gobble

A 911 GT2 "drift" car. It was on a track always going sideways with the rear wheels constantly spinning and smoking. Does anyone understand the point of this?

tdub

I don't see the point at all.

Am I missing something?

I think spectators just like all the smoke.

Maybe the tire stores are behind it.

Lets just all go drive our cars on ice for the same feeling.

That didn't sound right. I'm not condoning the use of ice or any other drug.

tw

Dock

You do know that Drifting is a motor sport. As is the case with all motor sports, some people are into it, and others are not.

tdub

I propose a new sport.

OK

You get 2 cars, start the engines and run them wide open in neutral. First one that blows up loses.

Brilliant!!

Dock

Did you ever watch Demolition Derby?

1AS

I'm almost reluctant to admit that I enjoy the occasional opportunity to drive like that. I did attend a drift event ("Formula D") as an invited guest of an entrant, Jon Ward. Jon gained some notariety racing sprint cars, then was a Can Am mechanic, then won the la Carrera Panamericana race in a Kurtis he built.
(I own that Kurtis, and to race it, you have to be willing to consistently corner in a drift. Aside from my Kurtis, my new CLK Black Series also corners like that.)
Jon built all the "Knight Rider" Trans Am Camaro's for the original series, and built a look-alike for the drift series. Let me just say that if you could successfully compete in a drift event, you are a master driver. No, it isn't the fast way around. But, if you can do that, you can also do grip driving.
In 2001, I had the opportunity to have Chris Cook (then a former Bondurant instructor) coach me in my Elise 190R. Chris is a master at drifting, and currently races some Busch series, and has the Ford drift sponsorship. Taking a ride with him around a road course (Gingerman in my case), might demonstrate the exquisite car control one nees to do this well.
By the way, if you ever try to drive a 996tt on a track in the rain, it must be driven the exact same way as a drift car in dry conditions. If you try to drive a 996tt the ususal "grip" method, you will simply understeer around the course. No, you don't use (or need) techniques like the clutch pop or handbrake slide, but you may need a "flick", and always need a heavy foot on the throttle to get and keep the car rotated in a turn.
Gobble, if you come to Dune Acres, we can go for a ride in the Kurtis. That may change your mind. AS

tkerrmd

AS good stuff as always.
Drifting is fun and you are at the limits of car control and it takes skill. Would I drift my GT2, no but there is a place for that kind of skill.
I have driven the TT in the rain many times and very rarely was the car pointing straight. Also done skid pad driving, it all improves car control.
Several corners at Sebring the TT will get into an all wheel drift and the more experience and skill you have the better.
As for the GT2, yes to us it is a Holy Grail but to others it is just a powerful RWD car. I'd rather see it out there acting like a badass and repping Porsche out then it sitting in someones garage waxing it everyday.

tdub

Dick Lane as the announcer and his "Woah Nelly!" comments

Used to love it as a kid

tw

CAPTLST

Well said Tom

Tuned

The car that you saw is built by JIC. The is amazing and will be used for both time attack and drift.

Chuck Jones

I'm very conservative. I don't mod heavily, and I drive in a spirited manner but have never tracked....but I do think that I'd enjoy learning to drift....it's just something that looks like the ultimate in being able to control your car in certain cornering conditions....maybe it's hard on the car, certainly on the tires....but to me it looks like it could be fun.

wross996tt

Chuck, you should take your car to the track (once) to get to know its capabilities and LIMITS. I did get into a 4 wheel drift and was amazed at the amount of control I still had. Sorry for the hijack...

1AS

Everything more aggressive than street driving does take its toll in parts and rubber. Obviously, the more extreme the use, the faster the destruction.
With our cars, track driving at what I'd call 8/10ths with consevative shift points is well tolerated, but I'd guess that tire life becomes about 1/10th of usual street driving.
True racing is much tougher, and an engine that might last 250,000 hours at 60 mph, may not last beyond 25 hours of flat out driving. Most race cars are lightly drifting at 10/10ths driving, tho the slip angle may not be apparant outside the car.
Drag strip racing is the toughest of all, and obviously some cars have engine life measured in seconds. The launch stress on all drive train components is huge. Taken 1/4 mile at a time, I don't think our cars are good for more than a few hundred miles, and that probably would require multiple clutch and transmission rebuilds.
Drift isn't as bad as that, but it is worse than track driving. Bondurant had to end their drift school due to car breakage(they used bone stock Pontiac GTO's). However, cars that are built for it tolerate it remarkably well. Tire life is ridiculous (really just a few miles), but keeping the tires spinning is less traumatic than a drag strip launch by far. Still, when the right parking lot is available when I'm in the right car, it's hard to resist.
At Bondurant, they were nice enough to pull the ASC fuse out of my rental Lincoln Town Car, pump my tires up to 50 psi, and turn me loose on one of the secondary courses with a drift instructor. While it's hard to hold a rental Town Car in a drift, that's the cheapest fun of all. AS

Cheyco

Here's that guy tightening his chops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyzTFffw3y8

I could watch that skill-level all day long.

BoneDaddy

There is a great vid on the 996 GT3RS on the net. Here's the link:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/...fr=yfp-t-501-s

Drifting is part of racing.