Drifting Into a New Performance Trend

It seems that no sooner has the performance aftermarket begun to come to terms with the mechanical needs of the Fast and the Furious generation, and the cultural imperatives that define them, when a new trend slides into the picture. Drifts into the picture, actually.

The first time I saw the sport of drifting was via a clip of streaming video a racing friend sent me. The clip, from Japan where the sport originated, showed two overpowered cars hurtling around a racetrack, tails out, smoke billowing from their rear tires, broadsliding through turns, inches from each other.

My initial thought was that these guys must be the worst drivers in the world, and hadn’t a clue how to execute a proper pass. What I didn’t know was that they were going for tandem drifting points, exuding style as opposed to looking to cross the finish line first. It looked ridiculous and fascinating at the same time, and it is beginning to catch on.

“The drag racing and street racing trend is done,” says Daryl Adamson, assistant manager of the Lordco Metroland store. “Drifting is the big thing.

“It’s good because it is cheap. That’s the easiest way to put it. Guys are spending $30,000 to $40,000 on their cars to do quarter miles, whereas these guys are buying a $3,000 240 SX, dumping $1,500 to $2000 into it, and they’re competitive.”

Adamson says that it’s not about power, it is about handling. Actually, it is about setting a car up to have the worst handling possible–by racecar standards anyway. The front tires need to grip while the rears slide. If you can’t get the back end out at the merest touch of the throttle, you’re not going to be very competitive.

Competitions, while most desirable on permanent road circuits, have also migrated to parking lots.

“A lot of guys don’t even do their motors. Mostly it is suspension. It is still lowering but mostly really extreme offset camber. A lot of coilovers, different shock and spring combinations.

“I know a couple of guys who have different strut setups for their cars: adjustable and non-adjustable.”

Adamson says that the rear wheel configuration required by the sport opens the doors to a different set of vehicles than had previously been the hot setup for sport compact performance.

A Honda Civic just can’t make it, unless you convert it to rear wheel drive–there is actually some of that going on–but the popular cars include the RX-7, older Supra, and the aforementioned 240.

“I have seen a couple of guys with Camaros, but they are usually too heavy.”

Despite the recent nature of the sport’s emergence in North America, it has already attracted the attention of major North American manufacturers. General Motors even chose to tie the launch of the new Pontiac GTO to a drifting competition.

“It started being really visible when some of the tracks started putting on demonstrations,” says Jim Spoonhower, vice-president, Market Research, Specialty Equipment Market Association. “That definitely put it in view for everybody to see.

“The fact is that rallying is a big deal and in rallying you’re trying to skid and not lose power. [GM] is trying to grab hold of that enthusiasm and the passion people have for using their automobiles to do things that are fun.”

But drifting is more than just throwing caution to the wind and smoking the rear tires. It is automotive artistry in motion.

“It’s a dance,” says Spoonhower. “It’s funny, because several years ago I was in Detroit visiting with one of the guys from Ford. He had just got a new Jaguar, and he said ‘I can’t get it to go into a four-wheel skid,’ and I thought ‘drifting a Jaguar?’.

“It’s the same thing. Go back to when we were 18. We didn’t call it drifting; we called it doing doughnuts. It’s the same thing, though they have turned it into a higher form.”

Spoonhower says that the obvious requirement for rear-wheel drive marks a significant change in the sport compact performance market. “Where the Honda Civic and Ford Focus and Cavaliers were all small front wheel drives, because of this there is more of a draw toward some of the rear-wheel drive cars.” While this may look like it is playing into the hands of the traditional performance player in North America–rear wheel drive performance remains the cornerstone of the performance industry on this continent–it is not that simple.

“The difficulty is that when you are talking about the 18 to 25 year old set they are not going to recognize the traditional brands. For an Edelbrock to jump into the market as Edelbrock, they are probably not going to look at it very hard. They may have the best product in the world, but that brand name isn’t as significant to them as it would be to my generation.”

Enthusiasts are so determined to make use of Asian technology and vehicles, that there are accounts of cars like the Acura Integra being converted to rear-wheel drive so the owner can pursue drifting activities more readily.

To that end, Edelbrock has pushed the envelope by insinuating itself well into sport compact publications and competitions. Competency is not the issue–Edelbrock has a strong reputation for developing performance products that work–but it is still a tad unusual to see a Honda powerplant logging dyno time at Edelbrock’s facility in Torrance, Calif.

