Usage in Drifting
Whereas pulling the handbrake is the easiest way to start a drift, it's rarely used in racing, because it causes significant loss of speed at the exit of the corner. Racers use handbrake turning only to negotiate tight 180 degrees bends that would otherwise require a three-point maneuver to go through.
In UK and Europe, many cars are front wheel drive. For rallying, cars are often fitted with a "hydraulic handbrake", in this case, a secondary master cylinder is connected to only the rear brakes. By using a hydraulic, rather than the conventional cable handbrake, the rear brakes can be locked up instantaneously and repeatedly. Many rally drivers will use the handbrake to correct the inherent understeer in a front wheel drive car, while maintaining full forward speed. This as opposed, to "lift off oversteer", induced to the chassis through lifting the throttle pedal sharply mid corner to encourage weight transfer, at the cost of exit speed from a corner.
Read more about this topic: Handbrake Turn
Famous quotes containing the words usage and/or drifting:
“...Often the accurate answer to a usage question begins, “It depends.” And what it depends on most often is where you are, who you are, who your listeners or readers are, and what your purpose in speaking or writing is.”
—Kenneth G. Wilson (b. 1923)
“The fifties—they seem to have taken place on a sunny afternoon that asked nothing of you except a drifting belief in the moment and its power to satisfy.”
—Elizabeth Hardwick (b. 1916)