Drifting has become a well-known thing in popular culture.
Whether it’s in the movies our out on the real racetracks, most people have some idea of what drifting is, or at least what it looks like.
But there’s a lot more to it than you might think—so what exactly is drifting?
Drifting is a driving technique in which the driver deliberately oversteers in order to drive straight through a corner. The driver uses the throttle and brakes to cause the rear slip angle of the car to exceed the front slip angle, causing the wheels to point in the opposite direction to the turn.
So, it is ‘drifting’ in the sense that the car appears to be gliding along the road, maintaining momentum from acceleration but having the handbrake on for the turn.
It’s really a spectacle to behold, and drifting competitions are judged largely on the basis of showmanship.
Let’s find out more.
How do you explain drifting?
There’s a lot of different things that go into drifting, so it can be a bit tricky to give a full explanation.
As I mentioned, the key part is oversteering.
Drifting is all to do with how you turn corners.
The driver intentionally oversteers the car into the corner, usually while engaging one or more of the brakes.
Often, the handbrake is used as it is the easier way to start a drift.
However, in circuit racing, it isn’t normally used because of the loss of speed.
It also wears the tires and other parts of the car.
But there are plenty of other ways you can initiate a drift, but it’s all about controlling the car by coordinating counter-steer.
The emphasis is on modulation of the brakes and the throttle to move the weight of the car back and forth through turns.
In competitive drifting, the importance is usually on drifting through corners while staying within the lines of the track, what are also known as the clipping points.
Many will be quick to point out that drifting is not, itself, the fastest way to get around corners or a track.
Drifting isn’t really about speed or efficiency, but about control.
Negotiating a racetrack effectively through the side of your car rather than the front makes drifting a really unique driving experience.
The practice originated in the 1970s in Japan, where drivers like Kunimitsu Takahashi pioneered the artform.
He earned many championships during his tenure, and the public came to love the spectacle of smoke from drifting tires.
What does it feel like to drift, then?
What does drifting feel like?
Since the car is effectively slipping around freely on the tarmac, without much traction, it feels a lot like driving on ice.
In the middle of a drift turn, what’s called centripetal force comes into play.
This is a force that makes a body follow a curved path—in this case, the curve of the road.
The force will pull the car in a circular motion, which is what you need for drifting.
You want to be able to balance the movement between the back and the front of the car in order to easily navigate the turns.
So, it really feels a lot like slipping around on ice, only with a great deal more control.
You are moving in a direction orthogonal to the direction your wheels are pointing.
It can certainly be gut-wrenching at first if you’ve never done it before, and getting used to all the different forces involved can be a learning curve.
Especially in very high-speed drifting, the forces acting on the car and on your body are changing rapidly from moment to moment.
So, it can be a lot to deal with at first. If you’re interested, though, you can certainly get used to this quite quickly.
Are certain cars better for drifting?
What makes a car a drift car?
Yes, there certainly are cars that are designed specifically for drifting now, though you can also just use typical racing cars.
Often, drift cars are simply selected for a few key features which you can easily find in racing cars.
You really need a front engine with rear-wheel drive, as cars with mid or rear engines can’t change direction anywhere near as quickly.
That’s really the only universally important factor.
Many drifters then favor different aspects of different vehicles, depending on personal preference.
How easy is it to drift?
How difficult is drifting?
Drifting is, as car sports go, pretty difficult to get go grips with.
It takes a long time to learn and much, much longer to master.
Obviously, you already need to be able to learn to drive to begin with.
Then, you’ll need to develop an entirely new set of skills to be able to drift.
Drifting is not easy, then, but in a way, it’s only as hard as any other craft which takes time and patience to learn.
With the right determination and diligence, anyone can learn to drift to some degree, though it certainly does take a lot of time to learn.
The most experienced drifters have spent thousands of hours practicing their technique.
Drifting is an art as much as an extreme sport, then.
It’s really difficult to learn to do, and there are always risks involved.
Nonetheless, if you can get the hang of it, it’s one of the most rewarding extreme sports out there.
The levels of finesse that you can reach as competition gets more and more intense is truly spectacular.
