Racer's Story

This is the best picture I have ever found of me drifting. I am actually sliding towards the right side of the picture, even though I am pointed head-on. Please note the plume of smoke on the left side of the car.

www.lookoutdrift.com

Here I am at Virginia Motorsports Park, getting sideways in the Miata. The car is actually going in the direction that the wheels are turned even though the car is pointed straight.

www.lookoutdrift.com

Here's a picture of me drifting at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA. Please note the shower of sparks from my left rear tire.

www.lookoutdrift.com

Richmond, Va. – The drifters from Lookout Drift club were turned away today at the door of the Super Tuner Show in Richmond. They had been invited as guests to include their cars in the show, but were told at the last minute that there were too many cars registered for the show and not enough room for the drift cars.

Some members had driven four hours to come to this event. Needless to say, many of the club members were disappointed and upset.

“[The event organizer] has not run one decent event,” said Preston Sawyer, a Lookout drift club member. “He invites us and shafts us.”

Although they were not included in the show, each driver was given a free pass to enter. They were told that they could park in front of the ticket office if they still wanted to participate. The drifters would technically be part of the show, but they would not be judged as part of the competition.

So, the Lookout drifters popped their hoods open and lined up in front of the building. Each owner stood by his car, talking with spectators or other members.

“Well,” commented Sawyer, “at least we get to go to the show for free.”

Inside, the building was filled with the sounds of rumbling bass, hundreds of people milling about, and loud music playing over the loudspeakers. The show cars were crammed door to door, filling the space of the convention center. Each was a wild, creative interpretation of the normal car it had once been.

Walking past the understated drift cars and into the show is like walking into another world. What is the difference between show cars and drift cars? What kind of people choose to show or drift?

Chris Rios, the owner of a gold-colored Integra GS-R show car, gave his explanation.

“I built this car as a drag car at first, but it sat in my garage for two years. Finally, my friends got me to start taking it to shows,” he said.

“The first couple of events, it was really boring, no beer. Then you start making friends, start meeting models, picking up sponsors . . . it’s not so bad. The best thing I have gotten so far was tires. I got three sets of tires from Dunlop. I also got cases of oil for my car, and free tuning from Inline Pro,” he said.

Mandy Lehman, who won NOPI Nationals last year, gave her reason for showing her 2001 Celica.

“It’s addictive,” she said.

“To me, honestly, it’s a way to express your artistic side, show people what’s in your mind. You’re getting recognition for the hard work you’ve put into something,” she said.

“When someone comes up to you and says, ‘cool car!’ or you win a trophy for your car, that’s a great feeling,” she said.

Tyus Few, another visitor to the show, offered his reason for coming.

“I think a lot of people that modify their cars come here to see what other people do, get ideas, meet people, collaborate,” he said.

The two groups, drifters and car show enthusiasts, share an interest in cars, but with a different focus.

“They like to sit, we like to drive,” said Joe Beard, driver of a BMW 325 that he drifts regularly.

Chanda Cross, one of the event staff, had a different take.

“People who are into show cars are more into looks,” she said.

With this difference in mind, it’s easy to see why drift cars and show cars look so different.

In one world, shiny paint, a cool body kit, and gadgets make a car cool. Each car competed for the wildest body kit, most complex sound system, most TV screens in strange places (front license plate holder?), biggest wheels, and most creative use of hydraulics.

In the other world, the performance and driftability of the car was what makes it cool. Modifications are purposeful and straightforward. Drifters appreciate additions such as coil-over suspensions, forced induction to increase engine power, limited-slip differentials, and lightweight wheels. They are concerned with increasing the performance of the car in the most efficient way possible.

“Drifters do want their cars to look nice, but they really want to make the car drive better and drift better,” said Tara Foose, a spectator from Northern Virginia.

Although the Lookout drifters were disappointed about being denied admission to the show, perhaps it is for the best. The two worlds of drift and show are different. The show cars are modified to look good standing still or cruising around; the drift cars are modified to look good driving fast and drifting. They may seem normal on the outside, but once on the track they become an extension of the driver and an expression of his or her personality. Perhaps that is where they are best seen, as opposed to under the bright lights and booming music of the car show.

Unless you are Michael Schumacher and you drive a Ferrari F1 car, you need to learn how to do this. Not only does it make your shifting and therefore driving smoother, it sounds cool.

When you approach a corner at high speed, you (usually) need to slow down and select a lower gear. In order to be ready to accelerate through the corner, you must downshift before you finish braking. While you are downshifting, you should match the engine RPM (which has fallen while you decelerated) to your wheel speed. Otherwise, the car will lurch backwards as the tires pull the engine up to speed.

How do you do this? You must press the gas with some part of your right foot while the other part is hitting the brake pedal.

If your car is blessed with pedals that are positioned closely, then you may be able to put the left side of your foot on the brake and right side on the gas for a quick blip. We shall call this the “left-right” method. If you have a car like my Miata, then you must lift your heel off of the floor, put your toe on the brake, and tap the gas with your heel. Hence the name “heel-and-toe.”

