Whats wrong with auto's

Mach 0.185

Mach 0.185

Member
Many threads I've read on here where ppl say Autos are no good for drifting, or they buy an Auto and the first thing someone says is '' shame it's an Auto '' ect ect........ Well , whats wrong with just drifting it as it is ? Why do you need a manual ? and why do there seem to be such a stigma attached to Autos ?

I think I know what some are going to say already...... so lets go over the simple questions first.

'' You can't clutch kick an Auto '' - Answer, Clutch kicking adds unnecasary wear/damage to the car. Not needed
'' Handbrake does'nt work well '' - Answer, Who needs a handbrake ? You can balance it between footbrake & throttle

Admittedly, you need an Auto with a 'Manual Mode' so that you can choose what gear you want, but most Auto's have this anyway........ So why do ppl think Autos are :euge:
 
your both right, and also very wrong

yes you can drift an auto (if it has a decent autobox and a bit of power)

however "clutch kicking is unnecessary"- im not sure what your basing that on? maybe not for doing a donut, but if your talking about decent speed corners/tracks your going to have to throw a big auto in fucking hard to make it round a corner, which is great if your a drift super hero. If your not, youll probably write it off.

Likewise, you dont "need" a handbrake to drift, it is however very very useful, especially for when you get out of shape.

So yes you can drift autos, but your making a lot of hard work for yourself, and why bother if there is a manual option?
 
Look at it this way..
Having a manual gearbox, will allow YOU to choose which gear you are in while drifting. This is important, one example; using a technique called 'Shift locking' where you force down the gears into a corner will force the back out.
When you remove ONE element from a drift car, Be it, gearbox, clutch and handbrake, you effectively remove one potential technique to drifting.

Your comment on clutch kicking is really idiotic. Drifting as a whole puts the entire car under stress.. Same goes with handbrake, its a personal preference. Clutch kicking is by far the most important thing for me personally for drifting. Above handbrakes.. etc.

Autos are shit because they are just that, automatic. My example of shift locking is the first reason that came to my head, but for me.. i would hate the idea, not being able to choose your own gear.. allowing the car the over rev, under rev, select gears when it thinks its meant to etc.

People can drift automatics.. great, .. its like people buying MR2's to drift.. yeah, it'll drift, but why bother?
 
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Try and drift something without a ton of grunt (ie small capacity) auto and manual. Manual is easier due to being able to use the clutch etc.

It's different when you got a shitload of grunt so clutch is no big deal.

Most autos have worse gear ratios, slow smooth gear changes, and sap more power too, all making them shitter.

A good Auto with a manual valve body etc changes as fast or as faster than a manual, with hard bangy gear changes, and aside from no ability to clutch kick, feels just like a manual.

If you got a big grunty V8 and an autobox that goes up and down the gears EXACTLY when you want em to (unlike most autos even in manual), auto is no huge problem, but most haven't got that.

My manual valve body reverse pattern converted TH350 was monsterous barring the massive lack of gears compared to a manual, but most standard auto boxes are soft as shit.
 
I agree that you don't want something with a ' mind of it's own ' , so it would not be easy to just jump in an Auto, put it in 'D' and go drifting, because you would not know when it was going to change gear........ However, there are some Autos out there that have a manual mode, and let YOU select what gear you want, and will NOT change gear unless you ask it to ( even if your bouncing it off the limiter )......

Im not trying to enter in to a battle over this, I just wanted to understand why most ppl don't seem to like Autos.

Mint - You may rely on clutch kicking, and if thats your style / preference, then thats ok, personally I would never do so because I think it is very harsh on the car. In my opinion, the smoother your style is, the better your drifting, and the least wear and tear on your car.
 
Basically drifting is all about controlling rear wheel speed, steering angle and in some cases front wheel speed.
A manual gearbox lets you do this well, and auto does not.

if you're worried about being putting wear on the car then drifting is not for you.

You are correct though, if you can rub doors with someone without touching the clutch, wand or footbrake you are a badman
 
Mach 0.185 said:
However, there are some Autos out there that have a manual mode, and let YOU select what gear you want, and will NOT change gear unless you ask it to ( even if your bouncing it off the limiter )......

Im not trying to enter in to a battle over this, I just wanted to understand why most ppl don't seem to like Autos.

Mint - You may rely on clutch kicking, and if thats your style / preference, then thats ok, personally I would never do so because I think it is very harsh on the car. In my opinion, the smoother your style is, the better your drifting, and the least wear and tear on your car.
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There are autos like that, but not loads, and most still have not brilliant gear change speeds. Very few are awesome, and they're mostly twin clutch auto'd manuals.
Modified autos can be brilliant, but still not as good as manuals for drifting really.

There's a bloke who drifts a smg box e46 m3 in the UK actually.

All top drift cars are manual for good reason.

And if you think clutch kicks are really hard on your car, well?
 
Why do I get the feeling the OP is either a yank, a schoolchild or just a fucking idiot??

Why are Auto's considered 'shit' for drifting??

