Anyone Drift there Miatas? [Archive]

AZDriftR

11-21-2003, 03:12 PM

when i worked for Perf. Mazda/Nissan i once used a 1990 miata to get/take diliverys of packages and to pic up lunch and what not and i used to rag the hell out of that car. id drift into turns, e-brake, spins, burnouts, hehe it really made me want to own one, they are so fun to drive. And now i try it in my car but it is much more difficult and not as fun. good luck to ya if yer trying, just becarefull

RyanJayG

11-21-2003, 03:14 PM

I used to in my step-mothers 98'(?) white one... it was really a pretty nice car, a lot of fun. I'd hit the sand roads near me dad's house in florida, come out at an intersection that was paved and really hang it out.

but it was even more fun in my real mom's z3 (lol2)

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 03:14 PM

sweet! sounds like fun was the car stock?

Darin

11-21-2003, 04:03 PM

here's some video of me driving a friend's car - we drifted quite a bit. :) we also got passed - a LOT :(

http://www.d-mphotos.com/movies/IRDCPlayDay.wmv

[edit] fixed link...

redwagon02

11-21-2003, 04:23 PM

Mostly by accident.

GOTZOOM?

11-21-2003, 04:29 PM

Every chance I get I drift my Supercharged 1990 Miata.

GOTZOOM?

11-21-2003, 04:35 PM

Originally posted by Darin
here's some video of me driving a friend's car - we drifted quite a bit. :) we also got passed - a LOT :(

http://www.d-mphotos.com/movies/IRDCPlayDay.wmv

[edit] fixed link...

Damn, that looks like a lot of fun. Where was that at. And damn, you did get past a lot! lol

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 05:30 PM

I'm downloading the video now, what all is done to the car darin???

Darin

11-21-2003, 06:14 PM

Originally posted by GOTZOOM?
Damn, that looks like a lot of fun. Where was that at. And damn, you did get past a lot! lol

:)

It was at Bremerton Raceway, Bremerton, WA - it's usually a 1/4 mile track, built on an old runway.

Darin

11-21-2003, 06:15 PM

Originally posted by Mazda100
I'm downloading the video now, what all is done to the car darin???

The car belongs to a friend - he has a Link computer, and FlyinMiata dual exhausts. It was running very poorly - due to being passed by an escort, the owner of that miata (who drove some, in the vid, too - Generally, it's me driving when the driver is wearing a brown jacket) checked his car - found his Cat converter plugged up/broken w/ bits of stuff.

Was a lot of fun, however, for $20 each.

:)

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 07:28 PM

hope you get it running better. Hey what was that Grey convertible? A Z4? what was that thing?

jflo

11-21-2003, 10:04 PM

the grey convertible was a s2k...and that's not drifting...that's just not enough grip and too much roll on the miata

jflo

11-21-2003, 10:06 PM

wait, yeah it was a z4. tail lights looked to blurry

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 10:10 PM

well you really shouldn't drift anything without suspension mods. also grip? You really don't want grip...that much what are you talking about?

edit: the Miata really isn't the perfect drift car due to it's short wheel base, is it hard to drift them? and is it hard to control the car mid-drift?

KpaBap

11-21-2003, 10:12 PM

(lol)

jflo

11-21-2003, 10:13 PM

trust me, u'll want grip. the suspension and tire setup of a drift car are very important. sure, having less grip seems like the easy way to drift, but how r u gonna get out of it ? drifters (d1 drift pros from japan) use high-spec tires like yokohamas or what not. on that autocross course that darin was on, i'm pretty sure he'd rather have more grip than less. if u're not aiming to drift, gripping will give u better times. drifting is not aimless flinging of the car, it's precise control of the motion of the car through throttle modulation.

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 10:16 PM

well the whole point of the thread was drifting, not how to get better track times by gripping the road. Grip? were not talking about a 500HP car I'm talking pretty much stock. like I said in the last post is it hard to drift the miata? Is it easy to control. and if you had really good tires can you still drift the car?

kcbhiw

11-21-2003, 10:18 PM

I accidentally drifted going into a corner when entering an interstate. I reacted without thinking, I was pretty happy with myself aftwards, heh.

On the auto-x course, I've taken the car into four wheel drifts due to the speed I was carrying.

