RC Drifter
Toyota Altis E120 Drift Conversion
by the wind on Jul.20, 2010, under Project1
Toyota Corolla E120 more widely known as Altis in South East Asia region is the best selling car of its time (2000-2005)
and continue to be the top contender of all times. This scale model is a fusion of popularity and off the edge imagination in RC drifting. There has been many conversion both in Japan, US, of non FR configuration for drifting. Such conversion famous to be successful namely are Team Orange’s old GDB, EVOs while on US soil, the TC Scion, etc.
With ASEAN flavours, this Altis Drift Conversion come to reality as pioneering catalyst for more conversion both in appearance and ideas represented by RC drifting. Traditional boundary of natural FR commonly embraced by the region perhaps could be richer with more conversions around. It may be far fetched or it may be not, as we see less and less FR car gets produced.
The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of 2007.[2] Over the past 40 years, one Corolla car has been sold on average every 40 seconds.[3] The series has undergone several major redesigns.
The name Corolla is part of Toyota’s naming tradition of using the name Crown for primary models: the Corona, for example, gets its name from the Latin for crown; Corolla is Latin for small crown; and Camry is an Anglicized pronunciation of the Japanese for crown, kanmuri.
Corollas are manufactured in Japan and in Brazil (Indaiatuba, São Paulo), Canada (Cambridge, Ontario), China (Tianjin), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom (Derbyshire) and Venezuela. Production has previously been made in Australia (Victoria). Production in the United States (Fremont, California) ended in March 2010.[4]
The Corolla’s chassis designation code is “E”, as described in Toyota’s chassis and engine codes.
In November 2000 the ninth generation Corolla was introduced in Japan, with edgier styling and more technology to bring the nameplate into the 21st century. It is also called the Corolla Altis in the ASEAN region. The station wagon model is called the (Japanese: Corolla Fielder) in Japan.
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Suzuki SX-4 Fanta (part 2)
by the wind on Apr.06, 2010, under Howto, Project1
front
side
rear
fun shot
Suzuki SX-4 New 2010 Fanta Orange Team
by the wind on Jan.09, 2010, under Howto, Project1, Techniques
things you love to do ..
and a little walkthru tutorials on the project.
Tamiya released this bodyshell as WRC SX-4 version complete with light buckets, rear spoiler and stuff but we figured why go boxart while we could try something fresh for the 2010, something fun as well.
Important note before we start, SX-4 is a semi short wheelbase (251mm).
Boxart Look
It doesn’t really relate to RC drift or drifting, but this cute and wide Tamiya Suzuki SX-4 bodyshell has all the ingredients for seriously fun setup like Fanta Orange soda drink scheme. With a little imagination, some tricks, addons and accessories we try to grab sweetness of the hobby on this build.
Started off with masking areas with lighter or different color than the predominant orange, we figured the layout as it goes.
Tips:
Unless you’re gunning for freeflow paint scheme, it would be better if you have well thought pre-emptive plan prior to laying down the masking. You could use sketches etc.
A little bit of art sense would help a lot in getting the whole bodyshell decorated without going overboard or showing too little. You could always do fine tuning in the end if you have some decals in mind.
so off we go to the spray paint lab.
Now what we want is candy orange as close as possible to the original color on the can.
Here’s the howto layer by layer as easy as abc:
- Anodize Silver 2x
- Translucent Red 1x
- Translucent Orange 2x
- Camel Yellow 3x
- White 3x
Do the same procedures but with different colors for other areas with masking removed.
- Word ‘Fanta’ use Anodize Silver overflow with Translucent Blue backed with silver
- Leaf use Anodize Silver with Translucent Green, also backed with silver
- Droplets use Anodize Silver with Translucent Orange backed with silver
Final seal we use Acrylic White and Black.
Reviews:
You may exercise other options or ways you think would yield better result, what we did was based on what bodyshell and paints we have at that moment.
Finished form coming up!
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Nissan S15 Drift Culture Batik
by the wind on Oct.02, 2009, under Project1
Today, most Indonesian are wearing Batik -a traditional hand painted fabric- rooted hundreds of years back in Indonesian history. We spot this fine Nissan S15 bodyshell off Indo RC Forum, a new site dedicated for RC drifting in Indonesian language.
