Question For My Grassroots Racers: Is Drifting A Grassroots Motorsport?

Salanis wrote: Edit: as for drifting as gateway; my girlfriend's first event she really ran at comfortably was a drift day. It got her excited for full track and auto-x. And when she did, she didn't panic over loss of traction.

Very good point! Couple of months ago I went to a PCA Track day at Shenandoah. Evey student was required at some point in the weekend to spend a session on the skid pad rather than the track.

I think Drifting is a legitimate motorsport even though "sucess" is judged subjectively. I have been to a couple events. The participants seemed to be just like the people I have met at track days. The spectators though are a different story!

Yeah, I'm always amazed at people who think they need to buy new tires for drifting. Yeah, the colored smoke Kumho's are pretty cool, but I'm thinking I could make a huge savings by using old, hard, used 400+ tread wear tires that generate a ton of smoke and take FOREVER to wear down! Why would you want expensive sticky tires for an "event" where you need to be able to break traction at will. Granted, it would probably be harder to predict the "limit" and recover, but it'll probably make you a better driver.

I do believe it's great for learning car control at the limit, I also believe the people who actually participate are pretty cool enthusiasts and guys in Japan have been successfully competing with virtually stock 80's era Corolla's (Hachi-Roku's in JDM speak) against much newer and more powerful cars so the "low" cost element is available too.

I've also seen some pretty crummy fans, but I've seen that at everything from the Monterey Historic Races, SCCA Club Races, NASA events and heaven forbid a NASCAR event.

ww wrote: Why would you want expensive sticky tires for an "event" where you need to be able to break traction at will.

Same reason you do on a track car: control. Drifting isn't about breaking the back end free as much as it is being able to control maximum oversteer while transitioning through turns. Breaking the back end free is easy, it's being able to then prompt the back end to swing back the other way, and catch it before you spin that's tough. Plus, even more than in other motorsports, you're doing your steering with the rear wheels/throttle.

Starting out, doing low speed stuff on a skidpad with a pretty basic car, the hard tires are nice. As I understand, when you get really good, and are running higher speed events (generally in a higher power car), you need the extra grip to be able to control where exactly your transitions occur.

The better drifters I see, all run Azenis RT-615's.

I don't think you'll see a smooth race tire ever because, you don't need that much stick, they cost more, and tread pattern=noise.

John Brown wrote: I am apparently the old guy that wears the young guys clothes. I respect (most) drifters for their ability to control a vehicle and dance at the far end of control. However popular drift culture has created such icons as Nick Hogan... which let's face it have ruined the "sport" for most of us. I like winter driving, I like getting sideways, I would like to do it in July without the ice and snow. I like drifting.

John, 1, your not that old, and 2, you dress like no young man Ive ever seen.

Joey

To me drifting is as much of a sport as synchronized swimming. It appears in the Olympics, but I still don't buy it.

After local drifting events shut down several parking lots for autocrossers due to their chickens**t behavior, I don't like'em.

"performance exabition"

joey48442 wrote:

John Brown wrote: I am apparently the old guy that wears the young guys clothes. I respect (most) drifters for their ability to control a vehicle and dance at the far end of control. However popular drift culture has created such icons as Nick Hogan... which let's face it have ruined the "sport" for most of us. I like winter driving, I like getting sideways, I would like to do it in July without the ice and snow. I like drifting.

John, 1, your not that old, and 2, you dress like no young man Ive ever seen. Joey

Joel, you gotta stop looking at my butt.

Give me a choice between speed skating and figure skating and I'll tell you which I'll pick EVERY time.

Performance art is performance art, regardless of how much tire smoke it generates. I like motor SPORTS.

ignorant said:covered on old board to death. Breakdown is as follows: 1. some folks think drifting is stupid because there is no real point and the addition of a subjective style points ranking puts off most folks 2. blowing through tires that quickly is expensive 3. There was a group who decided it was fun with cars and therefore had merit 4. Another group decided that the car control aspects learned was cool.