I have been drifting imports for quite some time....and i was wondering if the weight to power ratio is good enough for the possibility of a drift.......i know that i would have to make some suspension upgrades....but anyone know of some other upgrades that might help?

o.k, i KNOW i'M YOUNG BUT NOT THAT YOUNG---
WHAT THE HELL IS DRIFTING???

drifting is when entering a turn, you purposely loose traction in the rear wheels so that your rear end kicks out from under you and slides to the opposite side of the road than the curve....then....when you get into the other side of the curve you keep your traction loss....so that you are prepared for the next turn....it is much faster than slowing down....because you can enter and exit curves at very very high rates of speed

I have a slight problem with this.

If you are sliding on your tires you are losing valuable traction plus you are wearing the heck out of them, possible causing a failure. And if I was behind you when you did this, all I would have to do is a light tap and around you go and I'm in front.

What really works well is to come into a corner hot and deep. Brake hard and shoot down into the corner. This will set-up your exit almost straight out of the corner. You can pick up more speed exiting a straighten out corner then sliding around it!

I did this to a (god I hate to say this!) more powerful Camero the other night. He was sliding and squealing all over the place. He could see me at his door around every corner. My son's (Jesse) Mustang never let out a squeal or broke a sweat

Anyway that is my thoughts

Tony B.

Yes, you can drift a mustang in the corners. I have done a number of times with my 89 coupe once I had made a few modifications and upgrades.

At that time I was running Suspension Technique springs, 5 way adjustable Tokico struts and shocks, panhard bar, camber/caster plates, 17 ROH wheels with BF Goodridge Comp TA 255x40x17 tires, with a strut tower brace and subframes for chassis stiffening. Oh yes, also relocated the battery for better weight distribution. The more weight you can get off the front end of a mustang the better.

There's no feeling like sinking your wheels into a high speed drift around a corner. This is not something for the faint at heart or for those on the street. Manuvers like this belong on the track where its safe.

Tony, I hear what you are saying. It depends on your driving technique. I like to drive in hard and fast then brake just before entering the corner to set up my exit to accelerate out.

Just my two cents

sounds to me like the guy in the camero needed to work on his technique.....drifting can be much much faster than grip style if you know what you are doing
but you have to have good technique

I believe when you want to "drift" a car around a corner it is of the four wheel variety. Which means that all four tires are actually losing grip with the road surface but since you have momentum and most important, skill, the car will basically slide around a corner vs braking real hard to slow you down a bit. I also had my car in a drift many times but it usually was made out of snow, trying to accomplish a "drift" Know what I mean. Frank

Ok I'm not talking hit the brakes to slow down. I'm talking hit the brakes to settle the front down on the suspension. This way the front tires will bite in the corner. Once the car is pointed into the turn, straighten out, and shoot the straight line out. It's called point and shoot.

I'm not saying that drifting isn't fun. It's a blast, but the quickest way between to points is a straight line.

Tony B.

i have raced for a long time and i have never really heard of any instances where drifting was faster than a well maneuvered turn. Drifting requires your tires to lose traction, causing friction, which according to that stupid law of physics slows things down. Drifting looks great, and may feel faster but really has no advantages but to impress the skirts.

[97 MGT]

Originally posted by A.J.
i have raced for a long time and i have never really heard of any instances where drifting was faster than a well maneuvered turn. Drifting requires your tires to lose traction, causing friction, which according to that stupid law of physics slows things down. Drifting looks great, and may feel faster but really has no advantages but to impress the skirts.

You are very right.

Drifting is not anything a race car driver wants to do on a road course unless they are in rally racing. Drifting just looks and feels cool.

I took 2 skip barber racing schools and drifting was NOT the proper techniques we were taught to use on a road course.

A.J. Is right....you only lose time and power around the turn while drifting. study your heel and toe, downshifting into a turn and applying throttle while coming out of a turn.

This is how a good "simple" turn would be executed...so i have been taught..

Here is the scenario: I am coming on the inside of a straightaway on roadamerica. There is a right turn coming up ahead that turns into another straightaway. What do you do?

While approaching the turn move to the outside of the of the straightaway approx. 500 ft before the turn is desired
let off the throttle turn to the inside of the apex. When exiting the turn apply throttle and move in the straightest direction possible to gain speed.

Thats the best i couild describe it right now. Drifting will only slow you down and possibnly cause an accident with other drivers on a road course.

[GTRaptor]

Drifting will only wear the tires prematurely, so it's something a good driver will try to avoid at all costs.

Consistency and knowledge of the road course is what wins races and drifting can only be inconsistent due to changing road conditions (water, dust, tire marbles,etc), and with that it can become a dangerous manuever.

[dmark101]

good explanations guys!

yes, a road racer or autocrosser will never purposely induce drift. all it does is slow you down and can make the difference between first and not first.