Jump to content
Timsi

Drifting - In Need Of Advice

Recommended Posts

Hello fellow members!

I have sticked to tamiya for 20 years now. I now have Porsche 959 4x4, Lunch Box, Thundershot and DF-03.

For this spring I'm planning to try some drifting and right now I'm tempted by the TT-01 series. Was thinking about upgrading with ball bearings, Yokomo or ABS drift tires, Intellect 4600 mah and a Tamiya Super Stock TZ. Would this make an ok drifter?

Or should I go for other kits from Yokomo, Xray or another brand? However, I don't really need top notch equipment..

Would really appreciate to get some advice on this one!

/Tim

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All sounds good, but i'd suggest the HPi T drift tyres, thats what i run and they seem nicer than my friends abs. Not a fan of the yoko tyres, just dont ike the idea of them.

If you wanted something better than the tt 01, track down a ta03f. There out there second hand and new kits are about if you dont mind ordering from the far east.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hay there. All you idea's sound good mate. As for the TT-01 kits you can go much wrong. There cheap enough and easy to get parts for. As for tyre's I use the Excellent molded wheels & tyres set for Tamiya Club member FastNFurious ( ebay.uk 13rucelee ). There are fastastic. With these wheels there is no need for glueing or anything the one piece wheels & tryes mold with the Hex in the mold. There also great value for money. I was even Drifting using a silver can motor in my TL-01 chassis with these wheels. Thats another thing. A TL-01 chassis can also make a great Drifter. I have one of each a TT-01 & TL-01 Drifter and there as good as each other. All I have done with my chassis is to fit a Monster 27 motor, LRP speedo, Ballraced & locked the rear Diff with Blue tak. I agree that Yokomos are over priced. You could buy a Brand new Tamiya Kit ready to go for the price of a yokomo chassis kit with no motor. Have a look at my showroom http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom.asp?id=11951 and you will see some of my drifter on TT01 chassis. I gonna be building some brand new kits very soon that I have here into Drift Spec for selling on ebay soon. If you need any other ideas or idvice please let me know. Good Luck.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
For this spring I'm planning to try some drifting and right now I'm tempted by the TT-01 series. Was thinking about upgrading with ball bearings, Yokomo or ABS drift tires, Intellect 4600 mah and a Tamiya Super Stock TZ. Would this make an ok drifter?

I'd recommend trying the TT-01D series (supra or mazda RX-7 kits) they already come loaded with ball bearings, 23-turn sport tuned motors and the adjustable upper arms. The stock Tamiya drift tires are OK but as already mentioned, the HPI drift tires are much better, and unless you decide to make the move to 19 turns or less, the stock TEU-101 ESC will handle your midrange motor needs.

Or should I go for other kits from Yokomo, Xray or another brand? However, I don't really need top notch equipment..

If you look at HPI Sprints and Tamiya TT-01s they are 'yesterday's platforms' and their bleeding edge has long since healed. Yet they're extremely popular drifters and stand as testament that you don't need a $300 or more expensive high-spec platform for drifting.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I love my TT-01D Silvia, I didn't care much for the livery but the body is awesome. It is my first drifter and my first TT-01, during the build I was quite taken back by the ease of build and budget suspension arms but it is what it is supposed to be, It is definately a runner that I can just grab and practise drifting without worring about breaking a costly high performance part that is hard to get.

I like some of the HPI drift spec stuff too, quite interested in the HPI DBox, looks fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I recommend either a TT-01 or a TB-02, probably the latter because it comes with bearings (minus the steering). The TB02D is a great buy. I run a TB02 with bearings throughout, an RZ motor (runs higher RPM than TZ and has same peak torque) with a standard TEU101BK ESC. The tyres are the secret, where I use HPI's, on their rims. No glue. Not req'd. I don't like Tamiya drift wheels, as the tyres are glued on. With this combo, the car will be very quick, provide some big drift action, but be controllable. You can't go wrong.

Mike

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Many thanks for your inputs! Very nice to have your confirmations that I'm on the right track! My platform will for sure be a Tamiya TT-01, TT-01D or TB-02D after reading your posts.

I see that the TT-01D has a few hop ups, but I guess taking a standard TT-01 and adding ball bearings, Super Stock motor and drift tires makes it just as good for drifting..?? Or does the TT-01D come with oil shocks also? The thing is, I really love the Skyline body and they don't come as TT-01D.. Was thinking about painting it racing orange or red and fit gold rims with the drift tires. Maybe I'll also extend the light kit with some strobes or inner leds for lighting up a figure made of maskings in the body..

TheLordOfHoard; Your iridescent Skyline is a true beauty!!

/Tim

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Many thanks for your inputs! Very nice to have your confirmations that I'm on the right track! My platform will for sure be a Tamiya TT-01, TT-01D or TB-02D after reading your posts.

I see that the TT-01D has a few hop ups, but I guess taking a standard TT-01 and adding ball bearings, Super Stock motor and drift tires makes it just as good for drifting..?? Or does the TT-01D come with oil shocks also?

yes, it has oil shocks and red springs. shockingly there's nothing drastically different about rc drift cars and standard tourers. all you need is torque to lay down, super hard tires that easily break free of traction and relatively stiff suspensions that won't absorb your slide when you start to pitch sideways.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Soft suspension tends to work better, but depends on tyre/surface etc.

