Im interested in what you guys think the best way to swing your tail out is..

I've heard of lifting throttle quickly in mid turn,

breaking in the middle of turn...trail braking I believe,

Hand brakes but I do not want to try this b/c I heard it damages the car some how?

turn and clutch in but keep in gear and engage gear to countersteer, I hear this is bad for the car as well.

Of course Im not gonna try this on the street probably in a empty parking lot on an raining night......Just wanted to get some advice, on what you guys did when you first started to get ur tail out on the EVO, before I go out there and give it a shot. I consider my self a descent driver although I have never drifted before I been drivin stick of couple years and got heal to toe locked down so I think its time for the next step. Any advice on how to get started would be nice, I have watched the drift bible once, but no awd car in there so Im hoping to get some input from you evo professionals out there...

BTW i got like 630mile on my MR right now, is it ok to do this?

 

watch the SEMA show at the end there's the Endless EVO doing drifting. Basicly charge into the corner; heel-toe downshift; sharp turn and power through the corner play any of the gran tourismo games it's pretty realistic.

EDIT: I'd break your car in first though Wait till like 5000+ miles.

 

You can induce drift our simply get the *** out by driving straight then turn the wheel slightly and quickly the opposite direction you want you *** end to come out. Then quickly turn the wheel back the other direction like you would do for a quick corner. Your *** in will come around very easily, and if you are buiding boost already in a lower gear you can just stay on the throttle and modulate your steering and go into a mild AWD drive drift.

For instance if you wanted the *** to come out to your right, then you would sharply but slightly flick the wheel right, then once the car starts that direction and is unbalanced, immediately cut the wheel in the other direction (left this time) and stay in it and your *** end will be coming around. This whole flip flop of the steering happens in about 2 seconds. It doesn't take much to get it around!

 

There are many, many ways to loosen up the rear of the car in a corner. That's the easy part. The hard part is knowing how to catch it, keeping the car under control, and returning to a neutral balance. The Evo is a high-grip car with a strong tendency to understeer. You have to be going pretty fast and use some pretty harsh inputs to get the car sideways. Good luck...


Step 1: Make sure you have a very good insurance policy

The Evo is a little snappy on the limit: the stiff suspension and almost R-compound-like behavior of the Advans means you have a lot of grip...then it drops away instantly. Many inexperenced drivers have been smacking up their brand new Evos by overestimating their driving skills. This is NOT a great car to learn drifting on. Even if you don't smash it into something, you stand a good chance of hurting the clutch, tranny, t-case, etc.

Just don't post here complaining about how much Mitsu sucks for not replacing your clutch under warranty


Best thing to do is sign up for a real high-performance driving school. That's the next step...not abusing your car in a parking lot! The PCA, BMW CCA, and many other organizations have excellent schools all over the US and Canada. Do yourself a favor and sign up.

Emre

 

anything to throw the balance of the car off should help!

 

Cant wait to try this when the snow hits this weekend at a parking lot.

 

ya thats a good idea

 

Can you recommend any high-performance driving schools?
I've wanted to go to one for a long time, hopefully there's something around NY.

 

There are several chapters of the BMW CCA in the tri-state area. The NJ chapter is my favorite and (IMNSHO) they host the best driving schools and club races in the area. There's also a NY chapter, and both CT and PA have nice chapters.

Anyway, whichever chapter you join, you will be welcome to do schools hosted by ANY chapter of the CCA. This even includes schools in Europe (like the amazing 1-week-long Nurburgring driving school).

The track nearest NYC is Lime Rock Park in CT. But Pocono, Summit Point, Watkins Glen, NHIS, and VIR are all within a few hours drive.

Emre

 

Basically try to get/download a copy of "The Drift Bible" first.

Then enroll in a good rally/racing school; (in that order, Ok?)
one that gives you access to 4wd cars if possible,
or allows you to use yours (for a discount ?).

Then practice, practice, practice... you get the picture.

