The direction and future of drifting

[John]

Drifting is a new sport that attracts many people due to it's current popularity but once this phase wears of how many of you plan to continue to drift?

What are your current and future intentions with the sport?

Where do you see drifting going if you disagree that it is just a 'phase'?

What can the drifting community do to insure that it will not die out once the initial popularity wears off?

[-=E36=-]

:thumb:

[Dorian]

Hopefully next year we (240 guys here in S.A.) will have at least two competitors in Formula D next year. I still will have to talk to Andy to see if this year's rules will apply but for the most part we as a group will be trying to have at least 2 240's for the event if not at least one. I will be managing only though so as to the actual driving... it will be up to them to win. My intentions are to support my friends where I know I can. Making money is second. Both driver's Autocross regularly for SASCCA so it should be exciting for us as a group to finally support each other.

[TIREKILLER]

Drifting is a new sport that attracts many people due to it's current popularity but once this phase wears of how many of you plan to continue to drift?

I will contue to drift reguardless of weather it is the "popular" thing to do. Hopefuly when the "popularity" wears off I wont have to deal with undereducated people like Ormand or BrentCRX.

What are your current and future intentions with the sport?

TO HAVE FUN!!!

Where do you see drifting going if you disagree that it is just a 'phase'?

Drifting will always be around, there is no way to get rid of it. Someone somewhere will be drifting, from here to eternity.

What can the drifting community do to insure that it will not die out once the initial popularity wears off?


KEEP ON DRIFTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sickboy]

ON MY SOAPBOX:

This idea of fads and bandwagons is a product and a symbol of American materialism and youth's lack of attention span. (sue me ~I'm getting old; been able to smoke, drink and vote, for almost a decade)

Much of this is attributed to one-up manship, Viacom's consumer controlling MTV, and video games. "Yeah, I beat that game two weeks after it came out.. its old, its lame."It falls into those people that fit into the materialistic world that actually give a crap what other people think about them and what clothes they are wearing. As well, the internet crowds that live vicariously through their PC without ever having done or experienced many real things, and claim they know all about it because they read all about it on the internet.. after reading all they can google: "its old".. like a game .. and doesn't hold their attention span.

Motorsports and all things automotive can never be a fad, its definitely full of opinions, but not a fad. Peoples' fascination with driving, building, racing, has never ceased since Ford's model-A. Drifting is just another adaption and expansion of motorsports. How it stands in the public eye will never matter to true motorsports enthusiasts.

Will it move out of mainstream view? Maybe, but that would be merely due to our society's norm of taking something worthwhile, exploiting it until all money can be made from it and discarding it for the next eye-catching (MONEY-MAKING) thing. It will survive in the mainstream if big business figures out how to capitalize on making recurring revenue with it. I.E. - if newer, cheaper RWD cars become available. There are only so many platforms and parts to go around which raises their prices; keeping many people out of the sport. Many companies don't want to invest in parts for cars that are over 10 years old. (So the domestics may have the last laugh..) Granted we have a new Z and RX-8, but $28-34K is pricey. Make the Scion TC RWD and you have a winner.

For reference: Drifting has continued to grow in Japan now for OVER 15 years. Showing its staying power, BUT they have more of an advantage; Tons more RWD cars that are cheap and expendable, for example -my '91 180SX SR was only $2,500. (with suspension and exhaust & downpipe and 2 years JCI) Their other advantage is the police are less strict and fairly passive. They come by flash their lights, everybody leaves and comes back 30 minutes later.

Regardless, anyone that has done it, tried it, experienced it knows its a real rush and sensation that goes beyond a style or fad. Its like drugs, making addicts evrywhere. It's fun, its the X-games of automotive competition. As long as I can drive I'll be mainlining it.

Future? It'll become what we (enthusiasts) make of it.

[and yes- in summary, I did just say that those imposing any materialistic ideas and conformity riddled comments refering to bandwagons and what's cool or not cool can take their A.D.D. & narrow minds and STFU :stfu: ]

OFF MY SOAPBOX.

[Oni-San]

Drifting will always be around, either here in TX, the US, Japan or some where in Europe. There were so many people into drifting, but when Initial-D
came out everyone wanted to get into it. :woohoo:

[andrave]

US needs more road courses. Parking lot drift events just don't capivate people like track events do. I see the evolution of drifting from parking lot events to tracks increase its popularity, but also increase the cost.

[slideways2004]

US needs more road courses. Parking lot drift events just don't capivate people like track events do. I see the evolution of drifting from parking lot events to tracks increase its popularity, but also increase the cost.

i think we should have more tracks also. but i want them like japan. i just don't want something like irwindale where it cost so much money to build and to rent out. i want something small. now you say i f it's small you can't have fun. when i say small, i want the engineering behind it. look at the tracks in japan. they're so small but the engineering is so great that they are great tracks. i bet the ebisu track is like half the size of irwindale. you can't just throw a bunch of turns together and call it a track, you have to have input and engineering.

[Craftsman]

I wanted to mention about track setup for drifting...

The optimal car setup for drifting is very similar to road racing or autocrossing... Oversteer isn't necesarily the best setup for a drift car... Neither is understeer... Most drivers prefer 50/50 weight distribution also... Stiff suspension is prefered in both. Roll is friend of neither. Power is friend of both, but not the most important factor... The suspensions like double wishbones or macpherson struts that are prefered in road racing are very good for drifting also.