Are you buying a new car?

Do you really want a new car?

If you want a dedicated drift car get a TA03f.

New kits from japan for 70-100, second hand 40 up.

Generaly regarded as the best drift chassis ever because the motor is infront of the front wheels.

They are banned from UK comps because they were deemed an unfair advantage.

If your not doing comps, then get one of them.

Little more expensive/harder to get parts for, but you shouldnt need to be getting too many parts and most ta03 drifter owners swap everything to alloy/carbon anyway (for bling) so theres lots of platic parts available.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Was about to post ebay links, then remembered the rules!

Theres a ta03f on ebay with carbon chassis, alloy steering and decent shocks. Nice it is.

white celica ta03f, standard, will go cheaper than the hopped up one.

Dont get ta03fs (short), ta03r (rear motor, good but might as well get any other chassis), ta03rs (same as the other r but also short)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Darn I wanted to post here sooner.

Firsty get HD PE tyres (High Density PolyEthyline), they offer better drift grip and allow your slides to be far more controllable. Kaizoku Drift Tyres on Ebay is a good version of it (www.sicklidz.com)

TT01 is a very compitent drifter if set up correctly. Use this video I made for tighening the diffs, both diffs using 2mm pieces of nitro tubing.

Get any TT01 although I think the tt01 R or E will be best bang for buck. Tighten both diffs, use alloy shaft and metal motor mount and full bearings and it should drift like a dream. For more control you will have to upgrade the upper arms and to a stronger motor. Something like a 19turn Double is good because it gives you a long power curve, not all the power at once.

If you can get a TA03 F Pro or even a TA03 F S Pro. I used to drift with one and the motor in front of the wheels makes such a huge difference. This car was made for drifting and was banned from UK RC D10 last year.

One thing to watch out for on the ta03 is the steering slop, but other than that the belt makes it super smooth with no torque steer. But fit TRF dampers and set them up hard (not super hard in the rear) and medium to hard in the front with stabalizers.

Darn I miss my TA03 now... Well i got a running chassis in the cupboard so I might rebuild the demon.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
hey mike, you on www.rcd1.org yet?? :lol:

Nahh, I'm not into racing. I'm too frightened to turn up to a race as I'd be hopeless competing. I guess I should stick my neck out and give it a go. Just need a Spektrum to replace my AM Futaba 1 cyrstal only job.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Nahh, I'm not into racing. I'm too frightened to turn up to a race as I'd be hopeless competing. I guess I should stick my neck out and give it a go. Just need a Spektrum to replace my AM Futaba 1 cyrstal only job.

we run a D1 RC drift comp but that's only once a month... 2008 season hasn't started yet

but every week the guys will arrange a friendly gettogether, just turnup and hangaround

and talk **** mostly... then drive a few RC cars around to make it look legit and all that.

But i swear most ppl are wrenching more than driving, not very organised haha.

Usual haunt is Clayton Monash Uni's engineering carpark multistorey down the back.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
we run a D1 RC drift comp but that's only once a month... 2008 season hasn't started yet

but every week the guys will arrange a friendly gettogether, just turnup and hangaround

and talk **** mostly... then drive a few RC cars around to make it look legit and all that.

But i swear most ppl are wrenching more than driving, not very organised haha.

Usual haunt is Clayton Monash Uni's engineering carpark multistorey down the back.

i agree, most of the time a drifting comp has a lot of newbies and its actuallty very good checking the good guys drifting, you learn alot.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great! Thanks for all the advice!

I've now ordered the TT-01D Supra and TZ motor pluss the new Intellect 4600 mah and a proper charger. Have tested my friends intellect 4200 and it seems the punch is approx 30 % more than my own batteries. So, I hope it will make the TZ do a decent job. Paint job will be gold/black combo and gold wheels. Very bling bling, but thats how i picture my beast from the east..

Would be very interesting to get a TA03f though, maybe for next time..

/Tim

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would say you should take a TB02... The TB02 doesn't cost that much more, has adjustable upper arms on front and rear (standard), I think also a bit lighter... The TB02 looks a bit similar to the TT01, but it's more advanced and I heard the suspension parts of the TT01 are not as rigid as you might want them to be...

I also heard that the TA03F is a very popular drifting car, because it's weight is in the front which makes it easier to drift with, or something like that... :D

So if you list it, it becomes a bit like this:

The basic characteristics for a drifting car chassis would be:

- 4WD.

- Make it lighter than the standard kit (ESC is a big improvement on weight and performance).

- Drifting tires (how surprising) (But I don't know what tires would be the best choice, I am not an expert on that) :D

- Sport tuned motor? (I am not sure about this. I haven't driven my drifting car with a sport tuned motor, so I don't know if you just only lose grip because your wheels spin too much, or that it does increase speed and acceleration as with normal tires).

I think the things to make a basic performing drifting car would be:

- Oil filled shocks (probably the most important thing for the handling) (I think you should take at least the medium damper oil and springs, and I think hard would be best, depending on how flat the surface is you want to run it on).

