If you’ve ever watched drifting online and wondered what it actually takes to try it yourself, you’re not alone. Every week we get questions from complete beginners, car lovers, parents, corporate teams, and even aspiring pros who want to know how long it takes, whether it’s safe, what to wear, and how the day really works. This guide answers the most common questions we hear at Texas Drift Academy, so you can arrive confident, prepared, and ready to get sideways. [...]

This is the tip you’ve been waiting for to become a better driver. Most drivers have been taught to use the gas pedal wrong. A perfect drift comes from smooth throttle and smooth hands. What we see all the time: blipping the throttle, smashing it on and off like a light switch. Here’s the truth—that’s incorrect. Yes, there are moments where you’ll need to limit wheel speed or modulate throttle, but those are exceptions, not the rule. The goal is [...]

Here is a pro level drift technique you have never heard of.. the relationship between wheel speed and vehicle speed (your actual ground speed). In drifting, these two speeds are almost never the same. Wheel speed is how fast the tires are spinning. Vehicle speed is how fast the car is truly moving across the surface. A major problem for many drivers is running too much wheel speed. When the wheels spin far faster than the car’s ground speed, the [...]

The purpose of a clutch kick is to shock the drivetrain and break the rear tires loose. The sudden surge of power to the rear wheels overcomes the tire's grip, creating oversteer—one of the core ways to initiate a drift. Clutch kicking is an alternative to using the handbrake or relying on pure throttle (power over) to initiate. It’s performed under momentum, not from a stop. (that is how you can break your car) While a clutch kick can be [...]

Drift timing is one of the harder skills to learn, but with practice, you’ll get it. A good way to start is by practicing transitions at the same time as another car, but from a few car lengths away. This helps you feel your car’s timing before getting closer. -Watch the lead car, but pay attention to the course and whats coming up ahead. -Match their angle. Don’t use more angle than the lead car, or they’ll transition faster and [...]

Did you know you’re probably not using the handbrake correctly? Let me break it down super quick: Step 1: Fully press the clutch before pulling the handbrake. This reduces shock to the drivetrain and prevents the engine from stalling when the rear wheels lock. If you do not put the clutch in, you will hurt the car. Step 2: Turn the wheel slightly toward the corner. That small steering input starts the weight transfer and sets your drift line. Step [...]

We are always excited to share advanced drift tips with our students. Here is one of them: In drifting, there are many tools at your disposal, each with different uses. For instance, the clutch pedal can be used in several ways depending on the situation you are dealing with. In this instance, we are using the clutch pedal to prevent a spin. If you have too much momentum, you will exceed the steering angle at the front wheels, resulting in [...]

Have you ever wondered how drivers are able to get so close in Tandem? The best drivers in the world use the footbrake as a tool to modulate proximity with the lead driver. * You use the left foot brake while you are already drifting and on throttle. * While staying in the throttle you will bring your left foot over to the footbrake and depress as much as necessary for the situation you are in, most of the time [...]

This drift technique is so advanced, most drivers don’t even know it exists. In tandem drifting, the chase driver has to stay close to the lead car without overshooting. You’ve got 3 ways to adjust speed: gas, brake, and clutch. Everyone knows gas and brake, but the clutch is the secret weapon. Here’s why: the goal is to keep your tires in their grip efficiency window, just enough wheel speed to hold angle without too much smoke. Too much wheel [...]

If you’ve ever searched for a performance driving school or drifting class, you’ve probably noticed that nearly every program lists a price, a duration, and maybe a few photos, but very few explain how much time you’ll actually spend driving. That missing detail is called seat time, and it’s one of the most important factors in choosing a drift school or performance driving experience, even though it’s rarely discussed upfront. At Texas Drift Academy, this is one of the [...]

Have you ever wondered how to get faster around a racetrack? What skills can boost your confidence behind the wheel? With the right training, you can develop the abilities needed to handle tricky situations, like saving your car if it starts to slide or understeer. As the head coach of Texas Drift Academy, I’ve seen firsthand how our program helps road course drivers improve their lap times. Recently, I worked with the current team principal of Williams F1, James [...]

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a reliable drift car? Have you ever thought of what is needed to build a drift car? When it comes to keeping our drift fleet roaring and ready, having a solid foundation is key. Our strategy? Simplicity. You see, every car in our lineup is built with a straightforward approach, all in the name of ensuring reliability and maximizing track time. A Recipe for Thrills: Simple Yet Effective You might wonder why [...]

This past year, Westin Champlin toured the United States attending various automotive events. At all of those events there were drift competitions, because of this, Weston caught the drift bug as everyone does. He began researching how to drift and what’s required. This led him down a trail to purchase a fox body mustang as his first drift car. As featured in his video, the mustang worked but he needed the proper education to build a foundation off of. So [...]