Noob behind the wheel

[Sohcahtoa]

So I just got myself a Driving Force Pro wheel (Yeah yeah...its not a G25, but I couldn't afford that price tag, found a DFP for $62) and have been trying to drift, but I just can't keep control of the car!

At first, I was having a terrible issue with snap spinouts. Shortly after beginning a drift, the car would suddenly spin out towards the outside of the corner. I did some reading and found that it was probably due to too much countersteer, and so I started countersteering less, but now I have problems with the car just spinning out, or I gain too much angle and head straight for the inside wall.

I then figured maybe I'm just giving too much throttle, so I back off the throttle a little as the car turns sideways, but I'm guessing I'm backing off too much or something, and the rear regains traction. I give more throttle and it breaks loose again, countersteer, and I either going into a snap spin from too much countersteer like above, or I back off the throttle and the straighten out. The best I've done on a long drift is a fishtailing where I keep switching from drifting to gripping. My hands are constantly flipping the wheel back and forth.

Is there something I'm doing wrong specifically? Or have I actually figured out the idea behind it all, but I just need more practice to nail the right amount of countersteer and throttle control?

FF is set to 5 (Default), Power steering ON, Physics set to Simulation. I was driving a Cappuccino Tuned (supposed to be a good learning car?), at first on N3s, but switched to S2s at some point.

 

[zed300]

Try N1's .....watch a few replays of some good drifting, watch the throttle application this may help.👍

Don't know if you need power steering on though.

 

[Sohcahtoa]

I think I'm just inconsistent with both my throttle and steering input. In both cases, I'm either giving too much or not enough. I just need more practice.

I found power steering to be damn near a requirement with my setup. I'm playing on the TV in the living room, which doesn't give me any options for places to attach my wheel, so its attached to a really old, extremely light-weight TV tray. If I have PS off, then I have to literally fight the wheel during some maneuvers, and doing so causes the TV tray to go all over the place. Doing really quick sudden turns using hand-over-hand steering is impossible without nearly throwing the TV tray/racing wheel unless PS is on.

I'll try some N1s and see how it goes.

 

[Masi_23]

Use N1s... its really hard to give advice on drifting since its very instinctive. The best way to learn is to practice, practice, practice. It's almost like developing muscle memory of some sort, for a lack of a better term...

The one practice i did was going to Suzuka with the Amuse S2k and putting on N tires. I drove the car like i was in a normal race. My intention was not to drift but drive the car along the best line at the right corner speed, but since i was using N tires, it was a harder task. It's like driving in rain. I logged many laps and as time passed, i was able to control the car when it oversteers exiting/entering a corner like its second nature. I think my idea was familiarizing myself first with small drifts before i go all out. That's just me though...

Lastly, visual learning Watch how he works the wheel.

C/O Snuffyboy3 from youtube


I'm not the best out there, but i can say that i hold my own.
Hope that helps.

 

[articzap]

The best thing I can tell you is feel the wheel. Do not go by what's on the screen. If you wait to see whats happening on the screen it'll be to late.

 

[Sohcahtoa]

The wheel wants to constantly increase countersteer throughout the entire drift. If I let it though, it snaps back.

I think I've gotten it figured out though...

If I countersteer too much, the car will snap back and spin towards the outside of the corner. If I countersteer too little, it drags the nose of the car towards the inside of the corner, increasing angle, and possibly spinning out.

If the throttle is too high, the back end will very quickly swing too far out resulting in a spinout. If throttle is too low, the rear end regains traction, and if I didn't straighten out the wheel while the back is regaining traction, then I'll snap back. If I straighten out the wheel while the throttle is too low, the drift ends.

To properly exit a drift, I need to back off the throttle while straightening out the wheel. If I straighten the wheel too fast, then I'll find myself heading for the outside wall. It I straighten it too slow or release the throttle too quickly, then I'll still have countersteer applied while the rear end regains traction, causing a snapback. If I release the throttle too slow, I'll continue the drift and either spin out or crash into the inside wall.

Is all of that correct? If so, then I think my biggest problem is my throttle control while sustaining a drift. I can enter a drift just fine, and have been able to maintain a good drift at about 30 degrees for a few seconds, but I the back end always seems to begin to regain traction, but I'm not correcting properly. I tend to correct it by reducing countersteer to prevent a snap back, but that just causes my drift to end, and then I floor the throttle which gets the back end out again. Its a bad habit I picked up from when I first started and I was giving too much countersteer causing snap backs all the time. When the car begins to straighten out mid-drift, I get a panic instinct to straighten the wheel. I just need more practice to get out of that habit and respond with more throttle.

