2017 Thoughts + GCRCD Sliders

2017 sees a shift in focus for the Sliders Gold Coast RC Drift Club Australia on scale and group drifting!

GCRCD is a small, scale rc drift venue on Australia's Gold Coast where RE-Xtreme RC is directly involved.


In a similar way to real drift "Classes", we are in the middle of the RC transition to more detailed machines with RC chassis tuned to match the real car's style. An AE86 in D1GP is pretty much unheard of these days but the grass roots AE86s are everywhere still with sub 200hp.

Such is the evolution of Rear Wheel Drive drift in RC. As rear wheel drive setups are now quite stable, we are starting to see real moves in the RC scene evolution to more closely emulate real car "behaviors".

While this may split the already divided RC drift scene even further it also has some real positives. When you run a specific car, we will be able to recognize how that car will run. So expecting a D1 machine to run the same as an AE86 is obviously different and easier to identify.

 

Our 2016 low style project aimed to emulate the grass roots Japanese drift culture where similar cars breed a similar style. The A~Bo~Moon real drift team in Japan has a skyline only membership and with power set at an affordable level and car grip set for lower speed sliding, the membership has grown and grown.

GCRCD's low grip surface takes care of a lot of the low scale speed, but the constant spacing and team drift is something we really worked on to the point we we can set a "specific line" and we can run that pretty easily.

So 2017 we level up.

Silvia's and the S-Chassis variants are the mainstay of drift culture. 2017 sees the use of this style for team running. The Sliders .RSG. Design S13 "Dantai" (group) project focus will be that of a 550Hp Drift car with middle of the road power with modern high angle capabilities.

RWD chassis specs should be close to 13.5T or 10.5T with optional Turbo ESC (set for RPM increase at 100% throttle only)  for a good spread of power and peak rpm for line correction. Steering capable of MAX 75 degree plus steering angle will be mainly for spin prevention at bigger angles as constant angle should target 45 degrees.

The primary use of these machines will be for "mattari" following constant drift trains with the slower speed / higher angle lines. These should replicate the style we need and simply replace our older R32 which are already operate in this zone.

The "Kuso Hachiroku" (Shitbox 86) projects are also underway. Detailed or not, the driving style will reflect that of the real 86 or lower powered corollas and older classic machines. My 2000GT is also very suitable for this style. Older skylines and other machines would easily suit this category of machine. 

With a real 86 bordering on only 200hp, a 17.5T with no-turbo (NA) ESC is a great choice. Under-geared Final Drive Ratio should see users mashing the throttle but still resulting in smaller angle. Driving harder / clutch kick etc for more drift should bring the enjoyment.

Even without extra power these machines will become instantly indentiyable by using the more tyre grip and inability to overcome it easily. Driving styles will change as a result.  There's a big push in Japan at the moment for a class of rc chassis that the AE86 fits.

I've chosen a Wrap Up Next  FR-D V3 as my AE86 chassis. Front motor and rear drive layout for even more feel. Keyence Tachyon + 17.5T motor. 1st 18/38 2nd 18/38 reduction gear set keeps wheel speeds low. FXX or other front motor designs would be great too.

With the focus not on outright speed, but max fun! The chassis dynamics don't need to be super perfect, just good enough for mash up 86 Mattari Trains.

The final style we will focus on in 2017 is the Twin Drift Show-off / D1 PRO Competition Car.

These are not everyday machines. These are the Competition Spec 1000+ Hp machines of D1GP and Formula D. These are for Tsuiso Tandem BATTLE!    Not for Group drift. The knife edge nature in not really conducive to balance gentle drifting

Big Speed and Power / Big Style / Big Angle for THE SHOW and Dynamic Qualify and Tandem Competition.

We will try to hold a competition only once a month for this GCRCD1-PRO style.

If you decide to build a machine of this nature... using a higher RPM motor will require a mindset adjustment on the GCRCD low grip surface . You will require driving technique and precise electronic setups on the low grip surface.

Use of all your setup techniques to suspension / gearing / forward power and more importantly precise use of finger technique to extract the full use of the power available from low 1% throttle for traction to high 100% throttle crazy wheel spin or in gear top speed.

Higher turn motors over 10.5T or boosted motors generate more RPM that is quite simply unnecessary on the GCRCD surface but can be great in the right hands.

Note: GCRCD control tyres will not change to promote equal speed and track preservation.

Speedline CR-1 curved profile
RC-ART  - Derive RT-01 Sh (ART5006) HDPE flat
RC-ART - Derive RT-02 Sh (ART5014) HDPE Curved
Top Line - Sports Edition (TDT-002PE)

These selections will continue to be used as the control RWD tyre. Front tyres will be the same compounds for competition.

In 2017, the Scale Driver will be the focus and learning how to control and setup your machines, whether they be Silvia Spec / AE86 Spec / Formula D Spec, All will be fun.

2017 looks very promising as the new projects come on line and the GCRCD Sliders get busy.

See you at the track.