I made a trip to the track recently and played around with a few different levels of settings for the AYC and such, but I wasn't able to get the car to do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2azQUs7LFBQ#t=159
(Skip to 2:39 if it doesn't go there after the ad for what I'm talking about)

I'm really interested in what the best settings are to get this kind of driving behavior. Maybe I'm just too scared to push the car that hard? Lol.

My s2000 has a tendency to snap oversteer, but it does it on demand and I am 10x more comfortable managing that because it's very predictable to me from years more experience driving it and less body roll (it's a track car with stiff suspension that is gutted).

Any advice on what settings would get this kind of driving character would be greatly appreciated.

 

What is your current alignment?

 

The crappy stock one

I'm not gonna get an alignment until after these overpriced Yoko's wear out.

 

It's your car, but I, personally, would pay the $100 or so to get the rear toe reduced. The (spec) range is something like .04 to .12, but every single untouched/stock X that I've seen has been close to or at the maximum, when you really want the minimum. Otherwise, turn off the ASC, leave the AWC in tarmac, and be aggressive at turn-in with just a moment of throttle-lift to initiate a drift. More precisely: you lift to shift weight onto the fronts; when you feel the weight shift, steer sharply; then get right back on the gas, trusting the tail to swing out. Doesn't take much practice, but you do have to be unsmooth; any bad autocrosser can drift.

 

I don't autocross, but I see the point of wanting grip in that situation. I personally feel the best driving in something like a TA (what I do mostly) is to be right on that edge of control and losing it, like the Gobstopper:


That's why I'm not really looking to drift, just get the back end to come out at the same time so I have completely neutral sliding like in that video. Notice, in that MT video, he doesn't counter steer because the back end isn't swinging out past the line of attack; the car just seems to be in line with the direction he wants to go instead of the rear cutting a narrower path (typical driving) and going way wider (drifting, requiring counter steer).

In my experience, this has been faster when you can nail every turn like that, it's just much riskier and difficult to pull off with consistency as opposed to just controlling the car to never lose grip. It's also more expensive on tires, but less on brakes .

Thanks for the info! I'll give that a try next time.

 

I'm very much against driving like an idiot, but still believe that drifting this car a few times will actually make you a safer driver, since you'll know what it feels like and what you need to do if it ever happens unexpectedly. Easiest and safest way to acquire said knowledge is to go to an autocross and go too deep into a sweeper or pin-turn. Your instinct to lift or even tap the brakes will be automatic, while the course will encourage you to steer at the same time. Then the fact that you're being timed and 60-100 people are watching will make you get back on the gas. Et voila: a drift.

Personally, I would worry less about steer-ahead vs counter-steer and remain focused on pointing the fronts in the direction that you want to go without lifting. If you keep at this, the skill that you're looking to acquire is the ability to "read" the slip angle of the front tires through the steering wheel. This shouldn't require "sawing" on the wheel; small adjustments to the right and left ought to be enough.

Warning: you can destroy the OE (rear) tires in one event if you drift with lots of rear toe. But if your goal is to move on to your second set of tires, that's another reason to go to an autocross soon.

 

I typically go to the local track here in albuquerque and do circuits or time attacks . I usually just race my track car, but the evo is fun and doing it every once in a while won't hurt anything. I also believe that people should learn the limits of a car like you. It greatly increases how you handle the vehicle in a danger situation.

The last open track day I was the only person there and had their skidpad and entire road course to myself for the two hours I was there. I was also there right when they opened whereas most people don't show up until later in the day .

https://www.google.com/maps/place/NA...f8d0211415402d

That's the reason I don't autocross.

 

Apologies for underestimating your experience. I usually suggest autocrosses because they are safer. I see plenty of run-off room on that track. Just go in deeper, trail-brake later, and you'll soon be drifting whether you want to or not.

 

That course is crazy symmetrical huh.

But yeah, lift off in corner, or trail braking a bit will put you in a drift. But if you brake properly into a turn, throw it in with steering input and give it gas it will kick the *** out slightly and then pull you through the corner. It's not as crazy of a drift, but it's fast.

 

Exactly the kind of maneuver I'm after. Do you use the same settings as Iowa and just disable the ASC? That seems to make sense to me theoretically, but whatever other magic people use and find I'd like to know so I can try that out as well!

 

Regardless of AWC mode, I really encourage you to get an alignment soon. As I suggested above, odds are you have .10 on each side in the rear and that's slowing you down, making it harder for you to initiate a gentle rear slide, and will cause much more wear when you do get it to slide. You'll want to do this before getting the next set of tires; why not now? Zero front and only .04 rear (per side).

 

Side benefit is the Yokos will last longer. They are pretty good tires, just hampered by what Mitsu did to the car to dumb it down.. Getting the toe close to zero all around will really wake the car up and allow you to be move it around very easily

 

Iowa, I wasn't aware of the alignment issue. Does the front need adjustment?

 

The fronts, as delivered, are usually close enough to zero that it isn't a big deal, although getting it even closer to zero is good. That so many Evo Xs are delivered with near-maximum spec rear toe (in) makes me think that it is on purpose.