Losing grip – getting stuck

Drifting is certainly not about getting stuck, if anything, the opposite. When I first got into it, I naively thought that the walks of shame would be a thing of the past. No more walking to turn an upside down crawler or basher back on its wheels. Alas, that was not to be the case. Actually, the walks of shame are even worse now, although not very frequent. But when I miss my drift and go a wee bit wide, it sometimes happens that the rear wheels leave the asphalt, and enter some neatly trimmed lawn. It’s embarrassing, but when it happens, the car is stuck. Front wheels on asphalt, rears on grass – it ain’t going nowhere. Hence, walks of shame still happen.

However, getting stuck was not to be the topic of today’s column, but rather sticking things down. More specifically, attaching bodies to chassis. All hail the dude that invented velcro. Not wanting to drill holes for body posts through the hood, and using  traditional body clips, I have tried a couple of different magnet solutions. There are numerous options out there, all variations of the same basic idea. Magnets attach to the body posts, and these magnets then attach to matching ones on the inside of the body. Very neat. However, I always found it a nuisance to get things to line up properly.

Enter velcro! I have a set of Xtra Speed Aluminum Stealth Body Mounts, but where the magnets are supposed to go, I have attached industrial strength velcro instead. A very easy solution, that makes swapping bodies a breeze. When I want to use my Nissan, instead of my Camaro, I only have to move the body mount upwards two millimeters – which takes about two minutes – and then that’s it. For a basher, this would never keep the body attached for long, but for a drifter it’s great. Cheap, easy, flexible and no ugly body mounts showing. Highly recommended.

Now, quit reading, grab your gear, head for the nearest flat asphalt or concrete surface, and get drifting!

Then, when you’re back, there’s more columns to read here.