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Drifting refers either to a driving technique utilizing a difference in slip angle between the front and rear tires of a car, also known as ''powersliding'', or to a sport based on the technique; this article deals primarily with the sport. When the rear wheels are slipping at a greater angle than the front wheels, the car is drifting or Oversteering . Intentional use of this technique is sometimes referred to as Opposite Lock . The rear end of the car appears to chase the front end around a turn, the driver utilizes both front tires and the rear tires to control the actual direction of the car. More throttle induces more rear wheel slip angle and the rear of the car wants to overtake the front. The goal is for the driver to achieve steering lock and use the throttle to fine tune the car's angle and direction. HISTORY For decades people have used the unique inertial and slip properties of Rear-wheel Drive automobiles for intentional oversteer. This has advantages in motorsports, and can be performed in a rear-wheel drive production car or even truck with little effort. Many attribute the return of drifting as a competitive sport to mountain-road racers of rural Japan . Informal challenges on back mountain roads (called '' Touge '' (峠), pronounced "toe-gay") eventually evolved into a heavily funded and advertised competitive events, sanctioned by organizations and held on private tracks. Drifting started out as a racing technique popular in the All Japan Touring Car Championship races over 30 years ago. A motorcycling legend turned driver named Kunimitsu Takahashi was the foremost practitioner of drifting techniques in the 1970's. Takahashi's aggressive drifting skills — he was famous for hitting the apex (the point where the car is closest to the inside of a turn) at high speed and then drifting through the corner, preserving a high rate of speed — earned him several championships and a legion of fans who enjoyed the spectacle of burning tires and perilous speed. A street racer named Keiichi Tsuchiya became particularly enthralled by Takahashi's drift techniques. Tsuchiya began practicing his drifting skills on the streets, and quickly gained a reputation amongst the "hashiriya" or racing crowd. In 1977, several popular car magazines and tuning garages conspired to produce a video of Tsuchiya's drifting skills on windy mountain roads. The video, called Pluspy, became a cult hit and inspired many of the professional drifting drivers on the circuits today. Tsuchiya earned himself the nickname "Dorikin," which is short for "Drift King" in Japanese. In 1977 Keiichi began his racing career driving many different cars in amateur racing series events. Racing these underpowered cars was difficult but again a great learning experience. Later Keiichi was picked up to drive the ADVAN sponsored Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno (JDM Corolla GT-S). During many races on a downhill corner he would drift the car and carry a better corner speed than his competitors. This technique is what made him the Drift King, not, as most believe, that he was first in the drift scene. In 1988, alongside Option magazine founder Daijiro Inada , he would help to organise one of the first drift events, the event was a success despite very few drivers were capable of drifting then. Drifting "officially" began in the United States in 1996 with an event at Willow Springs racetrack in California hosted by the magazine Option, but it did not become popular until around 2002, and has since exploded into a massively popular form of motorsport. Japanese drifters are still considered to be at the cutting edge of technique and car development, but their American counterparts are quickly catching up. Many American enthusiasts consider drifting to be an extension of American motorsports such as Dirt Track Racing , however "drifting" in its modern form as a sport unto itself is of Japanese origin. Many of the techniques used today in drifting were developed by rally drivers competing on dirt, gravel and snow. On such surfaces, the fastest way to take a corner is generally by sliding. TODAY Nowadays, drifting has evolved into a competitive sport where drivers compete in rear-wheel drive cars to keep their cars sideways as long as possible. At the top levels of competition, especially the D1 Grand Prix from Japan and others in Australia , the Republic of Ireland , the United Kingdom , and the United States , drivers are able to keep their cars sliding for extended periods of time, often through several turns. Drifting competitions are judged based not on the time it takes to complete a course, but on line, angle, speed, and show factor. Line involves taking the correct line, which is usually announced beforehand by judges. Angle is the angle of a car in a drift, the more the better. Speed is the speed entering