ASK Cubby – Hard Questions, Easy Answers

“Don’t you dare try to duck a drift question!

Hi Cubby!

I’ve been following your ramblings for a bit over a year now, and you really seem to have a good grip on most of our hobby. After having built first a Yeti and then a Bomber, both really gnarly machines, I am now turning my eyes sideways towards the part of our hobby that goes sideways: drifting. To really enjoy my Axial rigs, I have to travel a bit to find good terrain, but drifting I could do on our veranda or the street outside.

I have tried to research what would be a good kit (or RTR) to get started with, but all the drift forums seem to be dead, and there are about a thousand options. 4WD, please. Belt drive seems to be the thing if one is really serious about drift performance, but I am afraid it would break easily if dirt or rocks got into it. And I won’t be driving indoors, so that’s an issue. Parking lots and the street outside is a more likely venue. Hence, shaft drive is probably to prefer. Adjustability, so that I can grow with the rig, would be nice too.

Yokomo? MST? Sakura? A Traxxas 4-Tec 2.0 (VXLor brushless?) with drift tires? It’s a jungle out there! Do I need to learn Japanese to be any wiser, or are you able to shed some light on this?

I am not overly price sensitive, but it would be nice to get away with 4-500$.

Keep up the bashing! Oh, and support your LHS!

Martin L.”

Cubby- Yo yo yo Marty, thanks for the email. As always, shoot me a snail mail for a sticker pack.

Ya know, we used to have a drift guy, and that scene was pretty hot at one time. Now days, I really only see drift cars when I am at trade shows, I rarely seem them locally.

We did a build a while back where we took a Traxxas 4-Tec 2.0, bolted on some FireBrand drift tires, and painted up a crazy Marshmello body. I think we also installed a VXL brushless system for the write-up as well and I’ve been wheeling the heck out of that Marshmello 4-Tec ever since. Like you talked about, I mostly drive it in the street or in empty parking lots. And while mostly smooth, the parking lots I drive at do have some gnarly spots in them (think giant potholes) so durability is huge for me. I can say first hand that the Traxxas with some stability management dialed in is a freaking BLAST in a big open parking lot. Some, I guess most, drift guys are into slow speeds and tight corners. I am more into the Vaughn Gittin Jr. side of drifting- WFO at high speeds sliding around cement light poles in a huge open parking lot. The car itself has held up like a champ, even with me driving it like it owed me money.

Any which way, if you are going to be doing more of a bash/drift thing, I can highly recommend the Traxxas with some mods. If you go with one of the carbon-fibered-out high-end drifters, let me know how it worked for you for my own personal info, as well as to pass along to others.

“Spektrum DX5 Rugged

Cubby,

Do you know when upgrades or bolt-on parts will be coming for the Spektrum DX5 Rugged? Any idea what kind of upgrades there might be? I love my Rugged, but I am really looking forward to customize it.

Barry C.”

Cubby- Zuuupppppp Barry? Thanks for the email, get with me for the hook-up on a BigSquidRC sticker pack.

Ya know, I get several questions a week about the new Rugged, and just like you, I can’t wait to see what kind of aftermarket parts get made for it. The front bar on the DX5 Rugged is easy to unbolt/remove, so that leaves designers all sorts of options for action camera mounts, larger brush guards, sponsor plates, etc. I do hear that there are different sized one-handed thumb levers being developed, and it would be nice to have some different options on that part.

I also think that the hardcore off-road guys are going to customize/3D print some trick stuff for their Rugged controllers just like they do for their 1/10 scale crawlers. I mean, their trucks took hundreds of hours to plan, design, and build, now that they’ve got a radio aimed right at their genre, I can’t wait to see what some of those guys come up with.

Let me do some checking around Barry and we’ll post up any/all DX5 Rugged upgrades as they appear.

Have a solid question? Need a questionable answer? Have an epic rant that you just have to get off your chest? Email me- thecubreportrc at gmail dot com.