Weight distribution is simply evening the weight out on an imaginary line that divides the car in half... front and back. Now that we understand this concept we can then look at polar moment. Lets say we have a 2000 lb. car. It has 50/50 weight distribution. 1000 on the front half and 1000 on the other. If the 1000 lbs is centralized towards the center of the car, it is going to have very low polar moment. If it is located on the tips of the car (like hanging weights off of the bumpers) it is going to have retardedly high polar moment.
Higher polar moment means that it is going to have much more inertia on the extreme ends. If you kick out the back end in a drift, it is going to snap out and the inertia from where the weight is located is going to be very hard to stop or control. If the car has low polar moment, the inertia will be much less and therefore much easier to control. The RX7's motor is mounted very low and very far back into the engine bay. (The car is, by definition, a front mid engine car as the motor is mounted behind the front struts.) The rest of the car is extremely balanced keeping the major mass of the chassis centralized without very much fat on the edges (What were they thinking about the back hatch glass) which makes it extremely nimble in corners, hence it's AMAZING handling ability. Unfortunately, what makes this car turn and drift so well is what makes it a little harder to drift for beginners. To break the back end loose (this excludes cars with modified suspensions) you have to do one of two things. Create enough lateral G's and power to break the adhesion limit of the tires or lift enough weight off of the back end of the car to create a loss of traction on the rear tires (basically trail braking). There are also other methods like using the handbrake to create a momentary loss of traction to set up an incredible high speed drift (like how those two FC's in the mountains were doing, just watch their hands when they drift.)
Now from personal experience, I have found that the FC and the FD are extrremely forgiving when traction is lost. The low polar moment helps let the driver contol the car with gas and brake input to bring the car back under control. If you REALLY screw up and bring it back so hard that it kicks out the other side you still have a chance to bring it back under control. Not so much with those reverse monoleaf suspension that Corvettes use for example. Once the back end kicks out twice it is usually over. (That or I just can't handle the domestic muscle properly.) But to me they are much harder to control with gas and brake adjustments. The point I am trying to make here is that the FC requires a little balls to put out sideways and keep her there. It takes practice to keep a car sideways that is designed to pull straight again. Also, the low polar moment insures that the transitions from traction to drift are butter smooth, which helps with suspension pre-load and damping (basically it keeps the car from really swaying and taxing the suspension when it goes from traction to no traction, where as in a 240 the car starts to lean heavily then kicks out, unloading the suspension momentarily and causing unusual handling characteristics.) That car has a nice tendency to kick out and stay out which is why it is such a nice beginner car. The FC is harder to kick out in stock trim, but add power and a decent suspension/tire setup and BOOM, instant drift machine. At higher speeds and higher power levels the 240 will become unpredictable (unless flawlessly tuned correctly).Where as the FC will be much easier to control and keep sideways. It also allows for easier transitions from side to side because the polar moment is so low. When the car comes back to square and starts to kick out the other way, just apply some gas and it will continue it's trip very smoothly. This allows for easy control of drifts with the right foot . Using the brakes to load the front suspension (allowing weight to come off of the back) is also another cool trick, but this will kill your speed, this killing your awe inspiring high speed drift. This is also dangerous because it heats up the front tires. If you use this enough, you will start to have brake induced understeer on your hands, and trust me, this is no p[lace you want to be. The last trick is using the E-brake. Alot of people assume that this means turn sharply and yank the E-brake. Eventhough this caveman like approach does work, it can also be extremely unsafe. If you yank the E-brake and don't release it, you are going to create a very uncontrollable drift (compared to the other methods outlined above.) The other method involves pulling the Ebrake BEFORE you yank the steering wheel. This removes all traction from the rear wheel in a straight line (and produces large amounts of glorious smoke). Start to steer into the corner and the back end will come around. Apply copious amounts of gas, release the E-brake, let out on the clutch and you will find yourself in a glorious drift. This method is extremely effective in underpowered cars that have trouble breaking traction with throttle alone. (most FC's.... gotta hate the no torque thing.) The fact that these are slightly more involved than the usual press the gas and go is what makes it a little harder to drift the FC initially. You just gotta get the feel of the car. But once you do..... you are golden.
There are other kinds of methods I am sure I have forgotten, but these are just some basic guidelines. People that drift on a regular basis could provide more information for you. Also, for the love of god, don't do this on public streets.... and even more importantly, don't wreck any FC's in the process. (We don't care about 240's though).
Kul med info som handlar om drifting o FC och FD. Mycket stammer in pa manga andra bilar ocksa. Men lite specifika tips fanns dar. Jag tror att FD chassit ar jatte bra att ha som drifting bil. Fast motorn o delarna runtomkring maste vara val utvalda for andamalet.
(Nissan 200sx med SR20DET ar den enkla vagen men sa himla trakig i utseendet o det skulle va som att uppfinna hjulet for 1000e gangen.)
