drifting

[Lucas van Altena]

Hi all,
Last wednesday i went to Zandvoort to start in a drifting-school with GTD.
The car (profi's) used all BMW 6 cil.on the track.
A friens of my who is a talente young racedriver Bas Koeten (bas koeten racing)
toke me for a drift in BMW 525 on the track.
Well drifting thougth the tarzan was great fun and he showed me the tricks to drift.
Later we went with the GTD on the track in the paddock (drifting-school), my friend Bas drove the GTD for about 10 minutes, but could only make 1 drift, everthing else was 180 ° cornering or the corner went to early in.
I went for my first drift, well a made 1 drift in also ten minutes not like those profs on stearing and full throttle, but by changing the throttle.
Later the dirft-instructor went for a drift but he could only manage 1 180° drift.
The complane of the 2 men was: there is no feeling in front, you don't know where the car is gooing to.
The coming 1 november i will be learing to drift in a BMW.
I can tell you it was realy great fun!
Regards Luc

 

[Lynn Larsen]

Luc,

Drifting a GT40 is like using a F4 Phantom as a glider. (The F4 is said to be the quintessential proof that, given enough thrust, anything can be made to fly.) In both cases the design just doesn't match the intended use. If you REALLY want to drift, get a sprint car with 800-1000HP; then you can drift!

Regards,
Lynn

 

[Ron Earp]

What is that drifting stuff anyhow, a race ballet?

All I know is that it has driven the price of prime SCCA IT cars, 240sx from the 90s, high now because the import crowd has no rear drivers. Don't know why they just don't get a beat up Mustang/Camaro and drift til the cows come home, but then again, I suppose it is more fun to spend $5k on turbocharging a 4 banger to have 250hp. I don't think I get it.

Ron

 

[Lee]

This drifting think also started to iritate me at the last couple of track days I did in my old car. There were a number of youngsters in whatever car they had 'getting in the way' as I saw it on some of the corners. They appeared to be going sideways too much, which I initially thought was inexperience on a track, but then started realising that it was deliberate. With a 40 on the track, there is a large speed difference between it and most other cars, but when they are doing this drifting, they are obviously going even slower, and it becomes much more dangerous. This was a couple of years ago now. Does anyone know, have track day organisers started making allowance for this by banning deliberate drifting, or separating into groups of 'racers' and 'drifters'?

 

[J. Salmon]

Now I am a newbie, so there are a lot of things I don't understand, but the drifting thing is a complete enigma. This is like making a sport of doing donuts (and next - you watch - it will be an olympic sport...). Don't get me wrong, I still harbor a true love a screamin' burnout, but now there are numerous "schools" that "teach" the finer points of doing donuts. If this were the Fast and Furious fan club forum, you could have a dedicated topic, but it seems somehow blasphemous to mention "drifting" and GT40 in the same sentence.

 

[Lucas van Altena]

Lynn,
My GTD has horsepower enough, 350 at the rearwheels (Frank Catt told me that, he knows my car), even cars with less horsepower can drift, when i was young in the late 60's, my first car was a Fiat 600 and i could drift with that little car thought a 90° corner.
Ron,
What i'm traying to learn is drifting like the japanese do, this will give me controle over the car and it is like you said a ballet.
Lee,
We drift only when the circuit has those drift-hours, so only drifting is allowed.
We have a championship in drifting, champ is Jaap van Lagen and runnerup is Tom Coronel.
In the 60's i went to Zandvoord and saw Rob Slotemaker racing a Mustang and rob always drifted throuhgt the every corner and i was told that Rod did the stunts for the picture Le Mans.
Rob Slotemaker was famous on his controled drifting stile, he founded in the early 60's a slipschool for roaddrivers to anticiped in rainy conditions.
regards,
Luc

 

[Sandy]

Yes, You are right Ron!

A freind at work is into it, has a 240sx turbo and the blue light special stuff. He has a lot of fun, but not sure what the point is. Tires are too expensive to waste for that stuff IMO (Used tires at that).

But I guess it is good, when you add all the Blue LED lights, NOS Machine Gun Purge systems, Turbo relief valves, 'Coffee Can' size exhaust tips someone's got to be having fun... Ahh the tuner generation /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sandy

 

A well known race driver and car builder told me at last years Long Beach Grand Prix after a drifting demonstration "drifting is a by-product of poor engineering" ....for what it's worth.
IMHO it was fun to watch for about 10 minutes then I was over it.

