I think I want a proper drift car???

[burakol]

So I have a TT01e and a TT02... I'm thinking of converting either one to a drifter just to play in and out of our house... not interested in competing whatsoever, but I have always wanted to hone my drifting skills and I can only do that if I have a car setup for proper drifting... having a plastic drifting wheel is just not enough... 

I dont really run both TT chassis so I'm also thinking of selling one or both to make up for the cost... 

What do you recommend... just sell both and get a proper drift car... or sell one (which one?), and convert the remaining one to a drifter? 

If I am to get a drift car, which one would it be? If I am to convert, what do I need? 

[Wetman]

13 minutes ago, burakol said:

So I have a TT01e and a TT02... I'm thinking of converting either one to a drifter just to play in and out of our house... not interested in competing whatsoever, but I have always wanted to hone my drifting skills and I can only do that if I have a car setup for proper drifting... having a plastic drifting wheel is just not enough... 

I dont really run both TT chassis so I'm also thinking of selling one or both to make up for the cost... 

What do you recommend... just sell both and get a proper drift car... or sell one (which one?), and convert the remaining one to a drifter? 

If I am to get a drift car, which one would it be? If I am to convert, what do I need? 

Don`t get drifting at all. But if you want one to try out to see how it goes our boy got himself a FTX Banzai rtr and a hot bodies skyline shell that fits for less than £150 from our LHS.It seems ok and infinitely upgradable if you want to mess around later

[Mad Ax]

What surface(s) are you going to be drifting on?  "Proper" drift cars like proper drift surfaces - in the western world, that usually means specialist treated carpet and dedicated drift tyres.  You can drift on household carpet but it tends not to be as grippy, and if it's deep the car will get stuck.  Plus you'll probably want some bigger areas to get some nice sweeping turns in.

If you're going outdoors then do you have access to smooth tarmac?  Grit on the surface will spoil your drift.  It might be OK for a quick bash but if you're getting deep into tuning and adjustments you'll want a consistent surface to work with.

As for what chassis to get - it's really up to you, if you're not on a club circuit then it doesn't matter that much.  If you want to stick with 50:50 then any touring car chassis will be a starting point and you can go from there.  The FTZ Banzai mentioned above falls into that category, but probably doesn't give you anything more than you could get with a TT02.  For basic tuning, you'll want adjustable camber and steering arms and multiple shock positions.  Most 50:50 drifters will have a spool in the rear and an open diff in the front but as you get more advanced you might want an adjustable diff in the rear.

However you might quickly get bored with 50:50 you'll only ever be playing at drift, so maybe consider CS or RWD.  A CS chassis will give you a more realistic drift while still being easy to drive without a gyro.  There are kits that start off quite basic and give you plenty of upgrade options as your drifting improves.

If you want to go RWD then you'll need a gyro.  As with CS, you can go basic and upgrade as you go.  The sky seems to be the limit with drift chassis, although exactly how much is performance and how much is bling I couldn't say - it's a very strange world, is RC drift.

[burakol]

Ahh... surface... it'll be mostly asphalt. I saw a tt02 drift conversion but I'm not sure if it will give me enough to actually find the experience I'm looking for. Plus for its price, it might be better to sell the TT cars and buy a proper drifter kit. This will mostly be just for my occasional use as I learn the fundamental skill... tuning and bling is not the priority as of the moment. In fact, getting into drifting is not even necessary but a want...

I have more reading to do and watching youtube to learn. 

[jupitertwo]

I bought an MST RMX 2.0 a few years back, with the intention of having a go at drifting. At the time all I read was negative comments about trying to drift a TT02 etc.

It's a nice build, decent parts. Instructions are a step below Tamiya, but still good enough. Still being sold, so I presume it's still reasonably popular. I bought mine via RCMart.

 

Drifiting wise I had a false start. I built it on holiday in Spain. Tried first time drifting on block paving, and it just didn't seem to work. Lots of wheels spin but I couldn't get anywhere near a controlled slide.

Roll on this weekend ( ) and I found a freshly laid asphalt car park in my town that no-one parks in. (They use it for Covid testing during the week). Had five minutes (until my 5 year old got overly enthusiastic and kerbed it), and it all made a lot more sense. Still lots to learn, but I at least got the idea.

My advise would be to go the cheap option. Get some drift 'tyres' - tamiya sell sets pre glued - and try it out on your TT01e or TT02. Sure it's going to be a bit average, but it's a lot cheaper to see if you like the idea. Then you can go a bit more exciting when you like it.

[burakol]

9 minutes ago, jupitertwo said:

I bought an MST RMX 2.0 a few years back, with the intention of having a go at drifting. At the time all I read was negative comments about trying to drift a TT02 etc.

It's a nice build, decent parts. Instructions are a step below Tamiya, but still good enough. Still being sold, so I presume it's still reasonably popular. I bought mine via RCMart.

 

Drifiting wise I had a false start. I built it on holiday in Spain. Tried first time drifting on block paving, and it just didn't seem to work. Lots of wheels spin but I couldn't get anywhere near a controlled slide.

Roll on this weekend ( ) and I found a freshly laid asphalt car park in my town that no-one parks in. (They use it for Covid testing during the week). Had five minutes (until my 5 year old got overly enthusiastic and kerbed it), and it all made a lot more sense. Still lots to learn, but I at least got the idea.

My advise would be to go the cheap option. Get some drift 'tyres' - tamiya sell sets pre glued - and try it out on your TT01e or TT02. Sure it's going to be a bit average, but it's a lot cheaper to see if you like the idea. Then you can go a bit more exciting when you like it.

