Drift techniques/open differential
 

Is it possible that some drift techniques are un-doable if you dont have LSD? I tried to do a faint drift (when u rock the car in the opposite direction of your turn, then turn back quickly to get the back end lose) and it totally doesnt work while turning right, but it does somewhat when i turn left. I was just wondering if not having LSD is the cause of this...
thx.

Most likely, the cause is no more than your own inhibitions. You are probably more comfortable going right to left than you are left to right. However if you were driving on the left side of the road and your car was RHD you would have to opposite problem it would seem harder going right to left than left to right. Make sure you are turning the wheel the same amount for either side if you turn it 40 degrees for the feignt on the right side then turn it 40 degrees when you are doing the feignt on the left side. Also an LSD will give you a world of ease you will never experience with the open differential. Drifting is made much easier with the addition of an LSD.

--Fritz

You probably wont be able to do powerovers, but most other techniques should work.

Thanks sir, i cant wait to get my new diff

you might be having a problem with suspension stiffness as well. i have a 87 tII, and i can drift it like a mofo, but my friend has an 88 base model, and his car is way harder to make slde and impossible to hold for any amount of time. if you have a gx or a base model, you're probly having trouble more with suspension than the diff. but as fritz said "the diff will give u a world of ease"

from my personal experience so far with my old 89 GTU and my new 89 TII. The open diff is harder to come out of the slide straight if you are pretty far sideways. It would do a little fishtail kind of thing on exit that makes you look a more like a novice. This being caused by just one wheel pushing your forward, which sometimes I could get it just right and not fishtail. With the TIIs LSD it will go straight where the front wheels are pointed once it gains traction again, much easier to execute a good exit.

There is a night and day difference.

A good example is my 88 GTU use to be able to keep the ass out pretty easy(sometimes tooo easy ;) )

and now I'm driving a Ford Ranger with open diff or something.(Temp while my GTU <TII conversion is getting done)

I have been in the rain and the thing will only kick out for a split second while the GTU could kick a lot longer.

That one tire which isn't spinning acts like an anchor kind of.

Ahh, thx for all the replies. This clears things up a little

a drift in an open-diff'd car will not have nearly the same control of an LSD equipped car. ever drive an open diff car on a track compared to an LSD equipped car of the same model? it's the difference that wins races and maintains tire wear (in SCCA road racing). our original LSD in our 325i died and we swapped one of the spares at the track...it was mislabeled and turned out to be an open diff...we were ALL over the track, no control in corner entry, braking or power. we swapped another spare in and we were back in business :) the car's attitude is completely different. be careful though when you get the LSD in...the car will react very differently so try not to practice too hard on the street. an auto cross is a good place...