Drifting

Introduction
What kind of car do I need to drift?
Inducing oversteer
I've got the back out, now what?!

There are some good drifting demos in our videos section

Flash movie: A car drifting

Introduction

The popular and impressive art of drifting is controlled oversteer for dramatic effect using either rear or four wheel drive cars. There are many different methods of inducing oversteer, your choice depends on the properties of your vehicle. Once oversteer has been invoked, you'll need to control the drift using the throttle and the steering. To maintain an accurate line while going sideways is tricky, and will take lots of practice. Many different drifting track days are emerging such as the annual Autocar 'Sideways Challenge' where you can learn this art.

Drifting is not a fast method of taking a corner, and can be hard on your car, but when you look this good who cares!

Picture courtesy of allcarwallpapers.com

What kind of car do I need to drift?

• Rear wheel drive
• Lots of power is useful
• Limited slip differential
• Turn off any electronic stability control systems
• Cheap rear tyres!

You can't drift properly in a front wheel drive car - you can oversteer temporarily, but it's impossible to sustain a drift correctly without rear wheel drive.

Inducing oversteer

Drifting has developed its own unique terminology for techniques to 'get the back out' which are explained below. Remember that if you have a modern car with clever electronic stability control systems you'll need to turn these off first. 

Clutch Kick

Clutch kick is a useful technique to use if you do not have a particularly powerful rear wheel drive car. The trick here is to enter the corner and dip the clutch. Raise the engine revs to near the red line, and then release the clutch. The resulting increased torque sent through the driveline should break traction at the rear wheels, thus invoking oversteer.

Power / Power over / Power Slide

If you have a particularly powerful car it may be possible to break traction simply by suddenly accelerating mid bend.

Changing down / Shift lock

"Shift lock" describes the action of locking the rear wheels which can be achieved by changing down a gear (or two) rapidly without rev matching. This will give you the benefits of more torque at the wheels due to the lower gear, with the added benefit of high revs to help sustain the drift.

Lift off / braking

Entering a corner fast, then lifting off the accelerator, or trail braking can cause oversteer due to forward weight transfer.

Handbrake / E-brake

If your car refuses to get tail happy, there is always the option of the handbrake / emergency brake. A sudden sharp application and release mid corner will break traction at the rear wheels, but remember to keep your thumb on the release button!

Scandinavian flick / faint

Flicking the car the opposite direction to the corner, just before turn in will generate a rapid lateral weight transfer which can unsettle the car enough to flick the back out.

Jump drift

This is probably one of the more risky methods – the trick here is to put two wheels onto the inside edge of the track while cornering, with the resulting bump unsettling car enough to break traction at the rear. Use with caution!

Figure 1: Suggested methods of inducing oversteer

Most of the above methods can be used in combination (for example a 'Scandinavian flick' combined with 'lift off'), but you'll need to experiment with your own car to see which work best.

I've got the back out, now what?!

Once you have the back out, the heat is really on. You'll need to keep the steering pointing in the desired direction of travel, while balancing the power to alter the attitude of the car (see Figures 2 and 3). Practice in an area where there is lots of room is absolutely critical here, as every car behaves differently on the limit.

Figure 2: The drift

Figure 3: Applying more power will bring the back out further, easing off will bring it in