and watch videos all the time so I know what I'm talkin' about" ppl. F##K u ppl. You're the ones draggin this sport down. It's also the ppl who DO drift that think they're too cool for f##kin school cause they can (maybe) get thier car sideways once in awhile. F##K u ppl too.

The only gripe I really have is that the organizers are lumpin everyone into the same category, professionals and novices alike. I could see having a class system set up to ensure fairness for all drivers from the bottom to the top. But on the other hand the only way u can get better is to be pushed harder by challenging ppl better than u and learning from them.

So in closing it's not about which direction the sport is going but the attitude of the people pushing the sport forward that determines how far or how good the "sport" of drifting will become in America.

One more thing. All u JDM freaks thinkin that drifting in japan is gonna be the same as drifting in america. PULL YER HEADS OUT OF YER F##KIN ASSES. Of course it's not gonna be the same, you're talking about a complete difference in culture and thinking. So stfuad, don't post on here like whiners go out there and (even though no one ever listens) do something about it. whinin a$$ bitches.

[Valkyrie]

Originally posted by malcolm

I find nascar boring because the cars aren't moving around at all. they are totally gripping, all the time. not even a subtle drift (drift used in a different sense here). I like F1 because you can tell that the driver is really pushing the car, and you can see the car moving around and twitching.

Unless Tsuchiya is driving

[Deluxe_247]

I think american drifting is going in an awesome direction.

I go out at least once a week to practice in my 91whp AE86 and have the time of my life.

Events are as often as once a month around Wa.

Hangin out with all my rolla buddies and kickin it is the highlight of my week, I wouldnt have met them without drifting.

My living room has car parts strewn everywhere. haha

I love it.

[Ihatehippies]

As an occasional lurker this post caught my eye.

The attitude of many posters comes accross the same as a goth teenager that just found out that his favorite band is now being played on MTV and their records are now being bought all the preppies in school. Your favorite band has sold out. Your relm as been invaded by the infidels. Like big dumb jock beating people up in the mosh pit at a punk rock show, Americans just don't "get it". I think it's great that American Manufactures are getting involved it will improve the sport, and hopefully inprove the cars. Look what happened when manufacturers got invovled in the crazy new fad of drag racing .

As to Nascar fans not understanding "drifting". We had drifting in this country for a long time, only we call it dirt track racing.

[Hollywood]

this is not Japan, this is America, and things have to be done the American way if you wana make it big.
You have sponsors, companies, and other investors putting alot of money into this thing. they see it as an investment (I like to think it is a good one) and they want to be abble to make money off it.
Cars that put down big numbers atract alot of attention, and have a bit of an advantage, which make them very atractive to potential investors.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Jesus, this piece of crap is still going?

Drifting is going in the right direction with a few exceptions. If you don't like it, don't do it. All the pros are starting to get some long time coming recognition and some big sponsers.

So let this thread die. Die monster Die.

[madmax13]

I really think a good example for the coming out of a movement is the inital explosion of punk rock, or skateboarding. They got big, everyone was running around signing everyone to some type of contract. Then someone did something to alienate the mainstream. The Music went underground, so supporting your local "scene" became more important then getting that big contract. However, the best of the best broke through, and gained national recognition. Most people cannot name 5 professional skaters, but all can name Tony Hawk. Most People cannot name 5 old hardcore punk bands, but they will all know the Dead Kennedys or Black Flag. It simply the time to let the scenes devolop the drifter's talent, like it did in japan. Competing against your friends is the best competititon on could have.

[phantasm]

I am not sure it is going the wrong way....but it sure as heck has a LOOOOONG wat to go! ALL US drifting I have seen has been laughable. Last summer we were in the US and there was a drift event in Charlotte, NC. It was absolutely disgusting! Then I recently saw the drift program on Discovery Channel's Rides. What a joke.

If not the wrong direction.....just a good ways down the road.

[Octagon]

I would like to comment on the "NASCAR is pure grip" statement as someone who's driven high-powered oval track cars.

If you've ever watched a real oval race, at a track like Rockingham, Bristol, Martinsville, or Darlington, you'll see that there are two preferred setups and they - believe or not - are intensely regional in their origin.

