Drifting with an AUTOMATIC?

[Crab Walker]

Anyone know any techniques to use/advantages for drifting with an automatic? I know autos are sh!t, but I cant afford a manual conversion right now. I heard auto's can have advantages by keeping one foot on the gas and one on the brake and not worrying about a third pedal, and eliminateing the heel and toe technique.

Anyways, if anyone else drifts or knows how to drift with an auto, I'd like to know some of the techniques to use.

[f2a4s0t]

I have seen some videos of people drifting automatics but never seen any in car footage. As far as technique you can still side brake and possibly power over. good luck and keep saving up for the manual swap.

[DoriftoSlut]

Actually a LOT easier if the auto is FF. Then you can use the ebrake. For RWD, i suppose a lot of left foot braking and exaggerated weight transfers.:(

"Driving an automatic [240sx] is like masturbating in a whorehouse. Why would you?" -Bjones

(The original quote was SR20DET not 240sx, but BJones would not mind my loose usage)

[DoriftoSlut]

Also, since i hate them and dont drive them, i dont know if its possible to lock up the rears with the sidebrake in AT. Will the torque converter allow such shenanigans?

[Brian]

i dun tink so sir.

[matlock]

Yeah I agree with the bit about weight transfer, that has been the most important technique that I use in my 40....even though mine is a 5sp.......I also would say if you are gonna swap a tranny just beat the old one and do some haneous nuetral drops haha!! Like go into a corner at 45 then drop it haha!

[720_datsun]

ask choku or zenki i dont remeber which has the auto but his names jesse he is really good imo with it, then again im no one to judge.

[revat619]

from my experience in messing around in school parking lots, you have to use A LOT of e-brake and powerover...

I'm going to be driving it in my first track event, DD10, so we'll see how it goes. Yeah, thats right automagic at drift day! I'll get clowned, but hey, who cares! I'm out there right!?!

Incase you're wondering, i WILL be doing the 5-speed swap, as soon as SOMEONE i know gets their SR, but until then, i'm gonna beat the crap outta my auto until it blows! auto is teh suck!

[sykikchimp]

Originally posted by Dorifto180sx
Also, since i hate them and dont drive them, i dont know if its possible to lock up the rears with the sidebrake in AT. Will the torque converter allow such shenanigans?

I'm pretty sure that it would, I mean, the car idles with the wheels stopped... you might cause some issues with the transmission due to the higher RPM's.. ..I don't know.. just throwin that out there.

With an open differential, you could lock at least one wheel which should be more than enough to induce a slide.

[old_s13]

http://clearcorners.com/imgs/doriftotime.gif

I have this animated gif on video, but I made this back in the day when I didnt even have that much skill in sliding the car around.. plus, my car was auto back then.

Anyone with some skill can easily get themselves into a slide with an auto, its obviously much more manageable and easier to do with a manual since you have the clutch. With the auto, you are completely relying on momentum. If you unplug the dropping resistor, you can actually get the wheels to chirp on downshifts, but then the auto doesnt shift properly (that is why I always tell people to keep the resistor plugged in). The best way to slide the auto is with momentum and with power, if your tires arent that sticky its real easy to slide the car around.

Drifting is almost the same thing as losing control, last I checked you could lose control in TONS of cars. :) From that point on, it just comes down to how good you are and whether or not you can control that loss of control. :)

[Nismo240SX]

its possible, me and a friend did it often. yeah asd for the weight shift thing, its a bit harder to do so, but its stil possible. what i do is get up to speed, and right as i approach the turn i'm about to drift, i slam my shifter down into second. it keeps the Rpm's high and keeps the wheels spining. i'm almost positive that when 2nd gear redlines its like 60-65 mph... so thats good enough speed. the best thing you could do in my opinion would to be get suspension stuff and a vlsd. a drift knob is a nice option too, but i use duct-tape on occasion. cheap, and light. ;) can't beat it. yeah, and get and extra set of tires for the rear, i almost scorched a new set of Falkens. Don't let the automatic burst your bubble, you can drift just fine. I honestly think its getting to know your car.

[Zemus]

You can drift anything If you push it hard enougth, ive drifted my GFs automatic Neon, and ive drifted an Auto RWD Monte Carlo, and Ive Drifted a Labarion convertable, yea, anything will drift.

