OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
07-19-2004, 11:47 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
Thats a "no brainer" if you will... You can always lock out the second and stick to first only.
Also.. I'd like to add that drifting is NOT about madly overpowered cars..
You may be mistaking this with quarter mile bragging rights!!
I've actually drifted a Taurus using the hand brake..
I had to do it in the rain so I would actually lose traction in the rear tires.
It WAS SCARY AS HELL..
I had new tires up front and some old throw aways in the back. The car was 100% stock.
Nissan 240s are great drifters. While the naturally aspirated 4 bangers put out good power, theyre anything but a powerhouse!
Finesse is most definitely a key word. But to get finesse you need control!
But before you drift, try this:
See if you can get the car into a controlled spin and STOP with the wheels/nose pointing in the direction intended for a drift.
Exercises like this will help you gain control of the car when drifting.
good luck!!!
ram
Also.. I'd like to add that drifting is NOT about madly overpowered cars..
You may be mistaking this with quarter mile bragging rights!!
I've actually drifted a Taurus using the hand brake..
I had to do it in the rain so I would actually lose traction in the rear tires.
It WAS SCARY AS HELL..
I had new tires up front and some old throw aways in the back. The car was 100% stock.
Nissan 240s are great drifters. While the naturally aspirated 4 bangers put out good power, theyre anything but a powerhouse!
Finesse is most definitely a key word. But to get finesse you need control!
But before you drift, try this:
See if you can get the car into a controlled spin and STOP with the wheels/nose pointing in the direction intended for a drift.
Exercises like this will help you gain control of the car when drifting.
good luck!!!
ram
07-19-2004, 11:34 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
2nd gear is not really a problem. I've got mine set for grip driving still and it doesn't seem to bother my drifts much. I've noticed that every now and then I can use it to kick the tail out, but thats more entertaining than annoying.
07-29-2004, 02:34 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
I'm on a mission now to make my nitro car drift as well as my electric car.
Its a little bit heavier than my electric touring car, and I can't substantially change the overall weight of the car, so it will never be as light as my electric drifter, but I might be able to adjust its weight transfer characteristics. I'm thinking, for ABS tires, I might just empty the shocks (I run very light oil with my electric car) and I'll use the softest springs I can find. That should also lower the car enough to make a decent CG change. Although in terms of CG height relative to the bottom of the chassis, the electric car will always have a distinct advantage.
Torque on demand, contrary to popular belief, is excellent, and being a 200mm car it has a slight advantage in track width.
I've also found that slightly wide ABS tires make a difference (makes sense, more friction surface), and also that its easier to drift when using my wheels/tires/ABS couplings setup than it is with the normal wheels/ABS pipe setup. This would be the result of a larger diameter wheel lowering my final drive ratio (well, rollout I guess) and making them less prone to uncontrollable wheelspin.
It does drift nicely with the Yokomo drift tires on it, since there is more grip and more adjustability, but I don't plan to run those all the time. They are just too expensive and wear too quickly. ABS is the way to go.
Anyone else found ways to improve their nitro drifting? I haven't really played with caster or toe settings much, has anyone else?
Its a little bit heavier than my electric touring car, and I can't substantially change the overall weight of the car, so it will never be as light as my electric drifter, but I might be able to adjust its weight transfer characteristics. I'm thinking, for ABS tires, I might just empty the shocks (I run very light oil with my electric car) and I'll use the softest springs I can find. That should also lower the car enough to make a decent CG change. Although in terms of CG height relative to the bottom of the chassis, the electric car will always have a distinct advantage.
Torque on demand, contrary to popular belief, is excellent, and being a 200mm car it has a slight advantage in track width.
I've also found that slightly wide ABS tires make a difference (makes sense, more friction surface), and also that its easier to drift when using my wheels/tires/ABS couplings setup than it is with the normal wheels/ABS pipe setup. This would be the result of a larger diameter wheel lowering my final drive ratio (well, rollout I guess) and making them less prone to uncontrollable wheelspin.
It does drift nicely with the Yokomo drift tires on it, since there is more grip and more adjustability, but I don't plan to run those all the time. They are just too expensive and wear too quickly. ABS is the way to go.
Anyone else found ways to improve their nitro drifting? I haven't really played with caster or toe settings much, has anyone else?
