Learning to Drift

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I'm fairly a newbie to drifting and want to learn the technique better. But after reading a few threads I feel that I may be going about it the wrong way. Currently I'm using an AE86 with fully lightened chassis and full racing gear (suspension, flywheel, tranny, etc.). I've tuned it to around 162hp or so and currently using T2 tires for the front and T1 for the rears. Here are some of my settings:

ride ht: 99mm
fr springs: 3.6
rr springs: 4.9
fr & rr bound: 7
fr & rr rebound: 7
fr camber: 3.5
rr camber: 0.5
fr & rr toe in: 0
fr sway: 3
rr sway: 4

ABS brake level: lowest (no ABS)
ASM: 0
TCS: 0

I feel that since i'm used to gripping I'm tuning a car on the basis of wanting oversteer but now i'm beginning to think that this is the wrong way to go about it because i'm getting more of an oversteer exiting a corner than going in unless i use a faint technique to shift the weight: say when i take the first left at laguna seca, i would steer right to shift the rear of the car to the left, then turn hard left to break traction. even with this i can only control "drift" mid corner to exit whereas i want to induce the drift earlier and have a drift in the beginning of the corner to mid-late corner with a straight and planted exit.

Are there any online guides that help break an amateur into drifting. Sorry for not using the search thread, but there are way too many threads. Thanx in advance
 
well try using sims and a bit more horsepowerand you say it feels like the car is oversteering at the end and you set up the car to oversteer. well id say leave the settings normal and if on sims its sliding too easily stiffen the rear and add some camber and if its not sliding enough take away some camber and loosen the suspension
 
Take a look at the "READ FIRST" threads on top of the forum. They will help you answer most of your questions ;)

Welcome to GTP :)
 
Originally posted by icon


ABS brake level: lowest (no ABS)
Click to expand...

I won't get into the other stuff, but setting the brake balance low will give you more stable brakeing. setting it high will make the brakes more agressive and you will stop faster but it will be more unstable. It's not really an ABS setting.
 
you want to drift easy just buy a S13 and put sims on it stock. no tune ups. turn off the tcs and acs and just freaken put the peddle to the meddle on the curve. figure it outs.
 
drifter7: without the TCS the car with 162hp can break traction with 1st and 2nd gear. if i go back to a normal setting with sim tires it'd be like going to harder tires with a softer suspension to compensate for grip. i rather try to work with the T2 and T1 tires as they seem give enough grip and allow for a more controlled slip when i break traction.

Seito: Thanx, i'll try to use a harder faint. i tend to use a harsh break then the faint technique before the corner, but i'm still off with the timing. any suggestions?

thio: thanx for the welcome. like i said there are way too many threads to search through. i'd just like to open a healthy discussion/question here on setup and technique.

Trueno: thank you for the clarification. i have made the necessary changes and tried to go back to the stock setting on this. i'll have to try a heavier front break bias.

akina: actually i've been working on my AE86 and my preferred ride, the MR-2. I find the MR2 has a much more aggressive attitude towards drifting but very touchy. The AE86 has a more controlled mannerism that allows me to make aesthetic looking drifts, but the MR2 drifts are much more functional (IMHO) for racing applications. I find that in some tight to medium corners i can carry a higher average speed through the corner drifting the MR2 than if i use a grip technique. i'll try the S13 but i feel that it'll just be a more refined and more powerful AE86.
 
Originally posted by icon
I'm fairly a newbie to drifting and want to learn the technique better. But after reading a few threads I feel that I may be going about it the wrong way. Currently I'm using an AE86 with fully lightened chassis and full racing gear (suspension, flywheel, tranny, etc.). I've tuned it to around 162hp or so and currently using T2 tires for the front and T1 for the rears. Here are some of my settings:

ride ht: 99mm
fr springs: 3.6
rr springs: 4.9
fr & rr bound: 7
fr & rr rebound: 7
fr camber: 3.5
rr camber: 0.5
fr & rr toe in: 0
fr sway: 3
rr sway: 4

ABS brake level: lowest (no ABS)
ASM: 0
TCS: 0

I feel that since i'm used to gripping I'm tuning a car on the basis of wanting oversteer but now i'm beginning to think that this is the wrong way to go about it because i'm getting more of an oversteer exiting a corner than going in unless i use a faint technique to shift the weight: say when i take the first left at laguna seca, i would steer right to shift the rear of the car to the left, then turn hard left to break traction. even with this i can only control "drift" mid corner to exit whereas i want to induce the drift earlier and have a drift in the beginning of the corner to mid-late corner with a straight and planted exit.

