skunks

How do you guys in FD's catch that slide and not spin out? When I use to run my car, I use to attempt to get sideways and I was able to catch a few slides but it was very few and far in between. Most of the time I just keep spinning out. Not sure if it was the gravel on crappy parking lots I use to play on or because I just didn't counter steer fast enough; perhaps it was cuz I would not really let my steering wheel go and let it counter steer itself.

What technique do you guys use? I never was really able to use Ebrake and actually slide through a turn (just keep spinning out), I mainly clutch kicked it or just powered over and was able to hold a few slides with that. My E-brake did work nicely to do U-turns and J-turns but I never really got the hang of using it to start and keep a slide going. I've read with FDs, you gotta do everything a little bit faster in order to catch the slide and not just spin out.

mikerbike

Maybe you could try counter steering faster. Or perhaps let your steering wheel go and let it counter steer itself. That's a start.

RotaSpinna69

iTrader: (10)

Is most of the cars suspension factory? Minor adjustments can be made to really make the car predictable if you have aftermarket suspension pieces.

The smaller wheelbase cars demands constant steering wheel attention. Worry less about the gear, speed, etc. Keep your eyes where you want to steer the car and let your hands do the work.

Try getting an aftermarket wheel, hub, spacer, and some nice gloves.

sil8ty

look ahead and drive ahead of the car.

Summit HEART

iTrader: (5)

Learn in a 240

ilia

iTrader: (4)

Typically people who are just learning don't turn the wheel fast enough. When the car is coming around you have to steer fast enough to catch the back end. Drifting is all about timing.

skunks

Yes I know 240's are better and much kinder to beginners. the only problem is I dont have a 240. one of these days I will but my money is tied up right now in other things, (I'm 400k in debt, once im out of the hole I'll look towards getting a 240). Actuallly its not the cost of the 240 which is holding me back, its the price of insurance, reg, saftey check (getting it to past saftey).

skunks

I think your corrent. when you get sliding, do you pretty much instantly start to counter steer or throw your steering wheel into a counter steer? What entry speed are you guys using for each gear (assuming stock tranny and rear diff)?

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

sounds like more seat time is needed but coils will make the car more predictable/easier to drift then the stock suspension. try feathering or blipping the throttle a little more, its about that balance not only with the angle of the car but with the balance between your throttle input and steering wheel. when you feel its going too far around, try letting off a little or blipping and steering a little harder. practice in an area where you have room in case you catapault yourself the opposite way though.

skunks

Oh i def need more seat time. so your saying I should use more throttle even though i feel that the rear is comming around on me? That is intresting as most times I will let off the throttle if I think I'm going into a spin and have rotated too far around to save it which of course ends in a spin.

ilia

iTrader: (4)

It's all timing in general. Your hand has to move in time with your foot, which has to move in time with the rotation of the car. If the car is coming around slowly, your hands and feet move slowly too. If the car is coming around more quickly, you do the same.

You just need time to get your body accustomed to doing all of that stuff.

Derek King

iTrader: (2)

your foot should control most everything. All your hands should be doing is letting go and catching the wheel........and yanking on levers and accidentally hitting turn signals and windshield wipers.

Valkyrie

The FD is a bad drift car.

That aside, what are you running for rear tires? If you're doing it with bald junkyard tires, you're going to spin out a lot. Like, every time you drift at over 20 MPH. A car with as much power as an FD needs decent rear tires. My MR-2 won't maintain a slide with anything less than summer sports tires. It just spins without them. If you don't have some grip you can't control the slide with throttle either.

A bucket seat and a steering wheel with a spacer to adjust to your height and arm length are vital. A proper driving position and a seat (and ideally harness) with good hold are more important than suspension upgrades. Period.

The most important thing with motorsports is seat time. If you aren't doing some sort of event or track day on a closed course on a regular basis, you will never, ever become a good racer/drifter. It's just like learning a foreign language. Five minutes a week will never get you speaking Mandarin. You have to actually go to China.

So come back after you practice for another couple of hours and still can't get it.

mikerbike

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

^comparing a mid engine car to a front engine car? your MR2 should be hard to drift period. better tires may help but its mid engine, completely different feel and a lot harder to drift then a front engine car. it can be done, but I KNOW that a FD would be easier then that MR2 unless you have done extensive setup on the MR2. you are right on with a good bucket seat though. ask me how I know. even though I have yet to attain a harness, I managed to trade my OEM drivers seat for a corbeau forza fixed bucket. world of difference.

