What makes a RC Drifter?
 

I've been following the Drifter forms closely the last few weeks an im curious what makes the cars actually drift. i know its special compound tires ect ect but is it really needed to get one of the RS4 Drift kits or those yokomo drift kits

but i notice those drift kits look very noobish like all plastic parts. or do u need a "specially" designed car to drift well?

an is shaft or belt drive better for drifting?

could i drift something like http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXRGZ0&P=0 just as good as one of those "drift" cars

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

Any 4wd rc will drift!, With the tires as you mentioned!,

Shaft for rough surfaces and belt for tracks and smooth surfaces!,

And yes that will drift![8D]

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

its all in the drivers skills :)

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

just cuz parts look plastic dosnt make them noobish
yokomos are WELLBUILT cars
the drift package is actually one of their base race chassis with drift tires

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

^^^Pretty True!

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

Cant say i'm to impressed with the actually chassies in the drift kits but yea.
Any 4wd will drift. Cheap chassies like the TT01 work but are a real handfull.
A sport chassie like the cyclone S are mint, espically because most sports are still plastic
chassie which stops chassie chunking when u slid sideways into something.
Shaft drives are good on a dirty serface as have no problems with crap getting in the belts etc,
but if your on a nice surface go belt as a highly powered shaft gets torque steer

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

Why would you spend around $700 after electronics on a Robotronic Avid. That will peform very similar to $300 "Noob" looking setup. If you want to show off your non-noobness. Get a TT-01D and deck it out with some aluminum.

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

i build real drift cars for a living. The falken tire s13 actually was just at my shop this past week getting work done. Ive been into RC for 15 years, and in the past 3 years ive really had a lot of fun with RC drifting. People who tell you that you need some plastic PVC tires or you need a drift specific RC car are out of their mind. If you actually get good at it, you need a lot of power AND a lot of traction

i cant wait to get flamed for this, but i use a Hot Bodies cyclone with a novak 4.5R brushless and the thing is the ultimate drift machine. I can go for 20-30mins at a time drifting on concrete (low speed 15-20mph) and 12-15 mins on asphalt (high speed 35-40mph) drifts. I have full control, and get great angle, countersteering the entire time. once you get some skills, doing a full build / competition spec drift machine is one of the most satisfying RC cars you can build. i have no desire to go 80mph, i have no desire to race r/c at the local tracks. i just want to have fun and go sideways with my RC.

If i were to make any recommendations to anyone, get the cyclone S with a novak 4.5R

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

You can get a Cyclone for $250 bux these days, and not the S version, the real version. I agree, they are sweet drifting machines when done right. Brushless MIGHT be overkill, but to each his own.

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

i dont know if youve ever tried it, but the novak system has everything... reverse, ABS, the smoothest low speed driveability youve ever felt...

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

only thing the cyclone S needs is upgraded C hubs.
5 locals guys have them including myself and with in the first month we all had broken
them. have since put genuine cyclone ones in with no problems.

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

Most high end ESC's have the same features, I don't see how the brushless motor makes it anymore smoother low speed. The LRP 7.1 speed control has the same features, and with a nice modified motor it would be the same and cost $100 less. The brushless give you added speed if you want it and don't wear out nearly as fast as the brushed motors do. Thats why I said, MIGHT be overkill. If you value the added speed and longer motor life, then I guess the $100 might be worth it.

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

Ever since i got the 4.5R 14 months ago, i havent touched the motor ONCE, runtimes have gone up, driveability is better, and the performance is night and day better... brushed vs brushless there simply is no comparison. Its as big a difference as turbo vs non turbo in real cars. To be honest, until i owned this motor, I thought the same thing about brushed vs brushless. i have 4 ESCs and 7 brushed motors in a box now... i was always fixing brushes, taking the motors apart to clean them, checking the comms... until one day a friend got the 4.5R and i realized i was jsut wasting time and money.

100$ is nothing when you realize how much downtime ive eliminated. all i have to do is charge the batteries put them in and drive until all my packs are dead... then do it all over again. Having a maintenenace free powertrain is worth it to me. I have 14 race cars i am responsible for, i simply dont have the time to work on my RC. If i still had brushed motors i guarantee i would be out of RC for the next 5 years again. If the thing cost 500$ i probably would have still bought it. if you realize that having a perfect motor setup means you can spend all that newfound time just playing with chassis setup and seat time (lol) it really does matter

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

I know what your saying, but for most of us, drifting is casual and something we do with a couple buddes. So the full race/competition setup isn't fully needed. Do you run Li-Po's with that setup? Just curious.

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

i've been having fun drifting with my nitro tc3, its a blast, i get to play till i get bored or my tires wear out hehe

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

^^^^^Thats fun nitro TC3 is a very capable car, in everything from drifting, racing, rallying!:D

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

Even if you're just the casual rc drifter, in the long run, going brushless will save you money. With regular brushed motors, you have to do too much maintenance work on them. So if you are 100% sure that this hobby is for you and you'll be in it for the long haul, go brushless. Like what Geoff says, drop in the battery pack and go.

I've had brushed motors, a SS5800 system and a GTB 6.5 system. By far, the power and linear acceleration of the GTB system is the best that I've personally encountered. Brushed was a pain in the butt because of the added maintenance. So far, with my brushless motors, I've just cleaned out the motor bearing a few times. That's it.

RE: What makes a RC Drifter?
 

im with aries and full race geoff touring chassis and bl systems rip the drift cars to pieces. i no because ived owned most of them yokomo drift kit is good but its just a relabled mr4tcsd that has d tryes and a nice shell. yokomo have very sloppy shoks and loose thousands of kingpins. a touring chassis is far better as they are lighter, more ballanced, can handle blsystems standard have 10 times the tunability than the d kits, dont break as often and look a billion times better. as for brushless system i am never goin backed to brush after the expericed called novak brushless systems lol. goes fast but has the same amount of tourqe as a triple, last for years and years, no more replacing of brushes and goin throught the painstaking process of comm cutts and rebuilds. my 2 centssave up and get high end gear off the block touring chassis (mines a trf 415 :D) brushless system (mines a 8.5 novak) radio gear is a good option to save for aswell (spektrum or any 2.4ghrz modules) batts and chargers are very important to , get batts 3300 or up and get a good charger aswell. sure its more than getting a $300rtr package but the money u save in the long run is huge lol ill stop my rant now lol