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Volume 13, Issue #1. Published on November 3, 2004
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Photo by Toua Herr
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New sport slips and slides around the racetrack.
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Drifting 101
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Toua Herr
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There may be people that think others are crazy for taking dangerous curves at 40 mph. In realty these are just regular people like you and me, but with a passion to take their driving skills to an extreme level.
Power sliding, also known as “Drifting,” is creating a whole new culture in the United States. Emerging from rally racing, it is not only a driving experience but clothing gear is also available for fans of the sport.
The purpose of power sliding is to keep redirect the car’s full motion at a very high speed instead of slowing down for a regular turn. The vehicle and the driver slide sideways around the curve without losing much velocity. This makes it possible for rally cars to turn at speeds of 40 to 80 mph and blast onto a straight away without losing any speed.
Japanese car enthusiasts, who decided that it was fun to slide their vehicles on mountain hairpins while racing each other downhill, made drifting popular. The inspiring Japanese anime film, “Initial D” catapulted drifting to a higher level.
In Japan, a “Touge Run” (Mountain Run) is a group of racers testing out their driving skills. Unlike million dollar rally cars, these drivers are sporting ordinary cars. An appeal of drifting is it doesn’t cost much to be able to slide like a professional. This differs greatly from drag racing, where thousands of dollars must be spent in order for a vehicle to qualify as drag-worthy.
A good candidate for drifting would be a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive car. Front-wheel drive vehicles can still drift but require more maneuvering skills in order to slide the vehicle.
There are several cars that are commonly used for drifting. One is the 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS (referred to as a Hachi-Roku or Trueno/Levin GT-Apex), because of it’s rear wheel drive lay-out and it is relatively inexpensive.
Other cars include the Silvia S13 and S14, which come in two different models: the turbo-charged K’s and the non-turbo Q’s. Because of their high horse power and free-revving engines, they make excellent drifting cars.
Another is the 180SX (a.k.a. Nissan 240sx in the U.S.), related mechanically to the Silvia, the only difference is in the body style; it is lighter and has a better front/rear balance ratio.
The FC3S Mazda RX-7 would be a more popular pick among drifters if the engine was not troublesome to maintain.
Drifting is not just a driving experience but a new culture that is coming from overseas and taking car enthusiasts by storm.
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