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Have you seen a car driving sideways and smoking? Chances are it's a street drifter. Street drifting is quickly catching on in Tampa Bay. The ample amount of open curvy roads and dimly lit back corners of the city are very tempting to the drifting crowd. Drifting through various areas of Tampa Bay, you might be lucky enough to see them yourself!
Most street drifters in Tampa and around the world use old Nissan 240's because of their great drifting setup. Rear wheel drive, light weight, and a low center of gravity combined with a performance packing engine is a real good recipe for drifting. They are pretty easy to work on, and the Nissan motor is very durable to high RPM's experienced during drifting.
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Drifting started in Japan, and is defined by wikipedia as follows: "Drifting (dorifuto) refers to a driving technique and to a motor sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed. A car is said to be drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa), and the driver is controlling these factors. As a motor sport, professional drifting competitions are held across the world."
Video: Tampa Street Drifters!
You might be a street drifter if....JPG)
- Lowered vehicle
- Lots of bondo
- Racing rims
- Roll cage or weight reduction
- Custom exhaust and performance parts
- Driving sideways & smoking
As the video illustrates, street drifting in Tampa on public roads is a real sport. For the most part, roads are safely shut down and the street racers take to it with permission of land owners. Most of these roads aren't technically public either, it is said that if you're within a gated community and agreed upon by the deed owners it's okay to drift as well. This specific parking lot was being resurfaced the next day and therefore drifting was allowed to take place! That is awesome!
Furthermore, parking lots that reside on private property if agreed upon by the owner are also fair game for drifting! People are quickly catching on to this trade and building their skills to perfection. If you see a street drifter, don't panic. Chances are that they are good enough at what they do, but if not watch out!
Bodywork is always of concern but yet the Nissan 240 chassis withstands abuse, accidents, and more. Frame strengthening and rebuilding is a good idea to imply with your roll cage design. The OEM chassis is strong, but adding safety cage and frame reinforcement will increase the rigidity of the car overall. Increased rigidity within the chassis improves steering response and control during a drift.
A location in Tampa Bay near you could be hosting a sanctioned drifting event. They are the best thing to see in person! Sit back, and enjoy the show. Check with your local gated community and plaza centers to see if they'll let you drift. You might be surprised how many will actually let you do it. Also private land owners out in the county such as ranches, farms, etc might charge a fee and let you drive on their property. It's best to plug into the local community and find out who is fun friendly.
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