FF Drifting FAQ

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Cribanox
(Update 4/20/06)

Welcome to my little FF drifting guide.... yes, I said FF drifting, as in Front Engine, Front-Wheel Drivetrain.

This guide is for many real life questions about FF drifting, as well you can apply them to a point in GT4, but since this is a GT4 web forum, I'll try to stick to Gt4's guns (Bang!).


What do you call FF Drift?
- Whatever! Everyone has their own opinion, but most just call it drift, anything with four wheels can drift. Controlling the car sideways \ is drift.

But I thought only FR, and possibly AWD could drift?
- Wrong! Here's my quick little note that applies to all drivetrains.

FR: Easiest to drift. Hardest to recover.
AWD/4WD: In between. Best used off road (Situational).
FF: Hardest to drift. Easiest to recover.

How do you drift a FF car?
- There is a long list of answers to this question. A lot of the same ideas and theories apply to FF drifting. Weight transfer, balance, braking, etc, all keep the same idea, but, for example, I'll write down what I normally do to FF drift.

1. Select a curve (The longer the curve, or the higher the angle, the harder, depending on the entry speed, you may not be able to make a long curve sideways at a low speed as compared to FR or AWD).

2. Speed up as fast as possible.

3. Assuming it's a right-hand curve, I usually stay to the left of the road on the entry (as if going into the theoretical race line).

4. Brake a while before the turn (brake as late as possible, so you can take advantage of all the speed you can get).

5. Feint (swerve left and then right going into the turn)

6. Turn a few feet earlier than you would expect, and hit the e-brake.

7. Pointing your nose into the turn, before actually being in the turn, helps you drift sideways longer. The faster you're able to control the car, the longer you'll go.

8. Inside the corner, I don't countersteer. I roll the wheel back into center position.

9. Near the end of the curve or turn, before the straight exit, use understeer to pull straight. Practice this and you wont have to use countersteer, you can use the throttle to pull yoursellf straight and exit the turn, and then continue happily down the following straightaway.

Wow, that's a little different, isn't it?
- Yes, but practice makes perfect, unlike in FR drifting, you wont be able to use the throttle to keep yourself sideways, you'll have to depend on the e-brake for oversteer, and the throttle for understeer, it's kind of reverse thinking.

+04/20/06 What about rally FF?
- I enjoy trying to drift and slide off road with FF, E brake works fine as well as inertia/other methods of drift, having controllable understeer helps exit, but nothing compares to A/4WD.


I hope this helps players understand FF Drift a little more. FF Drift is more than possible, and it does infact exist.

CoolGeekz
When I drift FF without the e-brake, this is my technique:
1. Just like FR, Feint/Power Oversteer (yes full throttle) into the corner
2. It will drift really just like an FR, but to get more angle you need to use the opposite of countersteering instead of throttle and steering
3. Silky smooth FF exit

--------------------
 
sicbeing
You can accelerate through a FR drift
- No. Your car doesn't accelerate through a drift, even though you make be using that throttle to control the car, your car slows down. only while grip'd on road surface will you actually go faster. This is situational, thats why I made this fact so specific, AWD and Dirt might be a different story, but I'm not quite knowledgeable about AWD Drift in dirt yet. Gt4 didnt get it right imo.

I have a big problem with that point. Obviously at rediculously high angles gaining speed is difficult with FR, but during any sensible drift in GT4 you can gain speed.

Other than that, good FAQ. 👍
 
luftrofl
I have a big problem with that point. Obviously at rediculously high angles gaining speed is difficult with FR, but during any sensible drift in GT4 you can gain speed.

Other than that, good FAQ. 👍

Well, Im not sure if I agree, lets agree that it may all depend on the curve and the entry speed, maybe at lower speed corner its possible with little angle, but i still wouldnt understand the physics of gaining speed when your tires lose traction.
 
nice faq... i find it actually easier to drift ff with the dfp wheel and harder to drift fr...

heres my tecneque (spelling?) with dfp

glide into the turn in about 2nd or 3rd gear and turn sharply and accelerate mid drift and let it drift and lightly recover it, (downshift mid drift for best results)

p.s. i do this on the last turn of seoul circuit... its wide and good for ff drifting practacing:sly:
 
Nice guide
One thing (most don't know this): If you set up an FF car right, you don't need the e-brake to initiate the drift or get more angle through the drift.
It is an almost universal setup, but I have found it depends a lot on driving style. I sent my no e-brake settings to someone, but they had to constantly use the e-brake.

