Drifting lines: entry, apex and exit when you are sideways
A drifting line is the path that keeps the car sideways, on the road and away from the walls for as long as possible. It is wider on entry and later at the apex than a racing line, because a sliding car needs room on its outside for the tail and room ahead to straighten.
Racing line versus drift line
| Racing line | Drift line | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Shortest time | Longest clean slide |
| Entry | Outside edge, brake in a straight line | Middle to outside, already rotating |
| Apex | Clip the inside | Pass the inside late, or run wide for an outer zone |
| Exit | Use all the road | Leave a car’s width spare |
| Speed | As high as grip allows | As high as you can hold |
Entry: start earlier than you think
A sliding car keeps travelling in its old direction for a moment before the tires bring it round. Start the slide where a racing driver would still be braking. If you wait for the normal turn-in point, the car drifts wide into the outside wall.
Mid-corner: aim with the middle of the car
When you are sideways, the nose points at the inside and the tail hangs toward the outside. The car takes up far more road than its width — a 4.4 m car at 40° sweeps a path nearly 3.5 m wide. Think about where the middle of the car is going. That is also what the game checks for clipping zones and for staying on the road.
Exit: finish the slide before the wall
Most lost chains are lost on exit. As the corner opens, the car is still drifting outward. Ease the throttle early, let it straighten, and keep a margin. A light scrape — under about 4 km/h into the wall — is forgiven; anything harder forfeits the chain.
Remember the chain is not banked until 1.2 seconds after the slide ends. A clean exit is worth more than the last half-second of angle.
Track by track
Academy Yard. The oval has two long ends. Treat each end as one continuous corner: start the slide as the straight ends and hold it until the next straight begins.
Harbor Circuit. Long straight, then a heavy hairpin. Slow more than you think for the hairpin and use the handbrake. The left-right that follows is a transition: finish the first slide early so the car is light for the switch. Full notes in the Harbor Circuit guide.
Canyon Loop. Corners are long and open. Enter with a lift, hold on power, and be patient. Runoff here is narrow, so the outside third of the road is your margin. See the Canyon Loop guide.
Skyline Deck. Everything is short and close. Take smaller angles — 25° to 35° — and prioritise position over angle. Two stretches have no barrier on the left; going over the edge sends you back to the last gate. See the Skyline Deck guide.
Linking corners
When two corners follow each other, the exit of the first is the entry of the second. Sacrifice the first: take less angle, finish early and place the car on the correct side for the second. The transitions guide covers the switch itself.
Using your ghost
On challenges, Daily Runs and Quick Drift, your personal-best run replays beside you as a translucent cyan car. Watch where it starts each slide. If today’s car is ahead of the ghost on entry but behind on exit, you are overdriving the corner. More in ghost replays.
Back to the drifting games overview.