If you’ve ever watched those movies where there are car chases and the villain drifts to outrun the cops, isn’t that interesting? In real life though, it’s packed with a lot of thrill and adrenaline. This is perhaps the reason as to why RC drift cars are gaining popularity. Real life drifting requires a whole new level of training and expertise. Well, so does RC drifting. For starters, controlling and drifting are two different things. In addition to this, it may also require some modifications to be done on the car. To ensure that you’ll always have a smooth drift, here are 4 tips to caring for you RC drifting car.
1. Correct Wiring Mistakes
It’s imperative that before taking your RC drift car for a spin check the wiring. The fact that the car is new doesn’t warrant its safety. Always ensure to check for loose connections, especially the battery. If the battery is not properly connected or fully charged, it will give you little power.
To add on to this, if your car is running on a LiPo battery, it’s imperative that you ensure your car has a low voltage cut off. This is because they will permanently fail if they go below 3.3V per cell.
2. Configure the Shocks
The newer versions of RC drift cars come with adjustable collars on the shocks. It's important to, therefore, adjust them to correspond with the terrains. Poor adjustments may end up causing additional damages to your car. Additionally, they’ll not be able to effectively handle jumps. This brings us to an important point on How to handle jumps. Here’s how:
- Do not accelerate in the air (only pros are allowed to do this)
- Approach all jumps with tires facing forward.
3. Ensure That You Have the Right Tires
It's important to always ensure that you’ve got the right tires depending on the terrain you are drifting on. This helps to increase the car’s performance, save you money and reduces tread wear. As you can see, your car's maintenance depends on parts selection and how you drive. The tires should provide you with the right traction when oversteering. ABS plastic and PVC tires are the best at this. They offer you a realistic driving experience as well as ensuring handling in specific situations. This eliminates unforeseeable crushes that would otherwise damage your car.
4. Take Care of the Motor
Always ensure that the motor aligns with the slipper gear. This may affect the torque and the power from the motor. A tight mesh may stress the motor while a loose one may cause power loss, this means that your car will run less efficiently. If you are unsure about this, check the manual before running your car.
Finally, it's very important to maintain a clean RC car. This should be done right after driving when the dirt is still fresh and easy to remove.
- Remove the batteries
- Blow off loose dirt with an air compressor
- Use a general all-purpose cleaner to wash off the debris and to prevent from rusting
- Use a clean rag dipped in warm water to clean the wheels (use a hand brush to scrub off mud)
- Wipe every part with a dry cloth
Caring and Maintaining will help to extend the car’s longevity as well as help to avoid additional repair costs.
