I stumbled across one of those videos and was like instantly sold. Could a non-proportional RC really work that well drifting? How did they construct it? So I got a couple from Toy East and thought I might write a brief review of this.
For a price of 30 USD I thought it as a bargain, but shipping and local taxes will double the cost, ouch! Nevertheless, when they arrived my expectations were high. The packaging was neat and sorted, the material felt like it was of MiniZ quality, and the construction looked smart.
So it's a kit!
Not what I'd expected that from a toy but makes if feel more serious somehow. The instructions are in japanese but you won't need that really, however there are som drifting tips on it which is a shame to miss.
Ever wondered why the video said Aero RC drift _LIGHT_ package? I saw no LED kits included. Though it comes with an ad poster that tellls you about the 1/10 Yokomo drift package. What, did I just pay 30USD for a promotion toy?!
Putting it together requires no tools and takes about 15 minutes (however inserting the batteries requires a philips screwdriver). The chassis is a bit unusual in the way that you mount the stuff from beneath, so in goes one motor for propolusion and one for steering. The motors gets their electricity by contact patches. There are no suspension mechanisms at all, so no off-roading ambitions here, especially not when the ground clearance is like 2mm.
The steering is handled with gears and a return spring. Center point is adjustable and the whees turns about 40deg. The front wheels also have about -5deg negative camber. As for the driveline, there is a center axle driven by the motor, a solid axle in the rear, and a one-way forward solid axle in the front, transmitting to the wheels through dogbones. Wheelbase is adjustable, between 98mm and I guess 94mm. When the parts is in you snap on the lids to secure them in place.
The wheels are tapered, so depending how you mount them you get either a flat contact with the ground, or a cambered.
The body is a Nissan 180SX, and has 98mm wheelbase. It'll propably fit a MR015 chassis with 2mm offset quite well, but you have to modify the mountings. This one mounts to the chassis with notches in front and rear. It comes with decals, a snap-on spoiler, sets of headlight cover in different positions, and a complete 2 pairs of spare side mirrors! Lol, not that I believe I'd snap any of them as the material feels hardened, I'd worry more about the furniture.
For power the transmitter needs 2 AAA and the chassis 3 AAA, not included with the kit. Running weight is about 200g.
Now how's the driving experience (do I have to write about it)?
Box-stock it's actually a mild dissapointment - I could pull off a couple of powerslides with it, but it has a nasty habit of constantly pulling to the left, which sort of ruins the steering, and the rest as well. A closer inspection shows that only 3 wheels touch ground, leaving the left front in the air, which makes the right front wheel turn left. Until I find a way to lower the left front wheel solving the problem I won't know how well this car really could perform. Shame really that such a smalll fault would ruin the experience totally. Maybe this was a bad sample.
Final verdict? Smart package, but potentially flawed.