Bearcut's Drifting Guide for Wheel Newbies

  • Thread starter Bearcut
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Bearcut’s newbie guide for drifting with the Logitech Driving Force GT

**Note, this is a step-by-step drift guide from a drifting amateur, meant for drifting amateurs. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please; no bashing.

Hey all, how are you? If you are like me, that means you probably broke down after several years of playing GT games and decided to get a force feedback wheel. It’s a tough investment for casual players, and can be made even more frustrating by the fact that when you get behind the wheel for the first time, you went from a drifting pro with the controller to someone who spins out on every corner.

Well anyway, after about two weeks of practice with the DFGT I am finally starting to hold some very nice drifts, and can consistently get over 7000points on Suzuka east, which I know, isn’t amazing, but it holds me in the top 100 (for that car) and it feels great when I make these good looking drifts with the wheel!

So, this guide is for people who are using the wheel for the first time.

So lets get the wheel set up first.
I use the following

DFGT Settings: Power Steering: OFF, Force Feedback: 6
You can find these under options in the main menu.

I have noticed some people suggesting to put the FF all the way at 10, some at 2, so I think it’s really a matter of preference. Try to find a setting where you can throw the wheel around easily, but also not too soft so you can still feel when the front tires are resisting. That first spot of resistance is often the “Sweet spot” that lets you hold a nice drift.
Let’s move onto the car. In general, this guide is for a Rear Wheel Drive, Front Engine vehicle, which most drifters use. Try to find one that has a decent torque so you can spin those back wheels easily, but also is fairly light so that you have good control of the vehicle. I have found the RX-7 and Suzuki Cappuccino to be the best for me to learn on, but others report a lot of success with the 350z (I’m not sure which version).

One thing I noticed by watching a lot of the online GT replays is that the best drifters in the world have their cars tuned very well. In addition to using N1 tires, their suspensions are very tight, and they drop their cars as low as possible. So, having a car that you can feel and are comfortable with is probably more important than anything else, but those quick tune settings can be pretty strange for a novice. Here are the settings I use for the Suzuki cappuccino HP Tuned, which is my current favorite drift car. It’s easy to control and has a decent power band as well as being light. I find that the counter steering is much more forgivable to mistakes then with more high powered cars. Here are my personal tune settings.

Suzuki Cappuccino HP Tuned (550 Performance Points)
Power(HP) +50 (178)
Weight(kg) 85% (476)
Tires N1/N1
Aerodynamics 15/25 (I think these are stock)
Ride Height (-10/-10)
Spring Rate 5/5
Damper Front 8, Rear 9
Toe 0.00/0.00
Camber Angle Front 2.5, Rear 1.0
Brake Balance 5/5 (you shouldn’t be breaking anyway)
Max Turning Angle (50)
Traction Control Off (Make sure this is off no matter what car you are drifting)
ABS Off

Transmission Final – 5.000
1st 3.478
2nd 2.021
3rd 1.619 (most important gear in this car)
4th 1.000
5th 0.790

With this setup, I do most of my drifts in 3rd gear at about 50-60mph. Make sure you set the final ratio and the specific third gear ratio to get the best results.

Now, track selection. Everyone says to learn on Eiger, and I used to drift Eiger on the controller, but really, the roads are super tight, the banks are tough, and you crash into everything when you lose control, making it fairly frustrating. So, I like to learn on Suzuka east, with has two big curves, and several S-shaped curves so you can practice your drifts on mainly flat ground with nice curves. Plus, it feels fun to take 3 of those curves without ever stopping the drift. Of course, you should practice where you feel most comfortable.

