If you were going fast enough, could you IRL drift with a Panzer or is it too top-heavy?
Youtube says yes. Provided, that was tested on slippery ground conditions, not asphalt. There's other tank drifting vids performed on smooth concrete, but never asphalt since the track tires would tore those up.
If you were going fast enough, could you IRL drift with a Panzer or is it too top-heavy?
Try War Thunder, you can even drift in a T-10M.
Usually its easier to drift in a hard terrain than dirt road due to the purpose of tracks is to improve performance on soft terrain. However, in some cases, British and US tanks have rubbers on their track to prevent them from crushing the civilian roads when relocating from one base to another.
If you were going fast enough, could you IRL drift with a Panzer or is it too top-heavy?
I remember reading about stuff like this when I found some websites about how some modern IFVs and attack trucks use tires instead of heavy treads, and what the difference between the two are in terms of handling and advantage. Most importantly is the contact profile with the ground for treads is totally different from tires. Tanks touch the ground and experience friction across the entire length of their drive system. They also have enormously strong suspensions and high weight in the middle and back. Drifting cars need the back wheels to slide out and push the vehicle through the turn while the heavier front wheels grab and control angle, which isn't something a Panzer IV can do.
In short, you'd lose control immediately.
That doesn't mean tanks can't slide at all of course, but that's not like real track drifting. Something like a quick-turn or a power slide into a corner is possible if the tank is going fast enough (even much heavier modern tanks can do this), but I don't think a 180 degree hairpin drift would be possible. You'd slide right out. You might be better off with something like a more modern Boxer 8x8 APC, or maybe something like an IFV Ratel, which I think would fit the specification a bit better, but even then you aren't going to drift hairpin turns in a Ratel.
Additionally, sideways movement is very hard on treads. You could throw out the tread mid turn and flip the tank.
While it looks cool and all, keep in mind that the purpose of drifting is to have a controlled loss of traction while taking a sharp turn because loss of traction is unavoidable at high speed turns, while the purpose of tracks is to not lose traction. Considering that a tank can throw variable amounts of speed on each of its tracks, I'd question whether it would even be worth trying to purposefully drift in a tank (other than, as that video showed, just trying to show off to your drunk friends), since you'd probably be able to slow down a bit, hug the inside turn with full traction, then floor it again while losing less speed than skidding off like that.
Again, I'll point out that neither of the tanks in those two videos are drifting. It's not a drift if you go into a full spin during the turn; that's just spinning out.
Again, I'll point out that neither of the tanks in those two videos are drifting. It's not a drift if you go into a full spin during the turn; that's just spinning out.
My point was about proving that it is possible to skid on asphalt with tracks. "Practical" drifting for performing a sharp turn is yet to be found. I'm aware that "practical" part is nigh-impossible to perform and much more rare to be caught on camera, mostly because tanks aren't supposed to be that fast in the first place.
PS: tank drifting is cool but again its highly advisable not to do it in conventional cavalry tactics because tank treads arent cheap because getting a tank thread breakdown in the most crucial of times can be lethal at best hazardous at least
