Who on here would be interested in trying their hand at drifting? Drifting is a form of motorsports that repuires extreme car control and takes great amounts of skill and determination to master. Some people frown on the idea of shedding massive amounts of tire smoke while sliding sideways at high rates of speed but I tend to believe they think this because they've never tried their hand at it. In all truth, what car nut doesn't like to see a gross display of horsepower? furthermore,what car nut doesn't like to be the one displaying it? Drifting is very addictive once tried and it probably the most fun you can have in a car.
Agian, this is to gauge interest in the upstate area. I would like to here an on topic discussion on what you thoughts about it are. Questions are welcomed and ideas are a plus. If you don't have anything intelligent to add to the discussion please don't post. Subscribers are also welcome.
Thanks,
Adam
I'd like to do it, but my car's FWD so I don't imagine it'd be very doable. I've gone through a few turns a little sideways before at autocrosses (in RWD cars) when I wanted to mess around a bit - it was fun; I imagine doing it in a situation where you are supposed to slide would be more fun.
Do you offer tire sponsorships?
Scorke
i would LOVE to, but I have an echo which isn't really built to drift at all.
i would love to be able to ride with anyone and learn how
I would love to try it, but my lack of a RWD car and the perceived cost are holind me back.
Given the proper car and funds, I'd try it in a heartbeat.
I think it would be a blast to try, but I don't see how I could get into it without some financial support, or a job upon graduation
It's great fun but finding and keeping a venue is probably even harder than with autocross.
I went to the one-and-only (?) NASA-SE drift event and autocross combo event in Greenville in 2004. They were scheduled to have a large parking lot but Greenville Tech, who runs McAlister Square where the event was held, switched it on them. The lot they eventually had was pretty cramped and the course sucked so the drifters for the most part just went crazy wherever they felt like. Between the appearance of uncontrolled chaos -- "It's supposed to look crazy" to paraphrase a conversation I had at the time -- the tire marks and Greenville Tech's claim that they received multiple complaints about the event, I believe NASA was asked not to inquire about further events on Gvl Tech lots.
That said, there's still the old Braves stadium that probably has no problems with the drift event CSCC held there, or CSCC's current venue. Might want to consider whether or not there's a risk of losing that venue if a dedicated drift event is planned. I know there is some drifting going on in Atlanta. Maybe you could consider setting up something with a local track (GPS?) since they're already accustomed to the perceived risk of high-speed driving.
I would think you could get plenty of interest. Maybe not directly from a high percentage of local CSCC, SCCA or NASA members, but there is a subset of each group that would likely come out and there are lots of unaffiliated enthusiasts out there that would probably love to try something like that. If you bill the event as a simple meet with drifting on the side you'll probably get a lot of people to come just to sit on the sidelines (many at the NASA event I mentioned) since drifting is pretty spectator-friendly. Possibly even better if you set up your event such that people who see the event as they pass by can stop in and try just a few times.
Other posters, FYI I used to have video of Rob Summers drifting his 1986 Prelude. FWD cars are just as capable of spinning as RWD cars with the wrong inputs in situations where you don't want to be going sideways. It is harder to maintain a slide with FWD of course, but with sufficient speed they can be flicked or trail-braked sideways just like RWD. Forcing the car sideways and then learning to maintain or recover the slide can be worthwhile in any car. Then there's silly stuff like tray sliding...
I've always thought you can't "actually drift" with FWD but it could still be fun to try to get the back end out. I've done it a couple of times on accident but never on purpose.
Adam,
I see from the drift section of the TDC page that you apparently already have a venue. Are you already holding events? Or trying to see if it's worth setting up a few for the Upstate?
If the miata wasn't my DD I would do it. I see drifting as being harder on a car mainly on the drivetrain than autocrossing. Especially since my tire size is easy to find used or really awful and cheap new.
I disagree. Only kicking the clutch to start a drift because you're not moving fast enough to do so naturally, or perhaps keeping the revs at the limiter, would seem to be damaging. All the other forces would probably be lower in actuality than autocross because you are purposely operating on the down-slope of the rear tires' slip angle vs. grip curve rather than trying to stay at the peak. I'd concede that you might be more likely to overheat though, since you're moving through the air at an angle and possibly at a lower speed than you normally would, using the same amount of power.
Drifting is obviously harder on the tires of course, and if you mess up maybe the forces are pretty high on many parts as the car snaps around.
I would like to, but not with my S.
Rymans2k Wrote:I would like to, but not with my S.
Can I do it with the S?
Hmmmmm
If you're willing to pay seat time
i would love to! if u can supply the tires and/or a car with a manual (mines auto). but i would legitimately like to try drifting out and get serious about it. just dont have the money for tires