01-19-2005, 02:14 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
BUMP.
WhiskyVR-4 - would you mind explaining the preferred suspension setups for nitro drifting (and electric for that matter)?
For some reason, I thought a stiffer suspension would be more desireable but it appears softer springs, no shock oil is the way to go...please explain.
Thanks.
WhiskyVR-4 - would you mind explaining the preferred suspension setups for nitro drifting (and electric for that matter)?
For some reason, I thought a stiffer suspension would be more desireable but it appears softer springs, no shock oil is the way to go...please explain.
Thanks.
01-19-2005, 03:56 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
What works for me isn't guaranteed to work for other people, but this is what I've learned thru 1:1 racing, and also drifting. Contrary to what most people think, high powered pro drift cars are NOT setup to oversteer. Most low powered cars aren't either, for that matter. Oversteer is, by nature, an unstable condition, whereas understeer follows a predictable arc. What you want is control, not unpredictable behavior, so you don't really want the car to slide too easily on its own, but rather you want the car to respond to your inputs. This is all true for both 1:1 and r/c drifting.
With rubber tires, I use stiff springs, particularly in the rear because the car is less prone to drifting. The stiffer setup makes it easier to get the tail out, but it also makes the drift harder to control.
With ABS I use a very soft setup because the car slides quite easily. What I want then is more traction. Softer setups (in all forms of racing), all else being equal, almost always provide better traction than hard. I don't want to get too deep into that right now, we can discuss that another time. Anyway, the car will take a firm set and provide better control. It takes some getting used to, but in the end it will make you a better drifter because you are doing the drifting, not trying to get the car to do it by itself (thats how you end up spinning out every time).
Thats what works for me.
With rubber tires, I use stiff springs, particularly in the rear because the car is less prone to drifting. The stiffer setup makes it easier to get the tail out, but it also makes the drift harder to control.
With ABS I use a very soft setup because the car slides quite easily. What I want then is more traction. Softer setups (in all forms of racing), all else being equal, almost always provide better traction than hard. I don't want to get too deep into that right now, we can discuss that another time. Anyway, the car will take a firm set and provide better control. It takes some getting used to, but in the end it will make you a better drifter because you are doing the drifting, not trying to get the car to do it by itself (thats how you end up spinning out every time).
Thats what works for me.
01-19-2005, 03:58 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
This is an old post, geez. I originally made the thread on a different part of the board because we didn't have a drifting section, and most people were saying that nitro drifting isn't possible. Funny, now they just argue about which is better (electric vs nitro) and whether or not using ABS tires is "cheating." The arguing is still lame.
01-19-2005, 04:01 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
Couple questions,
Where did you learn all of the stuff you know about cars? Unlike me, you know WHY and HOW it behaves, whereas i know... it's sliding, SUPAR DORIFTOOOO ACTION!!! OOO!!! OOO!!!.
Care to share some more information?
Lets keep this thread alive!!
Where did you learn all of the stuff you know about cars? Unlike me, you know WHY and HOW it behaves, whereas i know... it's sliding, SUPAR DORIFTOOOO ACTION!!! OOO!!! OOO!!!.
Care to share some more information?
Lets keep this thread alive!!
01-19-2005, 04:03 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: WhiskyVR-4
What works for me isn't guaranteed to work for other people, but this is what I've learned thru 1:1 racing, and also drifting. Contrary to what most people think, high powered pro drift cars are NOT setup to oversteer. Most low powered cars aren't either, for that matter. Oversteer is, by nature, an unstable condition, whereas understeer follows a predictable arc. What you want is control, not unpredictable behavior, so you don't really want the car to slide too easily on its own, but rather you want the car to respond to your inputs. This is all true for both 1:1 and r/c drifting.
With rubber tires, I use stiff springs, particularly in the rear because the car is less prone to drifting. The stiffer setup makes it easier to get the tail out, but it also makes the drift harder to control.
With ABS I use a very soft setup because the car slides quite easily. What I want then is more traction. Softer setups (in all forms of racing), all else being equal, almost always provide better traction than hard. I don't want to get too deep into that right now, we can discuss that another time. Anyway, the car will take a firm set and provide better control. It takes some getting used to, but in the end it will make you a better drifter because you are doing the drifting, not trying to get the car to do it by itself (thats how you end up spinning out every time).
