# HO Scale Drifting.



## Yoshi Nagura (Feb 9, 2008)

Back when I raced 1/32nd scale cars we would put things like cat sand and sawdust down to simulate varying road conditions. I've even used powered sugar that would look like tire smoke in drifting exhibitions. A good blowing out with compressed air like for computers would usually solve any problems with particals getting into gearing and motors. Since the cars were larger larger bits like sawdust weren't a problem. Since HO cars are half of what the other scale are I was wondering if anyone had tried putting stuff down, such as powered sugar, to enhance the racing experience. The reason I ask this is because I would like to build a portable HO drifting table that would be no more than 3' wide and less than 5' long. Made up entirely of corners of the same diameter the track would be shaped like an hour glass. I layed out a track with 12" radius corners that took up just over 2' wide and 4 1/2' long that would work perfectly. Using consistant raduis corners would also make it easier to establish and maintain a drift. Two things that I need input on are what would be a good car to build drifters out of, and what would be a good power pack and controller choice. I'm assuming a car with a pancake style armature would be best since the lack of magnetic attraction would help the drifting. And coating the tires with clear fingernail polish would be enough to reduce traction, that's what we used in 1/32nd scale. My concern is with fouling the pancake style motor with the fine grains of powdered sugar as well.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

The best drifting action I've ever been able to achieve in HO cars were the old sponge foam tire equipped Riggen cars, and to a lesser extent, the old TycoPro cars running on a track where Aurora red racing oil or Vaseline had been applied to the corners. This was always a wild and fun thing to do every now and then right before doing a major track cleaning. What made it all possible was the pivoting guide assembly on these cars, which maintained contact with the rails even as the car was hanging out at an extreme angle. The Riggens are being made again, but they are limited to mounting lexan bodies and that may be too limiting for your taste.

A modern day equivalent to this action could be achieved by equipping a magnet car, sans magnets, with a Slide Guide produced by Ed Bianchi (http://www.horacepro.com/guides.html). This would effectively give you a car that will maintain power feed even when sliding at extreme angles. Mounting uncoated sponge tires (available from AJs) may be good enough to get the thing to slide without applying any lube in the corners. I would definitely not use sugar or any powders on the track. 

There's a few things you can do to improve the slideability of stock cars without using a slide guide. It won't match a slide guide but will be better than stock. For AFX, Magnatraction, and XT style cars use the widest pickup shoe you can find. The premier shoes are the Aurora "power steering" shoes. These are getting harder to find but the stock wide style AutoWorld XT pickup shoes are pretty good too. The trick with these cars is to pop out the stock guide pin and replace it with a guide pin from a TJet with the pin as far back as you can get it. To put a TJet pin in an AFX/MT/XT you have to sand the nub off the flat part of the guide pin assembly and superglue the TJet guide pin in the bottom of the AFX/MT/XT chassis where the regular guide pin would be, but with the pin in the most rearward position. I've found that this mod helps keep the pickups in contact with the rails at much wider angles than the stock guide pin does. In fact, if you put a car configured like this on the track backwards you should be able to blip it and get it to swing around and keep going nearly 100% of the time. 

I'd imagine a 12V power supply and a Parma 60 ohm, or better yet, a 90 ohm controller would work well. You don't need a lot of power. Using even wider radius corners like the Tomy 15s and 18s would be interesting to try as well.

Good luck and happy drifting.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I would think putting powdered sugar all over the place is going to bring on your next hobby; *ant farms.*  Not too mention that stuff getting in your gearing, axles, amature shaft and most troublesome- the comm and brushes. It could turn into a huge mess. :drunk:

Looks like some good suggestions here on chassis set ups. Depending how advanced you want to go, you could build a simple routed track with copper tape or even recessed braid and you'd have a good surface for sliding most anything. Make it look like a parking lot or oval track. I saw a really cool 1/32 track on the SCI board a couple of years ago that was a routed course in a parking lot with curbs and parking spots. The slot wound all over the place for sliding and drifting effects. If you went there asking to see it I'm sure someone would reply.


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

There is a Japanese Toy company that made a drifting race set. I can't remember the name. The track rail spacing and guide is identical to HO but the cars were closer to 1/55th scale

Roger Corrie


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

The 1/32nd scale drift track was a blast especially with AWD cars that would sling the skid material all over the place. When Laguna Seca "sheds" it's flocking and it gets in the track it's not so much a problem of fouling the armatures as it is fouling the slot. Anything could do that, and a powder I imagine would either cake or pack into a slot blockage rather quickly. 

I've watched a little NOPI Drifting on SPEED but the overall scoring concept really escapes me. I do know it's a combination of time and style points so having a track timer would be necessary. The judging could be handled by either other drivers but I don't know if I'd want the competetion giving me my score. 

