The World of Drifting

With the popularity of drifting, especially in recent years, i thought i'd take the time and talk a little bit about that. With more and more drifting championships, with Formula Drift as the biggest one, it's normal that people would take interest in the sport. 

Drifting, in essence, is a driving technique where one intentionally oversteers causing loss of traction on the back wheels, maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. It is said for a drift to be classified as one the slip angle of the rear wheels has to be greater then the ones of the front wheels. In simple terms, when the wheels are pointing in the direction opposite of the car's heading, but the car is still in control.

Drifting represents a driving style where the driver uses his throttle, brakes, clutch, and steering to control the car in an oversteer situation. Drifters will usually emphasize car control by coordinating countersteer along with the throttle and brakes to mov and shift the weight balance of the vehicle. In competition, all this is done while maintining a racing line. Drivers are scored on style, speed, entry, smoke, and proximity.

One of the questions most asked is where and howto get into drifting. Honestly, not much is needed, as all that's required in the beginning is a rear wheel drive car with just a decent amount of power. People have this wrong idea that lots of power is needed. Yes, in competition it is, for fast entries and lots of smoke, not for starting out however. If you do plan on upgrading anything, start with the suspension and only then move on to power. A good suspension is worth way more than any power mod will ever be, as it will stiffen the car giving you better control over it sideways. As for what cars are good for starting out, here are a few:

Nissan 200SX/Silvia (S13, S14, S15 etc.)

Nissan Skyline (GT-S variants are rear wheel drive)

BMW 3 Series

Toyota Supra

Ford Sierra

Ultimately, drifting as a sport came from grassroots drifting. It started out from something made to be just as a way of having fun, not to mention what a crowd-pleaser the smoke is. If you just want to start out and enjoy yourself, don't get too carried away. Remember, you don't need a lot to go drifting. Find a cheap rear wheel drive drift car, or one that's suitable for drifting, choose a rainy day and visit your local track. Not only will you use less tires if it's wet, your 169hp 240sx will feel like it has 500 horsepower. So just get out there, and start practicing. It's never too late to have fun!