Really need help with drifting.

[RikkiGT-R]

Forum seems dead but I'll post it anyway...

I'm a beginner (approx 4 days drifting so far). It's driving me insane. I'm watching tutorials on YouTube and trying to apply the advice to my own game but nothing is working. I don't seem to be learning.

The problem is that there seems to be no way to improve. If I try the same thing 100 times, the result will be different every single time so I've no idea which part of my technique (lol) is the problem.
If I try something different 100 times, the result is equally different each time.

My main problem is with countersteering. I watch the replays all the time (of seasonal events top scores) and I notice those guys are at full opposite lock through the entirety of each drift. But when I try that my car either spins out, or actually steers in the direction I turn the wheel, so when I drift I have to barely steer and hold the car in a kind of semi-drift because full countersteering is disastrous 100% of the time. It makes no sense.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

In the new Clubman seasonal event, I can get 1400 points in the first corner, but then barely 500 in the rest, if any at all. Then my next attempt(s) I'll crash at the first corner 10 times in a row despite doing the EXACT SAME THING that got me 1400 points. There's no consistency in anything I'm doing.
I need a seasoned drifter to give me some kind of advice that makes the penny drop.

Please help me understand it

 

[Death2508]

What car(s) and suspension setup? Your suspension probably isn't set very well. Look up drift tuning guides (@shmogt 's is good, but outdated and very basic) Also, have you tried 4WD drifting? It's controllable as hell, but also scores big.

 

[RikkiGT-R]

I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos and using tunes from people like "DUBS" but I never get the results those guys get.
My problem is that I honestly don't know exactly what I'm doing wrong in order to rectify it. If I was just learning to race (or time trial) and kept crashing at a particular hairpin, I would know I need to slow down for it. That's a simplistic example but it makes a point. When trying to drift, I can't think to myself "oh I need to accelerate more/less for that bit..." or whatever, in order to improve, because nothing I try seems to make a difference to the result.
It's like I'm driving blind.

 

[Death2508]

I might be able to play in few days so add me (Death2508, I have a mic) and share your tune and I'll help you troubleshoot, alright?

 

[Stavingo]

Well I can only give you so much advice from your comments but for starters, CH's front and rear, don't bother drifting a car over 350hp, forces you to learn entry techniques quicker instead of using power-over to initiate every drift.

Suspension setup is important, can't exactly remember the guidelines but generally front end should be stiffer than the back and look around the forum, should be a tuning guide pinned. Go for the short geared transmission, personal preference whether you use 5/6 speed.

Now for when you spin out or not hold a drift long enough, prevention of these come with feel for me at least, so I can tell mid-drift whether I'm about to spin out or lose angle and then I adjust, takes practice but you'll nail it.

Spin outs I assume in your case occur because you're at max angle and you put too much onto the accelerator, try not accelerating as much and have smaller steering angles. Losing your drift is not enough acceleration and angle, I assume you get snap-oversteer a lot? Hammer your accelerator and increase the angle.

Hope that helps good luck trying to drift

 

[Time Wizard]

Try this, as I've found it the best thing for people to gain intuition on how to drift.

Buy yourself a Toyota ARISTO V300 '00, give it Hard suspension, Comfort hard (CH) tires, "weld" the diff (buy fully customisable differential and put it to 60 on all settings), set brakes to 3 on front and 1 on rear, stock, turn traction control fully off (of course).

Download this track and do a free run on it, surface water to 100%, weather changeability lowest setting. Make note of the smaller 'true' track and how it crosses another part of it, allowing you to keep going around it, which is what you'll be doing.

Approach the first corner wide in 2nd gear, and when you reach the point where you would turn in normally, let off the throttle and pull the handbrake for a split second whilst turning in, then when you've reached the angle you want to sustain around the corner, go full throttle and steer from there, modulating throttle to ensure you don't go wide / spin out and lifting off it to act as a brake (as at low speeds, a couple of MPH/KPH will be enough to allow you to get back on track).

The benefit of this track is it doesn't really require much than 2nd or 3rd to go around, it's completely simple and flat, and added surface water momentum just makes it such an easy one to practice counter steer on. Take what you learn from here and once you feel confident, branch out to other cars / try abit more power on the dry version with tighter rear springs. 1600 hours of mostly drifting here will tell you its rather fun when you get it right

 

[Death2508]

I learned to drift and tune on Tskuba, Suzuka East, Cape Ring North, and SSR5 clubman (reverse SUCKS), which are all small tracks with a variety of corners that are great to learn on. Add me on PSN (Death2508, tell me who it is though because I get a lot of randoms adding me from BF4) and I'll take some time to hang out, hoon, and help you hone yours skills. I went from getting 9k per lap to 13k+ on Tsukuba in 3 weeks just by experimenting.