Dear Chris Harris - Does it need to drift?
Discussion
Hi Chris, you're top bloke; we've met couple of times with RMA at the 'Ring and in the Tiergarten bar after where we've gassed on about motors, so I have a question; why does it matter if it will drift?
You, Sutciffe, Needles, Clarkson et al, make a living from a practice that is impossible for the average PH'er to replicate. It seems every test has a prerequisite of will it drift, why?
On joining PH your reasoning was the overall motoring experience; new, second hand, modified, whatever, so a chap looking at a manual 456M will not have drifting at the top of his list of must haves just the ownership experience
When I open each month's Evo I go straight to Fast Fleet for an update on the ownership experience and from memory I can't recall a single mention on the drifting ability of any car
If you run a car at a track day and start drifting you'll be thrown off. If you compete and try it during a race you'll be slow, try it on slowing down lap and you'll look an idiot. Try it on the road and you'll be done for dangerous driving
So who drifts? Other than muttering rotters, no one. Its totally irrelevant, check this out; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ2CzeyCss0 a Car Mag drifting tutorial on a deserted track using a current M3 fitted with E46 M3 front wheels and tyres on the rear so it will drift, why?
You fitted space savers to a C63 so it would drift, again why?
I use a E90 M3 everyday which is without question the best car I've ever owned, number of times drifted; zero.
So tyre smoking drifting vids are just vanity and nothing to do with the ownership experience. Is it time to stop?
Cheers
Kevin
You, Sutciffe, Needles, Clarkson et al, make a living from a practice that is impossible for the average PH'er to replicate. It seems every test has a prerequisite of will it drift, why?
On joining PH your reasoning was the overall motoring experience; new, second hand, modified, whatever, so a chap looking at a manual 456M will not have drifting at the top of his list of must haves just the ownership experience
When I open each month's Evo I go straight to Fast Fleet for an update on the ownership experience and from memory I can't recall a single mention on the drifting ability of any car
If you run a car at a track day and start drifting you'll be thrown off. If you compete and try it during a race you'll be slow, try it on slowing down lap and you'll look an idiot. Try it on the road and you'll be done for dangerous driving
So who drifts? Other than muttering rotters, no one. Its totally irrelevant, check this out; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ2CzeyCss0 a Car Mag drifting tutorial on a deserted track using a current M3 fitted with E46 M3 front wheels and tyres on the rear so it will drift, why?
You fitted space savers to a C63 so it would drift, again why?
I use a E90 M3 everyday which is without question the best car I've ever owned, number of times drifted; zero.
So tyre smoking drifting vids are just vanity and nothing to do with the ownership experience. Is it time to stop?
Cheers
Kevin
kbird said:
I use a E90 M3 everyday which is without question the best car I've ever owned, number of times drifted; zero.
My God, you really are missing out on one of the best cars ever made wrt to getting a little bit of positive yaw out of a corner. I'm not talking about massive 45deg sideways in a cloud of smoke type drifting (but it will if you can afford the tyres!) but making the most of a brilliant rwd chassis ;-)(I agree however, just "drifting" is pointless, although it looks good in magazine pics trying to make an otherwise boring cornering shot come to life a bit.)
kbird said:
I use a E90 M3 everyday which is without question the best car I've ever owned, number of times drifted; zero.
So why are you slating something you have no experience of? Maybe instead of moaning on the internet just book yourself a driftday and see how much fun going sideways can be? Also you'll see how much about car control and quick reactions you'll learn in one day.also, just to clarify - one powerslide doesn't make you a drifter. Any monkey (see what I did here? ) can do it. Now going continuously sideways through multiple corners is where the difficulty begins and that's what's drifting is all about. Try it yourself and you'll see how much skill is required.
I'm not even going to comment on : "So who drifts? Other than muttering rotters, no one. Its totally irrelevant" because that just makes you look silly, considering the growth, popularity and money involved in international drifting leagues. I would even say that drifting is already more popular than rallying.
Edited by rottie102 on Sunday 22 January 19:35
kbird said:
I use a E90 M3 everyday which is without question the best car I've ever owned, number of times drifted; zero.
Never? Never had a bit of cheeky sideways action on a deserted, wet, roundabout? Never slid it through a well sighted curve? Why on earth not? It's quite good fun you know.
Because it's fun. D-uh.
I've always equated a tendency to be easy to oversteer without threatening to spin to be a sign that a car has good adjustable balance, but I'll happily concede that this was more useful information for me on wide, empty, well sighted South African roads that I started driving on than on the narrow tree-and-ditch-lined blind bends and tall hedges that dominate the UK's busy roads.
So yes, with regards to relevance, I'd agree that a car's over-the-limit performance is somewhat anecdotal in the UK... but try a drift day if you want to see why car testers with access to private tracks value driftability so highly: because it's bloody good fun, and frankly, if a journalist isn't looking for the pleasure in driving, testing sportscars isn't for them.
I've always equated a tendency to be easy to oversteer without threatening to spin to be a sign that a car has good adjustable balance, but I'll happily concede that this was more useful information for me on wide, empty, well sighted South African roads that I started driving on than on the narrow tree-and-ditch-lined blind bends and tall hedges that dominate the UK's busy roads.
So yes, with regards to relevance, I'd agree that a car's over-the-limit performance is somewhat anecdotal in the UK... but try a drift day if you want to see why car testers with access to private tracks value driftability so highly: because it's bloody good fun, and frankly, if a journalist isn't looking for the pleasure in driving, testing sportscars isn't for them.
Aphex said:
Look at all those cars with broken suspension, they cant even go in a straight line! I'm not slating genuine drifting just the presumption that a good can only be so it it drifts
I use the M3 on track and it moves around but not tyre smoking nonsense
I also race a 130i so car controls not alien to me, I just can't understand that testing a road car must include an irrelevant drift
Who on here drifts their car on the road intentionally?
I use the M3 on track and it moves around but not tyre smoking nonsense
I also race a 130i so car controls not alien to me, I just can't understand that testing a road car must include an irrelevant drift
Who on here drifts their car on the road intentionally?
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