I've been watching a lot of "BBC's Top Gear" lately, and I dig the way the presenters and the stig over steer the cars around their track.

I know they say Mustang's shine the most in a straight line , but on the show, they sometimes pull those slides off in some really cr/\ppy cars (which the Mustang certainly isn't).

So can I do this in the V6 mustang without rolling over and dieing? I'd appreciate any tips or shared experiences on the subject. I'm wondering:

- Turn off traction control?
- Top speed I should try this out at?
- Does it matter that the V6 only has a sway bar in the front?
- What should I feel for? / Expect?

 

The Mustang has such a low rollover possibilty, that it's practically impossible to do when turning hard & sliding.
Now we have rwd and good weight distribution, so sliding around and carving corners is safe except for user error which makes it extrememly dangerous. You flip after you hit things.I would try it at a track or a HUGE empty lot.

-TCS-off
-you can slide and have fun around 10-30ish mph easily
-no, we just don't grip well mainly because of our narrow tires
-You should expect losing control, so trying it slow first in a controlled environment.

 

I do mine going fast around 90 degree turns in second gear. Most of the time with traction control turned on I cant still flick it out a little bit, lots of fun, until i realized there was a deep ditch on the side of the road. It's a bit easier with a GT though. I will be trying it a lot at this weekends autocross.

 

Like they already said you probably don't need to worry about flipping, unless you hit something. And you should definately try it somewhere where no one is around. I would try it first with the TC on. Then try it again with the TC off. Make sure you're payin' attention. The TC makes a pretty big difference. One day I decided to swing the rear end around on a turn and I did, but not too much. The TC kept the car from gettin' too crazy. So the next day I decided to try the same turn with the TC off, and I almost lost control and spun the car around. So I would suggest a couple of "test runs" to kinda get used to it, instead of just lettin' in all hang out on your first shot.

 

The stock suspension set-up on the mustang is not very conducive to drifting. Your best bet is to find some big open blacktop, wet blacktop would be even better. That's gonna be the glassiest surface you're going to find this side of ice. The tail will be pretty easy to get out on wet blacktop, you could stomp it in first but that's how the heathens do it Put the car in second gear, get going about 10 mph and then kick the clutch in, let the revs ride up about 1000-1500 rpms above what you're currently at (perhaps a bit more for the v6) and then pop the clutch back out, your rear tires should start spinning quite easily and the tail end will step out. Be careful not to give it too much gas or you will just spin until you come to a stop as your tires rotate fruitlessly. Feather the throttle and clutch (note, this is not very good for your clutch but gives you A LOT more control than just the throttle) and steering wheel until you get the desired result. This is one of those things that will just take practice to get a feel for it. With stock tires and suspension I would definately recommend against drifting on the open road, it's possible, but the car is so sloppy that it's dangerous.


Just to answer someone's reply that I'm sure is coming, yes you can get the stock mustang to drift on the street. It's just a bad idea. Tighten up that suspension first!

 

With a tightened suspension, intentionally drifting on a public street suddenly becomes a "good" idea? :nono:

In Japan, hardcore drifters frequently yank the bumper skins off their cars before going out to abuse the public roads and their cars. They know they're likely to end up "parked" against a guardrail, etc at some point. Sure not how I'd prefer to treat my 'stang

 

Haha, very good point. OK, it's slightly a better version of a bad idea. I'm somewhat fatalist about these boards, you know half the kids on here are gonna do what they want no matter what you tell them (think back to when you were a teenager) so at least we can give them a better chance of surviving their youthful indiscretions.

 

How true. Maybe he will at the least send us a picture after he smashes it.

 

I agree, like most of us well past-teenagers, I'm in the lucky-to-be-alive club

Just wanted to inject the notion that even if the car is well setup, doing a dangerous thing is still dangerous. And you're right, the young 'uns ain't gonna listen to us old geezers anyway

 

Bad Idea. The car can flip over without hitting anything. My suggestion, go to a performance driving school and learn from the pros, that is what I did and I cannot tell you how helpful it is. Learning in a controlled environment with someone else's car with an instructior is much better than experimenting with your car by yourself.

 

That's definately the best idea yet.

I must mention before I continue that you should never attempt anything like this in any situation where you could 1.damage other people or their property, 2. only if you're williing to repair any damage you might do to yourself or your vehicle, and 3. realize you could seriously injure yourself and even die. But for those without the opportunity of a driving school a really large damp empty parking lot is the next best thing, yet still innapropriate and unsafe.

You didn't mention, or at least I missed, whether your car is a standard or auto. It's easier to do in a standard, so I'll assume you're on an empty lot that's wet with a v6 standard with traction control on. So to get started I would try to slightly spin the tires at about 5-10mph (I know it's easy to do in a GT so I'll assume it's possible with the v6). You'll have to punch it pretty good, but the TC should keep it from getting away too quick. Then once you've got the hang of a straight line start of with a large slow speed (under 15mph) turn and kind of goose it a little untill you feel the back end start to swing out. It should take less throttle than in a straight line, and you should be ready to turn back the other direction to keep from spinning out. Essentially that's the basic of drift, you lose traction on the back end causing it to swing out. It's not the hardest thing to do, but can be somewhat difficult to get it "under control". I learned by playing with my Miata I had when I was 17. That thing had no weight on the back end and no kind of traction control. In fact it could get a little interesting in the rain, but it was my first "sporty" car and was pretty fun.

