Quick GoPro of my 1st Drift Exp in my FR-S
 

I have focused on Autocross since I picked up the FR-S in May. Took 1st last 3 events and one final event left end of the Month. Sitting in 4th overall and have attended only 1/2 events.

Soo..I have been following Formula Drift here in NW since 2006, always been a Fan and this year scored a ride w/ Mr. Ken Gushi in Monroe, WA, he took me for a lap in a stock FR-S since he qualified we couldn't take the Race Car FR-S, but that was ok! Anyways got me more curious after he smooth transitions and the agile platform shined in a new manner than what I was used to. Finally an open Drift / Practice day came up and what a BLAST!!

At least w/ the 140 treadwear Hankook RS3's up front, I could slightly turn in deeper at Apex to get rear loose and Drift from there, much smoother / easier than the " Clutch Kick " I was doing prior until I fig this out.

[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=nFc-DpBUr9c[/ame]

Fun Day! Sadly my best , smooth , no spin run wasn't on GoPro - oops! But def a learning Exp in the FR-S! Great Feedback and I will be back to have fun Drifting next year!! Another forum member @alrashwa went for a ride along and you can see his Hot Lava FR-S at the end parked in lot :happy0180:

Here is compilation of the day, I Love the Pearl White Silvia :w00t:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twokOS2SlGA&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]State Line Drift - Last Event 2012 - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks @alrashwa for filming!

Nice dude! I wanna see more!

how was the feel and response of the tires when sliding? i was thinking of getting some rs3's in the similar size so i could drift/grip at events and use them on a daily. I hear they grip well but havent heard much of their drift ability.

thanks for sharing!

Drift info.
 

I use the RS3's for daily drive and Autocross. I just kept the fronts on and used the OEM tires on back around 55psi. They are very responsive and stick great!! I didn't want to ruin them or try to Drift on them on the back, I still have one last Autocross on a Road Course ahead and hoping to get most of next season on them too!

However BIG POWER FD Racers run Hankook RS3's.

Fun stuff, Very Addictive once you fig it out , make a clean pass!

1:14 was nice and smooth

fun

Fun!!! Thanks for sharing. :)

dont lift....ever, and you need to drive about 20 mph faster.

1st time Drifting
 

Thanks!!! Yeah all was going well about then - then Bam a Spin !! Fun Addictive / Challenging for sure :thumbsup:

After I had a clean run w/ no Spins gave me hope! I CAN DO IT :party0030:

Well back to Autocross end of month for me, then racing season is done:mad0259:

Been a Fun year w/ the FR-S for sure!!:w00t:

Good job man! A lot better then most of the first timers I've taught. Track time track time track time is all I can say if you want to become better at car control - you are going in the right direction.

Aren't stock tires a better fit for drift?

Drift Exp.
 

I ran stockers on the back around 55psi, I had my grippy autocross Hankook RS3's up front which was nice to grip for turn in and less understeer compared to stockers up front.

yea, Ive heard that its easier to learn with grippy fronts and used/slippy rears.

The grippy fronts are what's causing you to spin out. Epson1 is half correct on what he said. You should lift up sometimes, but you should definitely be going in with a higher speed. As much as you might not like understeer, a drift is very much understeer but in a different way. Your front tires don't have the grip that it does during normal cornering, it's just suggesting the way you go. You control your drift using just the gas and wheel. Gas to control how much angle you have in a drift, and steer to change trajectory. What I usually do when I drift for SPEED and not for SHOW is to try and go into a turn with decent speed, drift, angle the car in the direction that you wanna exit the corner and use that angle to transition from the apex to your exiting line. Try and control the grip from your rear tires from slipping through the turn and gripping on your recovery, but try not to wobble the car on exit, because you lose a lot of speed that way when your car is trying to fight forces that are inhibiting the direction you wanna go.