It can be seen as an “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach, trying to infiltrate the largely import-driven modern performance trend.

This and other performance trends in the aftermarket have put some significant pressures on the traditional North American parts manufacturing base, though it is clear many have adapted.

“The ignition was very easy,” says Glen Howard, Crane Cams. “The valve train is difficult, because all the OE material is chilled iron. There is no foundry in North America that makes it. That’s why when the craze first took off it was all regrinds. We actually had to reverse-engineer camshaft profiles and go out of [North America] to get the foundries.”

The market, he says, is still fragmented. “I personally see a couple of different markets. One is the street guy who is capable of bolting something on, and maybe putting a stereo in. He’s not really in the market for our product. Then there is the racer looking for sponsorships. There is still a slim sliver of opportunity for actual sales.”

Notwithstanding the preponderance of project vehicles being supported by manufacturers, Howard says that the domestic sport compact market continues to grow.

“We do a huge amount of business with the Neon and Ford Focus.”

Regardless of whether the trend is for drifting, or on the street and drag performance, nitrous will probably remain popular.

“With nitrous and supercharging you can have problems with crossfire.” A set of controls to limit this, and provide a more progressive boost, is a recommended option for these situations.

Once you get into the controls area, the ability of the customer to understand what these components do is critical. While the Internet has given many customers the ability to know more than ever, it has also given them the ability to be inundated with a lot of the wrong information.

One of the appealing facets of drifting may, in fact, be related to the difficulty in finding out just what the right information is, and the cost of getting it wrong.

“There is more of a potential to bang up the car [in drifting],” says Spoonhower, “but to start with, to jump in the car and make it perform there is not nearly the investment you would need in the straight line type competition.”

One of the keys to the potential success of this form of motorsport competition is that it requires a large patch of asphalt, which takes the competition off the streets, but it does not require a dedicated track. A parking lot with an understanding owner is enough.

“We did it at SEMA, in the paved space between the two halls in Las Vegas,” says Spoonhower. “We set up the barriers and a series of cones. It doesn’t take much.”

This is perhaps the biggest positive aspect of the sport from a public relations standpoint. “This kind of thing would lend itself to a retailer who is
part of a large parking lot. He could have an event right in front of a store. I have heard of some of the guys doing that.”

Imagine using high-performance cars as an on-site merchandising opportunity, where the cars aren’t on display, they’re actually competing. The possibility is exciting.

Kevin Kraack, director of public relations and marketing for American Products Company, says that drifting appeals to the driver looking to hone his skills.

“To try and do it at the level they do it, and to maintain car control and speed to make that manoeuvre happen, isn’t very easy. You’re dealing with several hundred horsepower, and it’s constantly trying to get away from you.”

Kraack, who was a rally competitor sponsored by APC before he began to work there, says that the company has seen the trend and is responding.

“They thought it was just a natural progression for me to drive one of their U.S. team cars. As it works out, rally drivers are natural drift car drivers. The movements and reactions you have are the same.”

APC already has a Japan team and is building a North American team that he will be one of the drivers for. The company’s experience is in keeping with the relatively modest cost approach to the sport

“We basically took a stock 240SX. We bought it on the East Coast for maybe $600. We took the motor out of this one, and put in an [Nissan] SR DET blacktop turbo motor straight from Japan.” A bodykit from the company’s new Driftworks division, wheels, tires, limited slip differential, and few other items completed the package.

“Obviously you are going to spend some money on performance, and some money on suspension, and you are going to spend money on your limited slip differential. Tires are another option. If you have a lot of money and you’re working five jobs to support your drifting habit, you can buy new tires for your car. But if you are a sensible drifter and you have an understanding of where to get parts and accessories for drifting, the next best option for tires is to be used. Get steel wheels. Bolt them on the car and do it.”

Kraack agrees that drifting has advantages over many other forms of grass roots motorsport.

“For some strange reason, drifting is seen as having more of an artistic form to it, unlike drag racing. It is really a shame, because it takes a lot of talent to drive a drag car.

“Still the drifting is new, but I don’t think that people will see it as drifting, or just guys driving crazy. People get drag racing; they don’t get drifting. Not yet anyway.”