 

[wpeter]

I wasn't going to get into this discussion but this drifting has now invaded my space. Turn 8 Road America during regular races. I can't even burn a brat with a few friends without this screeching smoking mess coming across the track from the go kart track. The announcer is one of those guys who would scream into the microphone expounding on the thrills of a turtle race. And what is with the colored chalk they drive through? Not enough smoke? If it's about car control then why the smoking tires? It's not that I don't like Japanese cars and all the tuning going on. Quite the contrary, I own a massaged EVO and I think tuning is just present day hot rodding. But, I was reading Modified magazine where they were talking about a race where coming across the finish line first was not necessarily the object unless you got the car sideways enough AND made the appropriate amount of smoke. What's that? I just don't get it. Next time I'm going over there. Maybe it's something in the smoke.
Bill

 

[Bill Bayard]

Bill,

More than likely, it's what they're smoking! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Using the e-brake to get wheel spin isn't my idea of fun

either! To each, their own. Ask NASCAR fans what

LeMans is, and 95% of them would tell you that it's a Pontiac! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Bill

 

[Ian K]

I remember the story of the Greenwood Vettes racing the 911s,
and the driver (whose name i cannot recall) knew the Porsches
were better on the turns and could outbreak the Vette at
full throttle, but down the long straights, the Vette was
unmatched. To compensate, he would push the Vette as far down
the straight as he could, then turn it sideways right in
front of the 911, hoping the tires would grab before the
Vette met the wall, and then accelerate in a straight line,
through the turn, and onto the next straight. I believe he
won the race because he fouled the air pretty nastily for
the 911. But he would in no way state he was in complete
control of the car as it slid around the track.

So, I would not use drifting as a learning tool on how to
drive a car to its limit (especially a GT40 which by design
should not drift since all of the weight is basically above
the rear tires). Drifting is when the car has exceeded its limit.

Ian

 

Somebody said NASCAR?

NASCAR, Budwiser/(Buttwider), HEE HAA

Ugly cars, Ugly beer, ugly people

 

[Howard Jones]

Drifting hun?............. Better than rap. Oh and by the way the drifting demo was more interesting that the CART race in San Jose. Go ahead just ask me about the CART race in San Jose.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Drifting hun?............. Better than rap. Oh and by the way the drifting demo was more interesting that the CART race in San Jose. Go ahead just ask me about the CART race in San Jose.

[/ QUOTE ]

I understand CART will use the bump at the light rail tracks next year as part of their drifting exhibition which will be immediatly followed by a P Diddy concert.

 

[Howard Jones]

I never believed that the Texas World race(non) a couple of years ago could be topped, WRONG!!!!!!! The difference was CART thought they could afford to do the right thing then and not run a dangerious rase. This time they didn't think they could afford not to run it. So they did.

Their was not a single pass for posistion (on the track) in the top 10 places. The fan walkways (6 feet wide in a lot of places), bridges (2 total), very few places where you could SEE the track, and really crappy racing. I will NEVER go back there.

On the other hand the IRL roadrace at Sears Point was very cool. Great track for both the fans and the racers. GREAT SEATS( they allowed you to sit anywhere except the main grandstand with the one(same) ticket). AND next year they are going to add the prototype cars to the weekend.

On top of everything else my daughter got to shake Mario's hand Sunday morning in the paddock. WAYCOOL. I'll be back!!

Oh.... and no stupid drifting or WWF in the infield between races.

 

[Craig White]

[ QUOTE ]
...I can tell you it was realy great fun!...
Regards Luc

[/ QUOTE ]

That's great Luc, thanks for writing about your GT40 Drifting experiences. Interesting with the vague steering thing, I wonder if anyone else has tried to Drift a GT40.

It seems like 5th Gear TV presenters Drift every car they get there hands on...and Top Gear presenters are not far behind.

It's a pretty new sport and I'm all for encouraging tracks and driving centres to cater for it. Especially since it seems to attract a younger audience. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Would rather it not be on the street. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I've Drifted by accident a few times. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Gary Gibbs]

[ QUOTE ]
Their was not a single pass for posistion (on the track) in the top 10 places. ...very few places where you could SEE the track, and really crappy racing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Were you talking about F1?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Lucas van Altena]

I see how many people, how many opinions, i like that.

Graig, you understand what i mean. If you can drift your gt40, you controle your gt40.
It has nothing to do to go fast, but controle the car, the power and stearing.
Like Schumacher said in German "mit deine popometer.
The vage stearing is for me a riddle, because i have a normal knowlich of automotive technics.
So if anybody can give me a clue where i have to look for on the car.
I have change the font castor from 1° to 5° back to 1° and camber to 5°.
Toe-in 1 mm.
The rear of the car 5° castor.
The gtd40 still drives like a sailingboat and i still will controle the gtd40 now or later.
I love my gtd40 for his pulling you back in the seat and roaring sound.
Regards, Luc

 

[Joe T]

I am a bit confused, has know one seen the Racing Legend Jim Clark video, maxing out a MK1 Lotus Cortina round a track plenty of drifting if I recall, and that was some time ago.

Ahh I forgot Jim Clark, Colin Chapman, Lotus, Mmm he beat quite a few big engined cars in that little 4 banger powered drifting machine! not to mention what he did with race cars!

Cheers

 

[Ron Earp]

Joe, it is one thing to drift a old Cortina around on the racing line as normal practice as the car was on bias ply tires that are very thin by modern standards. Was done to be fast. But current race tires are a heck of a lot stickier than imagined 30 years ago and drifting a, for example, Z06 Corvette with race rubber is not the fastest line through the turn, by a long shot. I suppose it looks like fun though!

Luc, you went from positive 1 degree to positve 5 degress of camber? Or do you mean negative?