terrypk1

Hay. guys. i was practicing with drifiting by using e-brake in some auto-x events. However, since RX8 is my first, it was also my frist to try with drifting. It didn't work at all. i tried going into a 90 degree corner with 54 KM/h=31.7 mile/hour. the car just stock to the ground with out sliding.
SO the sequence i tried: see the corner, release gas, turn=ebrake at the same time, release ebrake, step monderate on the gas, exit corner.

was it becaue of my speed or because of my sequence?
please because i really want to do some drifting and enjoying them myself.

terrypk1

btw, i was thinking about getting a cheap but tunable FF car for sliding. Can ff car slide at all??? or they just follow where my steering wheel point at?

Critters

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...0to%20drifting

dodo_croatia

After the car slides, before releasing the ebrake, try to pump up the revs, and then release the clutch. But be carefull, it can spin you easily.

L8APEX

I am sure that the corner workers at your auto-x appreciated you trying to drift for the first time, while on the course. And as someone who autocrosses pretty frequently, that will not be the fastest way through the course.

terrypk1

ok the reality is never close to pefection. so the auto X might not be as close you think an auto X should be. (me feeling so good in night time)

whiterex

I am sure that there is a venue for drifting somewhere in your area. We(my scca reigon) do not encourage the use of the e-brake. As l8apex says, it is not the fastest way around the course. Don't get me wrong, I love drifting, its challenging and a ton of fun, but locally we have a track that allows us to use a skid pad on non race days.

If your car is stuck to the ground, thats a good thing. Just slow down a bit in the corner. It will seem slower, but your times will be faster.

terrypk1

looks like most of you have not recieved my message.
I understand that drifting can only be fastest under some undition. on most occastions, drifting is not fast at all.
BUT I WANT TO DRIFT><><><>. SO BADLY. YET I COULD NOT DRIFT. AND DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIFT>M<. Some times i really wish that i am driving a 300ZX or 240SX or 180SX. lol


i want to do it with E brake. because as far as i know, that is the easiest way of drifting. maybe not in the well balanced rx8??
i don't know .

guy321

Turning off DSC is probably a good start.. and you don't need the e-brake to get the 8 to drift.

So I've heard.

whiterex

Oh... Well I ran my 8 in an auto-x yesterday for the first time. I spun out on my first run which was a combination of driver error and street tires. I understand that you want to use the e-brake, but what tire pressure/tires were you using? In my MS miata, if I ran more air in the rear (5-8 psi) the car had the ability to "throttle steer". This would loosen the rear end up a bit. This could help you a bit, I have found that practice is the best method though.

http://www.scrajax.com/Videos/SCRA2.wmv

Not sure if the link will work, this is a local venue that allows us to try anything that we want. The grey MS miata is mine. Its a pretty cheesy video, but this is the type of venue that would be perfect for you to accomplish your goal.

Arkimidies

Nice video whiterex, looked like fun, I'm going to have to check if any of my 'local' tracks allow for 'drift days'. Actually come to think of it, Formula D sponsors a Drift Day event, I think it's down in CA, where the pros from the Formula D circuit help new drifters learn how to drift.

Imp

At our autoxes, if you were caught 'drifting' you'd be asked to leave immediately... as you would with most clubs.

Drifting is not the fast way around an auto-x. Auto-x is for auto-x driving... not showboating.

--kC

KYLiquid

i didnt notice this in your post, if you want to slide with the ebrake, make sure the clutch is in when you pull the ebrake.

There are lots of ways to slide a car, using the ebrake is only one of them, as others have posted.

The reason the Ebrake slide works is that you are locking up the rear wheels, causing the slide...you only want to have the wheels locked for a split second, just long enough for the back end to step to the ouside of the corner.

I think the easyest way to start learning to slide a car is simple 'power oversteer'. When you enter a turn make sure your revs are up so your in the meat of your power band...then when you are almost halfway thru the corner, give it wide open throtle, this should cause a loss of traction for the rear (drive) tires, making your back end follow a wider line, keep the steering pointed where you want to go/counter steer....

Theres also weight transfer, locking the drivetrain (same as ebrake but done with the gear box, mega hard on the drivetrain)...ect ect

plase dont do this on public roads, and be smart, I dont want to be reading a post by you about how your car flip over or hit a tree....ect!

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

At an ride and drive I worked they had a couple of drifters come out. I went for a ride and they did not use the e brake at all. The driver would just pop the clutch any time he wanted to start a slide.

Xyntax

This is a well-balanced car, so that's your first clue in drifting it. Get cheap tires to have a good feel of what throws it off and what doesn't. By chanelling your weight to the front and giving WOT or popping the clutch while revs are higher than your speed, you will be lose traction at the rear end. Tough thing about this car is, it easily recovers. That's a good thing for daily driving, but can be annoying when you're trying to drift.

