How to drift in Forza Horizon 6

Drifting looks intimidating but comes down to a handful of habits: shift weight to load the rear, break traction, then balance the slide with throttle and counter-steer. Get those right and you will be linking corners and clearing drift zones quickly. This guide covers the technique, the assists to turn off, and how scoring actually works.

This controller-focused walkthrough shows the inputs in motion, which is the fastest way to see what good throttle and steering control looks like.

Set up the car and assists

Start with a forgiving rear wheel drive car and, ideally, a drift tune: more rear power, a high locked differential and a softer rear end. Our best drift cars guide lists friendly starting cars and the tuning guide covers how to build the setup.

Then set your assists for control, not for grip:

• Traction control off. It actively kills wheelspin, which is exactly what you need to start a slide.
• Stability control off. It straightens the car up and fights your counter-steer.
• Manual transmission once you are comfortable, so you can hold the right gear and use throttle precisely. Automatic is fine while you learn.
• Steering on Normal to begin with. Simulation steering offers more control later but is harder at first.

The assists and difficulty guide explains what each assist does and how it affects rewards.

The basic technique

A drift is just a controlled, sustained loss of rear grip. Break it into steps:

• Approach at a sensible speed, then lift off or tap the brake to shift weight onto the front tyres.
• Flick the steering into the corner and add throttle to break rear traction as the weight settles.
• Counter-steer into the slide the moment the rear steps out. Catch it early rather than waiting.
• Balance the angle with the throttle: more throttle widens the slide, easing off tightens it.
• Straighten the steering smoothly as you exit, feeding the throttle back in so the car settles without snapping.

The two most common mistakes are too much throttle, which spins you, and a late counter-steer, which loses the slide. Smooth, early inputs beat fast, aggressive ones every time.

Score drift zones and chains

Drift zones reward angle and speed while you stay sideways, and they punish crashing, hitting walls, or straightening out for too long. Smooth linked slides score far more than wild, scrappy ones, so prioritise staying connected over chasing maximum angle.

To clear three stars in a zone:

• Enter with enough speed, then start your slide before the zone begins so you are already sideways at the line.
• Keep the car flowing from one corner into the next without fully straightening, which keeps your multiplier building.
• Avoid contact. A wall tap or spin ends the run and dumps your score.

In free roam, you can build huge totals by chaining drifts: stay sideways through consecutive corners to grow the multiplier, then bank it by driving straight or coming to a stop. The hillside touge-style roads are ideal for long chains, and the map shows where the drift zones are.

Next step

Take a forgiving RWD car to a quiet hillside road and practise initiating and catching slides at low speed until the counter-steer feels automatic. Once it does, run a drift zone and aim for three stars, then read best drift cars to pick the platform that suits your style.