Formula D for those that give a hoot...
 

Yesterday I went to Formula D at Wall Stadium in NJ. I got a chance to talk to a few teams specifically about their suspension set-ups.

Springs 5-8 kg range
Dampers Set up for maximum grip
ARBs/Sways Stock to mild to none (Friday it rained and the track was wet during qualifying later in the day)

Adjustments: For grip and more ultimate grip.

Biased: Much more rebound than compression damping. Sounds like Autocross? Or Track. A bit of jacking is OK, a lot no.

Some teams re-check or re-build dampers after each event. Some have multiple set-ups for different tracks.

One of the teams told me that they could run any crappy track and probably grip as good as the race cars running there.

Motons, Penskes, and a few other set-ups known to us were there, but I could not find any Racelands or GodSpeed. Honestly I did not look at every car but I did not see any Teins.

Teams seem to pick the proper suspension for the track/car and do final tweaks with sways but mostly with tire pressures.

Thanks to all the Crew Chiefs that took the time out to talk to me. And congrats to JR, Dai and Chris for a job well done.

The judges sucked more than usual. They sat in their Air Conditioned room and missed a lot of the small details. New Jersey crowd knows more about drifting than the judges. They had their favorites and it showed. The commentator was pretty crappy also, making stupid comments like the ones at the Olympics. Anyway, good weather Saturday and fun watching these folks tearing up the track.

Seems that quite a bit of money and thought is going into these suspensions.

The track has a nasty transition from the banked oval to the flat infield and most top drifters figured out that the best way to take that is by having the car sideways parallel to the transition line and letting the suspension do its thing.

Just in case you're lost, this isn't clubricer

I'm surprised they're not running Racelands with 1000in/lb springs. Apparently there's enough money in drifting for some decent R@D.

Regardless, when it comes to drifting:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340672686

Formula D the Gauntlet
 

Attachment 47471

Sample

You may be unimpressed, but the work that goes in the engines and mechanical s is getting to be at a very high level. Components that take over 700 hp are not uncommon. Most engines are NA or supercharged V8s. I went there to mostly check out the machines.

Lastly, the event was oversold to the point that folks could not find parking. Either way, Club Loose the local drifters, did represent well. Racing is racing IMO regardless if you gay Miata pilots Autocross, Track race, HPDE, or just hoon around the hood. Just sharing some tid-bits, but if you no like, i'll go away and you can bench race on MT.net

Racing is racing.
Drifting is figureskating.

Justin bieber and brittany spears concerts are sold out too.
Doesn't make them any less retarded and gay.

Don't get your panties in a bunch, we're not picking on you. We just don't like figure skating:)

It takes "very high level work" to get 700hp? That's an average street car around here. :jerkit:
Drifting is not racing.

Fixed :)

Come on. 250-350 might be average around here. I don't know anybody that frequents this board that races a 700hp miata. And essentially nobody on this board subjects their hardware to the abuse these machines see, which I believe was the point being made. It's not easy to make clutches and transmissions survive 700whp being shock-dropped into 3rd gear.

Formula D isn't racing. The figure skating comparison is accurate. As with figure skating, I dislike the subjective aspect of the judging. That being said, just because it isn't racing doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. I took my kids to Formula D when they visited Portland a few years back and they spent the rest of the summer trying to make their bicycles smoke the rear tires. Priceless.

Drifting on forza earlier someone said a miata isnt a sports car. I chewed him up and got kicked from the game.

/thread

I don't think OP, or the other guy are talking about 700hp miata's in the 1st place.

This thread should include a list of events that are justified by being "oversold". I'll start small-
1. Jonestown punch party

Oh ----, this whole time I've been setting up my dampers for least grip and trying to maintain traction.

And all the racers here could probably hit the figureskating ring and drift as good as the drifters running there.


See what I did there?

Came into this thread.

Wondered "gee, why is everyone giving this guy a hard time?"

Had no idea what Formula D was. Assumed from the word "Formula" it was a type of auto racing.

Did some googling, learned that the D is for Drifting.

Further, learned that they give trophies for "Best Looking Car" and "Best Personal Style" (which I assume to mean whitest teeth / best hair grooming, aka the Hamster Award.)

Was unimpressed.

D is for dingleberries

*

Sounds like somebody setting up a car for smooth track driving only and is concerned more about feel than actual grip, and who doesn't give a care to how compliant the car is on rougher sections of pavements.

Sounds very "Koni" in their approach.

I hope every shock has more rebound than compression.

More? Yes, excessively so? No.

this wasn't defined/clarified.

only: MAXIMUM GRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for maximum slip.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Good point, I automatically assume the worst when someone says "A bit of jacking is OK."

WE WANT TO INCREASE GRIP WHILE LOSING GRIP SO WE CAN MAINTAIN CONTROL WHILE LOSING CONTROL

herp derp

LOL, I know I'll get flamed but I enjoy drifting. I can't argue about the figure skating comparison argument, but I will say I am always impressed at the level of car control these guys have.

Being able to break sideways entering a corner at 90+mph within inches of a wall and gracefully pull out of it I think is quite impressive. A good friend of mine used to race in Formula D (known as Bubba Drift) and competed in an old El Camino, quite entertaining.

I still would like to see someone drift a Chevy Astro Van with an LS1.

just make sure the judges don't miss the fine details.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340735655


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340735655

(Flamesuit on)

Reason why I don't follw Formula D.
Shitty judges.

There are fine details, things like taking into consideration slip angle and speed between differnt makes of car.

A N/A AE86 wil not have the speed or be able to hold the same amount of angle as say a 240 with an SR.

Like said before, like figure skating judging.