a turn, the speed through a turn, and the speed exiting the turn; faster is better. The show factor is based on multiple things, such as the amount of smoke, how close the car is from the wall, and the crowd's reaction. It is based on how "cool" everything looks. Final rounds of competition often include tandem drift runs nicknamed ''tsuiso'' (chase-run) in Japanese, where one car follows another through the course, attempting to keep up with or even pass the car in front. In the tsuiso rounds, it does not matter if the racing line is wrong; it matters who has the most exciting drift. Normally, the leading car usually produces a max-angle, but still closes off the inside a little to prevent passing. The chasing car usually drifts with less angle, but very close to the lead car. But a car does not even have to keep up, and in fact in some cases a car that was left behind on the straight produces a beautiful drift, winning him that round. A spin, Understeer , or collision results in a disqualification of the offending party. To make judging less ambiguous, the DriftBox has been introduced, which uses GPS to measure the angle, speed and g-force during a run. This takes out the guessing element when it comes to judging the angle and speed of the drift. CARS The popular cars seen around the world reflect the local flavors and what is commonly available, but center around light to moderate weight, rear-wheel-drive passenger cars with an emphasis on good handling. Japanese cars are often preferred, due to the sport's Japanese origins, but are not necessarily at an advantage. In Japan, the top drift machines are the Nissan Silvia/180SX , Nissan Skyline (RWD versions), Nissan Fairlady Z , Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin, Toyota Altezza , Toyota Soarer , Honda S2000 , and Mazda RX-7 . US drift competitions will feature the local versions of all those cars (such as the Nissan 240SX and Toyota Corolla GT-S) as well as American performance cars such as the Ford Mustang , Dodge Viper and Pontiac GTO . Drifters in other parts of the world often adapt their own local favorites, such as the early Ford Escort ( UK and Ireland ), BMW 3 Series (other parts of Europe ), or Volvo 700 Series ( Sweden ). There is some debate over whether or not front-wheel-drive (FWD) vehicles can drift. By the technical definition (rear wheels slipping at a greater angle than front wheels), they are indeed able to drift. However, many consider FWD vehicles a poor choice for drifting, as the frequent use of the emergency brake (necessary to drift FWD cars) slows them down and makes them harder to control. Also since they use their front tires for both steering and power, the car loses control after a single slide, while RWD cars can drift through consecutive corners. In this way, the definition of drifting is frequently challenged to say that FWD cars cannot "drift," only oversteer. However, some drifters such as Kyle Arai or Keisuke Haketeyama use front wheel drive Honda Civic s to drift, and succeed in doing so, sometimes besting their RWD opponents. Theoretically, FWD cars can drift by simply taking a turn without braking and skid into the turn (on the ice, a FWD accomplishes the same and by debated definition "drifts") and by using manji or lift off techniques (see below) to readjust the car coming out of the turn. AWD vehicles, such as the Subaru Impreza WRX STi , and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drift at a much different angle and are usually induced by power-over. As the front wheels are also driven on an AWD vehicle there is a noticeable lack of counter steer. D1 and other professional competitions do not allow AWD vehicles. As a solution to stop AWD drivers from crying teams remove these training wheels. Vehicles like the Impreza and the Lancer are converted to only use the rear wheels so as to become a RWD car that can compete in drift competitions that prohibit AWD cars. SPORT Many parts are available from aftermarket manufacturers that are specifically designed to modify a car for drifting. Almost all competitors take advantage of these products to enhance the suspension, driveline, chassis and body of their cars. The most important drifting competition in the world is the Autobacs D1 Grand Prix , which originated in the Japan Ebisu South Circuit. Once confined to Japan , the D1 Grand Prix currently holds three points match, the other two in the UK and Malaysia , Also one Japan vs USA exhibition match at Irwindale Speedway in California , and an another three exhibition matches in Las Vegas , Silverstone and Shanghai , China . In the United States , the best known league is Formula D . DRIFTING TECHNIQUES There are many different ways to drift a car, including: (NOTE: ABS and TCS should be turned off before attempting to drift. These systems are not made to take into account a driver wanting the car to slide).
