BB Turbo wrote:Drifting is definitely efficient. Lets say you have a sh1t load of groceries, and you really dont want to push the heavy thing in the proper store cart etiquette. So all you do is exert more force than usual to the opposite side of which you are turning, which then f course initiates the shopping cart drift. You will have less of a load to push and still look cool/gay while shopping. If your really bored, you will notice you can make that shopping cart go into some insane angles. You can also try you hand at feint drifting and long slides. I wouldnt recommend the off floor drift (since that usually is carpet your sliding into, if its like wal mart) and it will slow you down and you will then need more force to get yourself out of that kind of situation. Currently, I have found Home Depot to be the best place to drift, since the floors are usually dusty, and the weird rubber compound on the tires they have are super hard. Also, next time your in a grocery store, try and move all of the weight up front, and keep the back end light. Another thing, dont try drifting a corner to fast, for it will make you tip over (damn those shopping carts have the stiffest suspension) and dropping your load of groceries, making yourself look stupid as well as the family members you might be with. So yes, in the department/grocery store, drifting is definitely efficient;)

btw, stay away from the newer shopping carts, since the tires on them havent really worn down too much.

Actually, its not really the car, its the driver! ive found it better to drift on those newer carts... i just dump all the stuff my mommy wants to buy all the way at the front, and when i take a turn, it slides with passion...

Also in rally drifting is used to compliment the brakes by positioning the car to face the corners exit prior to the corner and thus creating, what has been refered to as "inefficient," friction. Adding extra braking power seems terribly efficient to me becauses it pushes the braking point further into the turn. Meaning you can hold speed longer and get out of the turn quicker than you would if you had stayed on the inside of the corner by other means. This is especially true on slippery surfaces like in rally racing. How well this works in road racing I don't know but no proffessionals seem to do it so it must not be as good as apexing.

drifting is no more than self expresion. go fast, get sidways, and throw that fist in the air.

Since I happen to work at a grocery store I have tired this drifting technique you speak off. It is definitely helpful when taking back 6-10 carts at night. It is easier to drift them around the corners t than it is trying to push them around a nice smooth curve.

Here we go....

From Secrets of Solo Racing by Henry A. Watts page 32.

"The sliding or drifting that helps you achieve fast lap times is nearly imperceptible to the casual observer. It's called 'drifting'. It happens when you drive briskly and precisely and you will soon get used to it. Indeed, you will soon enjoy it a lot. If you carefully watch the drivers who are winning their classes you will see people who are very smooth, who are not jerking the car around very much and who do not charge through the corners with the tail hanging way out. In spite of smooth appearance, they are sliding. If you get used to dramatic tail out cornering (which is always a crowd-pleaser for sure, nearly as good as a 360 degree spin), you should get used to slow lap times."

The competitive drifting and drifters everyone seems to have become so enamored with are simply people and cars who "enjoy it a lot." There is nothing wrong with having fun by throwing the back end way out... just don't expect impressive lap times.

Altiman94 wrote:Since I happen to work at a grocery store I have tired this drifting technique you speak off. It is definitely helpful when taking back 6-10 carts at night. It is easier to drift them around the corners t than it is trying to push them around a nice smooth curve.

Or you can ask your store to buy only carts that have casters on all 4 wheels. I absolutely can not understand why they have some that have only 3 with one fixed wheel. Don't they have those electronic cart movers now as well? I've seen them stack about 20 carts with those things.

No.

And neither is the gasoline engine.

=( im bad with drift, i try to not use de hand brake to drift but my car always understeer. well , i not be able to say if drift is fast or good, but i think that its good , if u r good to do that. when drift, you can exit into a straight line, and doesnt lose speed, eeeeeee.......

i dont know. BUT ITS COOL!!! DONT WORRY FOR THAT!!!

What is drifting?? I bieleve that drifting is performance and show mixed with automotive competition. Pretty much all of them put togetther. As Ken Gushi says " it is a driver's skill mixed with a great deal of showmanship similar to figure skating. Its a sport for anyone and a great way to become a better driver driver. BECAUSE IT INVOLVES DRIVING YOUR CAR BEYOND ITS LIMITS"

drifting is definitely useful in motorsports, just not all. I think all comes down to traction. If you can't sustain traction in a corner and maintain speed, then it's easier and faster to slide through it. This is inheritant to the car's geometry, suspension, tires, and surface where racing. In rally it's used all the time. And I don't care what the definition of "drifting" has evolved to, to me it's original definition is a controlled oversteer through a corner resulting in 4 wheel loss of traction leading perhaps into another quick corner. I think we just need to define what drifting "sport" and drifting are. One is a competition, and another a technique. Anyway, you can see some drift usefulness here: http://www.rodmillen.com/racin...1.mpg

and here:http://www.rodmillen.com/racin...3.mpg

notice how he did not follow what one may consider the "best line" around the corner, but I think the best line is relative to the sport.

I will admit it, I am a huge drift fan. Getting sideways feels so cool and keeping the angle while swinging around a cone, light pole, or corner, or just nothing at all is extremely Exciting. I wouldnt drift to be faster, i would drift for it to be exciting. But! There is that one turn out of the ordinary that drifting becomes faster in.

Drifting has been used since back in the 70's. They did it to conserve momentum going around a turn by creating the tires to slide and angle up for the next turn, This is also demonstrated in rally, Except most of this drifting they did in japan was in steep inclines on very very sharp hairpin turns. Think about it, What would take longer? Griping a U turn or sliding around it? Drifting before the turn is just another way of slowing down the car instead of braking in a straight line. If you angle it up just right while brakeing you can set yourself up for the exit correctly, Which would be faster. This is where drifting is at its pinnacle, Small Or large mountain touge passes. NOT CURCUIT TRACKS.

Many people Confuse Drifting on the track with drifting out at the mountains which is where is originated from.

Any ****tard knows Grip driving is faster on the curcuit.

I my self love both forms of Driving, I love grip driving and drifting for all they are worth. They both take skill, one more than the other. Either way, racing on the track is the funnest and most exhilerating thing i have ever done in my life.

On the side note. D1 pisses me off. i hate that they brought that to America. Every one calls if figure skating. IT IS!!! WHEN IT'S IN A HUGE OPEN FREAKING SPACE. Drifting did not begin at lame *** irwindale speedway.

Rockenreno wrote:The fastest way from point A to point B is a striaght line. Does this answer your question?

If not, then let me help: drifting always has been and forever will be slower that the straight-line racing approach. There is a reason that you don't see drifting in NASCAR.

I used to think that too but I guess it's not so in all situations. I was watching a show about the Shelby Cobra's on Speed and Bob Bondurant said that the Cobras had so much power sometimes the fastest way around a corner was to put the car in a 4 wheel drift. I listen when Bob talks about driving.