I might have started this with my Altezza/Type-A’s (sorry!) but after Drift Session 1, something important has come up regarding drift tires. As you probably noticed, people (like me) running radial tires (HPI Drift Type-A, Pit Shimizu D98, etc.) have to drive more aggressive, and at much higher speeds. Also, radials favor running hotter, faster motors (i.e. 19-turn mod, high power brushless) In comparison, people running the “plastics” (Yokomo Zero-2R, ABS) generally run slower (regardless of motor) speed-wise. At times, this made the sessions a little scary since there was a significant difference in speed, but we were all on the same course. So the question is, should we separate the drift session day by tire type?Click here for the rest of the article, and vote in the poll!

Here’s one of those never-ending debates. When it comes time to select a touring car chassis for drifting, one of the decisions you’ll have to make in the process is simple: shaft or belt drive? What’s the cost difference? Does one perform better? What are the pro’s and cons of each? Since this is always a hot topic, I’ve decided to offer my knowledge to weigh out both drivetrain types.

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A slipping ball differential does a lot of things to your chassis, and they’re not good. Not only will you be going slower than others and wasting battery runtime, but you can damage stuff that will give you a DNF. So, it’s always good to periodically check your ball differentials for tightness. Here’s two ways to check your diffs: One is a little awkward for some, depending on how large your hands are:

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Gearing your car correctly is a basic way of tuning your car for the course, or to change how you want the car to react when you’re on the throttle. You can set up your gearing for low-end torque to give you that punch coming out of a turn, or you can set it for high-end horsepower for more speed. In RC drifting, you generally lean towards a higher ratio because torque is what makes the wheels spin. In order to set up your gearing, you need to figure out how to calculate it properly. Since different chassis have different spur gears, pinion gears, and internal ratios, the “Final Drive Ratio” is generally a number that is good for comparison. In other words, you can compare gearing between two different chassis by looking at the final drive ratio. That way if you want to match the response and top speed of a different chassis, you can do so by figuring out the same final drive ratio for your car.

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You may have heard of the terms “EPA” and “Dual Rate”, but have no idea what they mean, what they do, and how they affect the way you drive. Although both are similar and do relate with each other, but they both different things that can help you fine tune your vehicle and your driving.

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Forum member Sil40SX asked what Li-Po balancing is, when and how it should be done. Basically Li-Po “balancing” is done for the same reason we put Ni-MH batteries on discharge trays - to bring all cells to equal voltage. But what exactly are you doing when balancing a Li-Po pack? Basically Li-Po “balancing” is done for the same reason we put Ni-MH batteries on discharge trays - to bring all cells to equal voltage. But what exactly are you doing when balancing a Li-Po pack?

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