Drifting 101

In case you’ve heard the term, but haven’t ever really understood it, drifting is the newest craze in cars. From competitive driving to that new action movie, drifting is an essential piece to the stunt driver’s résumé. We give you a quick overview of what it is and how it’s done.

The Move

The maneuver itself is when a vehicle, traveling at a high speed around a turn, slides sidewise with the turn. When it’s done well, the car appears to be on ice as it makes an elegant curve around the corner with tires pluming with smoke. The ideal is an even balance of chaos and control, getting right up to the edge.

Where It Comes from

Like many trends in the competitive driving world, this one comes from the streets of Japan. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, street racing was (and still is) a very popular pastime. Though it’s illegal in most cases, a whole culture has developed around it. Moves like drifting evolved from a desire to make races more competitive than merely who had the best time.

How Is It Done

Only professionals should attempt such a dangerous stunt, of course, and there’s good reason. It can only be done with a manual transmission car with a lot (and we mean a LOT) of horsepower. You need the right tires that give you the right traction. You need a car with a deep turning radius so that you can get as many angles on the road as possible. Finally and most importantly, you need a finely tuned sense of balance. Drifting too far can mean spinning out of control and colliding with another vehicle.