Drifting Tips

How To Drift your RC Car

   Drifting is the greatest fun you can have on four wheels, but it isn't as easy as it might look. There are lots of different methods and ideas on how it should be done and it takes lots of practice to get it right.

   On the street or in the parking lot, drifting is fine, but until you have had hours and hours of practice to master the technique, don't try it on your local race track. If you don't have the total control of your car, you will not make many friends amongst your immediate competitors.

   Controlled Drifting is a beautiful thing when done correctly and in this article I will endeavour to give you a few pointers on where to start. After that, your own personal style will soon blossom.

How I Do It

   As I mentioned before, there are a number of different ideas about drifting, but basically this is what you do.

   Consider a 180 degree turn. Enter the corner at speed, start the turn a little sooner than you might, then just before the apex, touch the brakes for a split second, enough to break the rear of the car free as you enter to turn (For beginners, try setting your transmitter to provide a small amount of braking when you simply release the throttle. i.e., Neutral Braking).

Steer Into the Slide

   When the car begins to slide sideways, steer into the slide, increase the throttle, just enough to balance the car as it drifts around the turn. Coming out of the corner, steer the car straight and apply more throttle to pull you out of the slide, propelling the car forwards.

   Often referred to as a power slide, drifting is much more fun than the basic "Rounding" style, described in a previous article, but also takes more skill, not just in its execution, but in car set-up.

Drift Car Setup

   A little "body-roll" is the thing to aim for when setting up a drifting car, but be careful. With too much body-roll, the car will be difficult to control and tumble sideways off the track. Too little and the weight transfer to the leading wheels will not be enough to induce the slide.

   The "Hints and Tips" page linked below will help guide you to the best drifting setup for your car, but try to be patient, a lot of trial and error, with tuning springs, damper oil, damper pistons, stabilisers, tires and inserts is required to get your car as you want it, but believe me, when you do get it right, it will be well worth all your effort.

   At present, the RC Model Manufacturers, Brands and Distributors covered by us are: ABC Hobby, Academy, Acme Racing, Agama Racing, Amewi, Ansmann Racing, ARRMA, Team Associated, Atomic RC, Axial, AYK, Bolink, BSD Racing, Capricorn, Carisma, Carson, Caster Racing, Cen, Corally, Custom Works, Durango, Duratrax, ECX - Electrix, Exceed RC, FG Modellsport, FS-Racing, FTX, Fujimi, Gmade, GS-Racing, Harm, HBX, Helion, Heng Long, Himoto Racing, Hirobo, Hitari, Hobao, Hong-Nor, Hot Bodies, HPI, HSP, Intech, Integy, Jamara, JQ Products, Kawada, Kyosho, Losi, LRP, Maisto, Mardave, Marui, Maverick, MCD Racing, Megatech, Mugen, New Bright, Nichimo, Nikko, Nkok, Ofna, Pro-Pulse, Protech, PTI, RC4WD, Redcat Racing, RJ-Speed, Robitronic, Schumacher, Seben, Serpent, Smartech, Sportwerks, Step-Up, Tamiya, Team-C Racing, Team Magic, Thunder Tiger, Tomy, Top Racing, Traxxas, Trinity, Tyco, Vaterra RC, Venom, VRX Racing, WLToys, X-Factory, Xmods, Xpress, Xray, XTM, Yankee RC, Yokomo, ZD Racing and Zipzaps.

   This is an ongoing project, with new and "lost in time" RC Models and Brands being added as they are found and although most of those listed above have been covered in relative detail, some are still being researched and will be completed in the near future.