Thats what works for me.
What works for me isn't guaranteed to work for other people, but this is what I've learned thru 1:1 racing, and also drifting. Contrary to what most people think, high powered pro drift cars are NOT setup to oversteer. Most low powered cars aren't either, for that matter. Oversteer is, by nature, an unstable condition, whereas understeer follows a predictable arc. What you want is control, not unpredictable behavior, so you don't really want the car to slide too easily on its own, but rather you want the car to respond to your inputs. This is all true for both 1:1 and r/c drifting.
With rubber tires, I use stiff springs, particularly in the rear because the car is less prone to drifting. The stiffer setup makes it easier to get the tail out, but it also makes the drift harder to control.
With ABS I use a very soft setup because the car slides quite easily. What I want then is more traction. Softer setups (in all forms of racing), all else being equal, almost always provide better traction than hard. I don't want to get too deep into that right now, we can discuss that another time. Anyway, the car will take a firm set and provide better control. It takes some getting used to, but in the end it will make you a better drifter because you are doing the drifting, not trying to get the car to do it by itself (thats how you end up spinning out every time).
Thats what works for me.
01-19-2005, 04:06 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: Kensaku
Thanks. I'll mess around with different settings to see what fits my style, which BTW, I have none. LOL.
Thanks. I'll mess around with different settings to see what fits my style, which BTW, I have none. LOL.
01-20-2005, 03:13 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
How do I know all this? The very short version is: I get paid to know this stuff.
I've been involved in professional motorsports in one form or another for a number of years. I've done design, development, fabrication, testing, and application of aftermarket/racing parts, as well as complete race cars. The vehicles I've been involved with range from an 1100+ hp Porsche to the Kia/Hyundai Factory Baja truck and just about everything in between. As far as drifting goes, I've worked on 16-valve and 20-valve AE86 Corollas, and two professionally competitive nissans, not including the two nissans I have in my garage that I compete in.
My driving experience ranges from karting to road racing (mostly with NASA, although I'm looking closely at ProRally now that SCCA dropped it) to competitive drifting.
With regard to r/c, I'm just a backyard guy. Its been 12 years since my last real race, and I don't have any plans to race again. I just screw around with them in my free time.
If you want to learn more, I would suggest a book called "How to make your car handle" by Fred Puhn. Its easy to get on amazon, but its full of excellent information. I also suggest you learn to wrench on 1:1 cars. Get yourself a car and go to a local NASA HPDE event, you'll learn more about performance driving and handling than you ever thought possible. If you get to the point that you are obsessed with the physics of vehicle dynamics, I would suggest a degree in mechanical engineering, but that takes a bit more work
I've been involved in professional motorsports in one form or another for a number of years. I've done design, development, fabrication, testing, and application of aftermarket/racing parts, as well as complete race cars. The vehicles I've been involved with range from an 1100+ hp Porsche to the Kia/Hyundai Factory Baja truck and just about everything in between. As far as drifting goes, I've worked on 16-valve and 20-valve AE86 Corollas, and two professionally competitive nissans, not including the two nissans I have in my garage that I compete in.
My driving experience ranges from karting to road racing (mostly with NASA, although I'm looking closely at ProRally now that SCCA dropped it) to competitive drifting.
With regard to r/c, I'm just a backyard guy. Its been 12 years since my last real race, and I don't have any plans to race again. I just screw around with them in my free time.
If you want to learn more, I would suggest a book called "How to make your car handle" by Fred Puhn. Its easy to get on amazon, but its full of excellent information. I also suggest you learn to wrench on 1:1 cars. Get yourself a car and go to a local NASA HPDE event, you'll learn more about performance driving and handling than you ever thought possible. If you get to the point that you are obsessed with the physics of vehicle dynamics, I would suggest a degree in mechanical engineering, but that takes a bit more work
01-20-2005, 03:18 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
Kensaku, style is a matter of practice. Everyone has a style to everything they do. When you are able to make the car do what you want rather than just react to it, you'll find a style.
Style is a subtle thing, don't think too much about it, its just a fancy way of saying "doing what works best for you"
BTW, I would really suggest getting some cones, or some chalk to make a small circuit, or even just a few turns to drift, its a LOT more fun that just sliding around aimlessly.