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source:IndoRC
How To Improve Your RC Drifting
by the wind on Sep.27, 2009, under Techniques
Several important things to do to jack up performance of your drift car, this is applicable to Tamiya, HPI or any other 4WD chassis.
Tuning and setup are mainly two main items beside upgrading parts, so especially for beginner and intermediates, don’t go crazy hopping up your car parts without trying first to improve the setup.
1. Response up
fine tune the settings:
- better turning radius
- better roll and traction level
- good maintenance of bearings and other moving parts
- good maintenance and tuning of motor
upgrade the following components:
- better dampers like Tamiya TRF
- replace dogbones (especially front) with universal joints
- replace plastic shaft with alloy
- upgrade servo and radio system to a better spec
2. Lighten up
throw away excess load off the chassis to make it as light as possible, probably thru:
- limit the usage of components to basic
- upgrade to CF chassis
- using lighter parts, avoid using alloy where not necessary
3. Power up
upgrade your engine to a more powerful one such as:
- lower turn motor such as 19T
- ESC with lower resistance and better current capability
- battery with better discharge rate
4. Drifter up
All above won’t be complete if not accompanied with serious practice time. If only fun you’re after, then of course all mentioned above won’t be needed.
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2.4GHz Wave Hits Entry Level Shore
by the wind on Aug.07, 2009, under RC News, Techniques
There is a subtle transition that is apparently emerging in Radio Control System technology. It is not something new, it has been there since the introduction of Spektrum DSM modules, receiver and eventually radio system. Based on spread spectrum system of WLAN technology, the 2.4GHz ISM band system does not rely on specific radio frequency, but continuously maintaining one way communication via channel hopping. Compared to the common crystal or synthesized controlled RF circuitry, the 2.4GHz system claimed to consume less power to reach the same level of coverage. Another winning edge is its reliability against interference due to its ultra high operating frequency.
Entry level Radio System for RC Hobby consists of a basic function Transmitter and Receiver, and sometime accompanied with servo(s) among other accessories. Basic functions covers:
- throttle (ch2)
- steering (ch1)
- throttle reverse switch and trim
- steering reverse switch and trim
Some better spec entry level radio may also include:
- throttle dual rate
- display (LCD)
- exponential adjuster(s)
- end point adjuster(s)
There has been more and more entry level 2.4GHz Radio Control System in the market. The first that we noticed is the Sanwa/Airtronics MX3 FHSS or G in 2007 -and now with MX3 FG FHSS2- but the price tag of around US$150 and functions suggested it to be for intermediate hobbyists.
The 2.4GHz Acoms Hayabusha however, which encapsulated in the traditional FM Hayabusha form with LCD display minus the telescopic antenna of course; appeared to be the first 2.4GHz system to break the US$100 barrier.
Currently it is marketed in the U.K/Europe but fabricated in South East Asia, it fetch just slightly under US$100 a system.
The Acoms was not alone as Futaba who is revamping all its radio system into 2.4GHz technology finally announced the release of Futaba 2PL 2.4G, which look a bit awkward with the telescopic antenna outlet didn’t get cosmetic update. The system is sold for slightly under US$100 as well.
Another one appearing in the horizon is the Ansmann Racing W3 -that is also up for European market- at around US$ 130. Although it resembles Sanwa MX3 in many ways, this one is still one level below it, at least as far as LCD display concerns. Our hunch is that this one has nothing to do with Sanwa OEM, despite few physical looks and feel were adopted.
The show stopper is (currently) the latest Towerhobbies 224, although only equipped for 2 channels instead of the norm 3, the price of just under US$80 has every beginner stop and consider it seriously. Towerhobbies has been marketing Futaba for the past decades and we believe that even this, has possibly came from the same source. Futaba has also been the supplier for Tamiya RTR radio system in the past.
What we regard as special has now become more and more of norm and pushes itself against the conservative AM/FM technology in RC radio system. It may be soon, or later that the old one become obsolete but whichever it is, the progress is taking place now.
