Rc Drift Beginners Tutorial V1

Kenji_Sasaki

New Member
MINI TUTORIAL FOR GETTING INTO RC DRIFT

Ok so if you want to get into RC drift...

First and foremost, only one common type of RC drive train that has been proven to drift well is, "4WD"

You will want to find any four-wheel-drive machine that you like first. Many ask, which chassis is best? Well there are a lot out there, and for beginners there really is no direct answer. I have only drifted tamiya machines and nothing else so I can't really say much. But you will want to consider weight, parts included, drive shaft or belt driven? Tub chassis or pan chassis? All these are factors on how the car will handle. When you start out I say you get any car you like, then you can upgrade to a better handling car in your preference. I drive a Tamiya tl-01 and I wouldn’t drift anything else, so it’s all preference

TT-01.jpg

pictured here is a tamiya tt-01 (very common drift chassis)

many ask what do I need to drift it?

For people starting out, I suggest getting ABS piping. These are used all around the world in the rc drift scene, and many things can be done to the piping to make it appear more realistic; for example routing the edges to make it look like a real tire. You can find this piping at home depot and it comes in 6 foot long segments (I suggest you saw it into pieces) I also suggest bringing a spare wheel you will be using, so you can test fit the snugness.
You can cut this pipe into tire sized segments but using a pipe cutter or carefully sawing the pipe with perfection =_=
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Why I say Abs tires first? Is because this is basically the first stage of RC drifting lol, then after you will see what you will need to do to the car to make it drift better under your "OWN" preference. Why buy abs instead of drift tires? Is because if you realize that RC drifting is not something you’re interested in, you would have spent 20 dollars on hpi/Tamiya/yokomo drift tires but only spent 11 on 6 foot of pipe. You may use drift tires if you want to go high speed drifting or indoor drift, but, at the hobby home bash nights your car will be too gripish for the track ( except the use of yokomo drift tire with drift ring).
tamc1129.jpg

tamiya drift tire and wheel
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yokomo drift ring and tire

When you further Tune your vehicle....

If you realize the motor you are using is not good for this, I suggest using 19 turn and up when drifting. You want "Torque" when you drift not speed. Brushless motors Are also used for drifting Brushless motors have the best of both worlds.... massive speed, massive torque, and buying this system makes wallets empty lol
ssmotor.jpg

brushless motor by novak
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19t motor ( i personally use this in my drifter)

When you drift sometimes you may notice that you spin out like crazy or have too much over steer. This can be fixed by locking the rear differential and you can optionally lock the front making spinouts even more avoidable but locking the front in my opinion restricts the freedom of control when drifting. You can lock the diff by using a lot of things like paper to silly putty (anything that will stop the gears inside). For ball diffs you should tighten the diff. You can also buy one way diffs for some cars like the tb series by tamiya.
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Another option is using a ball diff for customization in turning rate

You make also want to tune your suspension, I say this last because it is usually an issue as you get more experienced and want more out of your drift. Unless your rc car has savage long travel shocks, you shouldn’t worry about suspension, just drift, have fun, get good at it and get better later by tuning suspension. You can also buy stabilizer sets for some cars and reduce body roll. On my drift car, tl-01 I have stock springs on oil shocks and a locked rear diff. that’s about it for my preferance.

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stabilizer set for tamiya cars

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many different type of springs are availible for customization
There are endless things you can do to increase the performance of your drifter, like servos for steering torque and speed, and standard hopups to reduce weight and increase car performance overall

Like for looks there are just too many things you can do, like you may want to ride on custom kawada deep dish meshies, or have a tricked out LED setup on your car .

For the bodies to be used

you can use any body you wish; like who cares if it’s a front wheel drive or four banger lol. But for drifter looks you may want to dress it up with DIY things and dress up parts by yokomo. You can add more detail to your body by adding a wing, side mirrors, exhaust, light buckets, windshield wipers, you can even go as far as adding your own homemade intercooler and caliper and rotor for brakes! (There are tuts for that online too !!!LOL)

if you have any questions for RC drift or anything drift related PM ME
 

Begdrifter73

New Member
Problems and Questions...

Hi,

i had a question about drifting since iam kinda new at this...i have a car from radio shack and really its a good car it shows good performance and it has speed...but not as much tourqe:sad: i was wondering what i could do you improve this problem...and aslo is it possible to drift with a 2wd car...thanks...

- Begdrifter73
 

Kenji_Sasaki

New Member
Hi, Welcome!.

Usually Radio shack rc cars are not ideal for drifting but there have been a few that show some peformance for drifting.

May i ask, what car in particular is this? I know of a few people who have successively drifted a 2wd car but the results are not as impressive as a 4wd car..

Ok to make your car loose control... You cant drift with grippy tires well so you wanna make the tires as slippery as possible, especially for a radio shack car. What i recommend for you is to add tape to the wheels ( the rear and front. ( when you feel more confortable add abs pipe that fits the wheels )

I am guessing you have a rc car with its engine at the back of the chassis... this is going to be a big problem as it is not going to drift well, and spin out and do donuts. You should add some weight to the front of the car to make is behave more like a FR car ( front engine) in real life.

well tell me how it goes i will be more than willing to help guide you for makin that plastic car go sideway!
 

Begdrifter73

New Member
Problems and Questions...

LMAO...my car is a lemanz or how ever you spell it 98 special...they said it was a high performance car compared to there other cars..this may be the case since most of there cars suck..lol...but its have very good handling and speed but i need more tourqe..as you said in the MINI TUTORIAL FOR GETTING INTO RC DRIFT...i tried contacting the store to see if i could modify it but they couldnt help me out..they said they just sell them and have no idea...lol so i quess ill try my best to make it work...and i would Much like more tips if you had any..lol...