I find FF drifting skill is almost entirely driving style based, some people (even with the best setups) just can't do it.

When I drift FF without the e-brake, this is my technique:
1. Just like FR, Feint/Power Oversteer (yes full throttle) into the corner
2. It will drift really just like an FR, but to get more angle you need to use the opposite of countersteering instead of throttle and steering
3. Silky smooth FF exit

Your guide should help though :)
 
CoolGeekz
Nice guide
One thing (most don't know this): If you set up an FF car right, you don't need the e-brake to initiate the drift or get more angle through the drift.
It is an almost universal setup, but I have found it depends a lot on driving style. I sent my no e-brake settings to someone, but they had to constantly use the e-brake.

I find FF drifting skill is almost entirely driving style based, some people (even with the best setups) just can't do it.

When I drift FF without the e-brake, this is my technique:
1. Just like FR, Feint/Power Oversteer (yes full throttle) into the corner
2. It will drift really just like an FR, but to get more angle you need to use the opposite of countersteering instead of throttle and steering
3. Silky smooth FF exit

Your guide should help though :)

Im not sure of your custom settings, but it does make sense if tuned correctly, with the correct wheels. If I tried to inniate the most inertia and oversteer possible w/o using the ebrake, the drift is a wild one, in my opinion. I'd rather use e-brake to make it so you don't have to be so wild about trying to create oversteer and sliding by using just force. To each his own :)

Also, using n1 or n2 rear tires can make or break you.
 
sicbeing, keep this updated and looking good. I'm going to add it to the "Look here" thread

Nice job:tup:
 
sicbeing
...but i still wouldnt understand the physics of gaining speed when your tires lose traction.

The tires have significantly less traction than if they are gripping, but they ARE still pushing the car fowards(albiet less so if the wheels are spinning faster) towards the inside of the turn.
 
luftrofl
The tires have significantly less traction than if they are gripping, but they ARE still pushing the car fowards(albiet less so if the wheels are spinning faster) towards the inside of the turn.

Ill just go ahead and remove my comment from the main post, i guess im gonna have to go experiment with this. 👍
 
Take the Alfa Romeo hatchback, the brakes are sooo powerfull and will get you major oversteer. FF drifting doesn't need power during the drift either so extra bhp mods are only usefull to get to the desired speed before a turn faster.

With FR drifting you can easily get more speed during a drift, if you hold the throttle and want to use the spin for speed, then you should increase your countersteer so the car doesn't use the spin to rotate, but to go forward. Just try to lock down a small angle, and FR drifting will be very fast:tup: And it's VERY fun IMO.
 
Pretty good guide. You know, I remember someone referring to FF drifting as "[butt]-dragging", hahahaha. On the topic of vehicle acceleration during a drift, I find myself regaining speed lost during corner entry while drifting, probably because the AE86 is pretty rear-heavy...
 
sicbeing
...but i still wouldnt understand the physics of gaining speed when your tires lose traction.
Well, when you are at a dead stop and you burn out, you're (slowly, but surely) gaining speed, arent you? Sounds like acceleration despite traction loss to me... Friction, despite being made less effective due to loss of traction, is still in action.
 
I've done it. I did mess around with FF drifting in GT3 and a little in GT4, and found the same thing in both cases-- ass-dragging. Excuse my language on that, but FF is not drift. I'll break it down...