- Ball bearings (will make things run way more smoothly and durable).

And thinks that could be useful for adjusting your car to the running surface and your driving style:

- Adjustable upper arms (so you can adjust the camber, it helps you to balance your car better).

- Adjustable steering rods (useful for adjusting toe on the front of the car).

- Anti-roll bars.

- Locked rear dif?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey all,

I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but this talk of drifting has me wondering about a couple of things.

I'm interested in drifting but from what I've seen around here is the sort hard plastic or home made pipe type ti/yres. I find that that's a bit too much drift action for me. I looks as if the wheels are just constantly spinning and the car is pretty much sliding all the time. Are the HPI tires mentioned earlier a bit more grippy than that? I'd be more interested if the car could be driven around and then thrown into corners and have the grip break away at that point.

I've got a 959, and I was wondering if anyone has done any sort of drifting with it - apart from the usual going sideways action that car seems to have anyway.

The old rim size is of course the problem with any sort of easy experimenting. I read in another thread where someone pointed out that standard rally tires could be cut down to fit the rims, as is done with the mini cooper rims. Would it be possible to take something like an HPI drift tire and cut it down to fit?

Thanks for any thoughts - it's been interesting reading so far. Anybody have any different tastes as to how much or how little slippage they like in their drifters?

Rob

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

HPI t drifts are grippier than abs or pvc but still pretty slidey. From what you say, you want to drift at speed. Drifting isnt about speed :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I understand your point. I had the same issue, my tamiya drifting tires are way too hard, and way too slidy. Drifting with real cars is more about applying the power to the wheels suddenly (sometimes also at first using the handbrake to get sliding), and the way you apply the power to the wheels rather than having very hard and slippery tires.

They should come with hard rubber tires (so still rubber, but less grippy) and then you should have a very fast motor in it. In this way you will be able to drive at half it's top speed and then suddenly turn the wheel and put the throttle open completely. The only problem with this is that you want to push your car to the limit, and you can probably not resist going on full throttle the whole time, so you will need a button or something so it applies that little bit more power to get you into the slide, and you cut off that power again once you are sliding.

Conclusion: with a 1/10 car, drifting is something different than in a real car, a real car is more complex and uses completely different ways to slide through the corners.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

1/10 cars dont have 1/10 grip, they have more :lol:

As you say, its all different, thats why you cant really drift 2wd.

You can get harder rubber tyres, made for drifting nitro, maybe they will suit your needs? Drifting at those kind of speeds will need big areas though!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Doridori is all about THROTTLE CONTROL :lol: that's the beauty of it

I run BLs... with the 5.5 drive with the first 5mm of trigger throw,

even less with the 4.5 & don't ever sneeze whilst piloting a 3.5.

TT01 vs TB02... the TT01 is a lot tougher, TB02 has diff issues for the 90% who don't build them right.

Was surprised how well TT01 runs, thought they looked cheap at first but now i've got like a dozen.

we have a MOVIE!! of our weekend's start to RCD1.org's 2008 season!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Once again the tyre thing.

Home made tyres are easy and good depending an what you use and the time you take in perparing them.

ABS is a good choice in the USA as its readily available. But if you can, get PE PolyEthyline or high density PE irrigation pipe (black). You also get different class pipe in PE, meaning class 3 would be less think on the walls than a class 6 pipe.

When making them cut using a mitre saw/block and round the edges using the correct tools or some 400grit sandpaper and finishing with 800 grit. Only sand the outside lip.

It terms of motors. For drifting I have run most motors from stock silver cans to CHeap LRP GT3 motors to tz's.

For a nice tight track where you want to back end to instantly come out (remember this is based on a good suspention setup) you would want a toquey motor like a stock silver can/ CO27/ P2K2 or even a TZ modded with motor bearings and softer brushes.

For a track which consists of alot of longer drifts where you have to keep power on the back a 17 19 TZ motor will work well. I used to like running 17 turn double motors with modded brushes, harder springs and bearings.

My TZ and 17t Double were modded for my driving style and anyone must get their style right in order to find the right motor.

My 17Turn Was a LRP Gt3 can with a V10 SPEC4 Armature, running Trinity Brushes and Tamiya TZ Springs with motor bearings (not ceramic). Ok here goes why i ran this motor.

17 Turn has alot of revs to play with and with the adder bearings i instantly added some rev to the end range.

the softer brushes and changed springs helped me defeat the subtle qualities of the double motor, bu giving me alot more punch at the lower rev ranges, but then after the punch the double motor kicks in and gives me a smooth power band continue drifting long drifts.

Reason for the armature chage was something which happened by mistake, but actually made a difference and I stuck with it.

This long drift theory was tested at a local track where they have a long 15-22 meter long U-shaped bend. I modded the motor till i could complete that lenght. Then started doing chicane drifts to test the punch of change of revs in the motor and continued to tweak.

Yes it is a cheap motor setup and can be run on alot of ESC's, but it worked and stuck to Yokomo 15t D1Zero motors with ease.

Hope this helps.

I drifted a Ta03F-s Pro then moved to a Ta03F Pro with all the bells and whistles.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...