- For more information about the art of drifting in motorsports, please see Drifting (motorsport).
A drift is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels or all tires, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. It is also a core gameplay element of the Asphalt series.
Overview[]
The player can enter drifts by braking then turning in any direction. The player's vehicle will continually drift for as long as the player is controlling the drift. The drift can be stopped in many ways:
- Hitting the brakes again
- Firing the nitro
- Touching a wall hard
- Wrecking the vehicle
- Air time
- Driving straight for a few seconds
During a drift, the player can knock down another racer, thus achieving a Drifting Knockdown.
Drifting recharges the nitro gauge. From Asphalt 6: Adrenaline onwards, many Career mode events require the player to drift a total amount of yards/meters, usually around 300~1,300. In Asphalt 8: Airborne, the player can drift onto ramps or other platforms that allow for stunts to perform a Flat Spin. There is a Drift Distance bonus star in many Career Mode events, Research & Development tests, Enduro Double Down Challenges, and Championship Qualifiers. Since the Enduro Update, the "Cars" part of the Daily Tasks may also require the player to drift a certain total drift distance in one race.
Drifting is central to the Gate Drift mode in Asphalt 8: Airborne and Asphalt Nitro.
"Snaking" or "wagging" is a type of drifting where the player drifts left-right-left-right very quickly. This is a way to recharge the nitro bar on straightaways if there are no nitro bottles (e.g. Unplugged races) or ramps. It lowers the top speed slightly, but the nitro gained makes up for it, especially on cars with extremely high nitro speed such as the Renault DeZir. "Snaking" is a good tactic in multi-player, especially in low-ranked races with less experienced players who may not know about it.
In Asphalt 9: Legends when using TouchDrive, holding the brake icon is required to initiate and maintain a drift.
A "floaty" drift can be activated when driving in very fast cars, where some wheels will come off of the ground and not leave skid marks. This allows the car to keep better speed when drifting.
Trivia[]
- Strangely, from Asphalt 8: Airborne onwards, the amount of meters drifted equals the amount of yards drifted. In reality, a meter is equal to 1.09361 yards.