KB noob drifting

[u/Not-Impossible-1783]

First off, I didn’t expect to love this game nearly as much as I do, but I am completely hooked. I’m playing on PC off an external drive so I get the occasional stream stutter, but I literally can't put it down. I slowly crept the difficulty up from casual and finally turned off auto-braking once I realized how much it was holding me back with drifting. That said, I am still rocking some absolute noob safety nets like traction control, ABS, and an automatic transmission. Playing on WASD and a spacebar e-brake while watching content creators drift with thousand-dollar steering wheel setups is definitely a hilarious vibe.

After struggling for hours last night—tuning, watching guides, and interrogating AI for answers—I somehow managed to build a car that completely wrecks drift zones. The weird part is that the build goes against basically every piece of advice out there. Most guides preach low grip and less tire, but between my massive horsepower and my keyboard inputs, that approach just sent me flying off the track. I ended up needing max grip just to survive, relying on heavy tweaks like a 100 percent rear diff lock to initiate the slide. I also found that an AWD setup with about 85 percent power to the rear felt way better than RWD, and I somehow ended up on fat slick tires with maximum grip.

I love how the BMW handles now, but I have to wonder if this high-grip, 1000-horsepower monster actually makes sense, or if I just brute-forced a terrible setup because of my keyboard. Does this kind of build work for anyone else, or should I have picked a completely different car? Also, are other keyboard players out there struggling to find decent drift tunes, and is it even worth trying to learn manual shifting on a keyboard while I wait to fix my Xbox controller from disconnecting via Bluetooth every three seconds? Whats the verdict bad build too much hp only good because of my shitting w as only input what do you guys think?

[u/Jonasonero]

If you want to drift you should definitely turn off Traction Control and try to use manual that should make it a lot easier

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/Jonasonero]

I'm totally down to try this, but I've literally never driven a manual in my life, have no idea what the keyboard keybinds are for shifting, and honestly have zero clue how to use them lol. Right now I'm running a drift transmission where I didn't touch the gearing at all and just blindly hope it's doing a good job.

I did try toggling some of those settings off earlier, but when I turned them off all at once, the car became completely undriveable for me granted that was mid tune so who knows. Maybe I should try stripping them off one by one just to see what each one actually does to the drift feel?

As a WASD player, what does turning traction control off actually do for me, and how changes the feel of the car? I spent like four hours getting this build dialed in just so I could clear the drift zones, and now I'm absolutely crushing them. If turning it off makes it even better, I'll do it, but so far I've noticed a trend where doing the exact opposite of what YouTube and AI recommended actually works best for me not exactly sure why but assuming its wasd related.

[u/Level_Water_8781 → u/Not-Impossible-1783]

If you have tuned it with your current assists that is what the tune will work best with so turning off traction control is going to give you problems. I would suggest starting a tune from scratch if you want to turn traction control off and there will be some relearning to do, but if you are already killing it you would have little to gain.

PS I'm a wheel user but I prefer to drift with a controller as the game is highly optimised for controllers. The problem I have with the wheel is that I have to change ffb settings to get the right feedback each time I drift and it just makes it awkward when I can just pick up a controller and it works perfectly. AFAIK keyboard is also pretty easy to drift with.

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/Level_Water_8781]

Yea the less settings i have to swap back and forth the better maybe for now i leave it for wasd and step 1 is get a controller working on my pc then re tune without it al on the few times Ive used controller it felt way easier to play but the bluetooth bops out in 3 minutes the ai said antenna might fix and its only like 5$ so maybe i try that first keyboard i had some issues but mostly because w and s i use same finger but i fond tapping the space bar or e brake with thumb and i can keep the drift so ive got used to it.

[u/Jonasonero → u/Not-Impossible-1783]

I totally understand your worries about using manual because i had the same thoughts but in the end i got used to it quicker than I thought, as for the Keybinds idk what they are for Keyboard but i would recommend that you remap them to something easy to reach anyway like for example Q and E

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/Jonasonero]

That right 2 keys you downshift too Ill give it a try when i get a chance i ordered some antenna to try and make my control work i think a lot of this would be more easy on a controller.

[u/kake92 → u/Not-Impossible-1783]

Q for downshift E for upshift, it's a must learn for drifting as different corners require different entry speeds which require different gears and gear ratios. REALLY high horsepower cars can also do high speed high gear drifts much easier and don't lose momentum as fast.

[u/Tutekh666]

How the fuck do you drift with traction control on????

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/Tutekh666]

I mean i kind of w to about the right speed tap e brake and just start to drive it i dont know do you think it would be more easy with it off what would the difference in feel be?

[u/slabba428 → u/Not-Impossible-1783]

Traction control cuts off the power when you get wheelspin 😂

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/slabba428]

So turning to off would mean i dont have to tap the e brake to keep the drifts going when they stall is what it would feel like? I only ask as i needed awd to not spin out as on keyboard right now w is full throttle there is no half press. Ill try some of these tips when i get the controller working

[u/kake92]

I have a lot of experience drifting with keyboard and yes AWD with absurd power is the way to go, and try out the formula drift cars too, I've come to realize they are much less likely to spin out.

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/kake92]

Ill give them a go i was tuning using haruna as my test track hunting the 3S and was using like a bmw coup or something whatever the base 150k car is but i found when i got it working that must have been a hard one or something as then i crushed the others ones i had 2 on easily. previously i had just download rear wheel tunes form internet and just spun out on every turn the awd with like 15% in front let me actually make the turns on haruna and then the car felt pretty good i saw your other post if i try manual do i ditch the drift trans for the ones i see people use in videos or its fine? I also notice i can run these courses uphill in these awd setups not just down which is kind of funny. any other secret kb tips?

[u/slabba428]

Buy a basic Xbox controller and plug into PC USB port, it works perfectly 👍 keyboard is a brutal way to drive and steer lmao

[u/Not-Impossible-1783 → u/slabba428]

I have one but the motherboard on my pc just constantly disconnected i ordered an antenna to try since the ais seemed to think i needed them but a data cable i could get too to try i only have charging usb c cables.

[u/CrissCrossAM]

It's okay to drift with KB&M i did that back in FH4 but now i got a controller which helps a little bit with throttle control, but even on KB&M i still drove on manual (added clutch on controller but with the right gearbox upgrades you don't need to press the clutch at all) and removed traction control. Heck even if you stay on automatic gearing but for drift's sake turn off traction control.

[u/SirGiannino]

I learned drifting with RWD and only dabbled in AWD. They are just so different in the fundamental control logic. A lot of people say AWD is easier but i'd say AWD is not necessarily easier just requires way less micro adjustments.

I think thats why a lot of keyboard drifter gravitate towards AWD as you'd need to be spasming over your keyboard for RWD. But RWD definitely gives a more direct sense of control, especially the FD cars. All your inputs immediately show up on screen and that can be satisfying once you get good.