mongooze
Driver
Alright, so you got your car setup and you wanna hit the track, but how do I begin to enter a slide?
First, you must understand a few things.
Countersteer- Turning the wheel the opposite direction of which the car is heading.
Oversteer- The back end of the car sliding outwards.
Understeer- or "Pushing" The driver giving steering input with no reaction, basically the car is going straight while you are trying to turn the wheel, loss of traction from the front wheels.
What you want to do is be in control while being out of control. A controlled slide.
Step 1, Start off by doing donuts, No not mashing the throttle pulling the wheel full lock doing massive burnouts and creating nothing but a smoke show. CONTROLLED Circle Drift Donuts, the key here is to go in a complete circle while being on oversteer and countersteering, this gets your use to the feel of an oversteer and countersteering.
Once you have completed this go for figure 8s, figure 8s are great because they incorporate donuts with transitions. A transition or switchback is changing directions of a slide with a slide.
Now once that is mastered, it's time to take a corner, now the funny part about this is your actually going to work your way backwards, you are going to start to drift towards the end of the corner rather than from the begining, gradually getting better and better and moving your way forward towards the braking zone. Here is how and why.
You have to get use to your racing line and countersteering and learn how to initiate a drift.
If you were to come in and start way early and initiate incorrectly you will either spin out or understeer straight, and if your off track, there is probably something in your way that you might hit.
So here is what you do, start by entering in the middle, enter AT the apex, this way you are in a "safe zone" if you mess up, if you over/understeer, you have time and room to correct.
It is actually easier also because you will already have momentum, the car will already be in a turn, rather than coming from a straight line trying to get the car sideways.
You can fient into it or clutch kick, As you progress, start going into the turn earlier and earlier till you can completely drift a full race line.
There are many techniques but the two most common are the feint or ebrake.
I'm going to show to the dymanics of a full drift and proper racing line and what your goal is in the corner.
First off let's start off with a typical racing line and what an apex is (note: the apex in a corner is referred to as one of the "clipping points" in a competition.)
There are 3 different types of corners and ways to enter them, a normal 90 degree constant-radius, increasing and decreasing radius, with that you will determine early or late apexs.
Constant-Radius Corner
A corner that has one radius that doesn’t change from the beginning of the corner to the end. A normal midpoint apex can be taken if you are looking for fastest overall corner speed. If you want corner exit speed, take a late apex.
Increasing-Radius Corner
A corner that has a smaller radius in the beginning then opens up to a larger radius at the end.
The apex of this corner is earlier than the midpoint of the turn. The turn-in point for an increasing radius turn is usually earlier than for a constant-radius corner.
Decreasing-Radius Corner.
A corner that has a larger radius in the beginning then tightens up to a smaller radius at the end. The apex of the corner is later than the midpoint of the turn. The turn-in point is usually later than for a constant-radius corner.
Normal Apex
A normal apex occurs at the midpoint of the corner. Normal apexes can be used when corner entry and exit are the same radius. Using a normal apex will give you the fastest overall cornering speed. The entry speed and exit speed are all the same.
Early Apex
And early apex occurs before the corner’s midpoint. Early apexes are used for increasing-radius turns. The apex of the corner is at a point before the midpoint of the turn. Higher entry speed can be carried.
Late Apex
A late apex is one that occurs past the midpoint of the turn. Late apexes are used in most corners to position the car for higher exit speeds. Late apexing is also handy for decreasing-radius turns.
I will show you a typical 90 degree corner and race line.
Here is your race line and how its done.
1. Braking Zone- This is where you want to slow the vehicle down and prepare for the turn in
2. Turn in Point- This is where you begin to turn into your corner.
3. Apex- This is your "clipping point" and is where you want to place your car.
4. Exit Point- This is where you finish turn and accellerate out of it.
Now let's look at it at a drifting standing point.
1. Braking Zone- This is where you are going to begin to Ebrake or handbrake. THIS is how you slow your car down in drifting. What you are doing here is not trying to be completley sideways but to slow down with slight angle to when you come into the turn in point you already have sideways momentum.
2. Turn in point- Or in this case Drift in, this is where you are going to clutch kick or power or to being to truly slide, full lock and wide open throttle
3. Apex or Clipping Point- The goal here is to get the nose of the car as close as you can into clipping point which is usually marked with a cone. The closer you get without hitting it, the more points are awarded from the racing line judge.
4. Exit Point- This is where you complete your drift OR continue on sliding and prepare for the next corner. The exit point may also be a clipping point which can also be a wall, and just like the apex, getting as close to the wall earns major points, also something I like to call Wall Riding.
Now luckly for you in drifting all points are laid out for you to where you want to place the car, unlike road racing where you kind have to figure it out yourself by practicing the track.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Personally, I enjoy to practice in the rain, many people hate it. They think it's too slippery and your way out of control, but hey isn’t that what we are trying to learn? how to be in control of the out of control? Rain is perfect because it's an easy way to break traction that actually teaches you alot about truly controlling an out of control slide. Plus is less noisy ( no screeching tires) and it saves tires! Then take what you learn in the rain and apply it in dry.
A couple quick tips.
Vision: LOOK where you want to place the car and you will, If you stare are the wall, your probably going to hit it.
Understeer: If you encounter a little bit of under steer try trail braking a little bit.
Trail (left-foot) Braking: Braking in the middle of a corner with your left foot while your right is steadly on the gas.
Throttle: Try to keep the throttle input smooth, abrupt throttle input can cause unwanted
weight transfer.
