How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer (S-A Design) Summary and Reviews

How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer (S-A Design)
by Paul Morton

How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer (S-A Design)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Paul Morton
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-01
ISBN: 1932494235
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: S-A Design

Book Reviews of How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer (S-A Design)

Book Review: A good primer on drifting, but over half the book is devoted to a 240SX
Summary: 4 Stars

How to Drift

This book was interesting as it covered a topic that isn't quite recognized or accepted by a lot of gearheads and motorsports, although it has been steadily growing in the US especially from the publicity with WRC and Rally drivers like Ken Block and Travis Pastrana doing ghymkana stuff with their AWD cars.

Almost half the book is devoted to a Nissan 240SX build, taking a beat up car and turning it into a drifting car. The first half of the book covers the history of driving, and different levels of initiating and controlling drifts. The entry-level stuff involves using the e-brake or a clutch kick, while an intermediate level involves the use of heavy-throttle or downshifting and heavy-throttle to induce oversteer. I have had great results with just applying throttle after the turn-in in a RWD car on snow, it is the easiest way to induce oversteer. It also helps if your car has some chassis mods that reduce understeer, like anti-roll bars, which can help promote oversteer during fast turn-in. The pro-level techniques taught include the Scandinavian flick or "Feint". Another method taught is the Choku Dori , which requires exceptional skill to maintain a drift in a straight line.

Controlling exercises are provided, and a discussion on limited slip differentials was also found in the text. The one concept that I disagree with was how the author claimed that front-wheel drive cars aren't suited for drifting or how they can do it, but it isn't easy or pretty. I disagree because with the proper chassis setup, a FWD car is probably the best drifting car there is mainly because you can induce oversteer by suddenly lifting the throttle while turning in, then apply throttle while correcting to force your way back. Drifting with AWD is also do-able and you do not need copious amounts of power like the author suggests. Drifting with RWD is obviously the easiest.

Overall: 4/5 stars, some good techniques covered for those interested in learning about drifting, but over half the book is devoted to a Nissan 240SX build-up.

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