I just recently bought a right hand drive 300zx and i’m very very interested in drifting.
I’ve taken her out a few times to play around but it seems tough to drift in this car. I’ve heard these cars are rather heavier and have sloppy stock suspension but i’m no mechanic and can’t really pin point my own conclusion as to what exactly is lacking. I can power slide but I want to know how to initiate a “true drift”. What do i need to do? is it mechanical work or more technique?
this is off of wikipedia. it just gives you an idea on how to do the drifts but doesnt show you. youtube has some training videos on there but they are very vauge but, the main ones you should focus on are hand braking and weight transfer(let the power over do the rest) when you are about to powover perform a clutch kick to tourque the wheels and start turning. even when starting to learn how to drift learn how to do donuts. when you are comfortable start making the donuts larger and practice holding and controling the drift.
Beginner techniques
These techniques do not use weight transition, so are typically the first thing the novice drifter learns.[9] However they are still used by the most experienced drifters, and require skill to execute properly. These techniques aim to induce a loss of traction on the rear wheels, either by locking the wheels (hand brake drift) or using enough power from the engine to break the traction force (power-oversteer and clutch kick).
Hand brake drift
The hand brake is a lever that stops the rear wheels, upsetting their grip and causing them to skid. Using the hand brake is one of the fastest, easiest, and most dangerous methods of drifting. It can also damage the car’s axles, stall the engine, ruin the rubber on the tires, etc. Three examples of this technique are:
Approach the corner at race speed.
Let go of the gas, hold the clutch and pull the handbrake just enough to upset the rear end, turn towards the corner.
Gas and let go of the clutch at the same time.
Control the drift all the way, by counter-steering (turning the steering wheel in the direction you want the car to go).
Approach the corner at race speed.
Let go of the gas and pull the hand brake until the car reaches the optimum angle. Then let go.
Control the drift all the way.
Approach the corner at 5-20mph slower than race speed (and if mastered, in a higher gear.)
Hold the clutch and gas it just on the redline or about 6000-8300 rpm (on dial says 6-8.3 or 60-83) and hold the handbrake to the optimum angle. Then let go.
Let go of the clutch and gas it until controllable.
Control the drift all the way.
Power oversteer or Powerslide
This can be achieved at a corner exit by stepping on the gas hard to slide sideways out of the corner. It is most commonly employed by beginners because it teaches steering and throttle control without the danger of an actual entry-oriented drift.
In low-power cars power-oversteer can be achieved by applying excessive amount of throttle at the end of a shift. As you are releasing the clutch during a shift, or immediately before that while the clutch is still depressed, press the accelerator all the way to send more power to the rear wheels than is necessary for a smooth upshift. If done during a turn, the car will begin to slide. This technique can be used to initiate a drift at very low speeds in an underpowered car (e.g., when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear), and to enter in a higher gear while accelerating all the way up to the turn (e.g., accelerate in 2nd on the straight and shift into 3rd as you enter the turn).
The sequence of actions is as follows:
Easily feather the gas in the straight line leading to the turn.
Turn the steering wheel to begin the turn.
Floor the accelerator.
Wait for the car to go sideways, then countersteer and control the slide and proceed to exit the corner.
Depending on how much power the car is making it is possible to keep the gas pedal floored from the shift throughout the entire drift; in a low-power car this is often necessary.[citation needed]
Nissan 240SX Shift Lock Drifting[edit] Shift lock (compression slide)
Initiated by downshifting (usually from third to second or fourth to third, and using a very fast shift) instead of braking, without rev-matching, causing the drive wheels to lock momentarily. Helpful for very tight corners, allowing the driver to approach the corner at a slower speed and lower revs, while allowing quick acceleration when exiting the corner. This technique can be very damaging to the engine if misused as the ECU is unable to rev limit when the engine is over-revved by the rear wheels. Premature downshifters are called “Rod Stretchers”.[10]
Clutch Kick
This is done by “kicking” the clutch (pushing in, then out, usually more than one time in a drift for adjustment in a very fast manner) to send a shock through the powertrain, upsetting the car’s balance. This causes the rear wheels to slip. The foot should be at an angle (Heel-and-toe) so the brake and gas may be pressed as well, this being needed to control speed and stop from spinning out in the drift.
Clutch kick can also be used during a drift to gain angle at the expense of speed. If the car is about to straighten itself out, kicking the clutch will cause it to rotate more. However since power delivery is interrupted while the clutch is depressed the car will lose some speed during the process and damage the gears and crank shaft. The steps to clutch kick:
Start driving into a corner but slower, and/or in a higher gear.
Turn into the corner.
Push the accelerator and a split second later, tap the clutch. Keep tapping the clutch to make the wheels spin and lose traction so that they slide, but don’t let go of the gas when clutching.
Control the spin with the handbrake, brake, or gas.