Sandbags in the trunk is one ghetto way to put more weight to your backend

gh0st

the 8 doesnt like to drift. but if you must, learn to heal-toe really well. the torqueless motor needs the revs to be high to spin the rear. the stock 8 is easy to initiate the drift but hard to maintain. also, the ebrake on the 8 is a little weak so your gonna need to pull harder then youd expect for it to start the slide.

if your on stock suspension and for some reason have to use the ebrake, approach the corner from a wide angle then brake hard and start your turn to transfer weight. keep your foot on the clutch and come off the brake once you feel your weight shift. pull the e brake as soon ad you come off the brakes and rev the motor at the same time. as soon as your e brake comes down pop the clutch and counter steer. if you dont oversteer and spinout, chances are your car will straighten out early so youll need to use the ebrake again to avoid understeer. step on the clutch, rev the motor and give the ebrake another yank.

keep in mind that the above mentioned is extremely bad for your car. also the 8 is a car that needs to be driven way too fast to really start to drift. you will be battling understeer at corner entrances a LOT. dont even bother trying this on the street.

MAZDA IF YOUR LISTENING, I DONT DRIFT, RACE OR ABUSE MY CAR IN ANY WAY. please dont void my warranty

denward

tuj

I don't think that's true. A drift can be initiated a lot of different ways, and you certainly don't need to be able to heel-toe just to do a clutch-kick.

Best way to learn drifting:
-go to a parking lot without poles when its wet or raining
-set up 4 cones in a big square
-turn off the DSC/TSC completely by holding it down for 8 seconds
-drive around the cones as fast as you can until you spin
-continue doing this until you can counter-steer when the car oversteers and not end up spinning

The e-brake on the RX-8 is not very strong, so its hard to use to initiate a drift. You'll be better off learning in a lot when its wet. Everything happens at slower speeds in the wet, so its much easier to learn.

You can intentionally cause oversteer by:
-trail-braking
-pulling the e-brake
-kicking the clutch quickly
-feinting (turn towards the outside of the turn quickly, then back in)
-managing weight transfer
-using lots of throttle
-decrease rear traction by using artifically high rear pressures
-very stiff rear suspension
-big rear sway bar
-different (lower performance) tires on the rear

Clutch-kicks and e-brake usage is generally frowned upon as they are artifical ways to induce oversteer, particularly in cars with a strong tendency to understeer. In a rwd, neutral car like the RX-8, they should not be necessary.

tuj

I'd say that depends on how much of an *** you end up making of yourself. At our last event, we had a guy in a nicely prepped AE-86 that took most of the turns in a drift and was quite skilled and turned in some nice times. We also had another guy, a newbie in an FC that managed to spin about 3 times on each of his runs... That's not so fun if you are a corner worker.

Most clubs WONT ask you to leave just for drifting; autox is all about learning control of your car, and drifting, while not the fast way around, is certainly good for learning car control. As long as you are driving reasonably, no one will care. But if you are constantly killing cones or spinning multiple times on every run, it might be different.

gh0st

sorry i was unclear in my post. that mintion on heel toe was in reference to ebrake initiated drifting in which case, heel toeing isnt just to clutch kick but to keep the revs up. if he wants to use the ebrake, there is a lot of dead time were he isnt on the gas. he wont be able to maintain a slide without gassing it during this time becuase the motor will bog.

but its like tuj said. there are many ways to initiate drifts. the ebrake isnt particularly the best way with the 8.

IMO it would depend on the type of corner vs your style. IF i were to drift:

sharp u turns:
approach it wide and clutchkick it. who cares what other people think? just brake hard, heel toe turn and dump clutch. just hope you catch it with your countersteer and throttle control. hard to do without bogging though.

most turns (sweepers especially):
speed is key to keep your short wheel base sliding. the problem is the 8 tends to understeer when carrying too much speed at the entrance so you need a slight feint. the only time i can see myself using the ebrake is if the car starts to straighten out prematurely. then id give the ebrake a quick jab with the clutch in.

but then again, thats just my opinion.

driving in the rain will help you with learning to "catch" your car. you really wont need any techniques to initiate the drift. with traction control off + stock tires + rain, not drifting is more of a challenge.

denward

edit: beware of snap oversteer.

BlueRenesis82

drifting is weak IMHO

CRX Millennium

iTrader: (1)

If you are still hell-bent on using our perfectly-balanced RX-8 for drifting, consider the hard-lesson learned by Edmunds' staff as your final warning:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105313

(Cliff notes version: DON'T and just get a cheapo beater with $10 used tire for your drifting quest)

BlueEyes

WHAT!! Figure skating with cars is way cool.

Judged sports aren't sports IMO. Drifting shouldn't be called a motorsport. More like motorballet.

truemagellen

suprised no one has mentioned that you can easily destroy your ebrake this way

besides those who need to use the ebrake simply don't have good technique, the e-brake is when a slide is failing during a competition you pull it but it is crude and won't do the job well

this isn't a 3000GT bud

Ike

I agree, lets talk about streetracing!

gh0st

if tire life isnt a concern, the fastest line sometimes does require you to slide a bit. but in terms of big angle (showoff) drifting, i dont like it much either. but i wouldnt call it weak cause many of those professional drifters would race circles around us.

denward