Remember what the purpose of drifting is for. It's not to burn away your tires and it's not JUST for show. It's to take a corner at higher entry speed, have higher than average speed through a turn and to achieve a higher exit speed. Don't worry about the fancy looking angles, those guys are slower on a track. The smoother you drive through a turn, the faster you go in, go through, and go out. Once you understand that, then you will be able to drift for show a lot easier.

I understand you're just learning atm. I'm very happy to see people like you sharing your track days and experience with us (BRING MOAR!!). I don't want you to think I'm being critical. It's just that to me, drifting is more than a slide through a turn. There's a reason for it. It's to be quicker through a turn than gripping through it.

Do what AJUSA says, track time, track time, track time. The more you do it, the better you will get. It's a lot of muscle memory and experience that will lead you to be a better driver. Especially when you get to know your car and it's limits. Just do me a favor and don't use the E-Brake in learning how to drift. Learn to shift the weight of the car in order to get it to do what you want. Slam on the brakes, shift weight to front, then slam wheel left as you lift off the brake pedal and slam on gas. Once you get it sideways, use the throttle to maintain your angle. If it oversteers too much then let off just by a hair to gain a little extra grip, if it's not angled enough, then press down harder. It's constant management of the throttle to maintain a good angle.

SORLY ABOOT THE LONG RANT!!

Lol, what?

lower the rear psi to 40 next time. To high and you will never get any grip and just keep spinning out.

This car lives up to the old 86 where you just gotta pin it to win kind of driving style.

Sorry if I wasn't being clear. What I mean is that sometimes a DRIFT is quicker through a turn than if you just GRIP through it. Grip meaning driving up to a turn, slowing down, turn into APEX, and accelerate out. Or just not drifting through.

Thanks for all the tips/feedback ! I look fwd to more seat time this next Spring! I will try running stockers all around next time.

I didn't try e brake once, just clutch kick - but then I found it much easier to just turn in tighter to initiate drift and throttle/steer from there. Def Big Learning Experience/Challenging!!

http://i.imgur.com/P5JIu.gif

Kidding, keep up the good work.

Awesome!!! Always good to see people using their cars for multiple purposes, and drifting and hooning around on the track is just about as fun as it gets in my book!!

Thanks for the post, and of course... More Videos!!!! :)

Thanks,
Rick

Wow that looks like a nice place that you could just continuously turn and burn.

I'd love to take my new tires and boost to that this weekend!

I'm assuming it's in Washington? :(

Good to see other member drifting their car.

Btw i totall agree with too much rear air pressure. when i went ( for sure it's pavement depending) i've put them at 45 psi, and brought them down to 33 psi at the end because i didn't have enough grip.

When i get more power i will probably be around the same tire pressure then i use to drift on my skyline r32, which was around 25 psi.

^ Agreed. I know stock PSI is above 40, and it's flipping stupid.

Drift
 

Just 15-20min East of Spokane , WA out in Post Falls/ Stateline Idaho area. They run circle track events there, figure 8 too now! Def big, open track to learn/practice on :thumbup:

Series is StatelineDrift , they have a Facebook of vids and such of events..they are pretty cool group, laid back, heck at times like 3-5 cars all run at once if daring! Or single car run like me. 95% Nissan 240s, I was only Newer car out there, people kept commenting it was cool to see FR-S out there.

My FR-S made the Compilation vid of last local open drift :)
 

I am a newb, only had a partial day in the FR-S learning it, but had a Great time!!

Here is compilation of the day, I Love the Pearl White Silvia :w00t:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twokOS2SlGA&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]State Line Drift - Last Event 2012 - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks @Alrashwa for filming!

510...

The Lil blue car is a old Toyota corolla , lil smashed up - Great Drivers! Him and RX7 Rocked it!

Local open Drift Compilation, FR-S represent!
 

I had to Instagram a shot

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...psedbf50ea.jpg

Reminds me of the HPE E10 Rc car of the FR-S!

Thanks @alrashwa for filming!

im jealous

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps6a796c8d.jpg

I Like this one, can see Big Countersteer Rocking !!