With NASCAR drivers whose roots are southern - and thus primarily lower level stock car (Earnhardt Jr., Elliot Sadler, Jeff Burton) - you see setups that are centered around getting the front end to bite on the track and hug the inside of the corner. Usually you'll see a lot of movement at the front end along with radical negative camber on the left front. The idea is to allow the natural weight shift of the car to increase front and tail end grip so that the car accelerates cleanly out of the corner and brakes cleanly into the corner. The catch, though, is that this wears out brakes and front tires quickly, resulting in severe understeer and a car that moves up the race track in the center of the corner.

Now, move to the other end of the country where drivers are raised in open wheel cars like sprints, midgets, and modifieds, and you see a wholly different setup and style of driving. Northern drivers (like Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne) set their car up very stiff with more aggressive positive camber on the right front. The idea being get the car over-rotated in the center of the corner and power out of it, balancing on the right rear (which is generally staggered to be bigger than the left rear by about an inch or two of circumference).

What this leads to is deft trailbraking into the corner, followed by over-rotating the car at the center (or apex if you prefer) then sliding the car off the center balancing it on the right rear (oversteering, in otherwords).

The idea is that by letting the car break loose at its limit at center of the corner and relying on the driver's ability to balance the car through limited wheelspin and a controlled slide instead of working within the limits of the front tires and scrubbing off speed, you maintain more momentum and can go faster. However, it requires more skill, especially as the race wears on and the rear tires wear down, making controlling the slide off the corner more and more difficult.

Hmm, a controlled slide induced by braking at the apex of the corner and then balanced power on oversteer off the corner. Sounds a helluva lot like drifting to me.

[rb20]

america should be proud i reckon it creates a new style specific to region im not really a 240sx fan but it is twice as hard for me to get a ka24de down here as it is for you guys to get a sr20det up there it makes you guys unique just because some people drift big vipers doesnt mean you cant have a booming ae86 drift scene, in new zealand we cant even get vipers off a yard not that i like them at all . i suppose what im trying to get at is that you have somehing unique which will evolve and once the attention dies down people will see your drift scene for what it really is and not just think of ricey stuff but more go than show imports .

[my 1 88 u]

Originally posted by Octagon
I would like to comment on the "NASCAR is pure grip" statement as someone who's driven high-powered oval track cars.

If you've ever watched a real oval race, at a track like Rockingham, Bristol, Martinsville, or Darlington, you'll see that there are two preferred setups and they - believe or not - are intensely regional in their origin.

With NASCAR drivers whose roots are southern - and thus primarily lower level stock car (Earnhardt Jr., Elliot Sadler, Jeff Burton) - you see setups that are centered around getting the front end to bite on the track and hug the inside of the corner. Usually you'll see a lot of movement at the front end along with radical negative camber on the left front. The idea is to allow the natural weight shift of the car to increase front and tail end grip so that the car accelerates cleanly out of the corner and brakes cleanly into the corner. The catch, though, is that this wears out brakes and front tires quickly, resulting in severe understeer and a car that moves up the race track in the center of the corner.

Now, move to the other end of the country where drivers are raised in open wheel cars like sprints, midgets, and modifieds, and you see a wholly different setup and style of driving. Northern drivers (like Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne) set their car up very stiff with more aggressive positive camber on the right front. The idea being get the car over-rotated in the center of the corner and power out of it, balancing on the right rear (which is generally staggered to be bigger than the left rear by about an inch or two of circumference).

What this leads to is deft trailbraking into the corner, followed by over-rotating the car at the center (or apex if you prefer) then sliding the car off the center balancing it on the right rear (oversteering, in otherwords).

The idea is that by letting the car break loose at its limit at center of the corner and relying on the driver's ability to balance the car through limited wheelspin and a controlled slide instead of working within the limits of the front tires and scrubbing off speed, you maintain more momentum and can go faster. However, it requires more skill, especially as the race wears on and the rear tires wear down, making controlling the slide off the corner more and more difficult.

Hmm, a controlled slide induced by braking at the apex of the corner and then balanced power on oversteer off the corner. Sounds a helluva lot like drifting to me.

how dare you make nascar seem moderately intersting for a breif second while I read your post.

[Yeap]

This is a ridiculous thread.

[GranMastrDrift]

You gotta look at all the pro d1 cars. they are super light weigh with higher hp numbers. when americans get a hold of something, the want to put their american rides into it to compete. But you look at a lot of the american cars they all had to be moded to even drift right, the gto had its rear suspension redone. and the viper cant run anymore cause its a tube chassis car.