An interesting comparison between the HPI Pro-D and the TA-03F! (wrt drifting)
http://www.zerorc.com/hpi-pro-d-vs-tamiya-ta03f
HPI have finally got the drop on their main drift rivals Yokomo, and come out with a ‘revolutionary’ drifting car – the HPI Pro-D. With a carbon main chassis, carbon upper deck and orange anodised aluminium bulkheads, it's a very slick design. Only one question remains...
Why has it taken this long for a manufacturer to come out with this kind of chassis – not one that's a re-hash of another model, but a specific drift chassis? Tamiya, by shear fluke, have already created
the perfect drifting chassis, and discontinued it before people even realised that you could drift RC cars – namely the Tamiya TA03F. Since the TA03F is no longer supported by Tamiya, parts and chassis’ are nigh on impossible to get hold of, so some competitive drift series have created rules specifically to ban this car.
So what made the TA03F so great at drifting? Well, good drifting is all about weight good distribution. You'll find most drifters will add a lot of weight to the front bumper so that the front tires will be pushed down and grip more than the rear, and also to give a point for the rear of the car to swing around. The TA03F was created with equal weight distribution to the left and right in mind, so the motor was moved to the front of the car to avoid the drive belts. This in turn provided the necessary weight sitting on the front wheels. Perfect left and right weight distribution also means the battery must be placed across the chassis, rather than along side the centre line. Take a look:
So what of this ‘revolutionary’ Pro-D chassis of HPI? The HPI Pro-D has the battery placed across the chassis. Moreover, the Pro-D is not belt driven, but shaft driven, which gives the driver a much more direct feel and much sharper throttle response. To move the motor closer to the centre line, the shaft has been moved off centre. This improves the balace as the motor is not so off-set. And what about looks? The HPI Pro-D looks fantastic. Drift not only requires skill, but ‘shock and awe’ bling. The Tamiya TA03F, with is black plastic everywhere, is a sore loser in this department.
Our verdict: Currently this is only available in Japan, and at a price of 52000 yen (about $450) for just the chassis kit - only hardcore drifters need apply. Although this isn't overpriced considering the specification, the now obsolete TA03 will perform just as well, and these can be picked up reasonably cheaply on ebay. If any of you have a cousin or a brother with an old RC kicking about in the loft, go and have a look, it might just be one of these gems.