dbworms

I started rc drifting earlier this year, and I'd like to briefly add to the 'entry to rc drifting talk'.

I for one, do not believe the TA05 and other good-out-of-the-box-drifters to be a particularly good deal for those entering RC drifting. I entered RC drifting with a friend who bought a Tamiya TA05 ver 2, while I went for a Yokomo MRTC-BD5. Over the past three months, our experiences have been quite a bit different from each other.

It looked reasonable to get a new TA05 v2 and upgrade it as you go. But you realize the need to upgrade very rapidly and I found this friend ending up with a pile of stock parts he didn't need. Thing is, drifting is pretty difficult to be honest, so you crash the cars over and over again in the beginning. These plastic bits, they snap or bend pretty easily. I don't know if it's the carbon and aluminum bits in my bd5, but they are holding up pretty solid still after numerous bumps and crashes. Both of us have jobs, so we have limited time to have fun with these cars. If you spend most of that limited time fixing a broken car, you're basically wasting your time and money.

So who end up spending more? My friend with the TA05. He ended up selling the car to a local and is looking to replace it with something else. All these one ways and aluminum bits are costly if you buy them separately. you might as well buy a car that comes with them in the first place. I'd say go on ebay for a decently priced robust car, or go get something like the BD5 to start with.

Az-Cowboy

I Have 3 TC4 Tub car Rollers for sale and a ton of extra parts for them.. if any 1 is looking... please message me

boza

iTrader: (14)

The cost of a BD5 is more than double that of a TA05v2. For someone just getting into drifting the Yoke has a steep price tag. The ta05 is a good "starting" car with many CS kits and upgrade kits already made for it. So in case you really get into drifting and enjoy it, then options are there. It is also comparable in cost to the HPI sprint 2.

Ive bashed the crap out of my TA05, including jumping off sidewalk curbs and slamming into them. The worse that has ever happened is the screw on the steering knuckle stripped. Everything else has held up quite well for the last 6 months since getting this car second hand from a racer.

You are correct about the upgrades tho! Alloy parts always cost a fortune, especially when upgrading from a tub chassis and stock plastic parts; especially for Yokomo, since their parts always cost a fortune and hardly available locally in North America. You are right tho, it is much cheaper to get the top of the line car rather than upgrade one from stock. What if 3 months into drifting you decide that its not for you? then you have a very expensive shelf queen or paper weight.

You should also know yourself and what type of a person you are when it comes to toys... Personally I cant afford to dump a whole bunch of money into this hobby, I work on a budget, so most of my RC's are budget built. It really comes down to how you approach this hobby.

I could go on and on but you get the idea... Ill stop now before blabing about other toys...

dbworms

You're right Boza, I did spend a little more than I expected entering this hobby with the BD5. I just wanted to point out that buying upgrade parts separately would cost more than starting out with with a slightly higher end kit. :P

Ever since the Ebisu circuit in Japan made scraping walls popular, crashing your car at high speed is a pretty real risk these days. I myself went through quite a number of bent rear wheels. The TA05 though, would have an entire suspension assembly misaligned.

cjtamu

iTrader: (11)

Whoa, whole new learning curve here. I'm a competent offroad and onroad driver, and decided to buy the Yoko MR4TC SD CM that my buddy had. Besides the 96 pages of this thread, where can I go to check out RC drift setups, terminology, etc? Any videos on how to actually drift the dang thing? Also, since my car says "CM", I assume that's different than the "CS" drifting y'all were talking about. Is the underdrive/overdrive front to rear the only difference, or is there more to it than that? Nobody in the Houston area doing any drifting that I know of, so I'll be learning on my own. Most likley will be doing it in front of the LHS, which has a nice, smooth asphalt parking lot. Thanks.

As an added benefit, I see that Yokomo USA is now defunct. Such great cars, never understood why they couldn't get it together in the U.S. Anyone know where I can order Yokomo parts? Thanks again.

cjtamu

iTrader: (11)

Sorry guys, one more question. Haven't done anything on-road related in 5 or 6 years so I'm way behind. Anyone know if the majority of the parts from the MR4 TC SD onroad cars will work with the MR4 TC drift cars? Because a few years back I sold 2 of them (one Worlds car, one earlier version) plus enough parts to build a 3rd to a guy I know to use for his students in an RC competition. I bet I can buy them back if they'll fit the drift car.

