Drifting techniques:
Power Over - To use the power over method you need
alot of power as the name suggests. Basically, you enter the corner
at full throttle to cause the wheels to break traction and slide.
To control this you should be using the throttle on and off so that
you don't spin but you still are breaking traction.
Shift Lock - When entering the corner, downshift,
do not release the clutch until the revs have dropped right down which
will cause the rear tyres to lock and therefore producing the desired
oversteer effect. This method is very similar to using the handbrake
but will cause more stress on the driveline.
Handbrake Drift - This is as simple as the name
sounds. Basically just clutch in (very important or else it wont do
anything) and pull the handbrake to cause the rear tyres to lock up
and break traction, use the throttle to control the drift through
the corner.
Clutch Kick - On approach to the corner, or mid
drift, clutch in then increase the revs and drop the clutch (release
the clutch quickly, also know as dumping the clutch) causing the tyres
to break traction and inducing the car into oversteer which is what
you want. Control this drift with the throttle to keep the traction
broken.
Feint - To feint, you need to approach the corner,
turn away from the corner then sharply back towards the corner using
the momentum forces to cause loss of traction therfore inducing the
drift. This method is best for low powered cars.
Setting up a car for drift:
Must have's - Before trying to setup a car for drift,
you need a rear wheel drive (RWD) car and limited slip differential
(LSD)
Suspension - If you are going to start somewhere,
start here. I cannot recommend highly enough suspension work. A major
"enemy" in drift is body roll. This is caused by soft springs
which usually come with stock suspension. Manufacturers usually provide
soft springs because it is a more confortable ride for the customer
which 95% of people would prefer over a really firm uncomfortable
ride which should be used for drift. If you are on a budget, don't
waste your time by cutting springs or even buying lowered springs.
To get a decent setup I strongly recommend getting some decent drift
aftermarket adjustable coilovers. Other items I suggest are strut
bars (front and rear) to stiffen up the chassis, sway bars to prevent
body roll, adjustable castor rods to adjust the castor obviously and
a front and rear camber kits. You should get a workshop to setup your
camber, but basically you need negative front camber (the top of the
wheels point inwards slightly) and 0 degrees rear camber.
Braking - If you are going to go throwing your car
around sideways, definately upgrade the brakes. Sure, you could spend
the money on increasing the power, but after you do suspension, then
you add more power, how are you going to stop? There is nothing worse
than miscalculating a drift and not being able to stop. Make sure
that when you upgrade the brakes, you upgrade both front and rear.
You can start by doing something like upgrading the pads to metal
or even to race type brakes with high temperature resistance. While
you are there, you can uprage the rotors to give better stopping like
getting drilled rotors which keep them cooler as heat can disperse
alot better than a standard solid rotor. If you want to go the whole
way, you can upgrade the calipers as well, which will help you stop
ALOT better. Also, by upgrading the rear at the same time, it helps
with your handbraking.
Power - After you have done the suspension and braking
mods, move on to the power mods. The best type of car to use would
be some sort of turbo car. We will base this on a Nissan 180SX SR20DET.
First, install a front mount intercooler. Then, exhaust and an aftermarket
computer, something like a powerFC would be perfect, do not just go
and get a piggy back computer. Next, I would suggest getting a bigger
fuel pump, and possibly injectors. After you have done this, then
upgrade the turbo, for SR20DET i recommend a HKS GT2530. Now you will
need a boost controller. Don't go and buy a cheap bleeder valve you
get what you pay for. Go for something like A'Pexi AVC-R electronic
boost controller as they are feature rich and high quality. Now you
are ready to get your car tuned and dynoed. Once you have done that,
you should have approx 200rwkw which is perfect for a drift car.
Wheels - If you have aftermarket wheels, such a
17" rims would wide grippy tyres, I would suggest replacing the
rear wheels with your stock rims when you drift as they will usually
have less grippy tyres and be not as wide, allowing for better drift.
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