optimusprim3

So far I'm installing inner tie rods beforehand and picked up 4 used tires for cheap! Anything else I should get or prepare for? I mean I've drifted around parking lots and some corners late at night but I'm just wondering if anyone had tips and whatnot

Driftwannabe

I just went to my first event 2 weekends ago so ill try to help you out a little. 1) you would want to get those tires mounted on extra rims. From what I'm told most events don't have tire changers so only having extra tires won't help you, you'll still only be able to drift whatever's on the rim. You might know that already, just going off the attached pic. 2) have zero expectations. don't expect to go out there and do great on your first day but at the same time don't be nervous about spinning out all day either. Just have a positive outlook and enjoy the hell out of it, by the end of the day you'll have made progress and should have a basic understanding of drifting and of what areas you need to practice most. 3) don't be afraid to ask for help. Every body I've met in the drifting community so far ahead been extremely nice and helpful(as long as your not asking stupid questions). Obviously don't ask a million questions just because you can but if your having problems don't be afraid to ask. 4) when I first went out I wasn't comfortable going as fast as I needed to be going to complete the whole first turn, I stayed in 2nd at about 45-50 at the entry of the turn. I was drifting it but not as good as I could have been. One of the guys there told me to hit it in 3rd at 60-70, at first I laughed and was like "I'm not that good yet" but as soon as I tried it I realized I had waisted the first half of the day by not hitting it at the right speed. Gear and speed is extremely important. In 2nd I was on the rev limiter the entire time and had no room to adjust my angle with throttle. If I let off the gas I straightened out and I couldn't give it more throttle because I was already on the rev limiter. Once I started hitting it in 3rd there was a ton of room for adjustment and even though I was going 15-20 mph faster it was 10x easier(during drift, giving more throttle should give you a bigger angle and letting off throttle should cause you to straighten out alot. In 2nd I couldn't let off or give more). So it might feel scary at first but in the end it will be more controllable and help you learn more. 5) clutch kick to initiate your drift use e brake to adjust if you get to that point at your first event. 6) this is the last tip but throughout the day the thing that gave me the most trouble was transitioning in between drifts. When going from left to right or right to left I tended to lay on the throttle through transition and spun myself out almost everytime. I had a guy ride along with me to teach me his ways and he told me that when you switch from one direction to the other you need to let off the throttle as the car starts to transition and right before the car would be straight you give throttle and counter steer as needed

optimusprim3

Thanks bro, that helps. They have a tire mount at this event so I'm not too worried. I'll definitely keep the speed in mind, I've drifted corners and banks before at night and I too have trouble with transitioning because I feel like I countersteer TOO much and shoot left and right all over the place, we'll see how I do tomorrow. Haha ebraking on my car sucks and idk how to clutch kick yet but hopefully I'll learn tomorrow!

I just installed the tie rods yesterday and am hearing a knock at slow speeds (when I'm turning at a sharp angle), not sure what it is, maybe I need to grind down the steering stop even more, anyone have a clue about this??

Driftwannabe

Well.... How'd it go?!

optimusprim3

It was awesome! Hopefully they will put up pics soon. The track was pretty hard for newbies, 3 hairpins, 2 corners and a roundabout. Could not transition through all of them, but I did learn how to initiate a drift by shift-locking and started doing that the second half of the day getting by with 2-3 smooth transitions per lap. Somehow I only went through 1 set of rear tires (95% with hankooks ftw) and punctured a hole in my right passenger tire. Thankfully they had a tire mount there

Seriously addicted to drifting now lol even started watching Initial D and got myself a new set of drift spares. I'm gonna tear up the next event for sure!