What is people's obsession with drifting?

[goldar]

I've had this a few times, mainly from those that arent massively clued up on building cars.

I've got a project underway and it sits on my driveway. Whenever some random person asks about it, I tell them im putting in a bigger engine. Their first response is 'is it a drift car?'. No it's a race car. 'Are you going drifting with it?' No i'm going racing with it. They get completely bamboozled. As if they can't fathom anything outside of drifting. Is it just me, or has anyone else witnessed this behaviour?

[Gigamoons]

Maybe because social media platforms are riddled with morons in Hellcats doing donuts at intersections.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ltpN9QvLENw?feature=sha...

[bumskins]

goldar said:

I've had this a few times, mainly from those that arent massively clued up on building cars.

I've got a project underway and it sits on my driveway. Whenever some random person asks about it, I tell them im putting in a bigger engine. Their first response is 'is it a drift car?'. No it's a race car. 'Are you going drifting with it?' No i'm going racing with it. They get completely bamboozled. As if they can't fathom anything outside of drifting. Is it just me, or has anyone else witnessed this behaviour?

It never fails to amuse me people trying to describe drifting/drift cars as 'racing/racing cars' - no, drifting is pointless arsing about in cars

Don't get me wrong it can be great fun to do, but once you've seen one E36/E46/rusty S13/14/15 smoke its tyres around a corner then it gets boring pretty damn quickly.

Also the amount of people that can't drift without a hydraulic handbrake is depressing. The art of initiating a slide utilising weight transfer or clutch kicking is all but dead, morons instead content with hanging on a phallic handbrake for 100 yards to shed all speed and adpot some sort of angle

[TheLoraxxZeus]

It's always fun to drift.
It's fun to watch for a short time.

Real drifting, not street roundabout crap. Also YouTube is absolutely plastered with car videography and practically all of them feature some sort of sliding or drifting around the place. Not to mention that rear wheel drive beaters that have a good chassis for drifting aren't exactly cheap anymore, so people in there 20s and 30s are fascinated by it because their cars simply can't do it, and their opportunity to take part in these shenanigans is rapidly going out of reach.

[TheLoraxxZeus]

bumskins said:

Also the amount of people that can't drift without a hydraulic handbrake is depressing. The art of initiating a slide utilising weight transfer or clutch kicking is all but dead, morons instead content with hanging on a phallic handbrake for 100 yards to shed all speed and adpot some sort of angle

It's another level of modulation, it doesn't replace anything you just listed.

[GetCarter]

Drifting is the slowest way around a corner, so it's done by people that don't want to get anywhere fast.

[goldar]

I feel your pain. Handbrake and throttle is not drifting, it's powersliding. A real drift is when all 4 wheels are sliding.

Yes 'drifting' is boring. I don't see the attraction. Hence racecar.

[anonymous-user]

Maybe people....like it? And culturally, your much more likely to bump into someone making a drift car, much more affordable, much more attainable etc...than an actual racecar. People like different things, and I'm happy about that. Personally I find cars lapping a circuit with the constant drone of their engines really, really dull most of the time. I love the historic stuff and watch the odd BTCC race but they are also getting pretty dull. Even rallying isn't as explosive and extravagant as it once was. I'd probably go to one of thrse shows with drift cars, stunt drivers and motorbikes flying though the air. For a couple of hours it would be breathtaking!

[Pistom]

It's a skill and there's some fun in it. Some are so good it's almost an art but has never done much for me.

It tends to attract nuckle heads but that's not saying they all are.

I never really understood doughnuts either unless they came with jam in the middle.

[Deranged Rover]

goldar said:

I've had this a few times, mainly from those that arent massively clued up on building cars.

I've got a project underway and it sits on my driveway. Whenever some random person asks about it, I tell them im putting in a bigger engine. Their first response is 'is it a drift car?'. No it's a race car. 'Are you going drifting with it?' No i'm going racing with it. They get completely bamboozled. As if they can't fathom anything outside of drifting. Is it just me, or has anyone else witnessed this behaviour?

Out of interest is the project car in question a bright orange Toyota Supra lowered to 2mm off the road?

If so, i can sort of understand the questioning...

[goldar]

Not even close. It's an old Merc.

[Leon R]

In it's current state does it look like a car one might take drifting?

[Robmarriott]

People like things.

[DuckAvenger]

In Finland it was mandarory to do that. Was it drifting or powersilde? I don't know the difference. One time it was in dark and one time there was was metal plate with oil...and all what said was hit 60kmh and take that hairpin corner.

[cerb4.5lee]

Pistom said:

I never really understood doughnuts either unless they came with jam in the middle.

I used to really enjoy doing doughnuts/sliding sideways out of junctions etc in my S14 200SX years ago, however I was a lot younger back then in fairness. I still enjoy watching other folk do it on YouTube though.

[brillomaster]

I think id assume an old merc was being built for a drift car, same with old bmws and various toyotas. Unless its a proper classic merc. But even then, mercedes doesnt scream racecar.

[goldar]

Leon R said:

In it's current state does it look like a car one might take drifting?

You could apply that logic to any car. The point I'm making is why was his (and others) first reaction to modification 'drift car'?

[anonymous-user]

goldar said:

Leon R said:

In it's current state does it look like a car one might take drifting?

You could apply that logic to any car. The point I'm making is why was his (and others) first reaction to modification 'drift car'?

See my earlier post...

[LuS1fer]

Weird as this popped up and I can't honestly say I've ever thought of a Crossfire as a drift car


https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/29664856...

[Xcore]

The older I get the less point I see in drifting. Maybe I’m just getting old!