No... get aluminum parts from GPM directly, or RCmart or GPM Depot, run by a friend of mine. All three offer lower prices and almost-as-good shipping times excepting GPM, which will take you a while.

I've taken this from an article I wrote over on an Xmod forum.

note that RC drifting is not quite the same as real-car drifting. whereas real cars use grippier tires to gain more corner speed, the 1/28 wheelbase makes the car's reflexes insanely quick, thus with soft tires, there simply is no time to react. besides, the unproportionately light weight of these RC cars allows the soft tires to grip like there's no tomorrow. thus, we go with hard tires for drifting. but since we have these hard tires, as well as the short wheelbase, RWD is improbable (but not impossible... ); again, we would need superhuman reflexes and timing to do it successfully and consistently. thus we usually go with AWD and hard tires to gain our slide angle. thinking about this, however, low traction and AWD is exactly what rally racing is. our RC drifting is basically ice racing, or tarmac rally. and thus while the techniques are similar, the car's requirements are quite different.

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part one, AWD DRIFTING:

parts that are absolutely required:

AWD kit
bearing set
hard tires (how hard depends on how slippery your floor is)
more powerful motor (anything with more speed than the stage 1 motor)

environment required:

any surface that is smooth and preferably non-porous. (hardwood has a finish on it, it counts as non-porous in my definition)

parts that are nice, and effective:

strong magnets with your motor (neos, sb magnets)
gpm front suspension parts (front a-arms, front knuckles, front towers, tie rods)
resistors on your servo (the tight-turns mod)
suspension kit
strut bar
silicone sealant

parts that are nice, but not that effective and probably not worth it:

lithium-ion/poly batteries
stacked FETs



ok, now on to what we do with these parts.

1. install AWD, bearings, switch over to your hard tires, change in the motor you selected. for starters we probably want to go as hard as possible (i.e. mini-z 11mm 50 degree tires). if you have to use xmod tires, use hard treads instead of hard slicks, because the treads are truer, and generally more consistent. you can go softer (i.e. 40 degree, possibly 35 degree mini-z tires) when you feel the need for faster corners and bigger challenges; or, if you're struggling to break traction use tape (electrical has more grip than scotch, fyi). since we're running AWD, there's no need to have different tires front and back, we can just keep them all the same.

1a. a personal favorite of mine, i always reverse the diffs when i install AWD into my cars. ball diff in front, gear diff in rear. this allows me to lock the rear diff (though i keep mine viscous) and allows me to remove power from the front, forcing me to countersteer more and countersteer earlier, and thus creating a more realistic drift. if you prefer, you can keep a gear diff up front, but never use a ball diff in the rear, you will rarely break traction effectively.

2. if you have neos or isotropic ferrite (sb magnets) in your motor, keep 'em. if you have some outside the motor and want to install them, consult the tutorial within this section. easy concept.

3. gpm parts are not a necessity, but they help a little when you're drifting around a set course (or corners). install them if you wish.

3a. when using gpm tierods, you will have to file down the middle section, and shave the AWD bevel, so that you gain sufficient clearance. a die grinder or a dremel will take care of the tierod, just sand until you create a diagonal surface, maybe 1-2mm wide, in the tierod. use your best judgment, don't take out too much aluminum if you want the tierod to stay in one piece. now for the AWD bevel, simply take a dremel, or sandpaper, a file, whatever works, and grind away so that the edge of the gear teeth is flush with the body of the gear. basically you're shortening the roof of the house and making the roof flush with the walls.

4. tight-turns is definitely a nice add-on. it helps you generate more G's at the turn-in point so you can break traction earlier. i suspect the tutorial for this mod is in this tuts section as well.

5. suspension kit is definitely nice. i recommend the yellow springs for the most part, as they do not allow bottoming out, nor do they lock the suspension comepletely. install yellow springs all around just to start out. then switch in the blue springs for either front or rear if you wish, depending on which end you want to slide more. i find that the spring changes don't really affect handling too much, but they help a bit on non-perfectly-smooth surfaces.

6. strut bar. this is a useful part, it helps keep your rear wheels at even camber off the ground (good for non-gpm people). this bar connects the arms together, and driving with it shows that it slows the transition from slide to spin-out, thus giving the driver a bit more time to react, a few more options when to countersteer. one note: when using the strut bar you can use the red springs in the rear with it. it allows slightly more grip (if you want it) and again, more control over your vehicle.

7. if you can't break traction due to the open diffs, silicone sealant is a nice solution. you can add a little bit in to gain a viscous diff effect, or add in a big dollop to lock the diffs. note that if you're on a grippier surface, you should not lock the diff because you will have excessive understeer (as well as counteracting the benefits of tight-turns).