You
FR: Easiest to drift. Hardest to recover.
Not nessecarily the hardest to recover, but that can be a point if you see it that way...
You
AWD/4WD: In between. Best used off road (Situational).
Situational yes, for example GT-Rs are essentially RWD cars once moving, they are only AWD when at a stop or when wheel-spin is detected. So if you're a smart cat, you can learn how to disable the wheel-spin sensor and have an RWD GT-R. I understand this doesn't apply to GT games, but it's a bit of not-so-common knowledge.
STi's are really FF from a stop, but become AWD after about a second of movement (with the clutch disengaged). Once again, this is the center diff.'s actions.
Depending on your setup, AWD drift cars handle very differently (as with the differences in any setup). I personally drift AWD cars with a twitchy feeling, because I use feint a lot with my AWD cars. One of these cars was relatively easy to recover from drifts with, but with an untrained driver, totally uncontrollable due to my driving style.
You
FF: Hardest to drift. Easiest to recover.
And finally. I don't believe FF sliding is drifting, it's radically different from FR and AWD because the only thing powering your slide is kinetic energy. I would simply call it 'FF ebrake sliding'. You can argue that FR and AWD drivers use e-brake during their drifts, but you have to understand that this is simply an aid in the drift, used to prolong the slide, or increase angle rapidly when your car doesn't have a lot of power (or enough for that matter). So why is it that D1 drivers with 500+ HP drivers still use e-brake? They're going over 100 MPH through some corners. HP is something that you should regard as being more relative than absolute. Going over 100 MPH and trying to use the power of the car to brake traction is still going to be tough.

Drifting has a few factors that FF doesn't really meet. When drifting, you are using the throttle as a form of steering and the steering wheel as a speed regulator (like throttle). If you don't beleive this, hop in an FR car, go do a donut and notice that less throttle means less rotational speed.

FF can be as simple as pulling the e-brake, countersteering, and riding it out; as hard as tuning your suspension to just plain doesn't grip in the rear then going and turning sharp, and forcing the car to slide. "Hard to drift. Easy to recover." is not an absolute statement. I don't mean to be semi-confrontational about it, but your statements are inaccurate.

Vin_
 
Drifting has a few factors that FF doesn't really meet. When drifting, you are using the throttle as a form of steering and the steering wheel as a speed regulator (like throttle). If you don't beleive this, hop in an FR car, go do a donut and notice that less throttle means less rotational speed.

1. When i drift with FF cars in any simulator, I -do- use the throttle as a form of steering while sideways. The difference is, I'm not using the throttle to make it oversteer more, like you would in an FR. Instead, I'm using the throttle to make it understeer more. So I'd have to say I disagree with this statement.

FF can be as simple as pulling the e-brake, countersteering, and riding it out; as hard as tuning your suspension to just plain doesn't grip in the rear then going and turning sharp, and forcing the car to slide. "Hard to drift. Easy to recover." is not an absolute statement. I don't mean to be semi-confrontational about it, but your statements are inaccurate.

Any car can be as simple as "pull ebrake, slide, countersteer". In FF Drifintg in any simulator I've played, I -never- countersteer with FF drifting, unless I almost lose control. I stand with my statement "Hard to drift. Easy to recover", and here is why...

1. Hard to drift. I say this because you don't have any real wheel drive to assist you getting the car sideways. Instead, you rely on feint, inertia, weight balance, ebrake, etc, to get the car sideways.

2. Easy to recover. I say this because in the middle of a drift, if you are holding the wheel at it's center point (straight) and use the throttle, the car will act like it would in understeer, and starts to straighten itself out. Easy to recover, because unlike FR, FF throttle control makes you go straight, not sideways. Therefore I stand by my statement.

Everything I quoted you on are the points you made that I disagree with, and flat out think you're wrong on. Go pick up an FF car and go try it, my theories work.
 
sicbeing
Everything I quoted you on are the points you made that I disagree with, and flat out think you're wrong on. Go pick up an FF car and go try it, my theories work.

I've got some news. I have e-brake slid an FF car, both in GT3/4 and in real life. And I also drift my S14 in real life (as well as in the game). I don't doubt that your theories work, but they don't make e-brake sliding in an FF car drifting.

sicbeing
1. When i drift with FF cars in any simulator, I -do- use the throttle as a form of steering while sideways. The difference is, I'm not using the throttle to make it oversteer more, like you would in an FR. Instead, I'm using the throttle to make it understeer more. So I'd have to say I disagree with this statement.

You can use it to pull the front end forward, reducing angle, gotcha. Steering, not so much, just works like grip, steering, makes you go where you point the car for the most part.

sicbeing
1. Hard to drift. I say this because you don't have any real wheel drive to assist you getting the car sideways. Instead, you rely on feint, inertia, weight balance, ebrake, etc, to get the car sideways.

