Drifting, or the art of purposely losing control of your car to do crazy tricks, is one of my favorite hobbies.
This activity originated overseas in Japan in the 1970’s, and eventually spread to this country. But even just a few years ago, the majority of the United States population had no idea what drifting was. That all changed with the hit movie, Fast and Furious, which introduced it to many. After this, many people such as me wanted to go drifting all the time.
To drift, you just need to pull or push the emergency brake or parking brake while going around a turn. Ideally, you’d want a rear wheel drive car to do this is, although it is not completely necessary. It can be done on a variety of surfaces, including pavement, gravel, or snow, when that becomes a viable option.
Personally, I prefer pavement because you have more traction, allowing your drift to be more predictable and safe. However, you will burn up your tire tread quickly if you do this on a regular basis. Gravel is another good option. It has less traction, which makes it easier to start a drift, but your car will get dirty from kicking up the dirt and rocks around you. Snow is fun, but you could lose control of your car or truck if you don’t know what you’re doing.
As far as cars go, you can drift in just about any car. I do so in my Toyota Camry. It isn’t the best car to drift in, but I love it anyway.
There is no doubt drifting can be a great time, but you need to be safe about it and realize it is much harder than it looks and not knowing what you’re doing could damage your vehicle and possibly hurt the people around you. Be especially cautious if you plan on using a truck. Like most SUV’s, they have a high center of gravity, and when you drift, flipping over is a real possibility.
If you get really good at the art of drifting and you’re a good racer, there are motor sports that deal with this kind of thing. An example is rally car racing, as seen in the summer X-games.
Regardless of if you’re going to be the next rally car star like Tanner Foust, or the next weekend drifter like myself, everyone can enjoy this fine art. However, just be sure you drift smartly and safely.