Now a step-by-step instruction of how I drift with the wheel and the Suzuki Cappuccino
1. Come into the turn near the top of third gear, around 65mph, but don’t be hitting the rev limiter
2a. Come off the throttle abruptly. This is to throw weight from the rear to the front, which reduces grip at the rear.
2b. Feint slightly by turning slight opposite of the direction of the turn. Make sure you do this immediately before you enter the drift (if the turn is right, feint left)
3. Now turn the car to drift by giving the wheel a brisk rotation into the turn (if the turn is right, turn right)
4. As soon as you begin to slide, the wheel will go slack. This is the tricky part, and requires coordination of two things
a. Throttle, you need to keep the throttle open so the back wheels continue to spin, but don’t just slam it down. I say about 80% throttle. You’ll have to play with this to get the feel.
b. BEFORE THE CAR BEGINS TO DRIFT ON SCREEN, begin your counter-steer. This is turning the wheel in the OPPOSITE direction of the turn, rather you are turning the wheel in the direction the car is actually moving.
i. Ok, I’m sorry if this is confusing, but basically it was a right turn, you turned the car right to start the drift, and the car is now sliding to the left. You are going to turn the wheel to the LEFT to counter steer.
c. When counter steering, as soon as the car begins to turn back towards the opposite direction, counter steer now back in the original direction but JUST UNTIL YOUFEEL RESISTANCE on the wheel. That’s the sweet spot. Hold this spot to pull off a nice drift, and gradually let the wheel straighten itself to come out in a straight line.
d. Don’t forget to give you car a nice even high throttle so that it doesn’t gain grip suddenly and send you slamming into the wall.
5. When the car begins to straighten out, do not let the wheel bully around you around with the force feedback. Point it in the direction it’s supposed to be going, and give it about half throttle, it should straighten out nice and even and allow you to get ready for the next turn.


Frequent problems that need to be remedied with practice.
Problem: I keep sliding off the road even though my car is drifting nice.
Answer: You simply need to learn the feel of the track better. It’s important to hit the turns on the track “just right” and this spot is different for every turn on every track. So make sure you pick a track you like and stick to it, rather than jumping around to several different tracks while learning.

Problem: I turn my wheel all the way to the lock, but the car has no control even at slow speed and just kind of slides off the road.
Answer: This is what I like to call the Sunday drive, and it’s usually because you didn’t enter the turn fast enough to start a good slide; so the car just starts sliding casually. Solution; don’t be afraid to hit those turns with a good amount of speed, you’ll get the feel for the individual turns eventually.

Problem: I pull off a nice drift, but shortly after beginning my car just spins out of control
Answer: You are counter steering too slow. Remember this is a 900 degree wheel so you have to spin that thing pretty fast. Also remember that you need to countersteer when the car starts the drift, but not when the drift starts on the screen. The feel of the wheel going slack and the sounds of burning rubber should be your key.

Problem: I’m drifting fine, I counter steer, and then my car turns in the opposite direction to fast and spins out of control the other way.
Answer: your counter steering well but you are not giving the car enough throttle. Don’t be afraid to keep the throttle open so that the car keeps sliding.


Well, that’s all I can think off. Hope this helps!!

I will be checking this post periodically to answer questions, but my knowledge is limited. You can also send me a message on PSN ID: Bearcut, but I won’t answer any blank friend’s requests.

See you on the track!
 
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Nice post. No expert myself, but I would add:

1. Come into the turn near the top of third gear, around 65mph, but don’t be hitting the rev limiter

The next two steps happen at the same time:
2a. Come off the throttle abruptly. This is to throw weight from the rear to the front, which reduces grip at the rear.
2b. Feint slightly by turning slight opposite of the direction of the turn, about 1/4 steering wheel rotation. Make sure you do this immediately before you enter the drift (if the turn is right, feint left)
 
Thanks raceur, i threw that in there.

Its a good tip!

Remember everyone, practice makes perfect. And we want to be perfect before November!
 
Thanks for posting this.
I now practice with the Ferrari F40, but it may be a bit powerful. I get consistently about 5000 points. My record is 7200 or something. I will try the Cappucino with your settings.
The biggest problem is to find just the right speed I think. Also, in the second and third turn on Suzuka East I almost never seem to get over 800-900 points. Any tips for those two turns?

PS! It's incredible how much you learn to control the car by drifting. Before I could just forget about driving an event with a powerful FR car on the Professional setting. It was just too hard to handle the counter steering when it started to slide. But after practising drifting for a while my control over these cars improved drastically. I now have no problem handling a powerful FR car on the Professional setting. :)
 
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As for the Third Turn on Suzuka East try to concentrate on the second part of the S, the one that curves to the right. Stay very close to the inside and you'll get over 2k points easily.
 
