Drifting on front wheel drive without using the handbrake

The physics of skidding or how it happens?

To figure out how to drift with rear-wheel drive, you first need to familiarize yourself with the physics of drifting. When entering a turn, the rear wheels are forced to slide due to a sharp increase in torque on them. In this case, the trajectory of the car is set in such a way that its rear part begins to move ahead of the front.

Under certain conditions, the car is kept in a skidding state until the end of the turn. After passing, the rear wheels are given the opportunity to restore normal traction and the car stabilizes.

A conditionally controlled skid on a rear-wheel drive car can be divided into 3 stages:

entering a skid;
maintaining it throughout the entire turning trajectory;
stabilizing the car, that is, getting out of a skid.

Gradual braking

This technique requires quite high speed. It is considered to be the most difficult. And again, we work with the distribution of the weight of the car. There is a belief in the racing world that the fastest way to go around a corner is by braking hard before the corner. Then you should smoothly release the brake pedal and increase the gas, gradually entering the turn. But this is not the only method.

This technique involves braking throughout the entire turn, but the further you go into the turn, the less you brake. This method allows you to lighten the front of the car and lower the rear. And don't forget to steer in the opposite direction!

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How to make a skid?

To enter a skid, before starting a turn, you need to shift the center of gravity of the car to the front axle. For this purpose, short-term braking is used. After shifting the weight, it is necessary to simultaneously direct the car in the direction of the skid and cause the rear wheels to slide. To do this, the steering wheel is intensively turned towards the turning path, and the accelerator pedal increases the torque on the rear wheels.

To keep the car in a skid throughout the maneuver, it is necessary to maintain sufficient engine speed to ensure constant sliding of the rear wheels. The steering wheel adjusts the correct trajectory of movement.

If the car comes out of a skid on its own and begins to stabilize ahead of time, then it is necessary to increase the engine speed and set the steering wheel to a steeper steering angle.

If you overdo the gas pedal, the car may go into an uncontrolled skid and simply spin out.

How to get out of a skid?

To get out of a skid, the accelerator pedal is smoothly released until the drive wheels stop sliding, and the car is leveled by the steering wheel in the direction of further movement. At the same time, you should not sharply reduce the engine speed, as this can lead to instability of the car and it skidding in the opposite direction.

To learn controlled skidding in a rear-wheel drive vehicle, you should choose a large area of territory where there are no other cars, obstacles or people. Gradually increasing the speed and skidding angle, you need to feel how the car behaves in certain conditions.

The rear-wheel drive drifting technique may one day come in handy for the average driver. In extreme situations, the ability to more abruptly change the trajectory of a car or safely pull it out of an unexpected skid can save the lives of many people.

Education

As a rule, the ability to drift a car is a sign of high skill of a motorist. In order to learn how to perform a controlled drift on a front-wheel drive car, you must first study the theoretical part. After this, all acquired knowledge must be applied in practice. This should only be done on an area equipped for this purpose.

180 degrees

Drifting 180 degrees is quite easy, even on a car with a front driven axle. Most modern cars have a stabilization system; it is better to turn it off before skidding. A controlled skid of 180 degrees is performed in 2 ways. Some of them:

The car needs to be accelerated to approximately 50 km/h. Next, you need to squeeze the clutch, turn the steering wheel quickly and pull the handbrake without releasing its button. After a second, return the handbrake to its previous position and stop the car using the brake pedal;
In a low gear you need to enter the turn. There is no need to release the gas at this time, but you need to slow down a little. In this case, the front wheels will not begin to brake, but the rear wheels will begin to lose traction, which will result in a controlled skid.

To successfully perform this trick, you need to practice it and learn to feel the car.

90 degrees

In this case, the drift angle is smaller, but it is more difficult to perform such a drift. This is due to the fact that you need to watch the steering wheel.

To successfully perform a controlled drift 90 degrees, you need to turn the steering wheel in the direction of the turn and pull the handbrake. In this case, the car can turn 180 degrees. To prevent this, you need to align the wheels with the steering wheel and release the handbrake at the right moment.

The quality of execution depends on the speed of the car. After the skid is completed, you need to switch to a lower gear and continue driving. This kind of drift will not work the first time.

360 degrees

The need for 360-degree drift in everyday driving is eliminated, since there is nowhere to use it. Usually it is performed only for beauty. This drift cannot be accomplished on any car; for this, a gearbox with locking must be installed. Process:

You need to accelerate to approximately 70 km/h;
Depress the clutch without releasing the gas;
Shift to a lower gear;
Turn the steering wheel sharply, pull the handbrake and do not release it until the car turns 180 degrees;
After this, you need to press the gas pedal.

