A lot of people are suggesting that R/C drifting is somehow less "real" than 1:1 drifting. The root of this argument comes from the fact that R/C drifting is not typically done with rear-wheel drive vehicles on rubber tires. Instead it is done with plastic tires (ABS or PVC) and four-wheel drive.

This is complete nonsense.

It is not practical to replicate 1:1 car drifting with an R/C car, and to be honest, the layout and configuration of the car have no bearing on drifting anyway. It really doesn't matter what you are driving in any form of drifting, whether it be r/c or full scale. Its all about style: turn entry speed, drift angle, racing line/apex, and overall impact (which includes smoke and noise).

The difference between 1:1 FR drift cars and 1:10 r/c cars is huge.

Weight distribution is way off (rear-engine)
power/weight ratio is off
cornering force in an r/c is several times what it is with a 1:1 car
CG height (and therefore weight tranfer) is very different
chassis stiffness is higher with r/c (in the relevant torsonal force range)
steering ackerman is much higher on an r/c car
steering angle at full lock is typically higher on an r/c car
steering input sensitivity is WAY off (can you imagine being at full lock in a 1:1 car at about 45 degrees of steering wheel input?)

An r/c car has FAR more in common with a Formula 1 car (ok, Indycar for you left-turn-only rednecks) than it does a street car, even a fully prepped race/drift car like you see in Formula-D or D1GP (I've had a hand in building cars for F-D and D1 competition, I know quite a lot about them)

So basically its like putting a 2-inch steering wheel on a Formula 1 car, removing all of the aero components, doubling the steering angle, and then trying to "style" drift. Good luck with that.

Note: I make a distinction there, and call it "style-drift" for lack of a better term. The problem is that "drifting," in true racing terms, refers specifically to maximising traction by increasing the tire slip angle (to a point), and is primarily a matter of contact patch distortion and sidewall deflection. It is not quite the same sort of "drift" we are talking about here.