8. if you're finding that the car turns more one way than another, go center your servo (and your potentiometer, if need be). if it still goes to one way more than the other, the problem may be your wrist (not that it's your fault). read on.



a couple pointers on how to drive the car like this:

1. you need speed. enough so that when you turn, the wheels will either break traction, or you can feel the car is on the limit of traction.

2. get the feel of your xmod. you need to be able to observe and discern every single twitch your xmod makes while moving, and remember how fast your tail end slides out, under what conditions, under how much steering angle, how much throttle, the list goes on. to know all this, try driving/sliding your xmod for however many hours you sleep a night; that'll be a good starting point.

3. keep a lookout on your trigger finger. although the xmods' propo system sucks, it still works, and it's a good skill to know how to use the throttle to control angle. also, it's a good idea not to have the throttle full-on all the time, you can use throttle lifts or throttle stabs to help the rear end break loose.

4. keep a lookout on the steering hand. the way human wrists are built, they can turn one way better than the other. as a result, you might be nailing great drifts in one direction, but doing lousy ones on the other side. watch your wrist and try to find a position on the steering wheel where you can turn the wheel at the same speed and same accuracy in both directions.

5. there are many techniques involved with real car drifting, but xmod drifting is mainly centered around three: power drifting, feint, and throttle lift. try them all to see which one suits your style. after any one of the techniques is executed, and rear traction is broken, the objective now is to control the angle and speed of the car. countersteer only when needed (remember, this is AWD, so it's much more like low-traction rally).

5a. power drifting is pretty straightforward. keep the throttle at half or so, but make sure you have good speed; when you flick the wheel in the intended direction, stab the throttle. the rear end should break loose. from there just keep the car under control, countersteering if needed.

5b. a feint drift takes a little bit of time to set up. approach the corner at the same speed, but move the steering wheel farther ahead before you approach the corner. the idea is to flick the car to the outside, and then when you reach the normal approach point, flick the car back in so that the additional cornering G's will break the rear end more easily.

5c. throttle lift is a technique not so easy to use in this small scale. theoretically lifting the throttle at high speed makes the rear wheels slow down enough to break traction. you should approach the corner like a power drift, but lift off right before you turn into the corner. this one will take practice, and possibly a slight change in setup.

5d. of course, you can always use a combination of two or all three techniques if you're desperate to slide, or wanting to show off.

6. pracitce practice practice. when you can accurately time and adjust the throttle and steering (mid-drift) to your likes, you will be able to control the car's trajectory through a slide -- meaning you can drift along a track, not just randomly on the floor. then that's good drifting right there.

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part two, tuning guide:

1. a ball diff will increase traction to whichever end of the car you install it in. if you put it in the rear, you also have the option of locking it to increase rear traction a bit more. this is especially helpful in rwd drifting, where you want a bit more rear traction to aid in car control.

2. a strut bar or monoshock will decrease rear grip, but it will cause the rear end to break traction a bit more progressively, thus giving you more time to control the car, and thus helping with the consistency and control of your drifts. especially helpful in rwd drifting if your rear end is snapping around too fast.

3. electrical tape has less grip than rubber tires at first, but as the tape wears it will gain grip, till it has almost the amount of grip as the xmod hard treads. for comparison, they grip about as much as 55 degree mini-z tires. electrical tape can be used on the front or rear of the car, or both ends; it's great for adjusting your front/rear traction balance.

4. plastic/pvc/hard materials for tires will decrease grip by a lot; usually you shouldn't put these on the rear end of the car, but if you really can't break traction you can try.

5. a cf shaft will decrease drivetrain inertia; this can give you a bit more power, but off power the wheels will slow down quicker. if you're having trouble controlling the angle, a cf shaft can quicken the throttle response, so you won't have to anticipate the car's movements as much.

6. weight in the front will increase front grip when you turn, but will decrease front grip while you're sliding. it can also buy you some extra time to countersteer, so it's great for rwd drifting. in general, weight up front can prolong a slide, but will decrease your cornering speeds.

7. front toe-in will increase stability, but from experience you can't turn as well, and response will be decreased. front toe-out is the exact opposite, more steering but less stability. no toe is a good starting point for anyone, and you can adjust to your own liking. don't add more than 2 degrees of toe either way, however, you will cause the front tires to scrub, and this extra friction will kill any rwd drift.

8. stiffer springs will decrease traction a bit, but will quicken steering response; softer ones will increase traction but slow down steering response. since we drift it's preferable to run softer springs, but sometimes your front/rear traction balance will necessitate that you run harder springs.








Hope you got all that.