Firstly, I want to say that by no means am I trying to tell anyone that they aren't good or that someone in particular is way better than anyone else. The point of drifting is to have fun, and IMO if you are doing that then you are already awesome. Also IMO, the amount of fun that you are having while in the car can be effected by how well you're doing on the track, so I put together this little analysis after seeing a everyone at DDay3...

I've seen both sides of the coin for east coast drifting: I used to live in CT and still go back there during winter break and summers, and still have a ton of friends up there. This past summer I went to some of the DOF's that are held by DGtrials, and it showed me a lot.

Having seen both FL guys and the guys in NJ, I can unbiasedly say that the average ability might be a tiny bit higher up there than it is here. BUT, before you freak out and tell me to fuck off, listen to this: if we had access to the same kind of events that the folks in the NE have (2 times a month, 8 runs, $25 to drive), I gaurantee that everyone who is mediocre now would be phenomenal. Seat time still supercedes any amount of instruction, and we're trying our hardest to get everyone as much track time as possible.

As for tips, one prominent thing that I saw was that people were often "waiting" for the turn. Many times drivers would wait to initiate the drift until after the car had entered the braking zone and had enough weight transfer from simply steering to stay on the track. There isn't anything "wrong" with this, but in order to cut a better line and get more speed in the exit, initiating the drift before you get to the turn could make the difference bewteen combo-ing 2 turns and 4 turns, or between keeping a smooth angle through the hairpin and going in too fast and going into the dirt.

The only other bit of advice I could give would be to "start small and go big". If you take your first lap or few laps to feel out the characteristics of your tires, the breakaway on the track, any off-camber corners, or how your motor is running that day, you can adjust your driving to those conditions and get into the zone much quicker. If you go out first lap and try to blaze it up and have huge angles, you won't be able to learn as much about what you have to work with because you'll be too busy trying to stay on the track and not spin.

Lastly, know that although car setups help, they don't make YOU a better driver. The right setup can make up for some of your weaknesses and bring out your strengths and even help you improve. Whether you have an LSD or the best coilovers or SR20 power, it's still the driver that is operating all of those things. For example, that gold E30 BMW had a 4 speed auto transmission, open differential and 4 blown shocks, but that kid still managed to get it around the track pointing sideways. If Matt or Bill or someone were to drive an automatic stock car, they would still be able to make it drift. Jason rocks a single cam and Funk rocks a welded diff, and they still rock the track.

Once again, excellent excellent driving by EVERYONE. So many people have made such big improvements in so little time - you make me proud.

 

yea well about the starting late into turns. there are more things to consider than line and what is 'right' and 30% of the time it is actually the CAR as in my case....

people were talking about the first turn for example, i said i have to wait till midway and then drift it or i couldnt do te whole turn, Rob said about CLUTCH kicking it obviously and on one run i tried to clutch kick it to texas from the start of the turn and all that happened was i ATE to left corner, keep in mind i FLOORed it to the corner so there is no more speed to attain entering it. so with the clutch/power of my car, there was no way to drift the first broad turn from an earlier point without getting dirty.

but i do agree that a lot of the time, the other 70%, is the driver waiting to late. and you said it comes with seat time. when i was riding with regina she was waiting till midway to start a slide but she did it very well, step by step she can move her start back to the beginning or even before (feint) and do it full on drift.

Its sooooo hard to judge another person on how they are doing because most of the time you dont know the car, and you dont know the confidence of the driver... we should hold a drift clinic maybe once to see how that works, and there could be options.... ill make a seperate post about this

 

Food idea on the clinic - I think it would be quite helpful to those who aren't too hard headded

I do agree that there isn't one technique that will work 100% of the time, and there are always exceptions. Cars that make insane power can hold a droft through the whole wide turn much easier than low power cars, but using what you have as well as you can is a sign of a good driver.

This input also isn't intended to be incredably enlightening either, and may not even apply, but its a few things to think about next time people atr out.

 

what was up with DDay3 how NO ONE got a feel for the track first no one did any test runs or grip runs to feel it out. it might have been because jay was itching to drift so everyone followed his footsteps but i know at all the other drift events people would drive the course either slow or grip the course to get a feel.

 

what was up with DDay3 how NO ONE got a feel for the track first no one did any test runs or grip runs to feel it out. it might have been because jay was itching to drift so everyone followed his footsteps but i know at all the other drift events people would drive the course either slow or grip the course to get a feel.

 

i also agree with the initiating too late. plus when they did that a lot of them turned in too hard and just under steered. bryce was having that problem. some of it was do to low tire pressure, but i told him to slow himself down, dont rush things, and use the track. there was an immediate improvement from his "understeering worse than a crx" problem.

also when its a different session and youre watching, learn from the good and iffy drivers. i saw that the people that were under steering a lot and couldnt initiate a drift when they wanted were always taking the inside line and pushing into the turn too hard and all the people that were tearing it up were using the whole track and starting the drift at the very outside of the track on the entrance.

best way to learn how to drift is put egos and thick headedness to the side and learn from the not so good to the good drivers. see why they coulnt initiate a drift, why the went off track, and why the spun out, see how they started the drift, where they stayed off the throttle, look for their transition points, etc... you can learn a lot by just watching too. i know i did.

 

im gonna have to say your wrong on this one. first, REGINA didnt pass 20mph her first time thru but had a issue with her car so didnt make another run just then. second, most people who were there were there to drift dont wanna give up a run to drive it like a neighborhood road, they dont go all out the first time but you definitly dont wanna waste a run on a 'grip' lap.... ya got to try to slide it to learn the surface/tires... gripping it wont help as much.

 

yeah im the guy with the 4 door.... 2 me i think i suck...... and i think i blow.... but other people say other things.... thanks ranlet.... and ill see u @ the next event....

 

i noticed you were laying into the gas too much too late. hope that helps any.

 

and, I just did what Kyle said, we walked the course, then lined up and get on the track as fast as possible. A parade lap was discussed by Kyle and others, but it was determined that the best thing was just to get the event going immediately.