drifting in an automatic

[AkiraP]

is it possible to competitively drift in an automatic.

[xyoufailmex]

Its called a 5 speed conversion. :-)

[PGBrian]

i would say no.

you really need to be able to shift at key times and have total control over the RPM.

[240SicknessX]

i have an automatic and i can slide my car better then ALOT of people at local competitions and practises. yes auto open diff has its downsides, but i got my s14 cheap and awesome condition. the only mods that i have are sportline springs and agx shocks. If someone has the interest of sliding and they are auto, i wouldnt simply say get a 5spd swap. go ahead see how long far you can go with auto, ill tell you when you impress an experianced person its priceless to see the look on their faces when they look and see that its auto.

i definitly utailize 1,2....... careful if you are in 2 or D and your slide puts your mph under 33 or what ever the corresponding downshift rpm is, you will have one hell of a time not spinning out.

[toguenewbie]

I do donuts on dry pavement with my auto coupe. Whites smokes it too.But I got to say, it doesn't compare to a 5spd, and it feels lame, kinda like the feeling that you get when you smoke a car that's faster than yours and they weren't even racing.

[240SicknessX]

i finally pursuaded a friend of mine to mount some tires for me, so i have an extra set of lowprofile cracked sidewall falkens that im going to use for some slidin on video, hopefully we can get a lead and chase camera going, if all goes well i will post and then everyone will think that im lying,... tell me i have lsd and 5spd piffft.

not too much smoke but if you check it from a technical point of view is could be interesting

[jrsink]

I saw an automatic s14 at a drift event in Florida last year, he ended up off the course and in the trees.

[drftnassmofo]

well im sure you could fishtail around turns in an auto using feint and/or ebrake ..but drift, really drift, i highly doubt it, just like said, you def. need to utilize every needed rpm in every needed gear(mainly 2nd-3rd on a track..well for my slow *** neways)

[240SicknessX]

I saw an automatic s14 at a drift event in Florida last year, he ended up off the course and in the trees.

at ocala grand prix, one of the DD's? i saw the video.

driftnassmofo- ill compile a few clips, then you tell me if im drifting or not, ok.

[xyoufailmex]

Well, Im not trying to diss you bro, but the fact is, he said drift competively, and you simply can't do that in an Auto. In order to drift RIGHT, you need to be in control of every aspect of your car. In the reality of things, a fully modded Auto would have a hard time beating a NA open-diff stock suspension 5 speed.

[DriftFactory]

We have an IS300 with the triptronic and it works just fine. The thing about an automatic 240 though is that the shifting is not as precise and downshifts are slower. But it is possible.

[M3Racer]

I don't think a tiptronic/manumatic/whatever wold have that big a problem because the issue with the autos are that they tend to stay in higher gears, and drifters usually need those high RPMs.

Speaking of tiptronics once my dad's M3 (which has the SMG II) needs new tires, he said he'll let me do sme drifting in it on the old ones. ill make sure to post about it and ill try and get video.

[AkiraP]

thanx for the replys, im kinda debating on wat 2 do. im tryin 2 sell my s13 coupe 2 finance either a 5 speed swap or an sr20det, bc if i swap it 2 5 speed then i might as well get a more powerful sr 2 go along with it.

[xyoufailmex]

Ehh... you might as well go ahead and do SR if you really want... but if money is an issue, you're going to be a better drifter by spending the SR money on a good 2way and coilovers.

[AkiraP]

tru

[240SicknessX]

alright well, the closed track was at hialeah speedway dec5th competition, that run secured me second place which is what i was shooting for. and i cant say where the incar stuff is, but its in sfl.

in no way am i saying that its easier or better to drift an auto open diff, but it is possible to knock out some 5spd w\ lsd at local comps.

crappy visual quaility because 1> its hard as hell to hold a camera still while being a passenger sliding, 2> its a analog camera and when its converted to digital, its crap but works.

MODS: (96 auto open diff) kyb agx shocks + sportline springsinjen intake (+1000000 hp)

http://www.s88652687.onlinehome.us/nicovid.wmv

the street stuff is at the very top of second around 64, and track was max speed of maybe 45 wheel spin speed.

anyone wanna pitch in for some tein tie rods? i need them, personally i think im limited by amount of steering angle rather then a auto transmission right now, im still getting better with the auto.

[AkiraP]

nice vid, i guess u can competitively drift in an auto, well guess im going for some coilovers and a j30 diff.

[240SicknessX]

nice vid, i guess u can competitively drift in an auto, well guess im going for some coilovers and a j30 diff.

yea just try to run some crappy 205's in the rear and you shouldnt have a problem not spinning them. yet it sucks daily driving a auto, not too fun, and if you had a manual you will learn how to slide easier and learn to better faster.

as much as i love to say D stands for drift, utalize 1 and 2 when sliding. its not a pretty sight or feeling if the car downshifts in middrift and your not ready for it. (curb)

ive been sliding since i got my license last july.

btw if you find a s14 manual transmission and all the parts for the 5spd, then definitly get it over coilovers or a lsd at this point. s14 transmissions arent found everyday so jump on a deal if you find one.

[driftczar]

Well i haven't heard of much automatic drifting, and i dont think it would really work out the way you would want it to, you wouldnt be able to keep the revs up or just really control the revs, and if you could someway then it probably wouldn't be easy, well drift is drift, but to tell you the truth something about that video that looked a little different from other drift video's i have seen, you weren't really connecting drifts, i dont know maybe its just me, but .... ohh well what ever, if it works for you man go with it.

