Mandydeth

Where to start. I want to get into RC drifting, but as many of the RTR cars are already in the $300+ price range, I figured I'd see if I could do better by building my own setup.


I think all the parts I have on this list will function together, but I was hoping I could get someone to look over the list and let me know if everything will work correctly.


I also wasn't sure what motor to go with. I was leaning towards the Speed Passion one, as it keeps me well within that $300 budget.
Chasis/Remote/Esc: 3Racing Sakura D3 CS Front Motor 1/10 RC Drift Car w/ 2.4GHz Radio Set Brushless ESC COMBO #CB0626 - $149.90


(This is the ESC in the combo above: Speed Passion Reventon Stock Club Race Brushless ESC Metal Black for 1/10 RC Car #SP000048


Motor:
Speed Passion (#138135V3) Competition Motor Ver.3 (13.5R) $31.90 seems like an absolute steal to me.


Hobbywing XERUN-13.5T Brushless MOTOR Blue #XERUN-13.5T- Blue Free Shipping - $56.90


http://www.rcmart.com/speed-passion-...02_1570#Review - $59.90 (gives me two of the same ESC ironically, but costs lest then the motor by itself)


NOVAK Ballistic Racing 540 Brushless Motor 13.5T for RC Car Racing #3613 - $69.90 Much more expensive than my other alternatives; however, I've been told this is much better than the other motors that I have listed in terms of quality, and is popular for drifting


Servo: BMS-661DMG+HS Super Fast Digital Servo (MG) 6.4kg / .08sec / 46.5g - $22.68


Battery: SKY LIPO 5000mAh 20C 7.4V Hardcase Lipo battery pack - $30.02


Battery Charger: Li-Po NiMh 6A-50W Balance Charger w/ handbag, caliper, lipo safety bag and hold reamers set Combo #CB0628 - $49.90


Total $252.50 + Motor

ToraKitsu

It's up to you, but I wouldn't go with the D3. That chassis is overly and needlessly complicated, and as a kit, is not complete (it doesn't come with a few parts necessary for completion), the manual doesn't have any instruction on how to tension the front belt properly, and might be confusing for a first-timer. The D3 is also a countersteered chassis which is something I would not recommend to a beginner or novice.

3 Racing also makes the Sakura Zero and XI. Either of those would make a better platform, and are both very close in price to the D3, and better choices. You will also need to look at Drift tires. Yeah Racing makes a good compound (3 degree), as does HPI Racing (T-Drifts).

In addition, try to keep your motor choice to 17.5T. The Speed Passion 17.5R is a smoother motor, and should be at the same price point (I have three of them, myself!). Make sure that the ESC is also sensored, as the Speed Passion motors are, and require a separate sensor wire. Those only cost about $5, but they are an additional expense. SP includes one with each motor, but they are short - maybe only three inches long, and may not fit your application.

It's either that, or go with an Exceed Madspeed, which is what everyone else goes with, that's just starting out.

Mandydeth

Again, I am a novice when it comes to RC cars, but from what I understand all the 50-50 is more like a 4wd car in real life. You're just doing power slides as opposed to more realistic drifting offered by something with CS, which I think I would be more comfortable with.

I've heard a lot of conflicting stuff about the motor, but I can definitely go with a 17.5T instead.

I've heard most of the Exceed stuff is junk out of the box, but I heard the D3 is better in terms of design as it carries more weight on the front wheels and is CS out of box. Just wondering what parts it is missing out of the box? I was under the impression it was a complete chassis.

ToraKitsu

If you've never tried countersteering, it's difficult. Something I would not recommend to a novice. I have a first edition Tamiya TA05 VDF, and I didn't CS that until just this year. I have been drifting 50/50 for seven years. I am also retired, so I have all the time to practice, and still, I wouldn't recommend a CS'ed chassis as a first drifter. Certainly, the "look" of a CS'ed drifter looks more realistic than a 50/50, but that's not the most important thing a novice should be concerned with. I'm not trying to be over-critical about this, but you should start with 50/50 first.
If you get a belt drive, you can always CS it later on, and both the Zero and XI can be. THAT is what I would recommend. Being proficient with the concept of 50/50 drift is important to how well you will be able to CS. I suggest you start there, then when you feel yourself confident enough, you can CS the chassis at that time, but bear this in mind.... I have been at drift for seven years, and am no "expert." I can hold my own with CS, but just barely.

