sidewaysil80

honestly it was only a matter of time before shit like this happend to it. but lets be real here, formula d is the pinnacle of pro drifting in america...if you want to make drifting a career you shoot for formula d and climb your way through the ranks of us drift/nopi drift etc. regardless of how much the favortism sucks the only thing that can be done is to abide by their nazi like laws.

now all these comments about "formula d cars look like shit" and "fuck function and performance" grow up...not everyone wants some busted ass s chassis thats got tucked tires and sits an inch of the ground. these cars are coming out of the shops with a level of engineering that me and you prob cant fathom. if you like drifting as a lifestyle thats fine build your car your way, but for some people who actually want to make it to the "big leagues" they have to go that route when building their cars. i figured the majority of people on this site would be able to respect the amount of time and engineering that went into all these cars and get past the petty bullshit of sponsor banners, ride height, wheel fitment. they're RACE CARS for a reason. irronically all the people bashing it saying it went away from drifting true roots are the one who are most interested in the looks of the car...maybe you should shift your focus to hin and nopi events.

DudeYourSoOOJDM

Honestly...drifting at Grassroots level compared to Pro Level is Completely Different. Like the guy above me said....Many cars in FD may be Purpose built, full race cars. But a lot of them are also cars guys have been building over many years to get to a competitive level. I think you guys are confusing the fact that you got into drifting when the cars had the (2001) D1 look, where they used to look like the guys drove their competition cars to the track. Believe me, thats what I loved about D1 back in the day. I can't knock Formula D because I know how hard it was for those drivers to get where they are now. Many of them went completely rock bottom to get them/their cars to the point where they are. I know how hard it was for me to get my FD license, and I've realized that my car is nowhere near a competitive level for FD.

Basically. If you wanna be a pro drifter, realize that the politics, rules and some of the BS is what you're gonna have to deal with.....it's not different from any other professional level...otherwise keep it Grassroots and quit your bitchin. If someone offered me the chance to drive a car in FD that looked like the typical sponsored/Graphic'ed FD car would I do it???? Shit yeah. Would I sell out for a chance to be competitive in FD???? Shit yeah.

Drifting is supposed to be fun.....do whatever you need to to keep it fun for you....equation solved.

To those of you who have no Idea of what drifting was like before FD even came around.....you have no room to talk. You've been spoiled by how much drifting has blown up where you can drive track events at least once a month.

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Since 2001.

norbac

its crazy how many drifting events are in socal, so lucky

Crono562

Well put Mickie. And best believe I fully expect to see you in FD someday, but for now rip Top Battle up!

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Mikey "Whitey" Ernst
'www.justdrift.com'

issac

Drifting should always be pure FUN. No limits or regulations. Do whatever the fuck you can afford to do to your car and drive it.

sldbyuramg

that is what happens when drifting goes from back roads to a corporate setting. it takes the competitive spirit out of it and turns it into a business.

sldbyuramg

great post.
what most people dont understand is there is a huge amount of engineering that goes into these...these pro drifters dont just go buy JICs and some rims, fill up the tank and then go... all those cars are perfectly balanced for the race by professionals who sit on laptops figuring out what is the best settings for the situation.

luftrofl

FD is more competitive than a bunch of guys having fun on the backroads.

Agreed. There's definitely been a shift away from the mindset of "function > form" which used to reign supreme. Now there's a lot of function being sacrificed to make cars lower.

I don't care, myself, but it's something I've noticed.

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Engrish is funny in Japan. In America, it's for stupid fanboys.

bejota180sx

i know im out of place cause ive been out of the drifting scene for a few years but if u love so much drifting roots i dont remember seeing any drift cars tucking tires or anything... most of them were decently low and had some travel in the suspension for driver reasons... these arent show cars these are like stated by sidewaysil80 RACE CARS... race cars arent not made to please the looks theyre made to please FUNCTION... yeah drifting has strayed away from its roots but you cant take D1, FD, or nopi and say that they have lost the roots because they are well COMPETITIONS and its all about proving and winning most of the time even if they do want to have fun... im not into that but at least drifting is moving into a profesional mind set like other motorsports...

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bejota180sx

oh and to add something i wanted to say here... most of the cars are tuned and balanced with the drivers in mind, not every driver likes the feeling or balance of a car tucking tires with no suspension travel and all that... they may not look kick ass but theyre functional to the driver cause to do his best he needs to feel comfortable with the car he/she is driving

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kamikazekid

this is true, but i rarely here about him. and yes now that i think about it D1 is the same. its like theres two different sides to drifting now... the buisness side, and the die hards that have fun side, the ones who will always hold it down and always have fun no matter what the circumstance and this is the side that got me hooked in the first place, plus anyone who knows this side knows that is the most spectacular. Its the same for everything though, i just hate to see it happen to drifting in the U.S. i hate the way its portrade. poeple should see the otherside. we need a different series...period.....its like when Disco killed the Funk.