 

[Jay]

I control my drifts mostly with the throttle, but throttle inputs really depend on how sideways I am. If I need more angle and slip I increase throttle but the same time counter the wheel more to hold the extra angle. When exiting a drift I rarely lift off throttle, it is not needed, you just need to cancel the countersteer correctly and be ready to counter the over way if the rear still wants to fishtail.

With practice it will become second nature, but I find the biggest reason people get snap on exit is because they didn't cancel the counter fast enough and during the dirft they give plenty of counter but let the tyre slip reduce so low the car suddenly grips and snaps.
Then on the other hand many new comers just pin the throttle and often no matter how much you countersteer to can't catch the rear switching directions. IMO throttle control is the most important aspect.

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

<---Snuffyboy3 on youtube. Pretty cool when you type in Gt5p Drifting it's on the first page!!!

In that video the power-assist (power-steering) is ON, which made the wheel easier to handle at first, but now that i have gotten better and more comfortable, i DEFINITELY recommend Power-assist OFF. With it On, it's very hard to feel the road and the weight of the car, which is important because the only feedback we get is through the wheel, we're not in an Actual car where you can feel the forces with your body.

If you are using the Tunned Cappuccino (great starter car) i would use either N2's or N1's (i use n2's myself). Sports tires are a bit grippy for the low power it has. Steering input and throttle control is KEY, you need to constantly be adjusting. I think the throttle control may be more important to pay attention to as i think it doesn't get the attention/respect the steering wheel does a lot of times.

You are correct though, if you are LOSING a drift/straightening out, you are either counter-steering too much, or Not giving enough throttle. And if you are spinning out, you are not counter-steering enough, or giving too much throttle.

As far as straightening out goes, your wheel has to be somewhat straight in the direction you want to go by the time the rear wheels do regain traction. For myself i find myself easing off the throttle as i am straightening the wheel out from a drift. And when the car/wheel is straight then i'm able to safely release the throttle if i need to.

When you initiate the drift, let the wheel spin till you get your desired angle, then grab the wheel and regulate your throttle/steering inputs to keep the angle you need. Practice makes better but just have fun! 👍

This video is with power-assist OFF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ81HPgQIcE

 

[bmxmad]

how come that wheel in the vid spins soo fast. I have the DFGT and my wheel dont spin like that

 

[Jay]

@ vr6wantsr20det: Besides N3 tyres what setup do you use on the Blitz D1 ER34? (on Eiger)

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

@ vr6wantsr20det: Besides N3 tyres what setup do you use on the Blitz D1 ER34? (on Eiger)

It's a Very Generic set-up i need to see if i can remember when i go home to turn on GT5p and check them. There is LOTS of room for improvement. Lately when i go to drift in GT5p (not often playing Live for Speed now) but i go into Time-trial where you can't change any settings, I just throw on N3 tires and away i go. You would be suprised how well the cars with the right tires drift well in time-trail, and you don't have to re-start every lap. It's not soo much the set-up more than adapting to the way to the car behaves and getting it to drift.

As for the wheel spinning so fast, i do believe the G25 is a bit smoother than the DFP. I had the original DFP from when gt4 came out, and once the crappy pedals broke on me for the 4th time, i gave up and got the G25. The DFP is still a great wheel, especially for the price. But the main reason it looks fast is because when the car does a weight transfer to shift in the other direction, the wheel already wants to spin back on it's own, you can see i'm giving it a quick Flick to give it a boost. It's something you have to get used to. Everyone drifts differently. As long as you can understand the concepts of over-steer and weight-transfer then you need to adapt your inputs to control the cars in different situations. I have been drifting since GT3 (controller) and tried in Gt4 (physics sucked for drifting). So i am very familiar with drifting and the concept. Just took a little time to adapt to Gt5p physics which are great, and 100% improvement over gt4 (as far as drifting goes). I'm not a good teacher. sorry.

 

[Jay]

You would be suprised how well the cars with the right tires drift well in time-trail, and you don't have to re-start every lap. It's not soo much the set-up more than adapting to the way to the car behaves and getting it to drift.

No I'm not suprised because thats exactly what I do, I rarely use the blitz though so I was wondering if you were using a specialised tune.

 

[bmxmad]

hey im good at drifting with the controller. but can anyone tell me a nice and easy car to learn to drift with the wheel, settings would be very much appreciated.