Are there any online guides that help break an amateur into drifting. Sorry for not using the search thread, but there are way too many threads. Thanx in advance
Click to expand...
:D
 
Raise springs to about 13 in front, and 11 in rear
Camber to 4.5 f and 2.5 r
No Stabalizer
Balance your breaks to the rear 9,19
LSD as follows:
IT - 5
AC - 50
DC - 5

SIMs

try that and see how it feels
 
Originally posted by akina_86
you want to drift easy just buy a S13 and put sims on it stock. no tune ups. turn off the tcs and acs and just freaken put the peddle to the meddle on the curve. figure it outs.
Click to expand...

I believe it's, "metal".
 
Originally posted by xsyorra
Raise springs to about 13 in front, and 11 in rear
Camber to 4.5 f and 2.5 r
No Stabalizer
Balance your breaks to the rear 9,19
LSD as follows:
IT - 5
AC - 50
DC - 5

SIMs

try that and see how it feels
Click to expand...

i havent tried it extensively yet, but the drift feels much more controlled. thanx. i'll make more comments after i've tried it more.
 
When I first tried drifting, I used the setup I used for regular racing at first. I just stiffened up the front springs a lot. Then, I saw a setup here and tried it. Made the world of difference. I also tried the AE86 but I didn't like it that much because I was use to the higher powered cars.
 
Originally posted by icon
i havent tried it extensively yet, but the drift feels much more controlled. thanx. i'll make more comments after i've tried it more.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's kind of a generic setup...you may have to adjust the spring rates in a .5 variance to get what you want out of it. Also try dicking with the gearing. Find an auto setting you like, and adjust the "cornering gears" to stretch the powerband to a 2k range of usable torque and Hp.
Wide powerband = set taller gears
Narrow powerband = set wider gears
 
123abc:

the problem varying (or not enough of it i should say) my race setup is now i find its completely different from what i'm used to racing with. i'm sort of a purist in that i dont like stuff like ABS, ASM, and TCS even though they do help in lowering lap times. so sometimes my race setup is in finding the right grip with the proper amount of oversteer that i'm comfortable with.

with drifting i actually want to take the popularized initial D route; using a lower power car with the potential to drift. i have found, however, that the only car i've been able to improve sector time with drifting is an MR2, and its not a really flashy drift either (very controlled).

seito:

i'll try approaching it slower, but my problem is that my AE86 is somewhat underpowered so i need that momentum to break traction. i guess i should be asking what types of corners are best to practice faints: any particular tracks you'd recommend?

xsyorra:

thank you for your setup. so for my drifting gears i should setup a taller gear ratio for a wider powerband? i think my 2nd gear, as is right now, is too narrow and i'm riding most of my drifts through with 3rd.
 
Originally posted by icon
xsyorra:

thank you for your setup. so for my drifting gears i should setup a taller gear ratio for a wider powerband? i think my 2nd gear, as is right now, is too narrow and i'm riding most of my drifts through with 3rd. [/B]
Click to expand...

OK, quick gearing lesson:
Go to the specs for your vehicle. The powerband is the range between the rpm it is making its max Hp and the rpm it makes its max Torque.
torque = wheel spin
wheel spin = drift
drift = good!!!

However, the higher into the powerband you rev, more Hp is added as your Torque capabilities drop. This results in you car regaining traction.

Therefore, if you have a narrow (less than 2k width) powerband, you'd want to move gear 2 to the left, gear 4 to the right, and leave gear 3 alone. What this process does, is make more effective use of your gears in lengthening the time it takes to move through your powerband. This results in an availability to sustain the drift.
Should you have a powerband width of 2k or more, you would want to move the final drive gear to the right in order to make the gears taller. This cuts the time your car is in the powerband, allowing the car to achieve the desired angle.

If you feel inclined, or ready to do so:
Machine test your vehicle. Use really sticky tires and go to 1000m test. Use the analyser to show your power curves around the gear(s) you use when cornering. I'm assuming you want to closely look at gears 2-4, since 3rd is your main cornering gear.

The point at which Hp and Torque levels intersect is the point at which your car is operating at maximum efficiency.
 
Originally posted by icon
i guess i should be asking what types of corners are best to practice faints: any particular tracks you'd recommend?
Click to expand...

A good track to practice feint drifting would be on Tokyo R246 or on Rome. Lots of those corners sort of force you as the driver to shift the weight around the corner to avoid hitting the walls and get a clean, smooth drift. The best place to practice all kinds of drift would be the Complex String due to their variety of corners and combinations to link drifts.