that said, I mean let off when the car is coming around too much. when I say blip the throttle, I mean let off while trying to maintain the slide and then give a little throttle, let off, rinse, repeat as nessecary. sometimes you need to let off for a split second and get back on it. other times a bit longer before you get back on it. its a balancing act and requires skill to get right. you develope skill through practice, it doesn't happen overnight. I think that you should go to a big lot/skid pad and try to do donuts. then transition into larger circles so you end up essentially drifting in a circle (not just doing a donut). known what I'm saying? once you master that with out spinning out and ending the drift, you can move on to trying different initiations (i.e. clutch kick, e brake, power over. those are the easiest. the hard ones are using your regular brakes to shift weight forward as you enter a corner and loosen up the back end that way. accel off is the same idea except you just let off the gas to shift weight. then there are feints aka scandinavian flicks which can also be incorporated.)

you need to understand and get used to how to react to your car. you must focus on BOTH steering speed and throttle input to get it right. I am betting it is the combination of the 2 thats causing your spinning. definietly try throwing and catching the steering wheel, its faster.

last note: the FD (as well as the FC, S2000, 370Z and others) are 50/50 weighted cars front to rear. this means that the car will rotate around its center/you. this gives you a shorter "pendulum" to work with hence the snappiness of the cars and how easy it is to spin out. we have less margin for error. the majority of popular drift chassis' (and RWD sports cars in general) are weighted more towards the front so their cars pivot around the engine area. so their "pendulum" is longer and more forgiving since a) they have more weight on one side of the "pendulum" and b)the longer distance away from that weight is easier to control. our cars have the same weight at both ends for the most part.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

go to youtube and watch in car footage of FD/FC's where you can see the steering wheel and what drivers are doing. that can help you there but throttle is really a feel thing. just looking at what someone does there won't help too much.

Valkyrie

The FD is a bad drift car, the MR-2 is the WORST drift car (besides 4WD and FF cars).

The FD's suspension, steering, and weight distribution make it a bad car for drifting. But the cost of the car itself, the high cost of parts, the poor reliability, and the bad gas mileage make it an even worse car to learn how to drift on.

By comparison a 240/Silvia is better balanced for drifting (but less balanced for racing), has much bigger stock steering angle and more potential for angle, the cars are cheap, and they're more reliable and gas efficient than rotaries.

Not saying to buy a S13/S14, just to keep in mind that the FD isn't a great car to drift with.

stevensimon

iTrader: (11)

ive drifted on somewhat regular basis s13, s14, fc, fd and tbh the fc was the worst for me to figure out but it was also my first platform. to me, the fd feels almost exactly like the s14.

mikerbike

You probably seem really stupid to a lot of people right now. Can you be more specific? What is bad about the suspension? What is bad about the weight distribution?

TweakGames

iTrader: (3)

lol, this whole thread.

Valkyrie

Compared to other cars. a 50/50 distribution is harder to drift than a slightly front-heavy balance. RX-7's don't have the same steering angle potential as S-series and 86's without serious knuckle modification.

For the purposes of drifting, a double wishbone isn't as much fun as a solid axle or as easy to use as a multi link.

If the FD was a good drift car, there would be more than 4 of them in D1GP (out of 51 cars). OTOH, there are　13 Silvias... 16 if you include 180sx's.

Narfle

iTrader: (16)

FD's never have the angle.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

^all the s chassis drivers are scared of rotary cause they only know pistons. lol. New zealand is drifting tons of FC's in pro and amatuer comps. they know whats up

tweakgames-try to help or gtfo. I see you doing this **** all over every now and then. if you're so good try to explain to this dude some things he can work on. wtf, thats be a helpful community people. too much of this "I'm gonna post but just say its a dumb thread" up on this forum. yep, things come up more then once. search for threads and post links or contribute. think its dumb hit the dumb thread buttons, alt+f4.

TweakGames

iTrader: (3)

.

You're cute when you're mad.

Ok so, hit the gas until the back of your car comes out, then turn the wheel the direction the back of your car comes out. Don't be a sissy, come in hot, don't let off the gas, and you will hold the drift. If you are shallowing out, you are either pushing (get more front grip, or lower the rear's traction), you have too little of power, (going to require a bunch of clutch kicks), or you are too big of a girl and need to come in faster and stay on the gas.

Here is a link to contribute. It isn't FD, an FD will just have more grip, so it requires that you come in hotter, and that you can't let off even more. I run 255 rears at proper psi.

http://youtu.be/p_7dA0jGanU?hd=1

Nice rant though, was seriously cute. Next time to not look so stupid, try capitalizing the first letter of your rants. Need any more help/advice?

Basically, do this:



Got it?

skunks

that was one of the things I was considering, I'm not sure if even opposite lock will give me enough angle with the front tires to catch the slide and not just spin out. perhaps its just more of not letting off the gas though. Will try to stand on the gas more.