However while this is an "unsafe" manuever I do think it would be better to kind of "play" with this and get a feel for what it is like to lose traction in a somewhat contolled environment before it happens accidentally in traffic. So be as careful as you can and remember the 3 points above before attempting any of this.

 

If you want a gentle introduction to oversteer, try this. Find a large open parking lot and get going in a large circle keeping a constant pressure on the throttle. Then lift off the throttle as quickly as you can, this should cause some mild oversteer...steer in the direction of the slide. If you don't lift off completely you'll get less oversteer. If you turn quickly at speed and lift off abruptly you can loop it so use some judgment here. Lift throtttle oversteer is a useful way to help rotate the car through a rapid series of esses. Be sure you have the correct tire pressures.

 

hey, im a teenager but i've only drifted in a 1995 volvo 940 in a HUGE parking lot

 

Why not try autocrossing? Speeds are seldom above 40mph and they're usually held on mall parking lots and such. You'll learn to control your car in tight turns in a safe environment. It's low cost except for the tires you'll chew up. If you decide you like it, you may want to attend a track day with a local sports car club.

Tom
05 Black GT 5 spd
C&L intake
Brenspeed tunes
Steeda billet strut tower brace

 

I wouldn't ever use the "clutch drop & feather" idea mentioned here to "drift." Tires are easier to get at than the clutch.

Start out in an empty lot, begin doing wide radius circles @ close to the limit of traction. Play w/the throttle (2nd gear) and you should be able to get the tail end to break loose and step out. It will be more difficult w/the v6 as you have no LSD. Might not work well at all... but expirimentation is the best way to learn.

Practice. Don't do it with people around. Don't do it in traffic until you are real good at it, and realize that you will always undertake a modicum of risk. There are always unknowns... I've been lucky so far, not so lucky that nothing has ever gone wrong but lucky enough that I haven't smacked into anything.

autox is the best place to try this stuff. You can go bonkers and not worry too much!!

 

I actually jsut did this yesterday, it was a fast course. When doing 50+ in second at WOT in a sweeping left turn the rear end starts getting squirly, it was a lot of fun. I will be going again and am already looking at getting some race tires.

 

gt with 322 at the wheels + 4.30 gears + several years of drifting experience = fun on city streets and havent spun out in almost a year (water is bad)

i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you DO NOT MESS around with "oversteering", you need to learn what you are doing and how to control it before trying it, and get lots and lots of safe practice in abandoned parkng lots and on PRIVATE PROPERTY (gettin caught will be a 2pt offense, 1000+ $ fine, and possible impoundment/jail).

main things to keep in mind:
1. as a beginner, as soon as the car begins to slide, turn the wheel hard back the other way for a brief moment, then LET GO of the wheel so the car can correct itselt
2. dont shift in the middle of a slide
3. the faster the tires are spinning in relation to your speed, the quicker it will spin out of control

 

main things to keep in mind:
1. as a beginner, as soon as the car begins to slide, turn the wheel hard back the other way for a brief moment, then LET GO of the wheel so the car can correct itselt
2. dont shift in the middle of a slide
3. the faster the tires are spinning in relation to your speed, the quicker it will spin out of control
[/quote]


I can't agree with 1 + 3 if you're doing any performance driving.
If you're goofing around in a parking lot no harm done.

When a car begins to oversteer you do want to turn in the wheel in the direction of the slide but how much and how fast depends on what's happening. Sometimes just a slow, gentle input will balance the chassis and control the rotation of the car. Never, let go of the steering wheel and just let it spin if you're trying to go fast. Sure, the drift guys do this, but they're on a race track and drifting is more about style than speed. You can be darn sure professional race car drivers keep their hands on the wheel. Whether or not the car will "correct itself" depends on set up. A car with lots of understeer may straighten itself on a parking lot but not keep you on your side of the road . A car that's neutral or oversteers will go off the road backwards.
Sometimes it's good to keep the back tires spinning. If the back end starts to come around (and the tires are spinning) letting off the gas (to stop the tires spinning) will increase your chances of a spin. Letting off the gas transfers weight off the rear tires and onto the front tires and decreases rear traction even more. If the rear end is coming around and the rears are spinning keep them spinning and correct with the steering.

 

You won't be doing any POWERsliding like they do on Top Gear in a Ford-V6....it's not an M3, man.


If you're going to try anyway, watch out for tall curbs such as those found around landscaping...you hit one of those in a slide and that will be bad news.

 

That's right. Its NOT an M3.


My M3....