Style is a subtle thing, don't think too much about it, its just a fancy way of saying "doing what works best for you"
BTW, I would really suggest getting some cones, or some chalk to make a small circuit, or even just a few turns to drift, its a LOT more fun that just sliding around aimlessly.
01-25-2005, 10:14 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
What cars are better for drifting: nitro or electric. I want to buy another car and I was considering the tamiya nissan 350z racing kit or a smartech car from ebay. Which would be the better choice??
01-25-2005, 11:55 AM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: Jimmmaaa
What cars are better for drifting: nitro or electric. I want to buy another car and I was considering the tamiya nissan 350z racing kit or a smartech car from ebay. Which would be the better choice??
What cars are better for drifting: nitro or electric. I want to buy another car and I was considering the tamiya nissan 350z racing kit or a smartech car from ebay. Which would be the better choice??
01-25-2005, 12:24 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
i have an old axis (1/8) buggy its a pice of crap but i made a few parts and finally got it runnin well, not fast but lots of power, what are the chances that i could get it to drift if i used that abs stuff???
01-25-2005, 01:58 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
If I buy an onroad nitro car, you were talking about doing conversions to it. What whoud I have to do to convert it into a drifter besides the pvc tires?
01-25-2005, 02:06 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: Jimmmaaa
If I buy an onroad nitro car, you were talking about doing conversions to it. What whoud I have to do to convert it into a drifter besides the pvc tires?
If I buy an onroad nitro car, you were talking about doing conversions to it. What whoud I have to do to convert it into a drifter besides the pvc tires?
01-25-2005, 02:33 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: WhiskyVR-4
Kensaku, style is a matter of practice. Everyone has a style to everything they do. When you are able to make the car do what you want rather than just react to it, you'll find a style.
Style is a subtle thing, don't think too much about it, its just a fancy way of saying "doing what works best for you"
BTW, I would really suggest getting some cones, or some chalk to make a small circuit, or even just a few turns to drift, its a LOT more fun that just sliding around aimlessly.
Kensaku, style is a matter of practice. Everyone has a style to everything they do. When you are able to make the car do what you want rather than just react to it, you'll find a style.
Style is a subtle thing, don't think too much about it, its just a fancy way of saying "doing what works best for you"
BTW, I would really suggest getting some cones, or some chalk to make a small circuit, or even just a few turns to drift, its a LOT more fun that just sliding around aimlessly.
BTW - Do you know Henry Ahn? His brother, Donald Ahn, is the managing partner of NCDA up here. www.ncda.net
They've been my friends for years, although I haven't spoken to them in a while. Last I heard, Henry won a drift competition.
01-25-2005, 03:33 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
I know a Henry that drives a pink FC (rx7), but I don't know him very well. He tends to do well at amateur comps. I don't think he is a norcal guy though. I don't know many of the norcal people, mostly just SoCal and vegas drifters.
01-25-2005, 03:41 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
Heh, my ex-girlfriend races spec miata's at thunderhill with her brother and father.
They own tech2motorsports.com Her brother's name is Andrew Monterrubio, I'm sure he drifts... let me know if you know/seen him kensaku
They own tech2motorsports.com Her brother's name is Andrew Monterrubio, I'm sure he drifts... let me know if you know/seen him kensaku
01-25-2005, 04:45 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: WhiskyVR-4
I know a Henry that drives a pink FC (rx7), but I don't know him very well. He tends to do well at amateur comps. I don't think he is a norcal guy though. I don't know many of the norcal people, mostly just SoCal and vegas drifters.
I know a Henry that drives a pink FC (rx7), but I don't know him very well. He tends to do well at amateur comps. I don't think he is a norcal guy though. I don't know many of the norcal people, mostly just SoCal and vegas drifters.
01-25-2005, 04:46 PM
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RE: OFFICIAL NITRO DRIFTING THREAD
ORIGINAL: cssdev
Heh, my ex-girlfriend races spec miata's at thunderhill with her brother and father.
They own tech2motorsports.com Her brother's name is Andrew Monterrubio, I'm sure he drifts... let me know if you know/seen him kensaku
Heh, my ex-girlfriend races spec miata's at thunderhill with her brother and father.
They own tech2motorsports.com Her brother's name is Andrew Monterrubio, I'm sure he drifts... let me know if you know/seen him kensaku
