Drifting Cars is Hard: Here's Why (And How to Make it Easier)

Let’s face it—drifting a car isn’t as easy as TikTok makes it look. Sure, watching pros throw their cars sideways at impossible angles while nailing clipping points looks effortless, but there’s a reason they’re the best. Drifting is hard. Like, “spinning out 37 times in one afternoon” hard.

But why is it so difficult? And, more importantly, how can you make it easier? Whether you’re new to the scene or just struggling to keep your car sideways longer than a YouTube short, this guide will explain why drifting is tricky and how you can level up your skills and your car.

1. The Physics of Drifting: Why Staying Sideways is Tough

Drifting isn’t just about mashing the throttle and yanking the handbrake. It’s a delicate dance of physics, finesse, and timing. Here’s why it’s so challenging:

• Weight Transfer: Every time you accelerate, brake, or turn, the weight of your car shifts. Managing that weight is the key to initiating and maintaining a drift. Get it wrong, and you’ll either spin out or straighten up.
• Traction Control: The tires have to break traction, but not so much that the car becomes uncontrollable. Too much grip = no slide. Too little grip = uncontrolled chaos.
• Steering Angle: Most stock cars don’t have enough steering angle to recover when you go too sideways, leaving you with a frustrating spin.
• Throttle Control: Drifting requires precise throttle modulation to balance the car. Too much gas and you’ll spin. Too little and you’ll lose the drift.

2. What’s Making Drifting Hard for You?

If drifting feels impossible, the culprit might be your car, your technique, or both. Let’s break it down:

Your Car Setup

1. Stock Suspension

   • Most stock cars have soft suspension that’s great for comfort but terrible for drifting. Body roll is your enemy—it makes the car feel unpredictable.
   • Fix It: Install drift-spec coilovers like those from SLRspeed to reduce body roll and give you more control over weight transfer.

2. Not Enough Steering Angle

   • If you’ve ever spun out mid-drift and thought, “Why didn’t my wheels save me?” it’s because your stock steering angle isn’t designed for drifting.
   • Fix It: Angle kits are a game-changer. SLRspeed’s kits allow you to turn the front wheels at ridiculous angles, giving you room to recover and hold extreme slides.

3. Wrong Tires

   • Grippy performance tires are great for lap times, but they can make breaking traction harder.
   • Fix It: Use harder compound tires or lower the rear tire pressure to make initiating drifts easier.

4. Open Differential

   • An open diff means one wheel spins while the other chills. Not great for drifting.
   • Fix It: Upgrade to a limited-slip differential (LSD) or weld the stock diff for consistent power delivery to both rear wheels.

Your Technique

1. Poor Weight Transfer Management

   • If you’re not shifting the car’s weight correctly, you’ll struggle to initiate or maintain a drift.
   • Fix It: Practice feint drifting (flicking the car in the opposite direction before turning into the drift) to understand weight transfer.

2. Throttle Control

   • Flooring it isn’t the solution. Drifting requires balancing the gas pedal to maintain the right speed and angle.
   • Fix It: Practice throttle modulation in a controlled environment, like a skid pad.

3. Handbrake Overuse

   • The handbrake is an initiation tool, not a crutch. Relying on it too much can make transitions jerky and uncontrolled.
   • Fix It: Focus on clutch kicks or power-over techniques to initiate drifts.

3. How to Make Drifting Easier (Without Giving Up)

Here’s how you can make your car—and yourself—more drift-ready.

Upgrade Your Suspension

A good set of coilovers is one of the best investments you can make. Not only will they reduce body roll, but they’ll also allow you to adjust ride height and stiffness to suit your drifting style.

Install an Angle Kit

Angle kits are a must for serious drifters. With increased steering angle, you’ll have more room to recover and hold aggressive drift angles. SLRspeed offers some of the best kits in the industry, giving you a massive edge on the track.

Practice Weight Transfer

Understanding how your car’s weight shifts is the foundation of drifting. Start with simple techniques like braking into a corner to shift weight forward or feinting to initiate a slide.

Use the Right Tires

Experiment with tire compounds and pressures to find the right balance of grip and slip. For beginners, starting with cheap tires at the rear is a good idea—they’ll burn through fast as you learn.

Learn Drift Techniques

Drifting isn’t one-size-fits-all. Master these core techniques:

• Clutch Kick: Depress the clutch, rev the engine, and pop the clutch to break traction.
• Power Over: Floor the throttle mid-corner to overwhelm the rear tires.
• Handbrake: Lock the rear wheels momentarily to initiate a slide.
• Feint Drift: Flick the car’s weight one way before turning it the other.

4. Remember: Practice Makes Sideways

Drifting is hard because it combines physics, mechanics, and technique. But with practice and the right car setup, it becomes incredibly rewarding. Start slow, make small adjustments, and embrace the process of learning.

With the right tools—like SLRspeed’s angle kits and coilovers—and some dedication, you’ll be holding long, smoky slides before you know it. Just don’t forget: every pro drifter started with their car spinning out 37 times in an afternoon.

Happy drifting!