AUTOMOBILE CONFIGURATION The Suspension in a drift car tends to be very tight and unforgiving. Chassis preparation is similar to a Road Racing car. Roll Cages are employed for safety, and to improve the torsional rigidity of the car's frame. Suspension geometry is often altered to improve the car's controllability during a slide. Most cars use an integrated coilover/shock ( MacPherson Strut ) combination called ''shakocho''. This allows for the height of the car to be adjusted. Better shakocho will be what the Japanese call "full-tap." This type of suspension allows the ride height to be adjusted independently of the suspension travel. There is no perfect height setting or spring/shock combo for any car, but each driver will have their own personal preference. Many suspension manufacturers, such as Kei Office, APEX'i, Tein, JIC Magic, and HKS, offer suspension tuned specifically for drifting, allowing many people to enter the sport competitively. One suspension tuning method, once popular in Japan, is known as "Demon Camber" or ''Oni-kyan'' (鬼カム). It involves setting the suspension with extreme negative Camber . The car is then very easy to slide initially, but stability, grip, and overall ability to control the car are compromised. It has thus fallen out of favor as a serious performance-minded suspension setup. However, many cars built for show (such as those driven by Bōsōzoku ) still use this style of suspension setup for its aggressive look. Most cars used for drifting will employ a Limited Slip Differential (LSD). A normal, or "open" differential will perform unpredictably when power is applied while the car is in a state of oversteer. The limited-slip unit maintains both drive wheels at or near the same speed, improving the ability of the driver to control the attitude of the car through throttle application. The most popular form of limited slip differential for drifting is the clutch type, in "2-way" form; this is preferred for its consistent and aggressive lockup behavior under all conditions (acceleration and deceleration). Some drift cars will employ a welded differential, where the spider gears are removed or fixed in place such that both driven wheels will always turn the same speed. This makes the car very easy to slide at high speed, but very difficult to operate in low-speed maneuvers; it can also adversely affect driveline longevity. The Clutch es on drift cars tend to be very tough ceramic brass button or multiple-plate varieties, for durability, as well as to allow rapid "clutch kick" techniques to upset the balance of the car. The cars quite often have different Tire s on the front and back, and the owner may have quite a few sets. This is because a single afternoon of drifting can destroy a new set of tires. As a rule, good tires go on the front for good steering. On the back, hard-compound tires are used—quite often second-hand ones—as they tend to end up in a cloud of smoke. As a driver gets better, they will most likely want to upgrade the tires used in the rear for a higher grip compound. Although cheap/hard tires are fun purely for their slipperiness and ease of drifting, they quickly become a hindrance for high-speed drifts. In addition, for the typical "drift car look", relatively narrow tires are often stretched over a wide rim. This is known as a "hipari" tire. For example, 205-50R16 tires may be fitted to an 8" rim, or 215-45R17 to a 9" rim. The driver is essentially still racing on a tire meant for a narrower wheel, but has the "wide look". The stretched sidewalls are also more resistant to flex under cornering loads, which can make an inexpensive High-profile Tire respond more like an expensive high-performance tire. Engine power does not need to be high, and in fact if a car has too much power, it can be very hard to handle during a drift. Each driver has their own preference, and drift cars can be found with anything from 100bhp (74kW) to 1000bhp (745kW). Typically, engine tuning is oriented towards achieving Linear response rather than maximum power output. Engines also must be equipped with upgraded Cooling Systems . Not only are the engines pushed very hard, creating lots of Heat , but being driven at an angle reduces the airflow through the Radiator . For Turbocharged engines, Intercooler efficiency is similarly reduced. As drift cars are pushed faster, aerodynamic tuning becomes more important, as well. Rear Spoiler s and Wing s usually are useful only in large, open tracks where the cars develop enough speed to create a need for more downforce. Bodywork is often widened or flared to allow the fitment of larger tires. Airflow to the engine is critical, so the body will be modified with added cooling vents and grilles. DRIFTING IN POPULAR CULTURE Because of the showy, spectator-friendly nature of drifting, it has received some exposure in mainstream culture both in Japan and the rest of the world.
LIST OF DRIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS ALL OVER THE WORLD Includes the year inauguration and country of origin D1 Grand Prix - 2000 - Japan D1 Grand Prix Malaysia Advan Drift Meeting - Japan A'pex Cup - Japan ORC Drift Championship - Japan BN Sports D1 Drift Championship - Japan Formula D - 2004 - United States U.S.Drift - 2002 - United States Drift Battle - Australia Drift Nationals - 2003 - Australia D1NZ - 2003 - New Zealand Eurodrift Series - UK & Europe Autoglym Drift Championship (formerly UKD1) - UK- 2002 D1 National Series Great Britain - 2006 Prodrift (formerly D1 IRL) - Eire - R3 Street Shoot-Out - Malaysia DM1(DriftMania)-Canada REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS Sanctioning Bodies
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