Thanks- Begdrifter73
 

Kenji_Sasaki

New Member
LOL toy stores never know a thing of what they sell lol. I used to work at Toys r US and trust me i had the Radio control car isle LOCKED DOWN LMAO.. when they came in I was like the Car dealer.

As i said put the tape on the wheels and see how it performs, add weight on the chassis to see the different behaviours..

I dont have any other tips for now for toy rc cars

Anyways about that offer on ebay... plz stay away from no name rc cars gas/electric.. Most dont have part support in hobby stores and parts would have to be bought directly from the company. Since your getting into this, i suggest you buy a tamiya or any other named brand car..

Feel free to pm me about anycar that catches your eye. I can approve your choice before you spend that hard earned cash.

good luck!
 

newtodrift_tc3

New Member
noob

when i first started in rc i had a radioshack buggy the thing was indestructable and i raced it at ryders funniest thing they had an oval onroad (outside concrete) so i brought my car into the shop and they all laughed at me but i was serious the tires were wasted so i needed new ones they tried to tell me they had nothing but i knew better the only thing they had to fit was a huge set of tamiya style rims 2inches wide and some cheap treaded tires so after the "mod" lol it really looked silly but after i got used to the new meats i was pulling second place in heats they were not laughing anymore and to rub it in their faces i won the main they were very upset lol so my advice as well would be to do what you can with the car you have and get the feel for what you are doing with it, racing drifting etc. then go spend your hard earned cashola on a big boy toy :p
 

newtodrift_tc3

New Member
question of my own

hey kenji im also new to the drifting rc scene and i have a TC3 i slapped some abs on the rims and its ready to go but the weather isnt cooperating lol. so i was wondering if you have had any experience with the TC3 as far as set ups or tips for drifting them, sorry about the seperate posts, the equipment i have is as follows - tc3 team kit aftermarket graphie chassis with brace graphite driveshaft novak dually esc trinity midnight2 motor futaba radio gear adjustable threaded shocks with purple spings in front and silver springs in back. any info would be greatly appreciated and used thanks
 

Kenji_Sasaki

New Member
i have driven a tc3 i love its design! you should tighten the rear ball diff and have the hard spring in the back and medium in the front, tighten the front diff just a little bit to make it act like a LSD limited slip diff
 

arj1980

New Member
hey

i have a xxx-s its all stock with the trinity 19t motor i was wondering if this could be a drifter ??? i have graphite front and rear diffcovers, graphite front and rear suspension arms comming and later on tonight i will be installing the sway bar sets i just bought the other day

i taped up the wheels on my micro rs4 as i read from another thread and its making me wanna drift the xxx-s lol
 

newbdrfter

New Member
plz help out

hi i have a tamiya TLO1 (all stock) and i was wondering if it i could make it a drfter or if it wouldnt work so plz post back
 

Kenji_Sasaki

New Member
jnmodeller: HI, i got a second hand Ta03 pro, i want it to use for drifting pls help me how to set it up,thanks!

great car... not much to get it drifting. tighten the rear ball diff and put some drift tires or pipe on it


hey

i have a xxx-s its all stock with the trinity 19t motor i was wondering if this could be a drifter ??? i have graphite front and rear diffcovers, graphite front and rear suspension arms comming and later on tonight i will be installing the sway bar sets i just bought the other day

i taped up the wheels on my micro rs4 as i read from another thread and its making me wanna drift the xxx-s lol

it can definatly drift with a 19 t motor it shoulnt have a problem. put some drift tires on


newbdrfter: hi i have a tamiya TLO1 (all stock) and i was wondering if it i could make it a drfter or if it wouldnt work so plz post back

i use this car personally and all you need to do is lock the rear diff or leave it open and put some abs pipe on the rims and you good to go
 

NismoMonkey

New Member
hey i work at a PX. (Post exchange on a military base.) and i work in the toy department. Ive had my eyes on the drifting cars they have there as thats always been my faviorate form or racing. I recently bought one of Tyco's "Drift King" Silvia S-15's. It has 4 weel drive and came standard with ABS wheels and and regular treads. this thing is POWERFUL. maybe i havent seen your cars (which i havent) but this thing is the fastest RC iver ever seen. anyway what i want to know is do you think i can use this as a decent drifting car and if not where can i get one like you have and how much will it run me. I got mine for only 50 bucks so i figure its not the best but it can spin the tires (the treaded ones) and will slide pretty nice if your not on super textrued concrete. any thoughts on this car or others that you can use will be appreciated. Please contact me at patches_misty@hotmail.com thank you.
 

newbdrfter

New Member
lock the rear diff

i dont want to sound like a complete retard but i have no idea :confused: how to lock the rear diff so if u could just explain wat it is and a quick way to do it i would apreciate it thanks
 

newtodrift_tc3

New Member
the tl-01 is very easy to lock the diffs in the diff is the gear in the trans that has the outdrives inside it are three small gears take it all apart clean any grease off it then proceed to fill it bottom first then spider gears then top gear you can use anything that will gum up the gears and wont allow them to move i used caulk tape kind of has the consistency of silly putty make sure its packed in there and screw the top back on and then your done cheap locked diff
i locked both front and rear in my tl-01 and it works beautifully, start with the rear if u like it leave it if it drfts funny then try locking the front as well use something to lock the diffs you can remove if you want to be able to reverse the process
 

Ninja

New Member
KENJI, I got a question for U. What about drifting with nitro cars?

I'm in rc cars for more than a year now and recently switched from electro to nitro cause the sound is better lol. But a noob at drifting. Now, is it as easy to drift it as the electro? Are there any nitro drifers? Whenever I see a drifting video it's always electro... Mine is a Carson CR-4.

Thanks.
 
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