sohc drift question

[89S13 Drifter]

I have been tring to get my 89 fastback to drift but to no avail. Is it just that you can't do it with an automatic? I haven't had a car that was capable of being a good drift car before. Oh and just so I don't get flamed I don't expect to be pro drifter tomarrow, just a little nudge in the right direction to help me learn the mecahanics of drifting. I had good control when I was on ice, but that was the only way I could get the car to let go on me. Oh and yes it is very underpowerd right now for some unknown reason 0-60 in 15-16 seconds. I am useing stock 15" rims, should I go to 14's for the back to help out or is that not needed?

[midnightshadow]

well i've never tried drifting in an automatic but it should be just as easy as in a standard. i am thinking though that your lack of power is the culprit in this case. 0-60 times of 15 seconds is not a good sign at all. stock is i beleive 8.5 or something. maybe try to figure out where your lost power is....check your compression, could easily be blown rings or gasket. that would drop your power and give u times like that. once u get the power up though u should have little problems figuring out how to drift that auto.

[Dorifto-King]

Maybe this will help?!

http://sl.cometsystems.com/r?u...fting

[89S13 Drifter]

thanks Dorifto-King it does, but no metion as to what you would have to do with an auto. Would I have to do the ebrake technique? It might just be me as I have had bad experiences with e-brakes going bad, I would think yanking on it while movieng would snap the cable.

[Dorifto-King]

Well, the small experience i have had with drifting, and the even smaller experience i've had with automatic drifting. I think the easiest way would be using the e-brake, the only other way i could think you could do it would be to "power" the rear around, similiar to doing donuts. I have also heard of a method where you turn into the curve and completely let off the throttle to disrupt the driveline, in order to send the back wheels into a slide.

[89S13 Drifter]

well I guess powering the rear around is out of the question till I find out what happened to all my power.

[SeVa-S13]

It's not overly difficult, just practice - safely. When it rains, go out and learn to feel when the car is about to break free. Also, try to learn when during a turn you can punch the gas and make those wheels spin. Once ya get the timing and feel down, it's not too hard. GL and please, be safe - don't drift around other people in the streets.

[89S13 Drifter]

I practice in an empty parking lot, my bigest danger is road gremlins like busted beer botles that people find fund to throw out of their cars. Oh yeah and monster economy size PA potholes.

[AJ-SPEC]

does anyone know what transmission upgrades must be done for the clutch kick method? all I've found was the lightend flywheel and aftermarket cluctch.... is that all that is needed? just worried because I'm comming from a car with a somewhat weak transmission....

[89S13 Drifter]

does anyone know of a site that talks of drift techniques for automatics? All I ever see is stuff about useing the clutch

[kimchixboi]

im not too sure that a site like that existsthe only techniques that i can think of to drift with an automatic is the powerover and e-brake techniquesbut if i really want to drift you can try technique that i've been thinking about1. before u enter the turn put the car in neutral (make sure you're carrying a lot of speed and momentum)2. steer the car in the direction of the turn3. floor it. (the car is still in neutral) then put the car back into drive with your foot still on the pedal (same thing you would do if u were trying to burn out)4. counter-steer

dunno if this will work or not but u can go try it

***the key to drifting is weight distribution!!!***

[evoworx]

***the key to drifting is weight distribution!!!***and finding the best path around a curve!

that's definitely key! i have this method that i use in the snow for rwd type cars and it's works for it's purpose. i like to enter a curve at around 40-50mph and maintain that speed all the way through. the car is in D1 at the time i'm entering the curve. point my nose slightly toward direction i'm heading, slam on brakes, drop gear to D2 so it revs real high, and hit the gas. as a driver, i feel the car's weight get shifted to the front and since it's already pointing to the direction i'm headed, i just balance with gas and adjusting the steering wheel. upon exit, i let go off gas, move back to D1 and continue on. the car does have a tendency to slip in the rear but not as well in my manual s13. i think what i'm doing is just tossing the car in a straight line because with no suspension mods, i don't really feel the car rolling too much. i use this technique to make honda's disappear from my rear view mirror once we enter a nice curve..LOL

[prigo]

As far as drifting an automatic, the only experience I've had was in a Pickup, so my rear end was lighter, I used to left foot brake real hard, then accelerate (the braking+sudden power from my 7.5L engine in my F250 usually caused a loss of traction :p)

[Kaioshin1982]

3. floor it. (the car is still in neutral) then put the car back into drive with your foot still on the pedal (same thing you would do if u were trying to burn out)4. counter-steer

dunno if this will work or not but u can go try it

***the key to drifting is weight distribution!!!*** [/QUOTE]

Wouldnt it be really bad for the car if you have the car in neutral and on high rpm and you change to drive

[evoworx]

Yeah, i would figure if you're in high rpm then change to drive, that would do some considerable damage. Nothing I would try in my car, maybe a rental. i've seen people who has use left foot brake to toss the rear out but they've never been able to hold the drift like in an auto. best advice is to get a manual beater and drift with that.