This drift looks more impressive than all the others.

Drift: from history to... theory. And practice!

In the previous article, we figured out where and how drifting originated, who shaped it as a movement and as a culture, as well as what those who cannot imagine their lives without moving on the verge of a U-turn rode and continue to drive. Today we will find out how to do it correctly, what criteria are used to evaluate races in competitions, and why your diesel Volkswagen Passat is not suitable for drifting.

What is drift anyway?

“Drift is a cornering technique and a type of motorsport characterized by cornering with a deliberate stall of the rear axle and passing in a controlled drift at the maximum speed possible to maintain the angle of speed on the track, requiring the car to have a rear drive axle.” So says Wikipedia, and we agree with it.

Its English version further explains: “The car drifts when the slip angle of the rear wheels exceeds that of the front wheels, often so much so that the front wheels are directed in the direction opposite to the turn.” The definition is quite comprehensive and correct, so we will start from it when talking about the concept of drift.

Why do you need rear-wheel drive and a powerful engine for drifting?

When I see “nines” with Drift King stickers, I want to cover my face with my hands and run away. If suddenly it’s not obvious to you why you can’t drift with front-wheel drive, then I’ll explain. In a skid, when you add gas on a front-wheel drive car, the trajectory of movement straightens ( front-wheel drive was largely invented for this purpose), and on a rear-wheel drive car, the skid only “gets worse.” But that’s what we need, isn’t it?

It is worth adding that stalling the rear axle and turning a corner in a controlled skid require not only rear-wheel drive, but also continuous slipping of the rear wheels, and this leads us to the fact that a 1.2-liter engine with a power of 50-90 hp. is unlikely to provide us with what we want (without pain and suffering, but we don’t want victims, right?). Simply because the engine torque must be powerful enough to overcome the force with which the tires cowardly cling to the asphalt.

In the photo: the tire after several races

How is drifting different from power sliding?

Let's return to our unfortunate diesel Passat, which we presented at the beginning as a car very far from drifting. Everything is simple here. The fact is that since its birth in 1973, it has been produced mainly with front-wheel drive, excluding rare special modifications. But, by the way, it could be quite suitable for power sliding.

Controlled drift (drift)

This driving technique was born in Japan and involved entering a turn at high speed while maintaining the trajectory and complete control over the vehicle. Drifting is necessary so that when turning corners, most often during sports competitions, the car does not lose speed and does not lose its position in a group race.

Today, competitions are held using this technique, the essence of which is to cover a distance with a large number of turns in a minimum time. Controlled skidding requires a lot of experience, many years of training and 100% control of the car. The difficulty of performing a controlled skid lies in the fact that all turns have a different angle, direction and duration; in addition, the driver needs to take into account the road surface, humidity (sliding will be different on a dry and wet track), as well as many other factors affecting the quality of passing turn.

It is also important to understand that when performing a controlled drift, the type of drive of the car (front, rear, all-wheel drive) is of great importance. On the latter, only professionals who know the structure and physics of all-wheel drive cars can drift.

In addition, it should be mentioned that drifting is mainly performed with a manual transmission (manual gearbox); it is possible to perform a controlled drift with an automatic transmission, but you will not find such cars in sports.

During a controlled drift, the following are usually used: handbrake, gas, brake and steering.

How to master drifting in a car

Drifting originated in Japan and has since captured the hearts of motorists around the world. This is an amazing sport that contains drive, adrenaline, entertainment and danger. One of the advantages of this sport is the absence of large expenses, which further incites young boys and even girls. Yes, the weaker sex is also partial to crazy driveways, burnt rubber and clouds of smoke.

You can learn to drift on a car that will be minimally modified and shod with old tires. This will be quite enough for training. And now we’ll get to the fun part - we’ll learn how to learn to drift in a car.

Using proper turning technique

The handbrake is tightened and the wheels are blocked from rotating as much as possible. You need to start at first speed, but the brake lever does not loosen. The driver will have the right feeling of skidding even at low speeds, as the rear axle actually slides along the surface. Correct control depends on the operation of the accelerator and steering wheel.

You need to know that when the car skids, the driver must turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid and also apply gas a little.

With bald stingrays, it is enough to reach 60 km/h, and then raise the handbrake, then the car will go into a skid, it will need to be leveled with the steering wheel and the gas pedal.

