This was a beginners drift day, run by Driver dynamics and some of the drifters from VicDrift. I attended, fully expecting to struggle all day due to lack of power, but they wet down parts of the track to help initiate drifts and reduce strain on the cars. This was my first attempt at drifting, it was really hard at first because you are fighting your natural instincts to regain control of the car, but I did learn alot. There were 5 exercises. First one was the handbrake 180. I'd done stuff like this at deca before but I've never really managed to keep the car moving/sideways around the 180 so it was abit different. Here's a vid: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009035.flv Then there was the donut exercise. They setup a circle of cones, roughly the size of a roundabout and you had to drift around it. This was abit hard, the car kept wanting to understeer so I'd have to clutch kick it again to keep it going sideways. Next was basic power over steer. 2nd gear on the Dandenong road corner, approach just like a normal turn and at the clipping point punch the accelerator to initiate the drift and then power out of the corner. This one was a good exercise. I could get the car sideways but it would snap back really hard. Then the instructor told me to keep my foot down to help power the car out of the corner and it helped alot. Some vids: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009040.flv http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009041.flv http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009042.flv http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009043.flv http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009044.flv http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009045.flv Next was the transition/linked drift. This is run in reverse at turn 2/3 before the back straight. This one was pretty hard, I managed to get the car to make the transition from right to left, but just couldn't manage to hold the 2nd drift. And last was the feint drift on turn 1. This was my favourite exercise because it was a longer turn. This one was run by Luke Fink (came 2nd in drift Australia comp last year). He would get into every car and show you twice how it's done, then he sat next to you and instructed. First few tries I wasn't countersteering fast enough so the car would spin, then once I managed to get the car sideways it would grip up again. Luke said that because I didn't have enough power I needed to give it alot more throttle after I caught the drift. So basically if I had a TT it would be punch the throttle, release throttle and catch drift with opposite lock then feather throttle between say 10%-40% to keep drift going, whereas in a NA you are feathering the throttle between 60% and 100% to keep the rear sliding. I managed to get it right once, the other times I was spinning out or gripping up. I have a vid of this but I am still uploading it. Also have a dvd coming with more footage which I will have to edit and post up. They will be running another event during the year, not sure on dates yet but I will find out for anyone who is interested. Definitely worth the money and I am considering having another shot next time. There will also be some Vicdrift beginners days at winton, but these are all run on dry track. pics coming soon.
thats awesome man...i wouldnt mind coming next time...how much did it end up costing you???...looks like fun, was there heaps of people there? Ryan
also see TT>NA pay back for deca...na thats awesome man....do you reakon that you can still keep it out if you wanted to without a wet track???
well hopefully not for too long ...looked like sooo much fun though, did you use the handbrake at all or was it more throttle and clutch kind of activity?
started at 10am, finished at 4pm. you get 1hr on each activity. yeah i think it can be done. you'd need alot more entry speed and maybe with a feint action you could get the rear to lose grip. keeping the tail out would be alot harder though but i guess with the right suspension (probably stiffer rear sway bar and shocks/coilovers) and maybe a mechanical lsd it could be done. used the handbrake for the 180's. only time i used it was during the link/transitions as the track started to dry up and i didn't have enough power to power oversteer so i had to use the handbrake to initiate the first drift. but the cars with more power were mainly using the accelerator.
man that is pretty cool. looks like heaps of fun. great stuff man... have u looked into the practice drift nights at calder??? since you have learnt the basics you could go there???
the other zed that attended, don't think he is a member here. also NA, genuine C2 kit. topstage demo car. CF guards, diffusers, bonnet and boot. 600kw monaro. lsx engine, supercharged. has v8 supercar gaurds, tubbed rear end running 315's lots of s15's and some rx7's an m5 135i this 33gtst is powered by an rb25/30 (25 head, 3L block).
yeah i don't know how if I am that keen on pursuing drifting though. I still want to keep doing motorkhana's (deca) and maybe hillclimbs and some sprints, maybe if i end up getting a track car i will look into drifting abit more.
good work sandeep . you went out there and had a go . thats what its all about ... maybe next time ill come with ya ....
i have more vids ok, here is the best footage of what was left on my phone. first 2 vids are in-car from the power oversteer exercise. http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009046-001.flv http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009047-001.flv this vid is from the turn 1 drill with Luke Fink. it's hard to explain how much of a pro this guy is, watch the vid and you'll see. this is his first time driving my car. http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009039-001.flv and this was my best run on that exercise. http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/sandeep_a180/?action=view¤t=17012009039-002.flv
I missed out! I put my name down early on, but before I could pay they had taken my name off the list again Didn't tell me or anything! Oh well, apparently due to the success of the day they will definitely run another, so I will definitely be in, you can never practice the basics too much!
action shots got a dvd with some action shots, here's a few: this is from the link/transition exercise and these are from turn 1
They have already booked in September 6th for another beginners drift day if you guys are interested. Or you can check out the vicdrift calendar here: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Vic-Drift-2009-Calendar-t253276.html
nice work there looking good. I see luke some times when me and a few mates go up the hills for a slide session, the stuff her can do is crazzy and hes a really nice guy as well. keep up the drifting its good fun im getting to know my car a lot better due to drifting.