Stay tuned for the next installment of drifting 103: Suspension Setup.
First, you must understand a few things.
Countersteer- Turning the wheel the opposite direction of which the car is heading.
Oversteer- The back end of the car sliding outwards.
Understeer- or "Pushing" The driver giving steering input with no reaction, basically the car is going straight while you are trying to turn the wheel, loss of traction from the front wheels.
What you want to do is be in control while being out of control. A controlled slide.
Step 1, Start off by doing donuts, No not mashing the throttle pulling the wheel full lock doing massive burnouts and creating nothing but a smoke show. CONTROLLED Circle Drift Donuts, the key here is to go in a complete circle while being on oversteer and countersteering, this gets your use to the feel of an oversteer and countersteering.
Once you have completed this go for figure 8s, figure 8s are great because they incorporate donuts with transitions. A transition or switchback is changing directions of a slide with a slide.
Now once that is mastered, it's time to take a corner, now the funny part about this is your actually going to work your way backwards, you are going to start to drift towards the end of the corner rather than from the begining, gradually getting better and better and moving your way forward towards the braking zone. Here is how and why.
You have to get use to your racing line and countersteering and learn how to initiate a drift.
If you were to come in and start way early and initiate incorrectly you will either spin out or understeer straight, and if your off track, there is probably something in your way that you might hit.
So here is what you do, start by entering in the middle, enter AT the apex, this way you are in a "safe zone" if you mess up, if you over/understeer, you have time and room to correct.
It is actually easier also because you will already have momentum, the car will already be in a turn, rather than coming from a straight line trying to get the car sideways.
You can fient into it or clutch kick, As you progress, start going into the turn earlier and earlier till you can completely drift a full race line.
There are many techniques but the two most common are the feint or ebrake.
I'm going to show to the dymanics of a full drift and proper racing line and what your goal is in the corner.
First off let's start off with a typical racing line and what an apex is (note: the apex in a corner is referred to as one of the "clipping points" in a competition.)
There are 3 different types of corners and ways to enter them, a normal 90 degree constant-radius, increasing and decreasing radius, with that you will determine early or late apexs.
Constant-Radius Corner
A corner that has one radius that doesn’t change from the beginning of the corner to the end. A normal midpoint apex can be taken if you are looking for fastest overall corner speed. If you want corner exit speed, take a late apex.
Increasing-Radius Corner
A corner that has a smaller radius in the beginning then opens up to a larger radius at the end.
The apex of this corner is earlier than the midpoint of the turn. The turn-in point for an increasing radius turn is usually earlier than for a constant-radius corner.
Decreasing-Radius Corner.
A corner that has a larger radius in the beginning then tightens up to a smaller radius at the end. The apex of the corner is later than the midpoint of the turn. The turn-in point is usually later than for a constant-radius corner.
Normal Apex
A normal apex occurs at the midpoint of the corner. Normal apexes can be used when corner entry and exit are the same radius. Using a normal apex will give you the fastest overall cornering speed. The entry speed and exit speed are all the same.
Early Apex
And early apex occurs before the corner’s midpoint. Early apexes are used for increasing-radius turns. The apex of the corner is at a point before the midpoint of the turn. Higher entry speed can be carried.
Late Apex
A late apex is one that occurs past the midpoint of the turn. Late apexes are used in most corners to position the car for higher exit speeds. Late apexing is also handy for decreasing-radius turns.
I will show you a typical 90 degree corner and race line.
Here is your race line and how its done.
1. Braking Zone- This is where you want to slow the vehicle down and prepare for the turn in
2. Turn in Point- This is where you begin to turn into your corner.
3. Apex- This is your "clipping point" and is where you want to place your car.
4. Exit Point- This is where you finish turn and accellerate out of it.
Now let's look at it at a drifting standing point.
1. Braking Zone- This is where you are going to begin to Ebrake or handbrake. THIS is how you slow your car down in drifting. What you are doing here is not trying to be completley sideways but to slow down with slight angle to when you come into the turn in point you already have sideways momentum.
2. Turn in point- Or in this case Drift in, this is where you are going to clutch kick or power or to being to truly slide, full lock and wide open throttle
3. Apex or Clipping Point- The goal here is to get the nose of the car as close as you can into clipping point which is usually marked with a cone. The closer you get without hitting it, the more points are awarded from the racing line judge.
4. Exit Point- This is where you complete your drift OR continue on sliding and prepare for the next corner. The exit point may also be a clipping point which can also be a wall, and just like the apex, getting as close to the wall earns major points, also something I like to call Wall Riding.
Now luckly for you in drifting all points are laid out for you to where you want to place the car, unlike road racing where you kind have to figure it out yourself by practicing the track.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Personally, I enjoy to practice in the rain, many people hate it. They think it's too slippery and your way out of control, but hey isn’t that what we are trying to learn? how to be in control of the out of control? Rain is perfect because it's an easy way to break traction that actually teaches you alot about truly controlling an out of control slide. Plus is less noisy ( no screeching tires) and it saves tires! Then take what you learn in the rain and apply it in dry.
A couple quick tips.
Vision: LOOK where you want to place the car and you will, If you stare are the wall, your probably going to hit it.
Understeer: If you encounter a little bit of under steer try trail braking a little bit.
Trail (left-foot) Braking: Braking in the middle of a corner with your left foot while your right is steadly on the gas.
Throttle: Try to keep the throttle input smooth, abrupt throttle input can cause unwanted
weight transfer.
Stay tuned for the next installment of drifting 103: Suspension Setup.