 

Actually I have that video, but wont be using most of those techniques. Im just going to make a vcd of top gear's special on awd drifting, play it while I try it out in the snow in this huge empty parking lots with lots of room to play. The technique I'll be using is what v8killer described and whats in the video.

Just going to play around in low speeds and also I would never try drifiting on the street!

 

So, you think it's a good idea for a novice to watch a video then go straight to a rally school? Interesting.

I'm a high-performance driving instructor myself and I've seen lots of students over the years. The best thing to do is start with a "normal" driving school before trying your hand at advanced techniques like drifting/rally racing. But it's your car...maybe you'd like to wreck it.

BTW, the Drift Bible video is total crap. Sure, it's entertaining...but that's it.

Emre

 

[Oh boy, another hater ]
Fella, next time at least have the courtesy to post my complete response first, ok?
Please read my reply again, it does indicate that I consider Rally Driving Schools to be better for this particular driver in this particular situation.
Also, I assume that anyone interested enough to ask a sensible question, would then take the various techniques illustrated in the DVD and practice each one thoroughly first; before proceeding further. Then go for additional instruction.

Since he says that he is already competent at some of the basics like "heel-and-toe" etc.; then just maybe a competent rally-school instructor will be able to take him a little further along; rather than just starting from a purely introductory (drivers ed. 101) level.

Maybe if you read my reply just a little more slowly, then you'll understand it.
The order suggested was in reference to the relevance of the instruction being received, not to the sequence of events that you incorrectly assumed.

IMHO the Evo being 4wd with inherent understeer (except RS model) and significant power and torque, requires much more specialised training than your average RWD car in order to drive really well. That's why I suggested training in a 4wd car, or in his own car; on a loose surface (in a rally school). Here with lower levels of adhesion, compared to tarmac; he might get the idea much more quickly (and safely?)

Yup fella, you might be God's gift to driving instruction... great... more power to you... Not all of us are that lucky.

Yup, you definitely are better than the instructor in the DVD... in your opinion; and that's great fella, everyone needs self-confidence, so "go for it". BTW have you ever driven at Le Man, because as far as I know he has.

Oh BTW, I got my racing licence when I was 18, and that was quite a while ago. However, I still wish that I could receive additional specialist training in a good Rally School (none over here). You see, unlike some, I am aware that I don't know everything, and that there is always room for improvement.

In any event that happens to be my opinion, and if you don't like it... well you know what you can do about it.

 

If you want to learn how to do this, either go to a good driving school (http://www.team-oneil.com/)

or a cheaper solution would be to join the local SCCA and try some autocrossing or rally cross.

In both places you will learn to control the car at it's liimits, one costs a lot of money up front, the other (autocross ) is more like an adiction that you feed over time...

Either way you will learn how to control your EVO enough to do what ever you please.

please don't be an *** and try to learn this on the street.

 

Since you have such a strong opinion about how you "consider Rally Driving Schools to be better for this particular driver in this particular situation," I'm assuming you have some experience training drivers in high-performance or rally driving, right? In that case, why don't you explain your reasoning...since it's contrary to what most driving instructors would suggest.



Some clubs do run skid schools or car control clinics, but you don't have to start with them. FWIW, these shcools are great for exploring the basics of car control at a very reasonable cost...generally $50 or so (and that's much better bang for the buck than a DVD if you ask me). Anyway, most entry-level schools start directly on the racetrack.


The driving schools I've suggested (i.e., the PCA and BMW CCA) are designed to use your own car with one-to-one instruction. You have the same guy in the car with you the whole weekend. Most rally schools will NOT allow you to drive your own car. And anyway I'm not sure why you'd WANT to drive your own car at these events: the rally school environment is very destructive to cars. Most of us would not take our brand-new Evos to these schools.


Don't kid yourself...that DVD you're referring to is NOT an instructional tool. It's for entertainment. People who are serious about improving their on-the-limit driving skills should go to a real school and work one-to-one with an experienced instructor.

Emre