Proper grip is harder than drifting IMO, but knowing how to control the car when it does start to go sideways is helpful too.

Also ---- V8's

Name is reminding me, wasn't Bubba drift the El Camino? I used to see him post on Corner Carvers, if he's the guy I'm thinking of.

Whats wrong w/ v8s? perceived unfair advantage? perceived troglodyte owners? Lemme guess you're also incredibly let down that mazda is discontinuing the rx8 too?

Yep. It was a good group effort to put that car together, definitely a very low budget team (didn't even have a manual transmission in the car) and used a jack handle as the e-brake. But, they had a lot of fun, got a good a amount of publicity at the time considering everyone was in the typical 240/AE86/FD etc.

The driver of that team went on his own afterwards and was the very first to have the LS1/240sx combo, working with Hinson to develop it. Granted, funds ended up running out and he only raced about a season before pulling out.

Just a hater.

I should of been clearer. I was talking about the Chicagoland area and the 700+ hp cars are not Miatas.

Drifting is fun to see in person and if there was another major event around here I'd go. Following it like it's a legitimate sport though? No thanks.

I have to find another playground where byte sounds are less prevalent.
With my warning in my pocket I depart this thread.

The Miatae there were only pushing 400-500 hp and they did not make the round of 16. I venture to guess that JR Gittin's Mustang build by Ford Racing is closer to 1000-1200 hp. Most good drifters are accomplished road racers, drag racers and rally racers: Millen, Hubinette, Papadakis, etc. Others are accomplished drifters. If some of you would try it once in a while (going beyond personal comfort levels) you may find that drifting properly requires exquisite car control skills which is why you want high grip tires and the best suspension you can set up.

Anyway, I understand that you do not care for this sport anymore than you would for hill-climbs (that was my next thread) so I go to other threads and let this one die.

yeah your not gonna win here, they hate it, doesnt matter if the cars double as time attack car, or the drivers are ex/current road racers. its just figure skating. It doesnt matter if its fun as hell and cost a fraction of what it cost to drive a track day. Obviously if you want to have fun its not allowed on here. your only allowed to post about your DIY plywood splitter ripping off at 125 mph, slashing your $250 ea advan tires.

come one guys give it a break. if you dont like it then dont post

lol umad?

Why would I be mad, I just got home from doing 21psi pulls in my car that running like a rapped ape. I'm smiling from ear to ear and I'm gonna take it to nj and beat the ---- out of it on Saturday. And if I blow in up or smash it. Oh well then I will rebuild it cause I'm a BOSS

It isn't true if you have to tell us you are.

I'm sure someone has said it in my build thread at some point

Point taken. Not going to lie, your car is impressive. Sucks it has to swing sideways.

Damn if there ain't a whole lot of people in this thread getting their panties all uptight about what other people do for fun. Who the F#*! cares if they like to go sideways? If it helps to unwad the panties, consider them to all be in permanent remedial classes of Tire Rack's Teen Street Survival School.

The same sort of folks who care enough about whether you put your dіck in another man's anus to walk around with protest signs and cast votes in a Presidential election based on that fact alone.

Awesome! I'll look out for you in videos.

Wishing I could tag along to this event...

It is the super fan boy's that have ruined drifting for the masses. I've participated and ran drift events in the past. For the most part, the people that actually participate are cool and understand they are just out to have fun. Sure most of them aren't going to be able to carry on a techincal discussion on damper settings or how aerodynamics effect a car, but they are still car people.

The fan boys are just idiots who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to cars. All they know is that a 240 is cheap and they think they can do something different by copying everyone else. Hard park it at an event and learn how to drive through osmosis just being there.

It was ruined from the get-go.

You guys are all HATERS.

All 10000000000 of them just want to be DIFFERENT.

You're all HATING on them cause they're DIFFERENT.

yep, and goths dont wear black.

guess what

i think that drifting is great

any motorsport that pushes the boundaries and limits is a win

all that super spiffy r&d does trickle down

like your menses down your thigh

Must be why I see so many 240sx track cars.:rofl:

Where do you think people drift? Not at mountain passes, unfortunately.

Well the street mod national champion is a 240, but thats really only because its one of the 4 most developed SM cars in the country still competing nationally.

Tires are expensive, there was a drift event going on at a different lot than one of our races this year, there was so much tire smoke, I though an auto-x tire budget was expensive.

Usually parking lots around here. That's where all the pro drift events have been held in the Chicago area (Route 66, Soldier's Field, or Toyota Park). I think the drift day guys have some track that allows them to host events but I obviously have never cared to look into it.

you sound exactly like Breezy talking about "fitment"

Eh, back when I was participating in the stuff, it was fun as a driver. As a spectator, it's kinda boring...because they're 20 second "runs". I stopped going to the organized events because I don't really get along with the spectators.

I still think it's fun as hell and can help make someone an all around better driver, but personally I always had more fun at auto-x's.

Correct.

But it doesn't mean we're wrong.

:D

I can understand disliking something, but the amount of hate you fudge-packers throw on drifting is crazy. If you deny that getting a little side-ways is a blast, you've either never done it, or you suck at it and are definitely a bottom.

And for the record I've never been drifting, I'm a track day type and used to race bikes. So I'm in line with ya'lls ways of thinking, but Jesus Christ, give it a rest. the most fun I ever had on the track was nailing the throttle just enough on corner exit to get the rear sideways on the drive out, knee still on the deck. It wasn't intentional, but it was the greatest thing ever. I don't see how someone could NOT want to spend a day doing that, and if I was skilled enough to do it all the time, I would.

I listen to opera in my car. i enjoy it, ask y8s.

I enjoy rock climbing in my miata

cool story bro. And?