PS And yes, all of these were drifts, not ass drags, Left Foot Brakeing and Stuff, easy to do, I drift my 5spd sentra all the time. But it is never as much fun as the 240, thats just my 2cents

[holisticbeatz]

Originally posted by Crab Walker
I heard auto's can have advantages by keeping one foot on the gas and one on the brake and not worrying about a third pedal, and eliminateing the heel and toe technique.

Not being able to heel-toe? I see that as a disadvantage.

[Brian]

hey Kenny
my car is auto.
laugh at me.

[Maeda]

Originally posted by old_s13
http://clearcorners.com/imgs/doriftotime.gif

I have this animated gif on video, but I made this back in the day when I didnt even have that much skill in sliding the car around.. plus, my car was auto back then.

Anyone with some skill can easily get themselves into a slide with an auto, its obviously much more manageable and easier to do with a manual since you have the clutch. With the auto, you are completely relying on momentum.

Yup! Everytime I force some sidways... a little extra and a little late on the braking ALWAYS brings the rear over before a turn... add that braking with a feint movement you have auto sliding in(ala braking drift) and then some liberal loud pedal to go to power over and then recover and enjoy your day(or guardrail)...

[rufrydrsc2]

Just have your auto built, and then see how many people laugh at it. A built auto is definately not the suck. You can build an auto to do just about anything you want, and for every application. Everyone laughs at my auto until they get a ride in it. Of course it took me a complete build of the tranny to get it there, but I love it. Course I'm going to love my 5 speed 240 also when I get it done. If you do it right, you can make an auto every bit as potent as a manual, trust me. Your car is all about what you like on it, not what everyone else tells you should be on it.

[mrmephistopheles]

Hey Mike, what about the water you & Chris threw down on the road? :D

As for track, Nadine used to rock an automatic too and had some better times than a lot of the guys at the autocrosses.

[old_s13]

Originally posted by mrmephistopheles
Hey Mike, what about the water you & Chris threw down on the road? :D

As for track, Nadine used to rock an automatic too and had some better times than a lot of the guys at the autocrosses.

Hey bitch, I didnt have an LSD back then! Gimme a break man. Besides, nowadays I've gotten more experience in sliding my car.. come on man. Hehe I would take what you said more personally if I was a DRIFT-R, but luckily I dont claim to drift. I simply say that I am capable of doing some tricks, I just dont like tag-lines.

As for Nadine, auto or not, SR or KA.. I'll smoke her, I'll smoke Benson.. I'll smoke Ernie.. I'll smoke Dousan. AND, I'll smoke YOU KEVIN..!! Anyday.. anyday. :)

[old_s13]

Originally posted by holisticbeatz
Not being able to heel-toe? I see that as a disadvantage.

Having an auto makes no difference in being able to heel/toe, its easier if anything.. since you dont even have a clutch.. plus you can actually use both feet with either pedal, which makes controlling things a bit more accurate.

But who cares, auto AND manual both require skill to drive and control.. in most cases, the cars we drive are capable of much more than most people can even control. I know too many people who think they need all this fancy crap to control their car. Pansies.

[MazzyMan]

Originally posted by rufrydrsc2
Your car is all about what you like on it, not what everyone else
tells you should be on it.

This is a very very important point! Cannot agree more! Its about loving your car the way you want it to be and not because of what others have to say about it.

[matlock]

I couldn't agree with that more too. I just like doing what I want to do to my car not what everyone else says I should do, becuase than you have no self satisfaction.

[Raine]

Drifting in an auto is perfectly possible... feint drift, power over or side-brake could be done in an auto... the only thing I could think of that would keep you from drifting pretty deep is the automatic transmission shifting (or not) from gear to gear while your tires break loose... that's the beauty of a manual - you can keep the tranny in a specific gear for as long as you want. But I've drifted autos before... with FF's it's usually more of a "skid" than a "drift"... with FR autos power over drifts are super easy in the rain :D

[Crab Walker]

So as for techniques to use, weight transfer and power is pretty much the key with an auto FR? Timming when and how hard to steer determins how well you transfer the weight? Heavy acceleration and left foot breaking is what will keep you in the drift right?

With that being said, more power would only make it easier to drift a with an auto correct?

[rufrydrsc2]

Here's something else you could try. Put the auto into 2 instead of D. On the drift course at Hyperfest I think they were entering the first turn at the top of second anyway and never got into 3rd or not deep into it anyways. That would keep your rpms exactly where you want it and not have to worry about the auto shifting in the middle of the drift. In 2 it will still start off in first gear and shift to second, it just won't allow it to shift out of second. That should work for you.

