Tokyo Drift is a movie legend that influenced many markets in this country, and many others-especially Japan and China. Hollywood made the concept a part of many television scripts due to its popularity. How many cars did you see last week that looked like they came from the movie? It was only a matter of time before RC drift cars moved the market. Drifting is a particular maneuver that involves throttling up into a turn at high-speed, and allowing the back-end of the car to “Drift,” or slid out in a controlled motion. If done properly, drifting allows the driver to maintain maximum speed throughout taking a corner while gaining time in a race.
These are street races and are very, very illegal. The races are also very dangerous, unless you are standing at the side of a parking lot or in your driveway “drifting” your hot new RC car. RC drift cars are remote control cars that are fitted with a speed boosting system using nitro gas, called “nitro,” and are designed to withstand much higher tolerances for maneuvering to allow this kind of high-speed action. Drifting competitions are popular in Japan, where they hold the races on dedicated tracks, but there is a growing popularity for RC drift cars as a means of demonstrating one’s skills in a reasonable safe manner.
The Secrets of RC Drifting
RC drift cars are generally the same as other RC cars, but the few differences include engineering and design tweaks. Most RC drifter cars use a shaft driven transmission because of its superior performance over the belt driven types. This is important, as the shaft driven types deliver power quicker and with less loss than a belt driven transmission. Oddly enough, most “Drifters” prefer electric-powered drift cars over Nitro powered models. The reason is that drifting is all about control and not raw power. Nitro powered cars are too powerful and this can cause the operator to lose control. The other reason is that all that power can damage clutch systems when trying to control the power throughout a drift maneuver.
Tires are another difference. Drifting maneuvers generate a lot of heat and that can burn normal tires quickly. Drifting tires are usually made of PVC, the same plastic that pipes are made of. It takes the heat better in drifting although traction can be an issue. As to drive systems, some prefer rear wheel drive systems while others prefer four-wheel drive cars. The only common opinion is that front wheel drive is out. The power needs to be on the back wheels to drift properly.