(If necessary, keep popping the clutch to keep the wheels sliding. This technique can be later learned at speed to add an additional amount of rear wheel slip resulting in more drift angle. During drift it is common to half or part depress the clutch pedal in a sudden manner to adjust the drift angle and wheel speed)
Braking drift
This drift is performed by braking into a corner so that the car transfers weight to the front. This is immediately followed by throttle, which in a RWD car causes the rear wheels to lose traction. FWD cars can also use this technique as it does not depend on the rear wheels being driven.[11] In FWD cars the front wheels are not allowed to lock due to the continuous power, the rear wheels lock easily due to weight transfer and due to the general front heavy design of FWDs. Good performance brake pads will help this technique.
weight transfer(inertia)
Inertia (Feint) drift or Scandinavian flick
This is done by transferring the weight of the car towards the outside of a turn by first turning away from the turn and then quickly turning back using the inertia of the rear of the car to swing into the desired drifting line. Sometimes the hand-brake will be applied while transferring the weight of the car towards the outside to lock the rear wheels and help the rear swing outwards. This type of drifting causes the car to accelerate faster afterwards, because of momentum built up while drifting. The flick is an application generally used when starting drift on a straight section of track allowing the car to be sideways before it has reached the targeted corner. [12]
Note that the actual scandinavian flick maneuver in rally driving is more complex than feint drifting. In scandinavian flick the tires are intentionally locked by braking hard right after turning a little away from the corner. While the wheels are locked, the driver applies steering input into the corner, adds throttle while still braking and then rapidly releases the brake pedal. This causes the car to slingshot itself through the corner.
Kansei, Lift off, or Taking In
By letting off the accelerator while cornering at very high speeds, cars with relatively neutral handling will begin to slide, simply from the weight transfer resulting from engine braking. The drift is controlled afterwards by steering inputs from the driver and light pedal work, similar to the Braking drift.
Choku-Dori/Manji (Pendulum)
Otherwise known as over-sway, this technique is done by swaying the car’s weight back and forth on straightaways, using countersteer and throttle to maintain a large angle. The cars center of gravity essentially travels down a straight in a wave like fashion alternating between drifting with one side facing the forward direction to the other. This is a show maneuver which displays drivers skill that usually involves many cars following the same line. This technique can also be used to connect two corners through a large straight thereby making a drift continuous and unbroken.
Advanced Drifting Technique
Good tires that have grip and are able to drift are necessary for this technique. Performing these techniques requires sufficient horsepower and torque.
Kanji type 1
Come up to a corner at race speed.
Push the brakes 50 meters away from the racing line at about 50% of full braking capability.
Feint as little as possible.
Power-over and clutch-kick all the way.
Use handbrake and clutch-kick to increase angle.
Kanji type 2
Come up to a corner at race speed.
Push the brakes 50 meters away from the racing line at about 50% of full braking capability.
Hold the clutch and rev up to 5000-6500 RPM.
Pop the clutch and control.
Use handbrake and clutch-kick to increase angle.
Kanji type 3
Come up to a corner at race speed.
Change down two gears and hold the clutch.
Upon commencing the drift, pop the clutch and initiate turn.
Control using 90 degrees right foot on brakes and gas.
To exit corner, rev up to 5000+ RPM, pop clutch and straight up wheels
To transition to a different direction, hold the clutch and turn in more and clutch kick. Or come off the gas, turn in, power oversteer and control.
Take a trip up to Nisku / Leduc this spring to watch the drift practice… maybe one of the guys would take u with for a lap
just wondering…is there any other places in and around edmonton other than castrol to drift practice?
you should be able to drift any RWD car. Period. There should be a way to get any car, heavy or light, fast or slow to drift. Another trick is to try practicing in the rain when the roadway is a bit wet. Better yet, take it out on a snowy day and just learn how she handles around corners.
I’ve many times drifted my AWD Impreza Subaru with All Season Tires (and just a boring 2.5L N/A 170hp motor!) Naturally this car can only drift when all 4 wheels loose traction, but it’s still possible to do on icy days! I can get the tail sliding in the rain too, but it dosen’t really drift in that case.
Recommend you choose a place to practice that is big and free of any obstacles if you’re a beginner. And if you don’t care about your paint, gravel is another surface that’s great to practice on!
I would highly recommend taking this to the track. I will lock this thread if the topic continues on with the discussion of “street” drifting.
exactly what Ryan says… street is bad…curbs suck balls… and so do stunting tickets…
and yes Castrol starts may something and i have been going there for 2 years and and everyone there is helpful and will go for ride alongs and even hop in your car and give you tips…
300zx… very heavy car… but totally driftable… the suspension will be older and “sloppy” but coilovers make a world of difference… and its a technique that you have to learn more than mechanically changing the car… i wouldnt recommend doing it on the streets as curbs… destory everything…
there is a place … a parking lot out by st albert somewhere that gets rented by guys that do it out there with the owners permission… but iam not sure about the exact details… i think its by the walmart…shoot me a pm if ya want with questions and all that good stuff…i can think of another place as well but pm me…
I’d like to add illegal and not safe at all. Don’t be stupid take it to the track where it belongs
i would never street race, i got to many demrits…lol but if you cant do on the track then dont do it at all. what i ment in my previous post is about closed courses or closed areas to practice other than castrol and stratotech…
drive in low gear, clutch kick around a corner and see what happens!!
Is that where you drift MrRage?
To the OP, I see you are in lethbridge too. If you so desire I can drift the car for you and give you some pointers on driving techniques and mods to make the car drift better.
You’ll notice MrRage drive a FWD:banghead:, lol. I think the main point here is to keep it safe and smart and don’t act like an idiot on the street. We want to keep our club name free of any “bad mojo” so we don’t get pigeon holed as street racers.
My suggestion is drive out to pigeon Lake south of edmonton, Due to the warm weather the lake is a gass sheet of ice and best of all no curbs tree’s or things to crash into. Just buy a couple of pilons to make a corner and go nuts all day long.
Cheers:auto:
LOL!!! did anyone other then the person with the first reply even read what this guy had to ask
300z’s suck for drifting sure anyone can kick the tale out on any rwd or almost any car for that matter…It takes alot more skill to try to really drift in a 300zx ex. actually linking one turn to the next because they are heavy boats. If they were good drift cars you would see lots of pro’s using them in competitive series.