[knave]

If you want to continue to have a transmission, I wouldn't recommend the neutral rev->slam it in gear trick.

Power oversteer is just one form of drift, and it definitely requires a bit of power. It's not a terribly difficult thing to do, and in my opinion, not really impressive.

I honestly haven't done this myself, but my idea of a real drift is a braking (or accel-off) drift. That is, you go into a corner extremely fast, steer in the correct direction (hard), and either let off the throttle harshly, or stab at the brakes briefly. This should upset the balance of the car toward the front, relieving weight from the rear wheels. The result is they lose traction and slide out to the outside. Then you guide the car by countersteering, and when you see the exit, you punch the gas, get traction, and take off.

I'd like to be able to actually do this, but I'm not willing to do something so potentially dangerous on public streets. Definitely something to try on a rainy day in an open parking lot. (Rain means you can lose traction at lower speeds, so it's "safe". There's always risk, though.)

Mike

[driftin240]

i dont know of a name for my technique but i have an auto s14 and i can get the back end to slide pretty well but it all depends on how you enter the turn if you go a little farther past it and jerk the wheel while flooring it you lose traction easy and the rest from their is just steering but im sure it would be a whole lot better with a 5-spd...hopefully ill see a swap in the future...also stay off any public roads ...that is really dangerous

[C-Kwik]

I honestly haven't done this myself, but my idea of a real drift is a braking (or accel-off) drift. That is, you go into a corner extremely fast, steer in the correct direction (hard), and either let off the throttle harshly, or stab at the brakes briefly. This should upset the balance of the car toward the front, relieving weight from the rear wheels. The result is they lose traction and slide out to the outside. Then you guide the car by countersteering, and when you see the exit, you punch the gas, get traction, and take off.Mike

Most of that would only work for short turns. And you still have the fact that if you come in too fast, you will not be able to get the car to turn in or stay on the road. For longer drifts, you have to modulate the throttle. Most drifters in videos I've seen seem to get on and off the gas quite a bit in just one turn. I've seen a guy actually drift turns 8 and 9 at Willow Springs in one continuous drift consistently lap after lap. Keep in mind it's a high speed turn about a 1/2 mile in length. Swinging the tail out on a car as you turn in an intersection is not exactly what I call drifting. It can be, but just because a person can do that doesn't mean they can hold a steady state drift.

[Erik]

there's actually a couple techinques for drifting a automatic, my 240's are Manual but some of the techinques i used would work in a auto

of course brake drifting, get some speed and before the turnhit the brakes hard briefly then steer hard out then back into the turn to get sideways

another way isheading straight before the turn, let's say on a left curve, drop your right tire off the road if there's some dirt or grass, and then power back into towards the turn the dirt or grass will cause your wheels to spin and you should still be able to maintain traction loss if your turning hard enough..

also with the ebrake drift, it's not that bad, you should NOT be holding the ebrake to drift, but merely yanking it up very quickly then back down just to lose traction before the turn then hit the gas and slide....

brake drifting should be the easiest, another way is to have some speed built up and while going straight jerk the steering wheel back and forth until u get a lil traction loss, then when entering the turn you should have enough built up to have no traction..

also drifting isn't recommended without a LSD and some suspension mods, it's going to be alot harder without those.....

also i think someone mentioned something about using your clutch to drift, the main way drift most of the time is i will be going like 50mph or so in 3rd gear and then before i get to the turn push the clutch in hold it, put it in 2nd gear then let go of the clutch real fast, it will make your rear end lock up and then you just hit the gas pedal and continue sliding.. it works really good

also i don't recommend people trying to learnt o drift in the rain, your car reacts totally differnt.. if you don't have enough power to get sideways in the dry then i guess the rain would be fun for some, but i like having mroe control

[randybunctious]

ive tried this stuff, the braking drift etc. with my friends auto transmission. the power really isnt a problem (stock 86's are extremely slow but drift well) if i were you, i would somehow put a manuel transmission or get a 240 with a mts. when my 240 was stocki could clutch kick it in 3rd and break it loose. since you are interested in drifting, it would be best to get a mts because there are so many methods of breaking it loose. also to control long drifts you will need to feather the clutch and throttle. a lsd would help greatly but thats a diffrent thread. hope this helps

[SloS13]

sorry about the OT but

Erik, wsup dawg, you remember meh? Im getting a 240 soon. Already got a turbo, gauges, ignition, safc. just need the actual car itself Im the guy who had the prelude with the tv and stuff, which i actually turboed (short-lived experiment)

Randy - I used to go to school in Lancaster. Small world