Having rear wheel drive isn't an assist in drifting, it is what makes a drift. Don't take that as literally as you want to, I mean by that RWD cars are capable of drifting because they spin the rear wheels, and you control the car's angle with the throttle (for the most part). FF--no, you slide, and throttle reduces angle, this is not a drift.

sicbeing
2. Easy to recover. I say this because in the middle of a drift, if you are holding the wheel at it's center point (straight) and use the throttle, the car will act like it would in understeer, and starts to straighten itself out. Easy to recover, because unlike FR, FF throttle control makes you go straight, not sideways. Therefore I stand by my statement.

Yeah it's real easy to recover, you just give it gas and pull out. The kind of no-countersteer FF sliding your talking about is similar in nature to AWD zero-countersteer drifting, but lacking 2 differentials and the same skill required to do it. Please don't argue with me on that point, we could go on about it for pages, but I'd rather not--if you want, just take it as my opinion, not a factual statement.

And then again...

sicbeing
Everything I quoted you on are the points you made that I disagree with, and flat out think you're wrong on. Go pick up an FF car and go try it, my theories work.

GT4 is based on what.....real life. I won't go as far as say I'm a very skilled drifter outside of the game, but I understand the mechanics (as in physics) wells enough to go from drift circles to drifting to drifting parking lots around actual corners with just a bone stock S14.

I don't mean to come off as mean, or anything of the type, I simply hope you see why I'm saying what I'm saying. Your understanding of the "drift" are right, but what I call a drift is totally different. I have a friend that says the same thing, and tries to argue with me about why Falken has a Civic with the same paint job as the drift cars (which really isn't a point--the Falken GT-R is a 24 hour Nuremburgring car, and does not drift but shares the Falken paint scheme). Go check out some other drift forums if need be, no offense but you'll be laughed all the way to the signout link if you try to say FF can be drifted. Yes FF can be driven sideways, but it is not a true drift.

Vin_
 
Well, if you look at my origional statement, i say call it whatever you want, if you dont want to call it a drift, thats fine, thats not my arguement. In my reply i didnt defend the fact that its called a drift, i just pointed out the statements that i wanted to reply to.
 
I should give myself a try at FF Drifting. Using the Handbrake or not throttling through a turn should be best for most turns.

For FF's you may have to find yourself bolting on a bigger Turbo or NA.
 
haha i ff drift, its actually quite fun but stupid...you go full throttle, important: cut off throttle, then e brake turn in and there you go your momentum will carry you through the drift u get 90* angles and all you have to do to recover is gas, ff always straighten out once you apply gas... id say ff is the easiest to drift but you cant really do long bends unless you have a lot of speed and do mid drift braking... just my 2 cents
 
pzygho_freak
I should give myself a try at FF Drifting. Using the Handbrake or not throttling through a turn should be best for most turns.

For FF's you may have to find yourself bolting on a bigger Turbo or NA.


Power isnt a facter for the most part in FF drifting, you just have to get at the correct speed you want before a turn, which can usually be acommplished with any car with at least 120-BHP. Tyres, handling Equipment, and brakes are more along the lines of what you need for FF Drifintg, even FF and AWD drift.
 
Okay,, maybe this is a little late for this forum,, but I feel a little stupid. Everyone is saying get this car or that car and use these settings. I have spent hunderds of thousands of dollars trying to get a FR to drift. I have, with ease got my 90 crx sir to drift (but-slide, whatever) quite well. I use a combonation of feint with a burst of nirtous to get the front wheels spinnin. Looks pretty in the replay. Just wondering if anyone else out there has the same issue or am I a freak?
 
I have a suggestion for setting ur FF car to drift. Like having more negative camber in the front than u would usually use (demon camber), and using toe out front and rear. Also try stiffening the rear more than the front. Personally, I strengthen the rear brakes and dont like hand braking, in any car.
 
Just get used to doing it stock settings or even stock mods, and go from there. Whichever direction you go, make sure you get comfortable with every little change. I dont like using other's suggested settings, because it isnt my own.
 
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