As far as the drifting "fad", no, I've never purposfully done it.

jflo

11-21-2003, 10:29 PM

Originally posted by Mazda100
well the whole point of the thread was drifting, not how to get better track times by gripping the road. Grip? were not talking about a 500HP car I'm talking pretty much stock. like I said in the last post is it hard to drift the miata? Is it easy to control. and if you had really good tires can you still drift the car?

my post wasn't about racing on the auto-x..just commenting on what he was doing on the video. and if u have the right suspension setup u can still drift the car with sticky tires, albeit it'll be expensive to replace those tires. stock doesn't have enough torque or horsepower to successfully break the rear end loose unless u initiate ur drift by using the ebrake or going really hard into a turn- really dangerous. i'd try it, but my miata's kinda f'd right now. hehe...i hope drifting is not just a fad...i love drifting

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 10:33 PM

"stock doesn't have enough torque or horsepower to successfully break the rear end loose unless u initiate ur drift by using the ebrake or going really hard into a turn- really dangerous"

What do you mean with stock tires? Or with good tires?

ChopstickHero

11-21-2003, 10:35 PM

kewl video ... but you got passed by a white ford escort ???

Mazda100

11-21-2003, 10:38 PM

yeah the Miata was kinda messed up :D

KpaBap

11-21-2003, 11:00 PM

Drifting the Miata is possible, albeit oversteer is more snappy due to the short wheelbase. To start off a drift you'd have to pull some stupid shit though. As previously mentioned you'd have to e-brake it or come into a turn way too fast (and then you won't have space to run your line) or drop the clutch mid-turn (bad!).

Once in a drift, the Miata is almost too easy to control. The steering is so quick that you need to be very precise with your corrections or you will over-correct :) As long as you know wtf you are doing, the Miata is easy to control through a drift, just as it's easy to control in just about any situation. :D

Why are you trying to drift your Miata anyway?

The car was made for GRIPPING, not sliding.

KpaBap

11-21-2003, 11:29 PM

This guy sure drifts his Miata:
He's also got a FMII...

http://home.comcast.net/~movistar323/robweb.wmv

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejohn.booth1/october19th2003.wmv

Darin

11-22-2003, 12:20 AM

Originally posted by Mazda100
hope you get it running better. Hey what was that Grey convertible? A Z4? what was that thing?

That was an S2000...

fwiw, again, to those who asked - it's not my miata in the vid - and it wasn't just that escort passing us, other miatas were as well...

:)

fwiw, when 'my' miata, pictured in my sig, was stock, it had enough power to kick the tail out on demand...who said pulling the ebrake in the corner will help a miata drive? uh? wft? it's 'rear wheel drive' ;) Just do a quick flick of the wheel, apply power, on 'bad' tires. That's all it takes :)

Mazda100

11-22-2003, 12:41 AM

what do you u call 'bad' tires?

Darin

11-22-2003, 02:03 AM

Originally posted by Mazda100
what do you u call 'bad' tires?

Anything with a tread wear over 300...Tires from "Federal"...etc.

Hard, long lasting tires have poor traction; allow for wheel spin.

jflo

11-22-2003, 02:05 AM

stock tires, i.e. the ones they came with...if u got a miata like mine (105000+ miles)...and only changed them @ around 70000, then sure, the tires r pretty f'd already. i knoe it's RWD...i tried to fly around a corner in it by drifting...had to pull the ebrake 'cause if i tried to break the rear end loose w/ throttle input, it wouldn't break. if i kicked the clutch it might just go but car would just spin out instead of doing the nice drift. pulling the ebrake won't help "drive"...it's gonna help the rear break loose.

bad tires would be tires that were driven hard or over 65000 miles. i think...not sure exactly.

jflo

11-22-2003, 02:11 AM

there were 2 silver cars...near the beginning w/ the "supercharged fun" was a s2k...the other silver car had to be a z4 'cause it had the duckbill lip and the taillights were a helluva lot smaller than the s2k's

Mazda100

11-22-2003, 10:52 AM

I knew one of them was a Z4

Darin

11-23-2003, 07:05 PM

Originally posted by jflo
stock tires, i.e. the ones they came with...

New miatas have plenty of power to break loose the rear end.

Originally posted by jflo

if u got a miata like mine (105000+ miles)...and only changed them @ around 70000, then sure, the tires r pretty f'd already.

Go buy brand new Federals - my stock 1.6L miata could break those loose at will.

