R/C Drifting FAQ
What is Drifting?
A simple explanation would be getting your car sideways in a series of corners. That doesn't sound very hard, I know. The way it works is, instead of trying to counter steer to try and straighten the car out, you over-counter to try to get your car sliding into the next corner. This is why many drifters go to the mountains. There are many consecutive sharp turns that the drifter can connect together in one long slide. So a drifter can take two or more turns without having traction at anytime.
What is a good car for drifting?
Well any touring car that you can adjust camber and ride height would work for drifting. There are a ton of options out there, for example: Yokomo, Team Associated, HPI touring, Tamiya AWD touring cars and Trinity. Some are more popular than others, but I would recommend going to your LHS (Local Hobby Shop) to see what parts they carry because when you break a part you won't want to wait for it to come in the mail. Also do some research and just find what you really like.
What is a good motor for drifting?
The motor that I have found best for drifting is any stock 27 turn motor. For example, Trinity P2k2 Pro, Trinity Monster Horsepower Stock and Epic Binary 2 Stock. Personally I have noticed that the Epic Binary 2 stock motor has more top speed and has a lot of torque. Any of these motor should work very well for drifting.
What kind of tires should I use?
There are a couple of different types you can choose from that have different effects. First there is PVC. Well actually the white pipe is called PVC but I have found that the black pipe (ABS) works better for drifting. ABS works very well if you are running a technical course with many tight turns. I have found it to be the best for drifting. Another product people use is black electrical tape. Electrical tape gives you more grip than ABS so you can do faster drifts with tape. It is really hard to run courses with electrical tape and it also wears out really quick so you always have to replace it. Hard compound tires are another type of tires I have heard of people using. It tends to grip a lot more and that where electrical tape came in so I don't really see anyone using hard compound tires anymore. The last product people use is Yokomo drift rings. These tires are kind of in the middle of ABS and electrical tape. They grip but slide very easy when you hit the gas. The only problem with Yokomo drift tires is the price and how fast they wear. I would highly recommend just getting ABS tires they work the best.
Can I use my nitro for drifting?
Yes, But because of the weight it's a lot harder to drift than electric. It seems to push because of the weight difference. The car tends to not want to slide and has a lot of under steer. I have also heard that there maybe clutch problems too from keeping the wheels spinning. But don't get me wrong I have seen some nitro's that drift very well.
What suspension setup should I use?
The best I have heard for drifting and works best for me is oil less semi soft shocks. This will enable you to pull off longer more consistent drifts. If you are running ABS it is kind of pointless to get a good suspension setup as you will not see the performance changes that much. Also the car will tend to spin out more with harder shocks. Remember drifting is about the driver skill not car performance.
What camber setting should I use?
Depends on what tires you will be using to drift. If you are running Yokomo drift tires 2° of camber will work best. If you are running tape I would recommend about 3° of camber. You should not run any camber (0°) if you are running ABS. It does not really help performance also when the ABS starts to wear it will just end up being like 0° of camber anyway and plus it will wear quicker running negative camber.
2004/05