Good luck tuning your car :)
 
xsyorra:

lots to absorb but i think our terminology is reversed. gearing taller (numerically lower ratio) would increase or "widen" the powerband: effectively used for increasing top speed, but decreases offline performance. gearing lower (numerically higher ratio) would narrow the powerband. thats how i've learned it and i'm pretty sure its the proper terms.

thanx for the explanation of the powerband, i'll check it out sometime this weekend on sunday(girlfriend comes first, LoL, she wants everything for valentines).

what i'm finding is that i was riding 3rd at almost full throttle when i'm entering the corner at higher speeds (60-70mph). it gives me the momentum to break traction even at third gear. i'm now taking a slower approach to practice my faints and using second gear as my cornering gear.

again thanx for helping me out, slowly but surely i'm getting there.

another question is just basic tuning ideology. i'm still a bit baffled with the tuning of the suspension for the drift. it seems that with such a high spring weight there wouldnt be much less weight transfer (and less available traction). i understand the need for the camber, but i'm not quite getting when the suspension is too stiff or too soft for a drift. when should i set my springs stronger or weaker?

thio:

thanx :-D. i'll try the complex String and tokyo. i was never a fan of the rome circuit.
 
trueno, nice L-tuned IS300 👍 👍


My bro has a lexus IS300


Any ways here are my settings...

spring rate...F - 5.0
R - 7.0
Ride height...SLAM IT DOWN TO THE GROUND !!!! ALL THE WAY DOWN !!!
Camber....F - 1.5 R - 1.0
toe...leave it alone
shock absorbers...leave them alone
bound and rebound...leave them alone...
stabilizers....F - 2
R - 2
brake balance....F 5
R 15-24
Tires...F - Medium racing tires... R - Medium racing tires
TCS - 0
ASM - 0
swap into a sports tranmission if u want....
And get ALL performance mods except any lightening kits...( trust me, a stock 86 is light enough:) )

And yes i am an odd drifter...i have different settings than most people...infact i have a thread about my odd settings that actually work for me
 
Originally posted by icon
xsyorra:

lots to absorb but i think our terminology is reversed. gearing taller (numerically lower ratio) would increase or "widen" the powerband: effectively used for increasing top speed, but decreases offline performance. gearing lower (numerically higher ratio) would narrow the powerband. thats how i've learned it and i'm pretty sure its the proper terms.

thanx for the explanation of the powerband, i'll check it out sometime this weekend on sunday(girlfriend comes first, LoL, she wants everything for valentines).

what i'm finding is that i was riding 3rd at almost full throttle when i'm entering the corner at higher speeds (60-70mph). it gives me the momentum to break traction even at third gear. i'm now taking a slower approach to practice my faints and using second gear as my cornering gear.

again thanx for helping me out, slowly but surely i'm getting there.

another question is just basic tuning ideology. i'm still a bit baffled with the tuning of the suspension for the drift. it seems that with such a high spring weight there wouldnt be much less weight transfer (and less available traction). i understand the need for the camber, but i'm not quite getting when the suspension is too stiff or too soft for a drift. when should i set my springs stronger or weaker?
Click to expand...

Softer springs allow the car to load more on the spring during cornering, thereby transfering the centrifigual force from one side to the other for better traction. This causes understeer.

When you stiffen the springs, it lessens the load on that tire, allowing for better cornering. I grip race with my springs in the 17s - 18s. If I was to drift with my springs set that high, I would spin out all the time. Lowering the springs to the settings I recommended allows the car to break traction, but still is soft enough to keep it on the road.

If you are spinning out, lower the rates. Trial and error seems to be the best method at finding the magic numbers. The car should ideally start to drift "all by itself" by doing nothing more than taking a racing line into the corner.

RE: tranny......when I'm referring to "taller" gears, I'm referring to the graph. The height of the gears is important in keeping the time your revs are in the powerband to what you need. If your car takes too long to rev through the powerband, you will not be able to sustain the drift, nor will you be able to regain traction fast enough to recover from a spin.
Start small.....grab a calculator, and look at your powerband. Then do the machine tests as I described. Experement!!! I'm not you, and you aren't me....obvious enough. However, it doesn't change that our "magic numbers" will be different. This is due to different styles of drifting.

Feel free to PM me so we can discuss this further. I'd like to go over basic tuning with you, get on the same page, and help you find a balance with your car. Look forward to hearing from you. Take care of that girl first!!!! Take it from me......I'm married. My wife comes before drifting 100% of the time...NO EXCEPTIONS!!!:lol:
 
hehe, thanx. how was your valentines day.

havent had time to experiment more, so i'll have to get back to you. I'll PM you as soon as i log some more time on the track :-D.
 
It was aiight.....Valentines Day is a pain in the @$$ if you ask me. Too commecrial....

PM away....any question you have. Don't hesitate to ask even before you hit the track. Remember, you want to be prepared before you act.....then you aren't at a stuck-point until I get back to ya.
 

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