Radio Controlled Drift Setup Guide
Drifting is quickly is getting big, I see a lot of new drifters at the track almost every time I'm there, I notice a lot of the struggle with their RC cars and drifting in general, this is partly down to the setup and partly down to the fact that drifting takes a lot of practise. When I give their cars a squeeze I notice that the setup is right off, so while I'm able to compensate for the twitchy chassis or the lack of traction at the back it does make it very difficult for a beginner and can be very frustrating.
What is drifting?
Drifting is the art of getting sideways, while the car may appear to be out of control it is in fact following it's drivers every desire, please see our video section to get an idea of what it's all about. We also have tutorials and RC drift lessons. Below is an illustration of a drift around a S bend.
Click for a larger image.
Does setup matter
Being able to change the setup of your can is one of the coolest things about them, the fact that the changes have an even greater effect than on a real car is cooler still. Down force is one thing that is unbelievably effective in racing, and it also makes a difference when drifting. Suspension plays the biggest roll in my opinion
Where do I start?
Well first you need to pick a chassis, there are a lot of off the shelf drifters, but any 4WD RC Car can drift, for the point of this article I'll use two cars which I have personal experience with. One shaft driven the other belt. I introduce to you the Tamiya TT01 (entry level) and the Tamiya TA05 (a step above the TT01, but also entry level).
The first step to getting a remote controlled car drift ready is to install a spool differential in the rear, this means that the rear wheels will always turn at the same speed, the standard differential allows the wheels to move at different speeds, which is useful when you corner as one tire travels further than the other. When we drift this doesn't apply, and having the rear wheels spin at the same speed will give you a lot of control over the rear of your car. This depends on the specific chassis you use, but it's true for 90% of the cars out there. For the TT01 and the TA05 it definitely makes a big difference.
Tamiya TT01
The Tamiya TT01 uses a planetary gear rear diff, which is easy to convert (and convert back should you change your mind later) the two most common methods to lock this diff are:
- Open the Diff and fill it with glue from a glue gun
- Take a small piece of fuel tubing ,cut it open along it's length, and roll this around the planetary gears, see Locking your TT01 differential for pictures and instructions.
Tamiya TA05
The TA05 uses a ball differential, it can be tricky to modify and there isn't a way to do it without weakening the differential, but it can be done. The way I modified my TA05 was to use pop rivets. I opened the differential and removed all the ball bearings and metal plates from the inside of the diff. Next I drill three or four holes right though the remaining plastic, making sure I get both halves intact. I then pop riveted them together and file down the rivets, you need to put the diff back into it's casing after filing and make sure it can move freely. This worked and eventually when I got a hop-up spool diff it was still intact. (My first attempt only lasted about 10 runs because I drilled the holes too big).
However keep in mind
- It's not reversible
- It weakens the diff considerably
A hop-up spool differential is always the best way to go, but you don't have to buy one to drift, the TA05 will drift perfectly without a locked diff, It's centrally mounted motor works wonders for the dynamics of the chassis. Locking the differential makes it a little bit more aggressive and a little bit more fun. For beginners it might be easier to drift without the rear spool, but you'll soon see why you need to lock it up to compete