Many drivers want to learn how to drift in a front-wheel drive car, and in this article we will tell you how to do it.

Of course, there will be people who will immediately say that drifting is impossible with front-wheel drive. But contrary to popular belief, you can also drift in such cars, and quite well at that. In this article we will give you several lessons.

There are 2 main techniques for drifting with front-wheel drive:

Using a drift board
On "bald" tires

What is drift anyway?

Translated, this word means skidding. It can be accidental or intentional, carried out on automobiles or motorcycles. The goal of drifting is to maintain control while going through a drift. Traction from the rear wheels is lost, and the driver is given manual control and the gas pedal. Before you start learning to drift, you need to think carefully about your decision and carefully study the rules of this sport:

maneuvers are prohibited on city streets, drifting is carried out in a specially designated place, as well as training,
this sport is dangerous and often leads to death,
transport is subject to heavy wear and tear and is constantly in need of repairs, expenses are commonplace for athletes,
To learn how to drift correctly, it is better to use a rear-wheel drive car.

None of this scares you, are you ready for difficulties and not afraid of danger? Then we start telling you how to learn to drift.

Rear wheel drive drift

First, let’s delve a little into the physics of skidding in order to better understand the essence of the process. At the moment the skid begins, the rear wheels are forced to begin to slide, this is facilitated by a sharp increase in torque. The trajectory of the vehicle should ensure that the rear part moves ahead of the front part of the car. If special conditions are created, the car will be in a skid until the turn ends. Upon completion, the rear wheels engage with the surface, which allows the machine to take a stable position.

To start learning drifting, you need to know what stages a drift consists of, performed on a car with rear-wheel drive.

Entering into a skid is carried out by shifting the center of gravity of the car to the front axle. This effect can be achieved through short-term braking. As soon as the weight is shifted, the car is directed towards the turn, and the rear wheels begin to slide. The driver must quickly turn the steering wheel in the direction of the turn and increase the torque using the gas pedal.
Support for skidding along its entire trajectory is ensured by maintaining sufficient speed of the power unit. In this case, the rear wheels will be in constant sliding. Due to the steering, the direction of movement of the vehicle is corrected. The car can independently exit the maneuver; to prevent this situation, the engine speed is increased and the steering angle is taken to a steeper angle. The gas needs to be controlled; if you overdo it, the skid will no longer be controllable, and the car will turn around.
Exiting the maneuver requires smoothly releasing the gas pedal. The drive wheels should come out of the slip, and the car will be leveled by the steering. A sharp decrease in speed will cause instability of the car and force it to maneuver in a different direction.

Front-wheel drive drift

Having mastered rear-wheel drive, you can familiarize yourself with how to drift on front-wheel drive. This process can be implemented in several ways. We will consider each of them.

The first option is implemented as follows:

before the maneuver, the gear is reduced, the speed is increased and centrifugal force is created due to braking,
clutch and neutral gear,
the heel of the right foot presses on the gas, and the toe presses on the brake, in this case the speed will be instantly synchronized,
depress the clutch, engage downshift,
We remove the sock from the brake and move it to the gas.

The second method is not applicable to all cars. It can be adopted by car owners with a large engine capacity and an impressive number of “horses” under the hood.

to enter a turn, select the maximum speed,
turn the wheels to the maximum in the direction opposite to the direction of skidding, and press on the gas,
if the rear skids strongly, you will need to immediately turn the steering wheel in the direction the car is moving,
add gas and continue moving in the right direction.

The easiest, most accessible for beginners and most common is the third method. Its essence is outlined below:

We enter the maneuver at maximum speed,
we synchronize the speed with the heel and toe, this technique has already been encountered before,
lower the gear,
the steering wheel is turned as far as possible in the opposite direction from the skid,
turn on the handbrake and immediately release it when you pass the maximum skid point,
the speed cannot be reduced,
align the steering wheel in the direction of travel.

The technical side of front-wheel drive drifting

The basis for the drift of a front-wheel drive car is the loss of traction with the road surface by the front pair of wheels. “Catching” this moment is the main task of anyone who wants to drift correctly and in a controlled manner.

Front-wheel drive skidding goes through the following stages in its development:

The speed of rotation of the front wheels decreases as a result of braking / the front wheels end up on a slippery surface.
The rotation speed of the rear wheels begins to exceed the speed of the front wheels.
The car itself has a lot of weight and retains significant inertia, continuing to move forward.
The complex result is a loss of traction between the front wheels and the road.
The car begins to skid with its front wheels - inside the turn, and with its rear wheels - out.
If the reduction in speed when making a turn was significant, and the moment of lack of traction tended to infinity, the car most likely goes into an uncontrolled rotation.