I do have a drift spec tire on my tt02. I can drift sideways but I dont have much steering angle and loses control when I try to di figure 8s. I cant connect my turns...

[jupitertwo]

9 minutes ago, burakol said:

I do have a drift spec tire on my tt02. I can drift sideways but I dont have much steering angle and loses control when I try to di figure 8s. I cant connect my turns...

Yeah, steering angle is a little different

sounds like practice is the thing. On my trip out, I was no where near linking turns, it was enough to hold a slide

[Mad Ax]

It should be possible to do figure-8s with a 50:50 car with plastic tyres.  In fact even without tuning options, a 50:50 should be the easiest to get a controlled slide on - it just doesn't look right because of the 4-wheel drift (you'll be in a 4-wheel drift as opposed to a 2-wheel drift and you won't need to countersteer as much as you will with a RWD or CS car).  Transitioning is basically about allowing the car to regain enough traction to switch direction, so ease off the throttle as you reach the transition point, point the steering wheels in the direction of travel, allow the tyres to bite, then steer in the new direction and initiate your next drift.

I run an RMX 2.0S at my local club (or at least I did, pre-Covid).  Mine is standard and drifts OK, but it's a hard discipline to learn.  I can get around a few laps without crashing but I don't really look good doing it and I can't train other cars.  I'm not sure if the other drivers are way better than me at drifting or if they've got their cars properly set up.  It's probably a large bit of both.  RWD drift is very sensitive to setup, but as one of the local experts says, setup is very much about your personal driving style - so borrowing a setup from a leading drifter won't necessarily work for you.  I don't know that for sure though, I'm quite rubbish at it.

 

[burakol]

I guess it's the skill that really lacks... my tt02 is stick except for the shaft and bearings... I havent ran a 2s lipo in it... maybe it needs more juice to spin the wheels... or maybe I'm just not steering it right... I think I'm doing too much counter steer and the rear snaps too much... I have to learn how to feather my throttle. 

[Alexei]

9 hours ago, burakol said:

Ahh... surface... it'll be mostly asphalt. I saw a tt02 drift conversion but I'm not sure if it will give me enough to actually find the experience I'm looking for. Plus for its price, it might be better to sell the TT cars and buy a proper drifter kit. This will mostly be just for my occasional use as I learn the fundamental skill... tuning and bling is not the priority as of the moment. In fact, getting into drifting is not even necessary but a want...

I have more reading to do and watching youtube to learn. 

buy something built for drifting, rather than buying conversions. i was looking into getting a TT-02 and the Yeah Racing RWD conversion, but got a Yokomo YD-2E instead.

you can drift with 4WD 50:50, but there is a big difference on the driving experience from 4WD 50:50, 4WD CS and RWD. i started with my Yokomo MR-4TC SD as 4WD 50:50, then got some CS gear. then moved over to RWD.

 

 

[burakol]

I've been reading some online and some says gong straight to either a CS or RWD car would be ideal to learn... yeah, the learning curve may be steeper, but that type of chassis is the proper one to use anyway... and once the skills is learned, one can likely drift in all type of chassis; whether a 50:50, CS, or RWD... I guess if I am to buy a proper drift car, it will not be Tamiya based??? Even their D-spec TT car is not a proper drift car... 

Maybe I should just buy a cheap RTR drift car and learn from it??? But the question now is... is there such a cheap drift car? I see a lot of Chinese brand labeled as drift cars, but I'm afraid majority of those are toy-grade... 

[Mad Ax]

The MST RMX 2.0S is a reasonably-priced drift car and has plenty of upgrade options for later.  Obviously you'll need to budget for electrics (including gyro), wheels, tyres, and body, but it's still a good way into the drift world.  Don't be fooled by all the plastic - it's a very tunable chassis and you can add the alloy bling later if you want.  I think they have a new RWD drifter out now (FFX 2.0?) which has a longitudinally-mounted front motor setup, like a proper drift car.  Opinions on what makes a good RWD drift car layout seem to change with the winds, but the RMX was and still is loved by many in the UK drifting scene as a good starter chassis.  It's supposed to give a more 'classic' drifting experience while possibly being a little harder to drive.

Note: don't buy the RTR version - it is missing a fair amount of adjustability.  Get the kit version and save on having to buy hop-ups later.

Anything by Yokomo will also be suitable and have a big upgrade path, they have a big range to suit most wallets.

I would avoid unbranded Chinese stuff - it could just be a TT01 clone with plastic tyres on.

The 3Racing Sakura D4 chassis (both RWD and CS flavours) were popular beginner chassis when they first came out but despite all the bling included in the box, most people agree they need a lot of hop-ups before they become really usable.  I ran a stock D4CS for a while and never really got to grips with it, and I still have an NIB D4RWD that I decided not to build after talking to some other drifters (went with the RMX 2.0S instead).

In summary - my suggestion would be anything Yokomo or MST.  You'll get plenty of advice from other drifters using the same chassis and plenty of parts support.

This blog is worth a read if you're starting out - the writer drifts at my local club and is really approachable and full of advice:

http://okamidrift.blogspot.com/

[Alexei]

i dont know too much about MST, but enough to say it would be either Yokomo or MST to go for in this case. the cars people use at the drift track i drive at use either of those two brands.

for Yokomo, you should check out the YD-2E or YD-2S. the main differences is that the E version has lower center of gravity, and the S version has higher center of gravity.

www.drifted.nl/en specialize in drifting and has Yokomo and MST. also i shop i have used a bunch, and can recommend to others.