I watched a program last nite on TLC called Rides. the topic was Drifting. I have heard about it and seen some pictures. I have a couple questions.
1. Am I the only one who thinks this is stupid?
A. a set of tires is gone in 15 minutes
B. they try to get as close to the walls as possible and contact is inevitable
C. They all have huge rear spoilers, ala ricers and they are not needed. Even the guy on the show building one said they dont need down force at those speeds.

It seems as though the only thing you get back is some experience at the limits of the car while risking body work and wasting tires.

WHat am I missing here??

 

Kinda like NASCAR

OG
Seriously, there is skill involved (in both). I'm sure there are many who would say most (if not all) forms of motor sports are pointless, wasteful of resources & needlessly dangerous. To each his/her own.

 

Sure, there is skill involved, no doubt. But so too in synchronized swimming! Agree with OG, Drifting qualifies as a mildly amusing spectator sport, but no more in my mind. ...and that was my polite opinion

Edward

 

For me, it's all in the packaging and the subsequent perceptions. Drifting is kind of mesmerizing in the way that the dancing pick up beds and lowrider trucks are mesmerizing; interesting from a mechanical and cultural point of view but kind of like tasting saccharine when what we want are the fulfilling yet empty calories of the sugar of racing.

Drifting seems to be populated by all of these wannabe road race cars that have never been driven on a track, or, if they have seen the track, it's been a drag strip. While I don't disparage car owners who want to dump a zillion dollars into cheap little cars since every generation has done this, I do have a teeny bit of a problem with the premise of all-show-and-no-go. Drifting, while requiring some driving skill (and motor power) to perform well, again, seems like it manages to stay on the side of the fence that is more about "show" and flashiness. (Yes, I know F1 is about entertainment and is hardly the epitome of understatedness, so don't even try to go there.) "Okay, so you can burn through a set of $400 tires and go sideways for fifty yards; can you actually drive it with any degree of prowess on the track?"

Now, if Jackie Stewart had started a drifting trend in his six-wheeled Tyrell, I think we, myself included, might have a differnent perspective on this phenomenon.

 

It kinda falls along the lines of monster trucks and tractor pulls, just a different demographic. If someone gave me a free ticket I guess I'd go....

 

OldGuy-

I guess that's what makes you an Old Guy!!

 

Kelly my 14 year old was watching it too, he was the first one to use the word stupid.
his next comment was right after the guy said $200 tire ruined in 5 minutes was "thats really stupid"
and hes YoungGuy

 

Actually, most of the top "pro drifters" also happen to be highly competative in the JGTC road racing series. Even the non Japanese pro drivers found thier roots in rally racing and other motorsports, NOT including drag racing.

One of the teams fielding a GT3 RSR this years at Lemans had 1 or 2 of these drivers.

I fully respect the extreme car control aspect of the sport in much the same way as I view rally racing. It is very interesting to watch cockpit shots of what the driver is doing.

 

I also saw the show and found it kind of interesting - but not exactly my cup of tea. The NZ - Millen guys got his start in Rallying, same for the other European chap both are pretty adept at the sideways style of driving. Some of the Asian drivers are amazing, great car control.
I particularly like the "Race Queens"... a bit like the F1 grid babes - yum yum.

- james

 

Yea I thought the drivers were extremely skillfull. But I just didnt get what it did to the equipment.

 

Princeton is right, many of the pro drifters are very accomplished road racing guys and their skills are quite good as is their car control. Just because they waste tires and the cars are ugly as hell and "all show no go", doesn't mean they aren't damn good drivers. Yeah the sport is pretty lame, but think about it, they are doing exactly what the FIA Rally guys do...And we all know how good those guys are. I'd bet any of the pro drifters would run circles around the majority of the HWFMR team on the track...
As far as equipment goes - what else are tires for ? So they destroy them quicker than other kinds of motorsports, that doesn't make them stupid - just well funded.

 

OG- Watched the same show as well, I'm a big fan of the show "rides". A true car guys show. Anyways as far as drifting is concerned here is my HO.

-Extreme car control skills required. Especially when done in tamdem.
-Fun to watch (although not as fun to watch as a real race).
-And who here can deny the fun of a good power slide.

 

I agree Drifting requires great car control, beyond the limit.. I drifted when I was 16 learning to drive in the snow in Colorado. Many late nights were spent drifting (on purpose) in my Pinto in slick conditions. Best part about late nights in the snow, there were virtually no people out on the road so me and some buddies had a blast.. I think this does help one later in life in controlling cars..

Drifting as a sport, great IMHO... Keep the money flowing in the automotive aftermarket.. Maybe this will help keep tire prices as low as possible?

 

If drifting (as a support series) gets guys and girls out to see a real sports car race then that is all good.

I can drift my car like those guys do, difference is that I don't usually intend to....

 

I was thinking about this when I first saw it and was also glued to the tube watching the synchronized motion. Then I thought of all those new snow sports they keep inventing, remember when wind surfing was called wind surfing? Now they have kites pulling people, large skate boards hurling down summer ski slopes, or downhill skate boarding the X games. I am sure there are other new sports they have created that I am not even aware of because I am too old. Yes it is a different demographic, but what I realized was these people got bored with what they were doing because they got really good at it. So they invented a variant of the thing they were already good at to mix it up a bit. I do not think these people are ricers that go to drag strips, at least the ones that invented the new sports. They just got bored and wanted to spice up their lives a bit......hey, if someone would sponsor me for tires I would burn them up enjoying my car!