I'm not going to say that a drift car is necessarily a good track car. But my point is that the setups are somewhat similar.

Drifting saved my life on the freeway this morning... Learning the physics behind drifting and actually practicing it can make you a better driver and safer driver overall in life.

This is said in response to :


And then there is the whole concept of whether drifting is even anything new, compared to power sliding so many of us are familiar with. In SCCA, drifitng violates about 75% of what we learn in, for example, Solo2. Rather than the car being rigid and sticking to the ground, and avoiding lost traction and such, drifting focuses on losing that traction (albeit, with elegance). The car's suspension are set up to violate most principle fundamentals learned in autocrossing or road racing - worn tires, soft rear suspension, excessive handbraking/rear brake bias, etc. The only benefit that comes from drifting, speaking as a driver, is the driver being in tune with suspension changes, the road and the car.

[Slideroadster]

ill admit drifting has been hyped up alot over the past 5 years (well 5 for me anyways, Cali-boy here) but the reason i see drifting as carrying on is the fact that theres no evolution to it.. by evolution i mean, what is there after drifting?
i see drag racing and i say, man why do they only go straight? and i look at nascar and think damn thats all they do? other racing i.e. auto x, GT are all good to but once you get tired of goin around a track what do you do?
now rally is a big improvement but the shear $$ involved detours alot from participating...
Now drifting drifting is somthing special what more is there how much farther can u push a car? any further and you out of controll, or flying? haha but thats why i feel the big D will be around for a good while... cause theres nothing better.. i assume it may loose some interest/hype but thatll weed out the weak and thats what im actually looking forward to. the good old days when it was me and a few buddys at are own private track day...

[Ratmtattat]

I really wish that Americans as a whole would learn to do more with their cars than just go fast in a straight line. I know that not everyone is like this, but due to the construction of roads here, that tends to be the most prominent form of racing and it's gotten old with me.
That being said, I don't like watching these drift events because it takes away something that drifting can reall be: a competitive form of racing. Now obviously it will take a course set up to accomodate the wide-angle turning you get with drifting, but I don't think that should stop the growth of it. I would love to turn onto the Speed channel, see a really odd looking roadcourse, and then have two cars fly into a turn, shift weight so they start approaching an apex with a wide angle and watch as they maintain speed through the turn, pulling off an incredible look. Unfortunately, when I watch drift events, it often become the battle of who can pull off the most countersteer, rather than who has the most control over the gas pedal and I'm highly turned off by that.

[jisatsu4life]

i think drifting wont die, but it will get boring. The only way it will stay hype is by driffernt cars entering like the Mr2 and some ffcars.

[TIREKILLER]

LOL

[od2681]

i think drifting wont die, but it will get boring. The only way it will stay hype is by driffernt cars entering like the Mr2 and some ffcars.
i agree to the part bout diff cars entering..
240s and corollas are becoming the norm now...
how bout them old school celica/supras...datsuns and such

[onezfast1]

see my town is small but i bring street racing and drifting i will do this car thing till my shift arm gets broken :thumb:

[Flores]

Rally is probably the LEAST expensive sport, mile per mile, of any type of racing...

At least, it used to be, until the SCCA decided to adopt the 'daytime sprint on gravel' attitude.

Lets take rally back to where it was dusk till dawn, plus another half day of racing, where ingenuty and the ability to preserve your car for the length of the race were more important than blasting down a few dirt tracks, and then pulling into service to have your subie's tranny replaced before the next 40 miles of stages...

My first stage rally cost me $1100 to run, which was vehicle rental, entry fees, hotel and gas. Great stages, and we even passed a CRX on the 1st stage!

My 2nd rally was quite a bit more (had to tow to chatanooga), but it was also a 2 day event... with a new vehicle (the rally truck)... total cost to run 3 events that season + building up the truck was probably close to 9k... but half of that was transport and hotel costs... spare wheels and tires lasted pretty well, and we didn't do too much damage to the truck ( a few side swipes with the bed, as the rear end stepped out a little further than I intended around some of the corners, plus a few wrinkled fenders from nudging the bank)

Oh, and of course a new set of racho shocks before each race... :)

Rally is great if you get bored with spending money to go faster in a straight line, or spending more money to get a few 10ths of a second around the track (hoping some newbie doesn't crash you out)... With rally, it's you, your navvie, and your machine against the course.

Hell, even TSD rally is more interesting than drag racing...

[Flores]

drifing will be around for a long time in the states, as long as there is something mildly interesting for people to watch, while they swill there beer, in air conditioned comfort, it will draw a crowd...

Well, at least until the first spectator dies/ gets hurt...

Then it will get dropped like a hot potato...

[initial what?]

Well, at least until the first spectator dies/ gets hurt...

Then it will get dropped like a hot potato...

just depends on the person. i love circuit and wanna race jgtc. the one vid thats been going around fo the car exploding would scare the shit outta people. but i still wanna go out and race it one day.

[Unclemax]

US needs more road courses. Parking lot drift events just don't capivate people like track events do. I see the evolution of drifting from parking lot events to tracks increase its popularity, but also increase the cost.

We're working on that too. Next year if all goes according to plan we'll have the first drift event in Texas on a road course. DailyDrifter keeping the drift dream alive. LOL that was lame but the course event won't be. woot woot!!

[NiS13]

^ sounds good alex which road course...?