What is RC Drift these days?

Drift in RC has been about replicating the real car's sideways motion. So has that evolved too?

The original drift package did this for about 2 years with limited success as the 4wd drifting of an Evo Lancer is what was replicated, but the bodies were what drew everyone in. The cars in those days actually didn't get too sideways though, so was it real?

Then the Ketsukaki / FCD (full counter drift) / CS (counter steer) drift took over adding realistic sliding behavior. It looked real, the front one way bearings allowed for rear handbrake style slides and this really caught on and challenged the competition / fun direction.  If you want a fast chassis or a stylish realistic chassis. The two are not always compatible.

A whole swarm of parts were created for optimizing the individual's needs in favour of style.

More recently, the thirst for realism has seen many small business with innovative ideas and decorative additions. making the cars look even more real challenging the eye. On a diorama circuit, the reality is mistakable.

These small companies ideas have recently been copied furiously by the limited IP ethics in the country of manufacture. Some have even improved upon the originals. You only have to look at the Type C drift package from Tabao to know that. The gear case is unique.

In Japan, there's always a craze in RC. That's what keeps these companies in business. The Japanese love seasonal activity and crave new things. You see, the magazines promote something one month and then they promote something else the next month. The wave never ends. It sometimes even contradicts itself, but popularity transforms.

Anyway these days the main 257mm chassis market segment is so saturated with products, even manufacturers can't decide what to do. They just build everything. Front Motor / Mid Motor / Rear Motor / Shaft Belt and hope someone buys something. they are all similarly priced with no real differentiation. For a beginner, these options are simply overwhelming. DRB, DIB, DPM, DPC, etc etc OTA-R3R etc etc
Nobody knows what is best because they are in the end all the same. Most top competitors mix and match components anyway. so you end up with a DRBCMR3RODCS.

But they haven't really mastered the look, with front wheels spinning way too fast. Recently the emphasis on realism sees a little more direction split in the RC Drift world that may even bring about different classes of competition other than just carpet and asphalt.The search for markets.

1. ML 275-290mm Wheelbase.
This is a new wheelbase spec by street Jam to literally extend the sales of the OTA series chassis.
the target is the huge VIP market in Japan. Big 4wd sedans don't adequately replicate in 1/10 so this will open the market to others. Street Jam are pretty good at identifying markets and the Pick up truck bodies have been a success, so this should be too. But it may also be ignored, just like the 250mm Tamiya chassis. You will need a bigger track for these also.

2. True FR 2wd Drift is one such option that may never compete with 4wd CS Drift for speed but maybe for style. There are a lot of of compromises to get something on the same level as a 4wd. One of these is traction. The lack of front traction really effects the speed of drift when using the same tyres. The  style component matches D1 cars recently that have special front arms that allow near parallel wheel angle. The FR drift car needs this same angle. But when I look at it used in RC, it just doesn't look right. seeing your car drift with the wheels at near 90 degrees is a little weird at first. maybe it will catch on. My 2.2CS TA-06 was like this...

Does this picture look ok?

So what will be my next chassis. An ML capable chassis or the full FR experience.

I was thinking about an OTA-R Zeon shaft drive with about 2.0 CS. It gives me the option of the ML chassis later.
or the FR-D.

Looking into pricing. The FR-D will cost a LOT more than the Zeon to get to the same level of cool!

Fr drift seems good on paper, but what is the reality of getting into an FRD.
No friends to drift with. I doubt anyone else will have a similar chassis for a while, so it could be a complete waste of money.

Maybe I like wasting money... haha.