The D3 has no center tensioner for the long belt. That has to be ordered separately. There is also no mention of how to adjust the front tensioner in the manual, and failure to do so before running will strip the teeth off the front belt, which means a total teardown of the front end. Add to that, replacement front belts aren't readily available, so if you do strip the belt, it will be down for quite a while. A high-RPM power system will only strip the front belt faster. since there are three belts on the D3, that means more maintenance, and if you aren't very good about that, the D3 will only disappoint.
The D3 is also CS'ed at a fairly high ratio - 2.1 to 1. The higher the ratio, the harder it will be to drift. Only proficient drifters use that high a ratio. My own VDF has a 1.60 ratio, which is still difficult to control, but easier than 2.1.

Don't get caught up in the front motor craze. The D3 still requires weight placement balancing, to bring the balance rearward, so the front motor design still has it's own set of flaws. Most chassis that's "drifterized" requires weights to balance the chassis. I haven't seen any, but one yet, that will drift well without it. Every one of my drifters has weights placed to balance them correctly for my style of drift. Every chassis is different, but they all share the same requirement, and that's weight balancing. The D3 is no different.
To give you an example of this principle, look at the Tamiya TA06. THAT chassis is the best-balanced chassis for drift I have seen so far, and requires NO weight balancing! Now look at where it's motor is placed on the chassis. Not everything you might see in forums or hear from people is correct.

Yah....17.5T is where you want to be, in regard to drift. Drift is not about power or speed, but smoothness. 17.5T has the best combination of RPM and smoothness of power, which is what you want, for a power system in a drift car. I've been running those Speed Passions for a while, and they are very good motors, from everything I've seen so far. I like them not just because of their price, but that I can mount them in any chassis. I have a highly modded TA06, and the TA06 has very little adjustment in the motor bay. The SP motor allows more adjustment, because the wire tabs face straight out the back of the motor, rather than over the motor can, like all other motors.

Exceeds, indeed, are entry-level chassis, but durable, if maintained properly. They are an older, somewhat "obsolete" design, but that's never been a factor with beginners or novices.
Try looking at TQRC Racing, online. They carry 3 Racing chassis, and a few others. They have a pretty extensive parts index for every chassis they sell, at the bottom of every chassis page. I purchase from them at least once a month, and they have been excellent, as far as pricing and ship free, with every order over $100.

Mandydeth

I have real world drifting experience in an FR-S, and have done plenty of sim drifting in a rig for Forza Motorsport, so I'm not sure if I'm being arrogant, but I don't see how it could be any harder with an RC car then it is with a real one, unless the difference in controls with a steering wheel/clutch/pedals are that much different than a remote, in which case I have no problem going for something more 50/50, but I have this irking feeling that it will be dull to me and be a wasted interim step that those with absolute zero drifting experience might have.

With that in mind, would the D3 be fine? Is there a better CS chassis out of the box, or one that can be done for cheaper?

ToraKitsu

Drifting an RC car is not the same as 1:1, and no, you're not being "arrogant."

It's a common misconception that they would be the same, but there are some significant differences. First and foremost is that RC drifters will be 4WD, whereas some 1:1 drifters are RWD. Then factor in the overdrive of the rear wheels in an RC CS drift chassis. What this does is, adding throttle from a dead stop, a CS'ed drifter will immediately start doing donuts, with NO input at the transmitter for steering. They are also "squirrelly" going in a straight line.
The CS'ed drifter will require steering input, in SMALL AMOUNTS, to get that CS look, and to correct OUT of a drift. With 50/50, the car will drift closer to a 1:1 drifter, because there is no overdrive. the 50/50 drifter will require steering input to initiate a drift, and to maintain it. To me, 50/50 is the approximation of actual 1:1 drift, even though the front wheels don't turn into the drift.

Believe me when I say, you will not be satisfied with CS. It is exactly opposite from what you are used to, in 1:1. Now....I have been experimenting with tires. I have two chassis that are 50/50, that act halfway between a CS and 50/50 chassis, that is a closer approximation to actual 1:1 drift than either type of chassis. It's done with different tire compounds mounted front and rear. I can detail the necessary parts for you, but again, it requires a 50/50 drift chassis to begin with. It requires no other mechanical mods to the 50/50 chassis, so there are no extra pulleys and/or belts to get.