Tommy R

iTrader: (21)

I can't help you with the parts compatibility questions, unfortunately. But I can point you to a couple drift-specific sites that I've found very helpful.

drccentral com
hyperdrift com

(Sorry, it appears I don't have enough posts to provide the actual URLs.)

"CS" refers to countersteer. It's a mod that overdrives the rear wheels and/or underdrives the front wheels. As a result, in order to execute a drift you actually have to countersteer to maintain the slide, much like a real car and not like a 4wd touring car. I've only dabbled with it, but found it more difficult to control. Maybe with more experience...

I don't know anything about them, but this place reportedly carries Yokomo stuff:
driftspeed com

BTW, if you ever come to Austin, let us know. We have about a half dozen of us who are all pretty new to drifting, but have a blast doing it.

cjtamu

iTrader: (11)

Thanks for the info. I am familiar with over and under drive, and roll out, and shore rating and all kinds of fun onroad terms that gave me a headache and drove me back to offroad lol. Just wondering what CM stands for, i assume it's a neutral car. I want to learn to countersteer, but feel sure that's the advanced class. Have run lots of 2wd Mod, and gas truck so i can drive with throttle when needed. will look you up when headed to the ATX. Normally that would mean a trip to Clay Pit, but maybe i can get my wife to let me do both.

s.l.c.

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys, am new to the rc drift world and would like to know what upgrades I can do or suggest me to do on my rigg to make it competitive and fun. I have a Xray T3R with a Tekin RS and 17.5T motor.

cjtamu

iTrader: (11)

I just picked up a lightly used Speedpassions Granturismo 2.0 speedo and a Trinity Nemesis 17.5 motor. Was originally thinking I'd put it in my B4, but now wondering if it would be a good drift combo? Motor has adjustable timing, and of course the speedo has adjustable timing, boost, turbo functions, etc. He was actually running it in a 17.5 TC class that we have here. No idea what type of final drive I want to run in a drift car, if anyone has tips that would be awesome. Thanks.

boza

iTrader: (14)

Check those drift forums Tommy R suggested, they will be a good resource for you. As for videos, hpi released a "How to drift" tutorial here. I believe CM refers to the material that it is made from, and does not relate to CS at all.

Check the usual online vendors or Japanese based ones (rcmart, banzai hobby, driftspeed, etc) for Yokomo, support in North America is not great at all.

Most of the parts should be compatible. There have been some changes to the new one but I think they should still share similar parts, the MR4TC chassis has not changed that much over the years.

Nice chassis! Your electronics should be more than adequate for drifting, just gear it for more torque. As far as upgrades I dont think there are many... your car is pretty hopped up already. Try a spool/locked diff in the rear and drift tyres, that should be more than enough to get you started. Since I dont own an Xray, Check the drift forums more info.

That is more than enough for drifting. Ive ran a Tamiya black can with stock esc and it can drift almost as good as those brushless combos. Added features can come in handy, but I would leave it for racing, unless you have extra unused electronics lying around. I usually run FDR between 6 - 9. Check recommended factory settings and always check running temperatures when trying new gearing. Remember to check your motor/esc settings to make sure you dont thermal anything. Hope it helps guys, good luck!

Greg Sharpe

iTrader: (15)

There appears to be a couple Nissan Skyline R33s in this video (as opposed to R32s or R34s). Does anyone know who makes that body and where it's being sold? I admit defeat, can't find it anywhere on the interwebs....

+ YouTube Video

Anyone have an opinion on the HPI LP drift tires/rims vs. other drift tires?

wilke

iTrader: (2)

Its a Tamiya Loctite R33, a very limited edition shell so thats why its so hard to find. There is one on ebay tho. This is a very rare body and is sought after by many, in case you were wondering why it costs what it does.

Greg Sharpe

iTrader: (15)

Thanks for clearing that up. Bummer.

drift zamurai

hey guys,

Im new to this part of the forum I thought i would inter duce my self.

My name is Lloyd Strepaniuk 24 years old. I live in calgary alberta canada. originally got in to drifting back in high school when i bot a ae86. been in to rc cars since i was 5 years old. I bot the yokomo drift car and thrashed the ever living crap out of it for the last 6 years or so, I just recently retired it with new tires and r32 body and put it on my shelf. So I have been building a new drift car this winter and it is almost time to bring it out. the new car is the HPI sprint 2 sport with carbon every thing, and all aluminum suspension parts. I will post up pics soon. any one on here from calgary? get some people together and have a drift day??