Method 1 Method 1 of 4: Front Wheel Drive

1. 1 Drive straight at approximately 50 km/h (30 mph) if on pavement. On dirt you want to go about half that, preferably in 2nd gear with full throttle.
2. 2 Remove your right foot from the throttle sharply. On an automatic transmission lightly touch the brake with your left foot, while keeping the right foot over the throttle.
3. 3 Turn the steering wheel sharply in the desired direction.
4. 4 Pull the handbrake a moment after the beginning of the steering. Hold the safety button with your thumb at the same time. Continue steering until your steering wheel is locked. This is much easier on cars equipped with power steering, as you have to steer using only one hand.
5. 5 Step on the gas as soon as the tail slides. This is perceived as a moment of weightlessness.
6. 6 Straighten the wheel and release the handbrake when you wish to exit the spin. If you release the handbrake first, your car will stop spinning and start turning normally, possibly hitting the curb or driving off the road!

Method 2 Method 2 of 4: High Powered Rear Wheel Drive

1. 1 Turn the steering wheel all the way to the desired direction with the car at a standstill.
2. 2 Shift in 1st, apply full throttle and release the clutch halfway. This should result in a wheelspin and a tail-happy behavior of your car.
3. 3 Take your foot off the gas when you wish to exit the spin. Release the clutch and straighten the steering wheel at the same time.

Method 3 Method 3 of 4: Low Powered Rear Wheel Drive or All Wheel Drive

1. 1 Start from a standstill and begin making circles, while turning the wheel to make the radius progressively smaller.
2. 2 Increase the speed as soon as your steering wheel is locked. Continue until you feel the car can't take any more speed without losing control. You must be going in a perfect circle, without any under-steer (i.e. tendency of the front wheels to keep moving straight rather than turning).
3. 3 Press the clutch and pull the emergency brake.
4. 4 Release the handbrake as soon as the tail slides. Make a wheel spin as described above.
5. 5 Take your foot off the gas when you wish to exit the spin. Release the clutch and straighten the steering wheel at the same time.

Method 4 Method 4 of 4: Choosing the Perfect Car Parts

The following section describes an idealized drifting car. A car set up for drifting is easily spun in place. Note that if you set up your car in the way described it will most likely be too unstable to be safely driven on public roads!

1. 1 Install the following parts for the ideal drifting car.
   • Lowered and hardened suspension (sport springs, sports shocks) never cut springs!
   • Rear camber set to full positive
   • Front camber set to full negative
   • Brake bias set to neutral (front and rear axle brake at the same time with the same force). In passenger cars and light cargo vans the brake bias is set to front with the purpose of avoiding a drift during in-turn braking
   • Handbrake actuator cable with no slack
   • High engine power (over 100 hp). Gasoline engine (diesels are slow and clumsy)
   • No ECU (Electronic Control Unit,). The absence of an ECU excludes such control aids as the ESP or traction control. You cannot drift a car with any of them
   • Rear wheel drive
   • Manual transmission
   • LSD (Limited Slip Differential) or any other automatically locking differential
   • No ABS
   • Power steering (for beginners; pros use direct steering for better control and feedback)
   • Worn out narrow tires in the back and wide new tires in front
   • Disc brakes on the rear wheels (drum brakes tend to slip and overheat more easily)
   • Long wheelbase. With LWB cars you get better control during the drift/spin