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Drifting is not a crime

Matej

Yeah, I still don't see why it's necessary to build full out race cars for drifting. I mean it's cool to see crazy impressive cars and I'm not against it, if the owner wishes to spend the money then more power to them, but it's definitely not necessary for sliding around a track. It just makes it that much funnier when a 50K$ car loses to a Corolla.
Many of the engineered professional drift cars aren't as engineered as you may think they are. Many are just quickly slapped together by corporations, they're the most generic built cars I've seen, they're cars built to draw crowds. No crowds = no professional drifting.

DohcKA

formula d is whack said n done

DohcKA

formula d is whack...

deadpirate

nice reasoning. care to elaborate??

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azndoc

ummm no.

i don't kniw what pro drift cars you've been looking at, buy majority are not just slapped together for the show of it.

Seriously the cars are built for purpose.

Their built right with the best performance function in mind.

Also if you look at the D1 cars. Their not slammed. Their set up to best use of the suspensions. Slamimg your car is horrible.

Sure at first when you start off its fine but as you get better you learn that slamming the car greatly decreases the full potential of your suspension.

Its annoying to hear people telling me "hey Jack you should lower your car more blah blah blah" they don't drive they just want that slammed look. Sute it looks cool, but what's the point of looking cool when the car drives like shit.

bejota180sx

+1 for you...

like most pro drivers will tell you, suspension needs travel, lowering it will give u better performance but there has to be a balance and personal feeling into each setup...

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deadpirate

GO LOWER JACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you should slam your car!!!!!!!!!

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On Track Motorsport Supply-saftey stuff call TOM @ (805)484-3435

Matej

+1111110111!!!!!!!! Forget driving, triple park in handicapped spots and take cellphone pixzzz!!!

azndoc

Oh yeah I was typing that last night on the iphone.

Crappy grammer (joke)

DohcKA

ding ding.... ever since i seen the first one in sonoma years ago i said this shit is crap... judging is crap.... i guess it doesnt matter in FD when you wash out

cfrost

i like formula d

i think they do a pretty good job.. it's easy to criticize anything...

and hearing / SEEING differences vs. D1 i'm not sure how you guys can think D1 is better

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sldbyuramg

you see a 50k car lose to a corolla because the are a not as good of a driver. you put a Formula D driver in a 5k corolla and then put another with similar talent into a 50k dollar s15 and see who wins 100% of the time

xplicit240

its not the ride~ its the rider~

just bring what you got and drift it. regardless everyone is gonna mod the shit out of the cars. why put limitations. just go all out.

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hitman

lol, i doubt you could even tell a difference in the way the car felt if you lowered it an inch. comon this isnt rocket science.
its annoying when people think that on an amateur level of driving like we do that the entire feel of the car is going to be destroyed by having it a little lower.
i dont win comps, but i do decent, and my car is slammed.
i would do worse if it was higher because i dont like the way it feels. i like it like u like ur wieners. stiff

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driftparty.com

azndoc

Your an exception Matt.

Your special that way. Long hair don't care.

I personally felt my car drove so much better when I raised the front and adjusted the rears. It's not slammed, but it ain't 4x4 either.

I've drove mine slammed and the set up I have now. I like the current set up.

I like that you like my wiener stiff.

240XTC

No doubt! Taka is the shiznit!!...i remember him back in D1 try outs at Cali speedway changing his own tires. Now he's running with the big dogs....

DudeYourSoOOJDM

If you want to be able to drive with the best....you gotta step your game up...simple. Where are the best drivers in the US driving right now? FD and in the Pro/Am levels.

Seriously....have any of you driven a pro-level car? It'll make your S13 with blown used JIC's feel like you're driving a Ford Festiva. Serious thought goes into these cars.

I love how people who don't know what the hell they're talking about speculate on things they think they know because they read an article about it in a magazine or watched Nopi Tunervision last night.

I agree with many of you that a majority of the cars in FD look like utter poo. But a lot of the cars in FD are also amazing....case in point Forsberg's Vert. So much work has gone into that car it's unbelievable. So what if it has NOS all over it?

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Since 2001.

cfrost

mghmmm......yeaaaaahhh.....im gonna have to go ahead and ..ahh... disagree with you there

the guys at the top of this series are seriously talented drivers, regardless of whether or not their cars are set up badass (which they are)

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TUnity2

FD went to shit when they told XAT they couldn't have a trans am front end on their hatch.