Drifting is a driving technique which allows drivers to slide their car from side-to-side. in drifting, the driver will drive in a turn, usually at speed, while accelerating while turning the steering one way and turning the gas on the other. the basic idea is to allow inertia to steer your vehicle for you so that instead of following the direction of your wheels you turn more towards where you want to go by facilitating momentum.
drifting is often performed with rwd or awd cars – any type of car can be drifted but it requires some knowledge about how all-wheel drive cars work and how they react when sliding through corners. with an fwd car, this style of driving might not be necessary because traction on
what is the purpose of drifting?
drifting is the act of purposely oversteering or spinning one's car, typically at high speeds. this technique can be used to save an over-cooked corner entry, to gradually adjust the rear of your car into a tighter turn, or simply as a continuous part of performance driving. essentially drifting is using the throttle and steering wheel to fight constantly with each other so that lateral gs are constantly being applied to the vehicle without ever correcting either direction.
what does it mean for a car to drift?
drifting is a driving technique that involves taking curves and turns with such relaxed or exaggerated speed that the vehicle enters into or causes (even if inadvertently) a skid around the turn. the intent of drifting is either to slide through the corner at maximum velocity, causing oversteer, or making sharper turns without slowing down by inducing understeer. these skids are usually intentional so as to better control throttle and steering input. some professional drivers consider drifting a performance art-form as well as an extreme sport.
in addition to being employed in auto racing this technique also has been applied off road on tracks with surfaces too rough for normal handling practice with vehicles such as trophy trucks and pro rally cars as well as
is it good to drift a car?
most safety and driving experts would say no. a car drifting has a lot of complicated dynamics at work. there are three phases: the entry phase, contact phase, and extraction phase. drift drivers can enter or extract from the drift by using the brakes or throttle — this requires quick thinking and piloting skills; they also need to know how to recover from mistakes such as spinning out (known as “flipping”). if you're considering doing any form of drifting on public roads, be sure that you can handle it safely first –- no one wants an accident. practice, practice!
most good driving instructors would recommend that drivers not drift if they’re learning for their license exams and driver’s tests
how do they drift a car?
it's quite simple, really. racers hook the back of the car to a tow rope with a handbrake engaged. then they release the front brakes and yank hard on the tow rope which pulls it forward, pushing air under its tires through venturi effect. once it's up to speed, they release the handbrake and let it go; now generating even more power for their own racer. it's like free money!
this answer was co-authored by @adamjonesbiz1
