Drifting techniques for dummies
What is oversteer?
Oversteer describes the condition while negotiating a turn where the rear tires lose traction while the front tires stay in contact with the road. If uncorrected, the back of the car slides towards the outside of the turn and spins out (usually resulting in a crash). Oversteer can be produced in several ways, including tapping the brake, abruptly letting off the throttle, or by executing a sharp downshift that disrupts tire/road contact. Drifting is basically a controlled form of oversteer.
How did drifting get started?
Oversteering has been a common practice in motorsports for many, many years. It has been most commonly used in oval dirt track racing, touring car racing, and rally racing. NASCAR drivers drift sometimes, except they call it being "loose in the turns." Drifting as its own area of motorsports began over 30 years ago in Japan, where the All-Japan Touring Car Championship races first began popularizing drifting as a racing skill. During the last 10 years or so, its popularity has spread worldwide. Professional Japanese drivers are now so popular that they are recognized celebrities!
My ride is front wheel drive. Can I drift?Technically, yes...although all pro drifters drive rear wheel drive cars. Drifting a FWD car usually means a brief jerk of the e-brake handle to get things in motion. This technique, commonly known as "ass dragging," is not used by many RWD drifters, but it's the only consistent way to make a FWD car drift. When approaching a turn, simply pull the e-brake to cause traction loss. Oh yeah...don't forget to hold in the release button, or things will get very ugly, very fast!
Oversteer describes the condition while negotiating a turn where the rear tires lose traction while the front tires stay in contact with the road. If uncorrected, the back of the car slides towards the outside of the turn and spins out (usually resulting in a crash). Oversteer can be produced in several ways, including tapping the brake, abruptly letting off the throttle, or by executing a sharp downshift that disrupts tire/road contact. Drifting is basically a controlled form of oversteer.
How did drifting get started?
Oversteering has been a common practice in motorsports for many, many years. It has been most commonly used in oval dirt track racing, touring car racing, and rally racing. NASCAR drivers drift sometimes, except they call it being "loose in the turns." Drifting as its own area of motorsports began over 30 years ago in Japan, where the All-Japan Touring Car Championship races first began popularizing drifting as a racing skill. During the last 10 years or so, its popularity has spread worldwide. Professional Japanese drivers are now so popular that they are recognized celebrities!
My ride is front wheel drive. Can I drift?Technically, yes...although all pro drifters drive rear wheel drive cars. Drifting a FWD car usually means a brief jerk of the e-brake handle to get things in motion. This technique, commonly known as "ass dragging," is not used by many RWD drifters, but it's the only consistent way to make a FWD car drift. When approaching a turn, simply pull the e-brake to cause traction loss. Oh yeah...don't forget to hold in the release button, or things will get very ugly, very fast!