If we consider the mechanics of a skid in a less discrete form, then in most cases events develop as follows: entering a turn at speed, the driver intuitively releases the gas and/or squeezes the brake. In this case, at a certain moment the angle of rotation becomes too large relative to the speed of movement.

Drift on automatic

The automatic transmission can also be drifted. There will be some nuances here. There are three techniques, each of which will be discussed below.

Using the handbrake is a common technique that is often used in practice. Its essence is as follows:

the car is stationary, deactivate the DSC stabilization system by long pressing the button (about 3-4 seconds),
a yellow triangle should light up on the dashboard, this will indicate that the systems are turned off,
The automatic transmission is moved to position D, and then the lever moves to the left to DS,
engage second gear to prevent automatic reset of gears when spinning the wheels,
we approach the turn and turn the steering wheel a little in the other direction, and then even less in the direction of the skid,
at the same time the handbrake is raised, the return button must be pressed,
literally after a second we release the brake, going into a skid,
at the same time we add gas (more gas - larger radius and vice versa),
at the moment of exiting the maneuver, hold down the gas pedal, in this case the acceleration will not twitch,
the throttle valve must be in the open position (fully or halfway),
To level the accelerator, you need to smoothly release it, while releasing the gas.

Counter-shift involves preliminary displacement of the vehicle in a direction other than the direction of the maneuver. The driver's actions should be as follows:

when performing a right maneuver, the car smoothly moves to the right,
then there is a sharp turn to the left, you need to aim not at the top of the maneuver, but slightly at the cutting point of the corner,
the car will sway and its rear wheels will slide to the outside of the turn,
To add power after counter-shift, a downshift is engaged (for rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive) or the throttle is released on front-wheel drive.

The counter skid is based on a “dynamic whip”. This phenomenon increases the rotation of the vehicle during the final stage of the maneuver.

to enter the maneuver, use the handbrake,
when the front of the car turns in a direction different from the direction of the maneuver, the steering wheel is actively turned out and the traction is extinguished with a delay,
As a result of such actions, the car will skid in a different direction.

As you can see, you can drift automatically. This process is no different in complexity from those discussed above.

You can learn to drift. It won’t be easy, this path is long, but interesting, dangerous and truly exciting. You need to approach such a sport only consciously, carefully thinking and calculating everything.

How to drift automatically

Today a friend came to me and asked the following question: “Is it possible to drift with an automatic transmission?” I advised him to buy a manual transmission if he was going to drift. And then I sit and think that if you behave correctly on the road and follow all the rules, drifting is still possible. But it will not give the same sensations as on the mechanics.

Write in the comments, have you drifted automatically?

Drift on an automatic transmission

Answering the question whether it is possible to drift on an automatic machine, let's look at the drives of cars. True drift will depend on which wheels the vehicle has as drive wheels.

There are three types of drives:

Let's talk about drifting on each separately.

Front-wheel drive

With front-wheel drive, your car will only skid. This position is called controlled skidding. This happens because the front-wheel drive, due to its design, cannot have the turning ability necessary for drifting.

To make a drift, you can use:

handbrake Turn sharply and pull the handbrake towards you. This is the easiest way;
by releasing gas. But in this case it will be difficult for you to catch and feel it.

But classic drifting should always involve only the rear wheels.

Attention! Do not try to drift in parking lots or roads with heavy traffic. This may lead to an emergency.

Features of skidding on asphalt

A car with a front drive axle is quite difficult to put into a controlled drift. This is due to the management features. This is why many motorists drift only on ice or snow.

Before drifting on a car with a front driven axle, it must be prepared:

Select improved suspension elements;
Tighten the handbrake cable;
Increase the engine power or replace it;
It is also advisable to install wider tires on the front wheels and narrower ones on the rear wheels. Thus, the front axle will have more traction and the rear axle less.

If the car is not planned to participate in competitions, then there is no need to carry out all of the above work.

To perform drifting on front-wheel drive, you can resort to other methods. For example, installing small boards under the rear wheels. Then the front wheels will have traction with the surface, but the rear wheels will not, which is why the car will easily enter a controlled skid. You can also resort to installing good tires on the front wheels and worn tires on the rear ones. Thanks to this, it will also be easier to drift, but you can’t do it without the help of a handbrake.