Hey guys

Since writing this guide my drifting has improved dramatically and I now consistently score over 9k on Suzuka east with several different cars, which proves practice makes perfect (well, at least better) !
Anyway, I thought I would post the settings for my Subaru WRX RA drift car, which is my current favorite. I think I am ranked about 53 in the world on Suzuka east in this car (over 10k), so enjoy!

Subaru Impreza WRX STI type RA '05
Power 361 (+50)
Weight 1390kg (100%)
Tires N1/N1
(Front/Rear)
Ride Height -35/-35
Spring Rate 6/6
Dampers 7/7
Toe 0/0
Camber 2.5/1.0
Brake Balance 5/7
F/R Torque 35/65
Turning Angle 50
Traction Control OFF
ABS OFF

Transmission
Final - 4.225
1st - 3.636
2nd - 2.375
3rd - 1.761
4th - 1.346
5th - 1.062
6th - 0.842



Tips for 4WD drifting... it helps a lot to tap the brakes right after a feint, the car goes into a slide and then open the throttle. I've also noticed that with this car if you are losing the drift let off of the throttle and it seems to maintain.
Good luck out there!
 
GREAT write up! 👍 I'm a beginner at drifting and can only drift with the Tuned Cappuccino right now lol Although I've pretty much figured out how drifting works, I wish I would have found this thread about 6 weeks ago! It took me about 3 weeks to be able to hold small drifts here and there, but like you said, practice makes perfect! Btw, I practice at Eiger.
 
Hey guys thanks! I'm glad I got a positive response from this "guide" of sorts.
Once GT5 comes out, maybe Armageddon, I'll update it some more and re-post. I'm getting better with time anyway finally started to score over 10k in Suzuka.

Clutch34
You practice on Eiger? Great!
I think people should practice exactly where they want to and not listen when people tell them NO, DONT DO THIS.

The only reason I suggest Suzuka east is because it is more comfortable for ME, but that doesn't mean its better for everyone.

Also guys, once you get comfortable with the Suzuki Capp Tuned, try some of these cars

Mazda RX-7 Spirit R
Dodge Viper GTS HP Tuned
Art Morrison Corvette '60 (Weird, but it actually drifts pretty nice)

Those cars feel pretty good to me, but I'm not going to post settings until I get a good solid setup that I can consistently score with.
Remember,
Lighten the weight
Drop it to the floor
Tighten the springs and damper
Put a little camber on the front wheels
Turning Angle 50
No driving aids or ABS

And play with the transmission as you perform runs
 
To everyone asking for car setups:

GT5 drops next week so as soon as I get a handle of drifting in GT5 I will update the guide and begin to post car setups ASAP.

It's kind of pointless to get on GT5P and practice setups right now... I'm too antsy! The ones I am comfortable with posting, the Capp and WRX, are posted above.

I check this thread periodically and hopefully I can get it moved to the GT5 Drifting forum (when one is presumably setup by the mods) at a later date.

Drive it like you stole it!
 
For your Cappuccino tune, what is your top speed that you set at the bottom because at 118 (standard) the last two gear ratios dont work

Thanks.
 
Great write up, but personally I'd think it's a tad more appropriate to make such a write up for beginning drifters with actual, and decent drift cars.
Capuccino, Subaru WRX, and an FD Spirit R.

My suggestions, Rx7 FC, or the FD (efini premium, no other FD's).
On top of that, I see no Differential settings posted, which makes me shiver a bit.
(This is no bashing just advice.)

Suzuka east is also not a perfect track. To link this you need to have experience at getting and holding drifts AND transitioning which is one of the most difficult things of drifting. Try Madrid, a simple section, or the Top Gear course which is perfect as well.

Good write up overall though. I wil post my Efini tune (Rx7 premium FD from '91) here, around 2 hours after this post.

Last point: Drifting 2 weeks isn't long enough to expect results. I've had some experience sideways irl before starting, and although I was with child at the time, it took me 2 months to get a simple drift and hold it. Maybe because I could only practice an hour MAX, per day.
 
Dude that was awesome. It only took me 2 days (14 hours) to learn to drift in third person and first person in need for speed 2015/2016 on pc with g29 that I only bought 2 days ago as well (My first steering wheel too; either i'm a natural or your guide is direct). ~Thanks
 
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