The field of RC has several different facets; there’s really something for everyone. One of several areas I’ve set my sights on mastering is the drift segment. It basically is the opposite of everything I’ve learned when it comes to driving sliding is superior to grip, more power does not always mean a faster vehicle and tire compounds, well, plastic is better than rubber. And once 3Racing sent over their Axial SCX10, I had to scoop one up to see what all of the hoopla was using this drifter.
Instantly
WHO Will Make It: 3Racing
WHO IT’S FOR: Any level of drift enthusiast
PART NUMBER: KIT-D4AWD
Exactly How Much: $115.00
BUILD TYPE: Kit
PROS
• AWD for quick learning ?
• Narrow 3mm FRP chassis ?
• Wide, high-angle dual bellcrank steering ?
• Highly adjustable front, Y-arm suspension ?
• Battery positioning ahead of the motor or around the rear diffuser ?
• Aluminum motor mount ?
• Threaded shocks ?Lots of tuning adjustment ?
• Extremely affordable pric
CONS
• Front drive belt slips off the roller bearing
REVIEWER’S OPINION
This drifter has quite a bit selecting it; well manufactured, a great deal of pretty aluminum and rolls in at the very affordable price. Handling is good at the same time as soon as you get accustomed to the kit setup, and it also accepts an extremely wide range of body styles. There’s also a bunch of tunability for those that like to tinker, which means that this car should grow along with you as your skills do.
FEATURE BREAKDOWN
The D4’s chassis is a 3mm sheet of FRP, or Fiber-Reinforced Plastic. It offers cutouts on the bottom for that front and back diffs to peek through as well as a bazillion countersunk holes. The majority of these can be used for mounting such things as the bulkheads, servo and battery box, but you will find a good number of left empty. They are often used to control chassis flex, but not with all the stock top deck; an optional you must be obtained. The design is a lot like a regular touring car; front bulkhead/ suspension, steering system, electronics, battery box, motor mount system and lastly the back bulkhead/ suspension. Things are easy to access and replaceable with just a few turns of some screws.
? Other than a couple of interesting pieces, a drifter’s suspension is very similar to a touring car’s. A single A and D mount and separate B and C mounts are employed, both having dual support screws and stamped, metal shims to increase them up. The suspension arms have droop screws, anti-roll bar mounts and adjustable wheelbase shims. The rear suspension uses vertical ball studs to handle camber and roll even though the front uses an appealing, dual pickup front Y-arm setup. This product allows the adjustment of camber, caster and roll and swings smoothly on upper and lower pivot balls. It’s actually quite unique and allows for some extreme camber settings.
? One important thing that’s pretty amazing with drift cars will be the serious level of steering throw they may have. Beginning with the bellcranks, they’re positioned as far apart and as near to the edges of the chassis as you can. This produces a massive 65° angle, enough to manipulate the D4 in the deepest of slides. Since drifters spend most of their time sideways, I wanted an effective servo to take care of the constant countersteering enter Futaba’s S9551 Low-Pro? le Digital Servo.
Although it is not needing anything near its 122 oz. of torque, the .11 speed is de? nitely enough to take care of any steering angle changes I want it a moment’s notice.
? The D4 uses a dual belt design, spinning a front, fluid-filled gear differential and rear spool. A tremendous, 92T 48P spur is attached to the central gear shaft, where front and back belts meet. Pulleys keep the front belt high over the chassis, and 3mm CVDs transfer the ability to the wheels. Standardized 12mm hexes are included to enable utilizing a selection of different wheel and tire combos.
? To provide the D4 a little bit of beauty, I prefered 3Racing Mini-Z parts body from ABC Hobby. This really is a beautiful replica with this car and included a slick group of decals, looking fantastic once mounted. I wasn’t sure how to paint it, but I do remember an approach I used quite some time back that got a bit of attention. So, I gave the RX-3 a shot of pearl white on the underside, but painted the fenders black externally. After everything was dry, I shot the surface with a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear. I adore the last result … and it also was easy. That’s good because I’m an incredibly impatient painter!
Around The TRACK
For this particular test, I had the privilege of putting this four-wheel drifter down on the iconic Tamiya track in Aliso Viejo, CA. I found myself heading there to complete a picture shoot for one more vehicle and thought, heck, why not bring it along and obtain some sideways action?
STEERING
The steering around the D4 is fairly amazing. Because I mentioned earlier, the throw is really a whopping 65 degrees with zero interference from your parts. Even the CVD’s can make that far, allowing smooth input of power at full lock. Even though it does look a bit funny with all the tires turned that far (remember, I’m a touring car guy), the D4 does an incredible job of keeping the slide controlled and moving in the appropriate direction. This really is, partly, because of the awesome handling in the D4, but the speedy Futaba servo.
ACCELERATION/BRAKING
Drifting is just not about overall speed but wheel speed controlled. I understand that sounds odd, but once you’ve mastered the wheel speed of your drifter, you can control the angle of attack along with the sideways motion through any corner. I discovered Novak’s Drift Spec system allowed me to complete simply that make controlled, smooth throttle modifications to affect the angle of the D4 when and where I needed. Sliding inside a little shallow? Increase throttle to find the tail end to whip out. Beginning to over cook the corner? Ease up a little and the D4 would get back in line. It’s all an issue of ? nesse, as well as the Novak system is made for exactly that. I did so have to be a little bit creative with all the install in the system as a result of limited space in the chassis, but overall it worked out great.
HANDLING
After driving connected touring cars for quite a while, it does require a little getting used to understanding that an automobile losing grip and sliding is correctly around the track. It’s also good practice for managing throttle control as soon as you have it, it’s beautiful. Having a car and pitching it sideways via a sweeper, all the while keeping the nose pointed in at less than a couple of inches from your curb … it’s actually very rewarding. It’s a controlled unmanageable thing, along with the D4 would it wonderfully. The kit setup is useful, but if you think as if you need more of something anything there’s plenty of things to adjust. I just enjoyed the auto using the kit setup and it was just a matter of battery power pack or two before I found myself swinging the back throughout the hairpins, around the carousel and to and fro throughout the chicane. I never had a chance to strap battery on the diffuser, but that’s something I’m getting excited about.
DURABILITY
There’s not much that you can do to damage a drift car they’re not really going everything fast. I did so, however, have an trouble with the top belt’s bearing pulley mounted to the top deck. Throughout the initial run, it suddenly felt like the D4 acquired a bit drag brake. I kept along with it, attempting to overcome the situation with driving, but soon needed to RPM Team losi parts it directly into actually check it out. During the build, the belt slips in to a plastic ‘tunnel’ that may be supported by a bearing, keeping it above any chassis mounted items like the ESC or servo. The belt, though, doesn’t sit square about the bearing; it’s half on and half off. So, once the drivetrain is spooling up, the belt will sometimes slide off the bearing, ?opping around and catching on anything it comes down in contact with. To ?x this, I simply 3raccingSakura a lengthier screw with a couple of 1mm shims to space the bearing out a tad bit more. Problem solved.