So, I basically got an awd car so that I can enjoy motorsports more, such as rallyx, and things of that nature. Sure you can yank the e-brake in my GTI, but I just couldn't live with that forever.

Now it's been a few months and I've been getting used to doing some awd drifts and **** in grassy fields, and wet roads. I never do it on dry roads/parking lots because I don't want to replace tires as often. But, I do it probably one night a week usually with a friend of mine. But how bad is this really for your drivetrain? I usually just keep it in first gear, and it seems like it doesn't take much to get the wheels spinning, so I can't see it being that bad. I don't really touch the clutch, just feathering the throttle as needed.

But I don't want to replace a transfer case anytime soon, clutch I can handle, but more serious **** like TC and Tranny, I'd like to avoid. Any words of wisdom, tips, comments from experience? thanks

 

yes, i tore all the teeth off my 1st gear doing this to much.

 

damn you Martin, lol dont get caught by the Wapps

 

honestly, unless your putting down some serious power, offroad drifting should be fine just be smart. Breakage occurs when the engines torque is fighting against the grip of the drivetrain (on pavement). this is where something "has to break" you know?

Because of the very low traction, the huge amount of force generated b/t the road and the engine doesnt happen because the high coefficient of friction b/t the tires and ground doesnt exist in dirt/gravel

I mean, if your doing this constantly, obviously something may break, use your best judgment

 

that was a perfect reply, thank you!

But as far as the pavement goes, this same amount of friction wouldn't be created when it's on wet pavement, correct? This is why tires last much longer on wet pavement when sliding I'm assuming.

 

You should make a vid to show

 

well, the water reduces the amount of friction, but not like dirt does. If you have sticky tires that grip in the wet well... Plus, you are AWD, which makes up for ****ty tires somewhat.

look at it like this. if you lifted the car off the ground and put it in gear and got on it, it would be fine because there is no force acting against the driveline. ok so picture that situation. the same thing occurs once ALL the tires are loose and spinning. Breakage occurs at a point in between stopped and spinning, right where engine torque excedes the coefficient of friction. if the force generated b/t the engine torque and coefficent of friction is greater than the weakest point in the driveline can handle, things will break, if it is less, ur golden

now, the last part. Even if the torque is great enough to break things, if you throw all the tires fast enough, there wont be enough time to break things.

so,

1. Wet is slicker than dry but not as slick as dirt
2. The amount of force b/t the engine and road determines whether or not anything in between (driveline) will break
3. The amount of time the force in 2 is generated for will determine breakage as well

So, moral of the story, be smart when being stupid, lol

Keep in mind over time things will break if you do this in high traction situation, slower if you do them in low traction situations, and very little risk of breakage in very low traction situations

My recommendation... Have fun, drift in the snow and dirt, not on the pavement, wet or dry. if you want to drift the tarmac, get a Sheptrans and tcase, a serious clutch, and some strong driveshafts, and set the suspension up to slide

the limit here is money, if you have lots, have more fun, if not, take it easy or youll have none lol

 

[QUOTE=Jorda420;6359317]You should make a vid to show [/QUOTE

Video and all it's entities is my life. I'm about to graduate from college in Electronic Media, and my independent study this winter that I submit to my professors is going to be to make a "car commercial" sort of. So, my friend's striving to be a stunt/rally driver, so this will kind of benefit both of us, give him some exposure, and give me some good action driving shots to put in my reel.

 

thank you so much. I'm just confused by when you say " if you throw all the tires fast enough". That statement sort of confuses me. But with this learned, I think I'll mostly stick to off road sliding. So my mind is a little closer to being at ease.

 

you wont need to push the car too hard to make it slide around, so there shoulde'nt be too much drivetrain shock. You're clutch will likely burn faster, and if you stay in one gear the whole time it will wear prematurely. The real danger is probably any nearby trees, rocks or ditches. Make sure you know someone that can pull you out in case you get stuck.

I'd be concerned about mud, rocks water ... ect. Make sure you clean it throughly.

 

sry, throw is the same as spin. To throw the tires loose...

 

correct, it shouldnt take much to spin them loose on dirt. however, if your on pavement, you WILL be generating alot of force, which is enough to snap stuff, if and only if the force is sustained for enough time. if you dont know what you are doing when driving you can create a delay before the tires let go. It really is a matter of how you drive.

If you just mash it and you spin there will be minimal shock, but you need the power to do it, if you sit there at rev limiter and dump the clutch, there will be alot of shock

You can break things on the other end as well, if you are burning them off, and close the throttle, and hook up too fast, boom as well (less likely but still possible)

Be smooth with it

 

im doin it this year!!

 

I usually drive kind of slow in 1st gear, and then just give a smooth WOT to whip the *** around, and then just maintain feathering as needed. So I think I'm doing it right, but that's just from my brain, I've never had formal training or anything per say.

 

i just cant help it to drift and put it sideways from time to time myself. Just be carefull bc the evo is a little tricky to catch it back if you go sideways too much. The turning ration sucks. Have you seen the evo vs Lambo video where they make fun of the evo for beating the lambo, but it cant make a "u-turn"

O.P. umm i dont thing it can be that healthy to the drivetrain to do this constantly even if you cant help it lol