[Raine]

More power + what rufrydrsc2 said about leving it in 2nd might do it, but then you'd have to keep in mind that all that torque will be there for the duration of the drift, and it'll be easy to unsettle the car to the point of losing control.

[S13SilviaGirl]

SO Mike, aside from Nadine, you're saying you smoke men huh?;)

[97DubTruck]

if you want to swap to a 5 speed be careful drifting in an automatic. dont wreck your car messing around. drifting= some broken parts over time.

that means you have to get that fixed before you get a manual.

just take care of your car until you get the 5 speed if it is something you're serious about.

just some words of advice.

:)

[old_s13]

Originally posted by S13SilviaGirl
SO Mike, aside from Nadine, you're saying you smoke men huh?;)

Well, if you're friend wasnt such of a minger I would have smoked her too... ;)

hehe she was nice though, I shouldnt talk bad about her.

- Mike

[S13SilviaGirl]

Mike hun, minger is not a nice word to use. Nadine is a sweetheart, and definatly not a minger...just because you didn't get the time of day from her ;) Just playin....:kiss: :hug:

[Andrew Bohan]

how to drift an auto

http://guernsey.globat.com/~mountainracer.com/tech/driftoffcliff/index.html

[WongFeiHung]

Originally posted by MazzyMan
This is a very very important point! Cannot agree more! Its about loving your car the way you want it to be and not because of what others have to say about it.

MazzyMan, what color is your s14??

[old_s13]

Originally posted by S13SilviaGirl
Mike hun, minger is not a nice word to use. Nadine is a sweetheart, and definatly not a minger...just because you didn't get the time of day from her ;) Just playin....:kiss: :hug:

Im not talking about nadine, I am talking about that other girl.

hehe :)

[MazzyMan]

Originally posted by WongFeiHung
MazzyMan, what color is your s14??

Tried to follow one of the Porsche S4's blue but it ended up this way. Check out the colour chart for Porsches and i am sure you will find it.

[S13SilviaGirl]

Originally posted by old_s13
Im not talking about nadine, I am talking about that other girl.

hehe :)

OH you mean the one you felt up? Yeah, I remember now, but if she was such a minger, why'd you feel her up?:hammer:

[PrOxLaMuS©]

I drift my '78 280Z automatic ALL THE TIME!

All you need is practice... E-Brake.. PowerOver and Braking (weight transfer)

With those 3... it can be done..

I need a digital camcorder so I can show everyone damnit...

Here's the thing about automatics...

We don't stall, we don't slip up with our feet, and we can consintrate on steering and gas over pushing in the clutch to prevent a stall or stress on the drivetrain.

Plus we shift faster, it's easy to downshift, and when we want to cruise... just relax and step on the gas.. no clutch work.

Then again... here is another thing about my Z..

I don't have PowerSteering and I have an automatic transmission.. and no LSD...
i'm working with what I got

[old_s13]

s13silviagirl> OH you mean the one you felt up? Yeah, I remember now, but if she was such a minger, why'd you feel her up?

Because.. it was tittie.. and if its one thing I dont mind grabbing (besides bootie), is tittie. :)


PrOxLaMuS> We don't stall, we don't slip up with our feet, and we can consintrate on steering and gas over pushing in the clutch to prevent a stall or stress on the drivetrain.

My S13 used to be automatic with open diff, it was not easier.. not at all. My car then went 5-speed with SOHC KA and LSD, it was easier.. much easier. Now, my car has more suspension upgrades, better clutch, and a more powerful motor.. trust me, its only getting easier to control the car.


Plus we shift faster, it's easy to downshift, and when we want to cruise... just relax and step on the gas.. no clutch work.

Nope, automatic transmissions dont downshift INSTANTLY.. unlike me and my manual transmission, which is pretty much as quick as it gets. Even though the transmission in my S13 was pretty responsive, it was far from instant.


Then again... here is another thing about my Z.. I don't have PowerSteering and I have an automatic transmission.. and no LSD...
i'm working with what I got

Yeah welcome to the club, my S13 doesnt have power steering either. Its fun to work with a disability, if you call it that. Although, I think having no power steering gives the driver more feedback. Only downside is that its too heavy for full fledged drifting.

- Mike

[PrOxLaMuS©]

I never said it was easier... nor more fun....
but you can drift with an automatic...
it's advantages? NoNe... as far as I can think of.