It wasn’t long after Tamiya released it’s first TA-01 kit (the all-black Nissan

Skyline—remember?) that mainstream RC fans got a taste of the impossibly long,

full-opposite-lock slides that are possible with 4WD touring cars. This sort of
sideways action is exactly what “drifting” is all about. Drifting began as a niche
within the import-tuner car scene in Japan (of coarse, the “imports” are domestic
cars in Japan), and the scene has crossed over to American hardcore tuners -- and
RC fans. Like the real thing, RC drifting is hardcore, tire-shredding, fully
intentional mayhem. I’ll show you how to get your car dialed to drift and give some
driving tips for superior sideways showing off!

DRIFTING SETUP
If you have any RC racing experience, you know the ideal setup provides you with a
well-balanced chassis that sticks to the track without sliding. Just the opposite
holds true when it comes to a drift machine. The goal here is to de-tune your car
to find the perfect middle ground between grip & slide. The following basic setup
principals can be applied to almost any 4WD sedan, but as with all setups, these
are just suggestions; Experiment with shock oil weight, spring rates & tires to
find what works best for your driving style and conditions.

CAMBER
I recommend that you start with -4 degrees of front camber. It looks like a lot,
but it works! In the rear, I suggest zero camber; the wheels should be perfectly
perpendicular to the ground. Remember; you’re setting the car up for sideways drift
– not straight-line running or best cornering grip. These settings allow maximum
front-tire contact in a slide and minimal rear-tire contact. That’s what you need
for controlled drifting.

SPRINGS
Go heavy on the spring rate to match the firmer damping. A “heavy” or “stiff”
spring in the rear and a “medium” spring in the front is a good baseline; no matter
which rate you choose, use the stiff springs on the rear shocks.

TIRES
The harder your tires, the better! If you have tires of various compounds, put the
hardest tires on the rear. I really like the vinyl-like slicks included with
Tamiya’s sport kits. They are cheap, hard and work really well for drifting. You
can run whichever inserts are included with the tires, but if you want to get
fancy, having a firm molded insert in the rear and a medium insert in the front
makes a good setup.

STEERING SERVO
A “standard” steering servo is all you need to drift; much of the steering is done
with the throttle. If you really get into drifting, upgrade to a faster servo; you
don’t need a lot of torque, but a more responsive servo will make the car more
“flickable”.

DAMPING
Use a fairly heavy shock oil. A good starting point is 60 to 80wt silicone shock
fluid. Try using the same weight in all four corners, or go slightly heavier in the
rear.

GEARING
Gear down when you install the motor; you need wheel-spinning torque, not massive
top-end power. To keep the wheels spinning, go for a smaller pinion gear or larger
spur gear.

MOTOR
If you were psyched to hear that cheap tires are the hot setup for drifting, you’ll
also be glad that you wont need an expensive motor! Drifting requires torque, not
sheer rpm. When drifting, you must maintain wheel spin at all times. If your car
doesn’t have enough torque to keep the rear wheels sliding, it will hook up & lose
its drift, or you car will spin out. Competition stock motors are most widely used
for the RC drifting scene. Other good choices are mild modifieds in the 17 to 19
turn range.

CAN MY CAR DRIFT?

The most basic element of proper RC drift is a light machine. Bulk is bad; you need
something strong yet light. A stiffer chassis is also beneficial; you don’t want to
flex while drifting. Any 4WD touring car can be setup for drifting, but some cars
standout as ideal drifters.

GETTING THE DRIFT

The easiest way to learn to drift is to drive in a straight line (don’t worry,
there’s more). Now slowly weave the car back and forth to get a feel for it’s “grip
points” where the tire begin to lose their grip. Now increase your speed and do it
again. Repeat until the tail end starts to come around and forces you to
countersteer. This is actually what you want to happen. Once you can successfully
“catch” the car in both directions and prevent it from looping out, you’re ready to
start hanging with the big boys! Now, when you get your car to lose traction, try
to hold it there. You must maintain enough speed to first get the car sideways and
then maintain that speed to keep the tires spinning while you countersteer enough
to prevent a spin out with overcorrecting and losing the drift. Get it? Cool. With
practice you’ll be able to hold as long as you like and even change directions,
without ever driving in the conventional straight-ahead mode.