The preferred way to do this is the first method. By keeping your heel on the floor, you increase the control you have over each pedal. When you lift your foot off the floor, you must twist your leg around to reach the other pedal.

Not only is this a difficult movement to do comfortably, it is difficult to do correctly. Often, one will over- or under-shoot the desired RPM range.

In learning to do both, I have found that the left-right method is much easier on me. You may prefer to heel-toe, but I would suggest that you try the left-right method in another car before deciding that it is truly better.

I was fortunate in that I was able to bend my gas pedal over about a half-inch to be able to use the left-right method. If you are unwilling or unable to do that, try a pedal kit. Pedal kits are available from companies like Sparco that will allow you to change the location of your pedal surfaces.

Let’s go through it step-by-step:

1. As you are approaching the corner, get on the brakes.

2. When you are approaching your desired speed, put the clutch in and select your gear. Stay on the brakes.

3. Tap the throttle and bring the RPMs up while the transmission is in neutral. You should still be on the brakes at this point. This is where you use the left-right or heel-toe method.

4. Let the clutch out when the RPMs match your speed in the desired gear. You are free to let off the brakes any time once the car is in the lower gear.

5. Turn in and accelerate smoothly through the turn.

Those are the essential steps.

You must use some part of your foot to hit the gas and the other to hit the brake, hopefully without either slamming on the brakes or accelerating unintentionally.

There. That’s the short and simple truth of it. There’s nothing left but to practice. So go out there and do it.

Drifting with DGTrials at Beaverun Kart Track

The Beaverun Motorsports facility is home to a road course and two small kart tracks. On March 26 2004, the drifters from Drift and Gymkhana Trials (DGTrials) took over both kart tracks to practice their sliding arts for a whole day.

Participants ranged from heavily sponsored drivers such as JR Gitten to completely new drifters, namely yours truly. The paddock, wet and slick with the morning rain, was filled with drift cars ranging from stock to crazy modified.

Almost 60 cars showed up. Gitten’s blue and silver S13 sat at one end of the paddock, and an RB26DETT-powered 260Z sat at the other. In between were 2^nd-gen RX7s, 1985-1987 Corollas, the ubiquitous S13 and S14 240s, two Miatas, two Volvos, an E36 BMW, a Toyota Camry V6 Wagon, one Lexus SC300, and one Pontiac Firebird.

Yes, even a Firebird showed up to play, proudly shredding tires alongside the imported cars. The Camry wagon was drifted impressively, entering each turn with rear wheels locked and smoking, exiting slowly but smoothly.

However, today was not one for many shredded tires. Few cars were able to stay on the tight, technical course for their entire run. The track itself was not much wider than about fifteen or twenty feet total. Many cars got stuck in the mud and needed to be towed out.

This led to much frustration as drivers had to wait for each car to be extracted from the sludgy mess, only to find that they themselves were uncontrollably sliding off the track.

Why? Each car, when removed from the mud, took with it enough wet dirt to spread over each corner of the track, making the course more slippery and unpredictable as the day wore on.

The end result? Lots of frustration and little tire destruction.

The run groups were divided into Aces (the most experienced drivers), advanced drivers, intermediate drivers, and beginners. Each run group got four chances at the tracks, with the exception of the beginners, who only got three. The amount of runs per session varied from three to six, depending on how much time was spent extracting cars from the mud and how many cars were in each group.

At the end of the day, there was a small competition to determine the best drifter of the day. Each car got three more runs on the main track before they were either eliminated or allowed to continue on to the final rounds.

The final rounds narrowed the field to 18, then to six cars. Gitten won the informal slide-off, proving his skill with early initiation to high-angle drifts which produced billows of thick white smoke. His consistently high performance and few off-course excursions allowed him to easily take the win.

What’s the bottom line here? I got 12 runs for $125. The track was very tight and the mud made it almost impossible to get back on track once you went off. It took about five to ten minutes for each car to be extracted, depending on where it was located and how long it took the car to be hooked up and dragged out. This led to long wait times in line and few runs during each session.

However, the DGTrials people were friendly and helpful. They gave advice on drift technique and told me how to set my shocks and tire pressures for the best results. The competition was well-run and fun to watch. Many interesting cars and people showed up, as well as various food vendors for the hungry drifter.

Final thought: this event was a lot of money for not a lot of drifting. Although the atmosphere was good and the organizers were helpful, the event itself was not very satisfying. The beginners felt as if they were cheated by not having as many sessions as the other drivers, and it seemed like the Aces got preferential treatment for time on-track.

The Scorecard:
Atmosphere: Good
Organization: Fair
Track Time: 12 runs in beginner group
Competition: Fun! To watch . . .
Cost: $125 (minus gas, tolls, and hotel stay)
Overall grade: C-