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Silvia v2 Final
by the wind on Aug.05, 2009, under Project1
added new drift competition liveries to the stock Nissan S15, experimented new CF method with more realism to scale. The original stock shell was painted fluorescent yellow a few years back when the first TA05 was released.
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Basic Items for RC Drift Maintenance
by the wind on Aug.02, 2009, under Howto
There are many items that we can use in doing a maintenance for an RC drifting car, possibly we have a toolbox full of it. While doing at home in a more relax way with the availability of tools, maintenance during or after a drift session couldn’t be said the same. If you wish to carry a minimum amount of items for a quick drift session but don’t wish to bring your bulky toolbox along, here is a list of basic items needed for RC drift maintenance in no particular order.
1. Brush
a 1/2 inch paint brush probably the most ideal size for cleaning up debris off your chassis and bodyshell.
2. Cleaning Cloth
don’t matter if it is a use one, but preferably not very dirty, to be use in cleaning or as a mat in case certain parts need to be dismantled.
3. Blower
camera lens blower/puffer is great for getting rid of dust in hard to reach unseen parts, as well as providing you with a great arm exercise.
4. Allen Key set/Screwdrivers
It is good if you have the extra budget to replace all those phillips screw to hex head and obtain the precision hex screw driver set.
If you don’t, a decent set of allen keys matching screws on your chassis would be good enough.
5. Oiler/Lubricant
A small bottle of needle oiler is necessary to make sure your bearings are in top condition each run. Do not apply excessively though.
6. Wheel Wrench
small yet useful to take your wheels off. Don’t leave home without it.
7. Spare Body clips
if your car is using this conservative method of body mounting.
8. Zip ties/cable ties & CA/Super Glue
if you tend to go hard and yet still make mistakes.
9. Cutter or Scissors
for cutting something short or adjusting shape.
10. Spare Pinions & Moving Parts
Pinions and bit of parts for tuning speed as well as for uneventful breakdown.
images up soon
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Silvia v2
by the wind on Jul.14, 2009, under Project1
Here’s a bodyshell that has been in keep since late 2006, can’t or didn’t use because of bodypost holes no longer matched its modified TA05 chassis.
Don’t ask me why I am reluctant to make new holes…
With the v2 finished built, the opportunity to use this Nissan S15 just pop to the surface. Of course, ideally it should be refreshingly more pleasing to the eyes. Gunning for a new look, will be done by adding livery.
the candidate: Tamiya Nissan S15
update coming soon.
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Tamiya TA05 v2 (Part 4, the build)
by the wind on Jul.06, 2009, under Build Walkthru
# This is a 1/10 R/C assembly kit of the Cusco Dunlop Subaru Impreza.
# The new TA05 ver.II chassis features 5 newly designed parts: L Parts (Lower deck), KParts (Stiffener), M Parts (Suspension Mount), Body and H Parts (Wing, Mirror), DC Parts(Motor mount).
# Overall chassis width is narrower which improves road clearance in rolls.
# The battery position is moved forward for improved driving characteristics.
# The separated suspension mounts enable easy maintenance of the drive train.
# The belt-driven 4-wheel drive chassis features isometric drive belts, front and rear 37T ball diff. and a horizontally mounted motor.
# Features inboard front suspension and short reversible suspension arms as well as up-rights with 1050 ball bearings.
# Aluminum one-piece integrated motor mount.
Dirt Kick- Toyota Altis E120 Drift Conversion July 20, 2010
- ABC Hobby – Honda Integra type R June 29, 2010
- Tamiya #84132 TA05 VDF (High End Drift Chassis) May 13, 2010
- Tamiya TA-06 ? April 8, 2010
- Suzuki SX-4 Fanta (part 2) April 6, 2010
- Spektrum DX3-E April 1, 2010
- ABC Hobby Toyota Celica LB2000 GT & 1600 GT March 16, 2010
- ABC Hobby #66122 Nissan Fairlady Z March 13, 2010
- Ko Propo EX-5UR #82011 March 13, 2010
- Tamiya #58461 Mitsubishi Evo 5 March 11, 2010