[xyoufailmex]

I mean, yeah you're sliding 240sickness, but its not really a completed drift, like he said. Giving what you got, its fantastic, and Id love to see you be able to increase your skill by obtaining a 5speed, but that car just isnt gonna get you much further than you are now.

[driftczar]

I mean, yeah you're sliding 240sickness, but its not really a completed drift, like he said. Giving what you got, its fantastic, and Id love to see you be able to increase your skill by obtaining a 5speed, but that car just isnt gonna get you much further than you are now.

The car beeing automatic is kinda like having the limit, you can only do so much with it, When you have 5 speed, its a completely different story.

[240SicknessX]

I mean, yeah you're sliding 240sickness, but its not really a completed drift, like he said. Giving what you got, its fantastic, and Id love to see you be able to increase your skill by obtaining a 5speed, but that car just isnt gonna get you much further than you are now.

ya not being able to clutch kick is horrible, such an advantage w\ a manual transmission.

call it excuses or not but in the closed course i was running a 205/50/15, 200 treadwear (driver side), and a 195 50 15 (420 treadwear) passenger side . those tires were so off balence is wasnt even funny sliding was so unpredictable and blah so ****ty, imagine having only 2 practise runs and having to readdapt to each direction that i go, i had to throw it 2x as hard to the right to complete slides and 1\2 as hard to the left, so confuzing and weird. Those were the tires that i could find at the last minute so thats what i had to work with.

Well i haven't heard of much automatic drifting, and i dont think it would really work out the way you would want it to, you wouldnt be able to keep the revs up or just really control the revs, and if you could someway then it probably wouldn't be easy, well drift is drift, but to tell you the truth something about that video that looked a little different from other drift video's i have seen, you weren't really connecting drifts, i dont know maybe its just me, but .... ohh well what ever, if it works for you man go with it.

no i wasnt connecting corners on the track because the back stretch at night time, well its only a lil over 2 lanes wide and you cant really get the angle that you can when you are closer to where the camera is (at night time track) . the pro class couldnt even connect going out of the infeild and coming back into the infeild from the farside with out tossing the rear end into the dirt to complete the switch back, and most of them had atleast 230whp and lsds. those are long and narrow straits and not being able to push the clutch in and keep revs up while i extend my slide with the ebrake really kills my performance.

remember the only huge beneficial mod that i have is the suspension setup, and thats only a shock and spring combo, and im left with the auto open diff.

i can control my revs to an extent, if you put the transmission in 1 or 2 it will not upshift out of that gear, but if your in second and going slow enough it will downshift which isnt good. and throttle responce is a lil over .5 seconds compared to your manual transmission.

i dont consider myself to be good, but im not a lil understeering ***** that over countersteers, and depending on the driver, an auto can get slideways.

*NOTE*- autos can get slideways, but the abuse you (I) put my transmission though the auto dosnt like it. as of now i cant make hard lefts becuase either the transmission fluid pickup has cracked or became loose, or fluid is just washing out of the torque converter. it chatters and slips when i try to slide or make fast left handers. ppl if you think you seriously want to get into drifting and make it a serious hobby then be sure you can shift ur own damn gears unlike me and my slipping torque converter .

[Project S13]

is it possible to competitively drift in an automatic.

Is it possible to drift, yeah sure it is. But competitively, as in there is competition there aka good drifter who probably have manuals? You'd be at a disadvantage. But yes, 5 speed conversins are your friend. No reason not to work with what you've got though

[gogg]

Not only is it auto, its a 2 speed.

[AkiraP]

i think i saw an auto drift at back 2 the leaf, it was a 96 se i think, white with black rims, did pretty good, all it had was a modified aem intake.

[drftnassmofo]

just saw the vid...very nice 240sickness!!

[240SicknessX]

thx

[sleepyeyes87]

Hey, I've been drifting for about 2 years now and ive done it in both an 89 5 speed 240 and my newly purchased 94 auto 240. It is most definately possible to pull off some crazy stuff in an automatic. True, the rpm's are harder to control, but if you're willing to put some time into it, you can find thsoe shift points and use them to your advantage. I still prefer the 5 speed and ive never done"professional" events, but I have beat the crap out of some smart *** guys that are all high and mighty right after a "professional" drift event. I am going to swap my auto for a 5-speed but if you want to keep the auto for some odd reason, just watch those shift points and keep it slow so u can use the lower gears so you have the control.

[240SicknessX]

well if you have overdrive off, then you can use 1, 2, and even D as third. I havnt done anything in 3rd gear yet, for be to get out of second my wheels would have to be spinning at about 71-72 mph. thats pretty un heard of for a stock auto.

im starting to get those shift points down pat, rollin into a turn in 1 around 4500-5k and then shift into second and when you feel it upshift, floor it along with some convincing steering work and it has simalar charictorictics as a clutch kick. us auto ppl have to emprovise with differnt techniques then the norm.

[Kansei240sx]

Drifting with an automatic, can be diffucult, and i wouldnt ever feel like i have complete 100 % controll of the engine and what its doing. It just doesnt feel natural at all.

Plus, driving like that on an automatic transmission, destroys the **** out of it, and cant take the same abuse as long as a manual can. At least with a good driver. .

I say Get the 5 speed swap before you get an SR20 and learn how to drive the Manual and become a better driver before you add more power. Manual transmission are what are at the top of racing, as far as street cars in track, autoX, drag, and drift. Sure things can be done in an automatic, where is the fun and skill in that? ( no offense to sickness )

Just two pedals! It doesnt take much effort.