How to Drift
How do I get started in Drifting?
There is no simple way to learn drifting. Drifting is a form of driving that incorporates many aspects of driving such as autocross, Rally, Road racing and Stock car racing. Typically a good drifter will have a solid background various types of motor sports. The concept behind drifting is to understand what the vehicle is doing and making it do exactly what you intended to do. Drift UK will be holding events in all areas of the UK but there are many events held at various locations around the country which we will publish. Do not attend any other forms of driving events to learn how to drift such as Autocross and Road racing events. You may potentially upset the organizer and the property manager by doing something you were not permitted to do. It is not smart to try and drift in roads or at unsupervised areas like car parks or empty roads.
When will I be ready for competition?
At the moment there are some events that give tuition before the event at Drift UK events this is the case but only you know when and if you are ready. However Drift UK is working with a famous racing school and is training at this moment an instructor for the future. Every driver should know that there are risks involved with any motor sport competition. At one point or another, there is a possibility of an accident, but this is part of competition. There are two main drifting techniques. The first is called the clutching technique and is the preferred method for rear-wheel drivers. With the clutching technique, you shift the car into second gear as you approach the turns. You then rev the engine to between 4,000 and 7,000 rpm, depending on the car. With the engine revved, you turn the car hard into the turn and pop the clutch, causing the rear tires to spin and lose traction.
To keep the car in the drifting motion until the next turn, you must keep your foot on the accelerator and make adjustments with the throttle and steering wheel to prevent spin out. If you’ve managed to keep the car in control, you can then cut the wheel in the other direction and attempt to slide around the next turn in one smooth motion. However, if you went into the turn too slowly, the car may begin to regain traction.
Because front-wheel driven cars cannot produce tire spin and traction loss at the rear wheels, they require a second, alternative method of drifting: the hand-brake technique. While the clutching technique uses momentum and rear-wheel torque to power the car through a set of drifts, the hand brake technique relies solely on momentum. Using this style of drifting, you would simply pull the hand brake as you approach the set of turns to cause a sudden traction loss. Since there’s no driving torque involved, it is much harder to maintain the traction loss through multiple turns using the hand-brake.
Rear-wheel drive cars have long dominated the drifting scene. Whether you drive a front-wheel drive or rear-wheel powered vehicle, drifting gives you a great opportunity to show off your driving skills and have little bit of fun, too.;
