New Grassroots Motorsports, Technical Side of Drifting

[s0nny80y]

They have an extensive article on the technical side of drifting by some one who has no expertise on drifting with the exception of applying proven tecniques from various other motorsports onto specific aspects of a drift machine such as a long paragraph of weight reduction, how an LSD works, the effects of lowering your car, aerodynamics and spoilers ineffectiveness when sliding sideways as opposed to it's specifc use for keeping a car's downforce to grip on straighaways, and etc...

If I remember correctly, it's around 5-10 pages long, front and back (could be wrong).

[GRiDRaceTech]

It's by a former GM test driver. The guy says some good stuff, but some stuff is just idiotic.

[FC_RAUL]

Like what?

[Slonie]

Like he talked to several so-called drifters to sample what "conventional wisdom" is on several topics, and the section on shock and spring settings makes it clear that he didn't talk to anybody with the slightest clue of what they're talking about....

Obviously the author, from his credentials, knows what he is talking about. As such, he probably thinks that drifters don't know crap about car setup.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Grabbed the mag from my car.

On tires: "The first novice thought is to run skinny tires at high pressures, a recipe that is good for initial breakaway. But on a course of any speed and length, the narrow contact patch soon overheats and blisters, and the tire disintegrates.

Rim width is another variable, where more may not be better since a narrower rim may provide more squirm flexibility and therefore better feel for control. As for expensive alloy wheels, why?"
On this, I agree.

On brakes: "Compared to any other form of racing, drifting puts essentially no stress on the brakes. It's hard to imagine anything more than minimal drum brakes being perfectly adequate." That was just plain retarded. To say that drifting puts no stress on the brakes is like saying jumping from the roof of your two-story house onto concrete puts no stress on your knees.

On springs and anti-roll bars: "I'd experiment with less stiff springs and really radical anti-roll bar rates. That would keep the roll angle minimized while allowing some front and rear deflection under acceleration and braking, which provides some options for suspension geometry tricks. And the bars are usually a lot cheaper and easier to change than springs."

[RotaDrift]

haha no stress on brakes.....what a load a crap

[05m0515]

Well, after a 30 min run drifting my brakes have no fade really. After about 10 min of hard driving on the back roads on the other hand...
He's talking about in RELATION to other types of motorsports...

[GRiDRaceTech]

You need yourself some better fluid and pads bro... 10 minutes is PATHETIC.

[nissanguy_24]

Drifting is easy on brakes? i guess thats true if you dont use any braking techniques.. You tell me drifting uses no breaks after you get out of the car with me and watch mine glowing red from a series of braking drifts at highspeeds.. all depends on your style, technique, and where you are drifting.

My brakes fade on my S13 after hard back road driving, but nothing kills them like highspeed breaking drifts.

[f8ldzz]

Originally posted by nissanguy_24
Drifting is easy on brakes? i guess thats true if you dont use any braking techniques.. You tell me drifting uses no breaks after you get out of the car with me and watch mine glowing red from a series of braking drifts at highspeeds.. all depends on your style, technique, and where you are drifting.

It's funny.
How many of you actually have certifications for pro level (grip) driving?
How about experiences with (grip) road racing on high speed tracks?
It's BRAKES, not "breaks"...

My brakes fade on my S13 after hard back road driving, but nothing kills them like highspeed breaking drifts.

What is a "highspeed breaking drifts" [sp?]???
The higher the speed, the less you need to brake...

[05m0515]

Dot 4 fluid and good pads and rotors

10 minutes of serious use and you'll start fading, maybe you just need to drive harder

[nissanguy_24]

im so sorry i misspelled a homonym. And yes everyone knows the faster you drive the less you need to slow down!

Not that i really care to answer you, however for anyone else whos curious i was talking about approching a relatively tight corner at highspeeds, about 75 miles an hour, then using the brEAK to cut the speed dwn to about 50 or so, shifting weight forward so the rear end will easily slide out as i turn abit early into the corner allowing me to drift threw it.

And yes in a S13 that will pretty much eat your brakes up very very fast. Do that about 10 times in a row and the fade will be bad enough that you will have to stop and let the BREAKS cool down.

how do i know? simple i've *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored*ing done it.