Ok, so it won't be an easy topic to discuss without pictures/diagrams but we'll give it a go anyway

Today I was out and about and passed the local abandoned airfield. To my amazement the gates were open and it was completely covered in untouched snow I had loads of space to play in so got stuck into some big powerslides and drifts. I'd usually turn in slowly in 2nd gear and nail the throttle such that the back end would swing round and I'd straighten the wheels to allow me to drift nicely sideways round the corner. Then when I wanted to straighten up I fed in the opposite lock and the car straightened up. Very and lots of

However, I quickly got bored of these low speed drifts and wanted to try and do the same thing but at higher speeds 60-70mph (trust me I had the space!). This is where it all went pear-shaped. I couldn't turn in aggressively or it would be understeer city. When I nailed the throttle (this time in 3rd) it would more often than not promote understeer or at best some very light oversteer. I couldn't get the back end to come round much (didn't use the handbrake for fear of centre diff and also cause its cheating )

I then tried to unsettle the backend before hitting the gas by turning away from the corner and then snapping the front end back whilst hitting the gas. There simply wasn't enough grip at the front to do this and the car ploughed on

I must admit an adjustable diff would have been nice/useful

So where was I going wrong, why couldn't I get the drifts at the higher speeds. Did I go wrong? Or was it just that the conditions wouldn't really allow it?? For those that don't know my car is a UK MY99.

Discuss drifting techniques

 

Snow ........ airfield ...... lucky git

Ian

No snow or airfield

 

At that speed with that little grip it's all about finnesse and delicate application of the controls.

If you think about it, there isn't enough grip to allow for sudden inputs of anything as you'll overcome the grip instantly, so work on things like gentle extra application of throttle while using a couple of degrees of steering. Or a slight lift of the throttle with a tiny twitch of the steering, etc.

If you can LFB then it's a whole different story, but never be folled in to thinking it can't be done

All the best

Simon

PS. Airfields are GREAT when it's been snowing, but beware, some have HUGE iron bolts sticking out from the runway / perry (sp?) tracks and others have hudden dips which can see you tear wheels off / roll 35 times down a runway and end up, upside down in the middle of nowhere with no emergency services around and no insurance.

Just thought I should mention it

 

aren't there any such places in London. I'm dying to do a powerslide in a massive (and I mean massive) open area - I wouldn't even do it on a track for fear of crashing into the sides...

 

Kenny a bit of left foot braking just after you turn should help unsettle the back. Alternatively, dip the clutch, give it some revs and let the clutch up really quickly. This will cause all wheels to spin.

Plenty of snow here but no airfield. Lucky guy indeed

 

Induce fuel surge, and then continue the drift when fuel returns

Sorry SB, too easy.

 

Had a full tank so

I completely forgot all about left foot braking I'll have to try that next time In fairness I didn't spend to long sitting thinking about it and trying to work out what to try next as I didn't want to stay for too long...after all, it is private land belonging to a shotgun wielding farmer to whome I'm now very appreciative

 

Akshay

Ikea's carpark springs to mind

 

Kenny,

Speak to t-uk. If you've seen him at KH, you'll know how sideways he can get an Impreza

 

when peolpe suggest a little LFB, do u mean a light tap, an almighty punch of the pedal or a trailing foot with throttle applied too?

cheers

 

Be careful if you do decide to go on a car park as pete suggested. Police can get you ... (just a word of caution)

brett

 

Fivepint -- to get the back out after turn-in, it's a sharp jab to make the nose dip and unload the rears.

LFB is usually done to change the car's attitude so it's usually a quick stab while keeping on the power.

 

cheers brickboy, no snow yet so i'll practice on the playstation lol

 

I once went into Tesco's car park and as I cam to rest after mi first handbrake saw a cop car coming towards me We pulled up along side each other and he said "is that the best you can do? There's a better car park on the idustrial estate"!

 

Oh baby i did my 1st (deliberate) spin thing in the gym/golf club car park after work. Not huge so i kudn't really induce a huge power slide but it woz both enjoyable & educational learning how the understeer oversteer thing works with various combos of pedals & wheel action Now who wants 2 lend me their type R so i can play with da diff or failing that any1 got a spare supra 4 sum full on doughnut action
Si
PS nicely sucluded so no risk of coppers but hope i dont run into captain or nowt while doin it Wana big car park now! Scooby ownership is the route of all my greed BTW

 

Been out in the 3-door tonight round the local industrial estate. Goooooood fun, if nothing else but the look on security guards faces
astraboy.
P.S. She was surprisingly contollable

 

When I went to the last SIDC bedford track day I really wanted to get my MY97 to slide round the corners. In the dry the car just refused to get upset and stayed planted with understeer if pushed. Come the afternoon and a little splattering of rain I tried again. More understeer, even trying the "lift off oversteer" method wouldn't work. However the moment I trailed the brake into the corner the back end decided to come round and play. Never had so much fun in the car before or since then.
I suppose it's all down to the power split (60/40?) of the "normal" turbo which makes it understeer.

 

turbo 2000 & rex is 50/50 as i recall?
Si

 

IIRC and i could be wrong i have been told a uk car is split 65 to the front and 35 to the rear
However as i have proved on numerous occasions (i dont know how this is possible ) you can change this by changing you r tyres on the rear to crap or no grip tyres eg in the wet on drift days i use slicks can then get the rear out easily

 

Scandinavian flick??? Not been able to try cos nowhere big enough. I imagine it should work though. I would think staying off the power until in a big slide should work.
It used to in a 306 so should with a scoob....

 

>> Be careful if you do decide to go on a car park as pete
>> suggested. Police can get you ... (just a word of caution)

A lot of this depends on how you react when approached by the police. If make a run for it when you see them they are obviously going to assume joyriding...but it you stop the car and make it clear to them that you've seen them and engage in a decent conversation it should be fine. After all if done in a controlled manner you are practicing your driving skills for slippery roads...anyway this works for me in Scandanavia - the police actually told me to be carry on - but be careful not to damage my car...

I've asked some local Swedes - snow driving experts from birth - for some pointers.

On ice - where you can get massive understeer even in 1st gear - they recommend the clutch/revving method described above. On anything except ice that can be pretty harsh to your drivetrain though.

For snow I find that lift off oversteer can be used quite effectively - go in relatively gently making sure you have no understeer, liftoff suddenly while increasing the lock then floor it. Also works well if you want to abruptly change direction halfway through the slide.

As you describe, on snow it's quite difficult to keep the back out above 2nd gear - you get massive understeer as you describe and then once you do get oversteer going the 4WD quite quickly finds grip and you need major amounts of power to keep the slide going. On ice you dont really have that problem, but once you're going sideways the forward momentum kind of gets lost - so its not so much a powerslide. Once the car regains grip the slide it will just start driving forward again(not that likely above 2nd gear - it'll slide sideways for a loooooong time on ice ).

[Edited by WRX SEE - 1/8/2003 4:30:47 PM]