Originally posted by jflo

i knoe it's RWD...i tried to fly around a corner in it by drifting...had to pull the ebrake 'cause if i tried to break the rear end loose w/ throttle input, it wouldn't break. if i kicked the clutch it might just go but car would just spin out instead of doing the nice drift. pulling the ebrake won't help "drive"...it's gonna help the rear break loose.

Pulling the ebrake is dumb - it's just a quick way to crash...if you want to drift the car, get harder tires. Kicking the clutch? Why on earth would you do that?

Originally posted by jflo

bad tires would be tires that were driven hard or over 65000 miles. i think...not sure exactly.

Bad tires can have 0 mileage - but are designed for long life. (shrug)

Mazda100

11-23-2003, 07:12 PM

ok what mods are good?

Darin

11-23-2003, 08:01 PM

Originally posted by Mazda100
ok what mods are good?

for what?

Drifting? Negative camber and bald/crappy tires.

in general?

That's way too broad of a question...get specific; probably should start a new thread. Miata.net has loads of info and various reviews on many mods.

jflo

11-24-2003, 03:12 AM

ooh boy...i got pretty scared tonight. i overlooked how bad my brakes were and almost slammed into the curb. i successfully broke the rear end loose, but ended up going straight into the curb almost...gonna have to try that again :)...oh yeah, kicking the clutch is jabbing the clutch to let the engine spin freely for a sec and then let the clutch grab again to make the tires spin. it's another technique for drifting...the only problem w/ having neg. camber and bald/crappy tires is when u're driving daily...bleh, but as long as u do it just for drifting, u're fine. ugh...aren't Federals made of hard rubber ? yuck...i'll take my Challengers. my old '91 is probably puttin' 95whp to the ground 'cause it's so old and hasn't had much work or replacement of some old parts. blah, i hope i get to fix it and turn it into a real drift machine.

KpaBap

11-24-2003, 02:05 PM

If you want a drifting machine buy a hachi roku or a silvia.

I'll say it again. The Miata is a GRIP machine.

Mazda100

11-24-2003, 05:05 PM

hachi roku is a AE86? Right?

Mazda100

11-24-2003, 05:06 PM

oh and does anyone have any good drift forums to join?

kcbhiw

11-24-2003, 08:29 PM

Originally posted by jflo
my old '91 is probably puttin' 95whp to the ground 'cause it's so old and hasn't had much work or replacement of some old parts.

That's about normal for any 1.6L Miata.

Originally posted by KpaBap

If you want a drifting machine buy a hachi roku or a silvia.

I'll say it again. The Miata is a GRIP machine.

I agree totally.

jflo

11-25-2003, 12:36 AM

i don't totally agree and disagree w/ you about drift/grip on the miata. it totally depends on ur taste. if u're the kind of person that likes the tail out a lot, than u can do whatever u can do setup ur car the way u want it to make it like that. if u want ur car to grip, then u'll set it up to eat those cones alive.

the thing w/ the miata is that it can be made to do just about ne thing...people swapped in v8s to make it a monster on just about ne front. others just added a few bolt-ons and spent the rest on a good suspension setup to make the car handle the road like a vice grip.

www.drifting.com is a good place...not many members tho w/ actual drifting cars...

Mazda100

11-25-2003, 01:27 AM

hey thanks!

Darin

11-25-2003, 10:46 AM

Originally posted by jflo
i don't totally agree and disagree w/ you about drift/grip on the miata. it totally depends on ur taste. if u're the kind of person that likes the tail out a lot, than u can do whatever u can do setup ur car the way u want it to make it like that. if u want ur car to grip, then u'll set it up to eat those cones alive.

the thing w/ the miata is that it can be made to do just about ne thing...people swapped in v8s to make it a monster on just about ne front. others just added a few bolt-ons and spent the rest on a good suspension setup to make the car handle the road like a vice grip.

www.drifting.com is a good place...not many members tho w/ actual drifting cars...

you're
your
you'll
any

;)

c'mon...put SOME effort into it...

jflo

11-25-2003, 12:19 PM

hehe, sorry. bad AIM habits...i'm getting to used to it. i usually spell it you, your, you're, you'll etc...but being a senior in high skewl is making extremely lazy to type 2-3 extra letters :p

Darin

11-25-2003, 12:21 PM

Originally posted by jflo
hehe, sorry. bad AIM habits...i'm getting to used to it. i usually spell it you, your, you're, you'll etc...but being a senior in high skewl is making extremely lazy to type 2-3 extra letters :p

lol :)

:D

Hy Sk00l was da b3st six yeers uf my lyf.

:D