Because you have to spend a fair chunk of change to get anything decent enough to do the job, and even then it's still no better than a manual.
£500 gets you a manual MX-5 you can bash round a circuit all day.
 
mach 0.185 said:
mint - you may rely on clutch kicking, and if thats your style / preference, then thats ok, personally i would never do so because i think it is very harsh on the car. In my opinion, the smoother your style is, the better your drifting, and the least wear and tear on your car.
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Here in i think lies the problem.

Thinking, and having experience are two different things.

Everyone in this thread that has commented is well experienced in drifting a variety of cars. Maybe wrong of me but id guess perhaps your not? As anyone who has done even a few days of drifting should really know why you need to use a handbrake and a clutch kick at times.

If your worried about wear and tear from the odd clutch kick, find another sport! this all points towards school holidays again..
 
Aside for the inherent power loss, durability, weight, incapability of user gear selection, lack of a clutch and that god awful auto shift sound.. there's also very little in terms of aftermarket auto-trans electronic management (i.e tuning shift points etc) available for the common drift chassis.

r3k1355 sums it up well with: "Because you have to spend a fair chunk of change to get anything decent enough to do the job, and even then it's still no better than a manual.
£500 gets you a manual MX-5 you can bash round a circuit all day. "
 
Mach 0.185 said:
Mint - You may rely on clutch kicking, and if thats your style / preference, then thats ok, personally I would never do so because I think it is very harsh on the car. In my opinion, the smoother your style is, the better your drifting, and the least wear and tear on your car.
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I rely on clutch kicks as my car usually has next to no power (Around 100hp but if its over that, its not over by much.. iv tried 3 different engines from NA/NB etc and all similar)

I can assume by this you have never seen me drift... :p Iv been drifting now for 9 years give or take. Im confident enough to say that I can use all methods (to my know how) to initiate a drift, clutch kick, wand, foot brake, flicks, shift locking. As most in here could do aswell.

My point was, that when you start to REMOVE elements from this .. you start to limit yourself. The next question is, why limit yourself, when you simply dont have to. By using an auto, you don't have the OPTION to clutch kick etc.. Its just really stupid man. Like, really stupid.. :S

I can also assume by your replies, that you haven't much clue on this lol. I think when I did NDC the other year, anyone who was present can vouch for my 'style' of drifting, if you wanna call it that.. constant non stop clutch kicks all weekend, My car was running on 3 and the NB2.5 swap with no working VICS made it very difficult for me :/ so my option was to clutch kick to get it going and I came home with 2nd in that round and 3rd over all even with missing one round lol.

Guess what, clutch didn't die.. guess what else!? That was the same clutch which was fitted to my car the entire season (year!) before hand, being daily driven, drifted every few days, we used to go out every Wednesday and drift for a couple hours, I did loads of crail days and obviously the NDC and it didnt die.

So please please.. before I burst here, STOP telling me, that using the clutch will stress it out and that's bad for drifting cause its just shite.. total and complete shite your talking lmao!!! OBVIOUSLY there will be wear, but jesus christ are you expecting your tyres to last forever? Or you not gonna bother when you find out new tyres don't last longer than a few laps on a hot day with 300hp give or take :p

This place.. this place... !!
 
This thread has just made me realise, I've never actually worn out a clutch from clutch kicking. And I do it a lot.
 
Clutch kicking does fuck all in terms of wear because unless your clutch is already fucked / you have loads and loads and loads of rear end grip and no power, there is no real slip when you release the clutch. Theres a big jolt, which isnt great, but no prolonged slip. Slip is what kills clutches, not sudden shocks. Old biddies who redline their cars trying to find biting point when parking probably go through clutches quicker than you would kicking it.
 
Iv bought a 1jz auto soarer and the first thing I plan to do is r154 it.
Surely it's the done thing? Can't have the same amount if fun in an auto.
 
for example me, i never drifted an auto... but i'm about to put a 1uz in my ke70 next month and due to lack of money i gotta drive the stock auto for at least 3 months until i have enough to manual my baby^^

i've seen ppl drifting around in 2jz gte auto's and a friend of me has a 1uz twin turbo on an auto so i believe you can have fun with it for sure but in the end you gonna want a manual to be able to have more fun.

i'm gonna skid around and have fun for sure in my auto but smoking tires on the track like a pro i think ain't gonna happen...

thats my 2 cents
 
bigdave z20 said:
Iv bought a 1jz auto soarer and the first thing I plan to do is r154 it.
Surely it's the done thing? Can't have the same amount if fun in an auto.
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Surely its way better to try first.

Drifting an auto is a lot more fun than spending months and thousands manualing it.
 
Nothing really wrong with drifting an auto but I found my supra quite lethargic. Probably just down to me really lol
 
Stavros said:
Surely its way better to try first.

Drifting an auto is a lot more fun than spending months and thousands manualing it.
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I am going to drive it as an auto until I have the funds to manual it but I will be gathering up the coin to convert it as soon as I can. Driven autos in work and I'm not a big fan of them. Auto will teach me some basics because iv never drifted anything before
 
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