To be quite honest, forget about CS, if you want a closer approximation of 1:1, "feel-wise."

Doing 50/50 drift takes a lot of patience and practice. If you are serious about RC drifting, the fact that the chassis is 50/50 should be of no concern, because the "finesse" required to make drifts look smooth and fluid is the most difficult part of the whole thing.

As stated before, the Sakura Zero or XI would fit your bill better than the D3.

mitchponton

Its different because of the weight and the fact that you'll be drifting with plastic tires. It just can't be done in this scale. The other thing is these wheels are plastic, the bodies are plastic. Everything is different so essentially throw what you've done with real cars and simulators out the window. Don't forget in real cars you can feel the steering and make tiny little adjustments. Here you can't feel the car. same goes for throttle and brake response. I'm not trying to downplay your thoughts at all this is just how I thought about drifting. I even converted my 4 wheel drive chassis to 2WD to see if I could make it be like a realistic drifter. It just isn't the same because you can't feel the car and react.

So if you want one for cheap and want to really play with it the chassis and modify it do what I recently just did. I have the HPI Sprint 2 Sport (I'd recommend getting the flux model which is brushless) Then play around with it. then do the Front Motor Conversion on it which was actually alot of fun to make. Now after playing with it for a while I pulled the trigger on the pulley parts and I'm going to gear it for Counter steering. All I can say is get a simple chassis to work on, mess around with it, learn about RC drifting, and then see what you think and what you want to do. If you want some help I'll tell you what listen to ToraKitsu he helped me out and if you have any questions let me know and if I don't know I'll find out for you from a couple friends I have. I drove a friend of mines rc drifter that is CS'ed a while ago and it wasn't very easy to drive, it'll also be difficult for me to drive when I do change the pulley's out in a week. I also remember my days driving off road cars and you just have to get used to it. No matter what just ease into the hobby, thats why they make entry models.

Sorry about the rant, thats just my personal experience and my 2 cents, I hope I didn't aggravate you or irritate you but this is just how things have gone. Heres the pictures of my cheap little Sprint 2 that I did the Front Motor Conversion on.

Mandydeth

It all makes sense, I appreciate it. I may have jumped the gun though, I wound up ordering the Yokomo DRB clone off Hobby king because of how ludicrously cheap it was.

I've been asking this question around a lot of RC circles, but I'm always receiving conflicting answers. I've also heard people say forget about 50/50 if you want to go CS because you'll have to relearn everything over again.

Push comes to shove I'll pick up a Sprint 2 anyway. I was watching a couple on eBay, but figured I'd see how the Hobby King was before I jumped the gun (again).

I'll post back with my progress whenever it gets here though, from what I understand I'll be waiting quite some time for it to actually ship.

ToraKitsu

Those guys were right about "relearning," but the basics are what you should learn, before going on to CS. 50/50 and CS truly are different in execution, and there are some things about adjusting a chassis you should be familiarized with, before going to CS, just so you know what to do.

Just so you know what to expect, for 50/50, you must turn the wheels to initiate a drift, or change direction (transition), but use steering intermittently, to maintain a smooth drift.
With CS, you use steering to get out of a drift, and VERY little input, to maintain a drift. The CS'ed chassis, from a dead stop, once power is applied, will start doing donuts, without any steering input. This is from the overdriven rear wheels. You must turn the wheels, to maintain a drift. It's much harder than it sounds, and might be too much for a novice, which is why seasoned drifters should always recommend 50/50 first.
I have five drift chassis, and only one is CS'ed. I've been at it for seven years, and do not consider myself a "pro" with either 50/50, or CS.

Also, do not expect your drifts with a CS'ed chassis to look like those in Youtube vids. Those chassis are HIGHLY modified and tuned. Just slapping a power system in a drift chassis like a Sakura D3 or OTA R31 won't make it drift well. That's why I recommend getting acquainted with your chassis, as 50/50, because CS will require some knowledge to be able to adjust it the way you want.

R32GolfTA06

Hi, my first drift project that I am working on is a ta06 pro chassis. I have done many upgrades and find it so easy to drift and seemed very balanced even from standard, however I went for a brushless sensored 13.5t and am having fun with that.. I would have thought anything more than that would be too fast or too slow,.