How to Make a Car Spin

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Last Updated: December 27, 2022

Though this is a dangerous maneuver, you may want to make your car spin at some point.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Front Wheel Drive

1
Drive straight at approximately 50 km/h (30 mph) if on pavement. On dirt you want to go about half that, preferably in 2nd gear with full throttle.
2
Remove your right foot from the throttle sharply. On an automatic transmission lightly touch the brake with your left foot, while keeping the right foot over the throttle.

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3
Turn the steering wheel sharply in the desired direction.^{[1]
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4
Pull the handbrake a moment after the beginning of the steering. Hold the safety button with your thumb at the same time. Continue steering until your steering wheel is locked. This is much easier on cars equipped with power steering, as you have to steer using only one hand.
5
Step on the gas as soon as the tail slides. This is perceived as a moment of weightlessness.
6
Straighten the wheel and release the handbrake when you wish to exit the spin. If you release the handbrake first, your car will stop spinning and start turning normally, possibly hitting the curb or driving off the road!

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

High Powered Rear Wheel Drive

1
Turn the steering wheel all the way to the desired direction with the car at a standstill.^{[2]
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2
Shift in 1st, apply full throttle and release the clutch halfway. This should result in a wheelspin and a tail-happy behavior of your car.^{[3]
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3
Take your foot off the gas when you wish to exit the spin. Release the clutch and straighten the steering wheel at the same time.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Low Powered Rear Wheel Drive or All Wheel Drive

1
Start from a standstill and begin making circles, while turning the wheel to make the radius progressively smaller.
2
Increase the speed as soon as your steering wheel is locked. Continue until you feel the car can't take any more speed without losing control. You must be going in a perfect circle, without any under-steer (i.e. tendency of the front wheels to keep moving straight rather than turning).
3
Press the clutch and pull the emergency brake.
4
Release the handbrake as soon as the tail slides. Make a wheel spin as described above.
5
Take your foot off the gas when you wish to exit the spin. Release the clutch and straighten the steering wheel at the same time.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Choosing the Perfect Car Parts

The following section describes an idealized drifting car. A car set up for drifting is easily spun in place. Note that if you set up your car in the way described it will most likely be too unstable to be safely driven on public roads!

1
Install the following parts for the ideal drifting car.^{[4]
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- Lowered and hardened suspension (sport springs, sports shocks) never cut springs!
- Rear camber set to full positive
- Front camber set to full negative
- Brake bias set to neutral (front and rear axle brake at the same time with the same force). In passenger cars and light cargo vans the brake bias is set to front with the purpose of avoiding a drift during in-turn braking
- Handbrake actuator cable with no slack
- High engine power (over 100 hp). Gasoline engine (diesels are slow and clumsy)
- No ECU (Electronic Control Unit,). The absence of an ECU excludes such control aids as the ESP or traction control. You cannot drift a car with any of them
- Rear wheel drive
- Manual transmission
- LSD (Limited Slip Differential) or any other automatically locking differential
- No ABS
- Power steering (for beginners; pros use direct steering for better control and feedback)
- Worn out narrow tires in the back and wide new tires in front
- Disc brakes on the rear wheels (drum brakes tend to slip and overheat more easily)
- Long wheelbase. With LWB cars you get better control during the drift/spin

Community Q&A

Question

How do I jump out of a car while it's spinning?

Community Answer

You need special tools to lock your accelerator and steering wheel after you execute the spin. Then you simply jump out of the car.
Question

How do I spin the tires while a car is stopping?

Community Answer

First start your car, then press clutch. Shift to first gear and give half accelerator. Then remove your clutch suddenly and press full accelerator. At this point, the wheel starts spinning.
Question

Is there any need for hand brakes when I spin?

Community Answer

In FWD (and 4WD/AWD or low-power RWD), yes. You want to lock them so that only your front wheels would spin. Usually handbrakes lock the rear wheels (at least in FWD) and the power brake pedal in a modern car usually has ABS which doesn't let the wheels lock (therefore drum brakes are used there). In FWD and 4WD/AWD, the front wheels are powered so if they were locked as well, the engine would stall. In RWD, though, if you try to do the same, you'd stall the engine and spoil all the fun as no spinning would occur. You want the rear wheels to spin much faster than the front wheels in that condition.

Warnings

This is fun, but use moderation; spinning your car a lot can result in damage to your drive-train and tires. If you spin into anything, especially a curb, the damage is likely to disable your car. Frame damage is frequently impossible to repair.

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Avoid public roads - you could wreck your car and injure or kill yourself as well as others. Only do this in a secluded off-road area.

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Do not do this in an SUV, van or truck. Your vehicle will probably flip. This is because it could be top heavy. Most are. It would be safest in a car with lowered suspension. Don't forget: under certain conditions (rough surfaces, tire failure, high speeds), just about any car will flip.

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You should avoid doing it on dry asphalt as it strains your center differential. Try snow or dirt instead.

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