Fancy a drift, anyone?

Drifting requires a lot more skill and co-ordination and is a lot more complex than doing just one power slide. In a nutshell, it would be safe to say that drifting is a series of controlled power slides.

The foremost creator of drifting techniques would be Kuninitsu Takahashi back in the 70s. He would hit the apex of a turn at high speed, drift through the corner and exit, maintaining the same high speed. He won several championships and a legion of fans. One of which was, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Tsuchiya soon started practicing his drifting skills on the mountain roads of Japan and gained street-cred amongst the racing crowd. In 1988, he helped organize one of the first official drift competition in Japan. Since then, drifting has gained massive followers and even had movies (like Initial D and Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift) made about it.

There are different ways to engage your car in a drift. Techniques vary from beginner to advance. Let’s start with the basic and move on to the more difficult ones.
Note: These techniques apply to rear-wheel drive cars unless otherwise stated.

Hand- Brake Drift - Clutch in, handbrake up then once traction to rear wheels is lost, release clutch, accelerate and counter steer.

Powerslide - Done at corner exit with gas pedal down hard.

Shift Lock - Accelerate, quick downshift, let engine rev hard. Momentary wheel lock will occur.

Clutch Kick - Clutch in and out several times. This is will shock the powertrain and cause an imbalance to the car. Rear wheels will then slip. Apply “toe-heel” position for control.

Braking Drift - Hard brake into a corner, hard throttle off to exit. Driving wheels will lose traction. Steer accordingly. This method can be applied to front wheel drive cars as well.

Inertia Drift - Turn away from turn and then quickly turn back. This will cause the car’s weight to transfer from the inside of the turn to the outside of the turn causing the rear to swing into the desired drift line. Apply handbrake to lock rear wheels.

The techniques mentioned above are just some of the many methods used by today’s drifters. To drift your car with these techniques is not easy. A lot of practice is required for it to be done properly. Before you get any ideas about being your neighborhood’s local drifting hero, let me remind you that this article is meant to be informative and not act as your practice guide to drift techniques. Drifting is a sport and with any sport, risk is involved. It should only be done on the track and with proper safety precautions.

sources : Fandy of sgcarmart