I guess this is another great used for the 2F2F cars if you go with either X-Tractions or non-magnet Turbo's and SRT's.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Maybe I just don't understand the whole concept either. I really don't get how they can start calling this driving *"racing"*. It seems more like an exhibition. Seems to me if you want to win you would just not slide.  bwahahaha

I used to LIVE for winter when we could slide all over the place. My friends and I would see how far down the block we could slide back and forth and see how close to the curbs we could get. It was just like drifting on pavement. I used to have suicide knobs on the steering wheels of my winter beaters and when they outlawed the sale of these I just made my own. Little did we know we were ahead of our time. (J/K)  :hat:


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## Yoshi Nagura (Feb 9, 2008)

That's OK not to understand the concept, in the US it is a pretty new form of competetion, perhapse not really so much a race though. It's is somewhat akin to Autocross with a bit of exhibition built in. Depending on who you ask it's been around for about 30 years mostly in the Far East, and with the advent of movies like Too Fast, Too Furious and the others in that series have come here. 

Scoring is somewhat subjective. The fastest way around any track is nearly on the edge of control loss, same with drifting. That is not to say that two identical cars, one drifting and one which stays more on a racing line, would not have different lap times. And that's where style points come in. 

The amount of drift, or the degree at which the car off tracks while maintaining speed is what gains those points. Too slow and you can fall below the minimum speed or finish the course slower than your rival, too fast and the car either loses control or will straighten itself out. The car I drive is a 1972 Datsun 510 with a 2.6 liter engine and transmission for a 1974 260Z. I also have the hubs, modified struts and 4 wheel disk brakes of the 260Z. While I haven't won a class yet I'm relatively new myself with only 2 years of competetion. Sponsors, especially for tires, are very important.


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## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

510 Datsun..awesome!Make a nice drag car.
DRAGjet


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## afxgns (Jul 6, 2006)

Pics!
Pics!


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

The scoring part might be new,but the drifting concept goes way back before it hit the far east,just ask any farm kid,who grew up driving the old mans vehicle's.We just didn't score it then,and i think we called it power sliding or doing donuts in a farm field:thumbsup:
I can't remember how many times Dad's old 75 390 Ford P.U was sideways in fields,100 gallon slip tank and all,then jump in the tractor and cultivate over the tracks before he got there:woohoo:


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## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

We raced a 4 door 55 chevy,and a 53 desoto "firedome" in my friends junkyard for 2 years,we slid,rolled and had a blat til they just wouldnt go no mo!
DRAGjet


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Yup, nuthin like a night at the gravel pit... or boonie hopping down old logging roads...and ralleying the powerline trails. 

Practically everyone out here learned to do it in the dirt... my dad loved a good outing and encouraged it...ma said I came by it honestly...snicker

I can see the attraction for drifting.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

afxgns said:


> Pics!
> Pics!


It's a nice car, except for the big honking Iguana that wraps itself around from the front, down one side, over the top, down the other side and across the trunk. Looks a bit like Godzilla's little brother. But a drag car...not. Top speed in 4th gear is only about 80 and you can shift from 1st to 4th as fast as you can say 1, 2, 3, 4. I think it would walk away from a V-8 for the first 100' if you could get the wheels to stop spinning.


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

If someone started throwing baby powder or sugar around my turns to see a "little puff" I'd be kicking arse.......now rubber cement and lighters, thats a different story, lol.


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## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

I meant to make it a tube frame car,nice 400 inch mill,4-link rearend,transbrake,and some 4:56 cogs,never meant race a v-6 on a drag strip.
DRAGjet


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Oh yeah Drag, I see what you mean. I remember...was it Ronnie Sox? ...who had the Pro Stock Dodge Colt? That's almost the same size as a 510.


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## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

Now you got it..
DRAGjet


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I found this great old 510 model in my archives. What do you think of this Yoshi? 










This was the car it was modeled after:


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Found this in a random slot car search after watching that 'Another Day Race' video. Here is a drifting set in Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKF3darJP1Q&NR=1


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

I forgot they made those. Impossible to find I'm sure.


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

dude, just get some tyco U-turns. Ive converted tyco TCRs to u-turn also. And using the tyco tcr rear axles/gears I got a matchbox speedtrack car to work, and a narrow 440X2 with no traction mags to work also...


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

Slott V said:


> I found this great old 510 model in my archives. What do you think of this Yoshi?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thats an AFX 510, right? What're you using for wheels on that? Those are way cool and look like the real thing!


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

Bandai 1:55 Drifting Slot Car Racing "Press Hard" set.
I thought one of the HT guys picked this set up?
Maybe this will help?


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

*More on the AFX 510*



grungerockjeepe said:


> Thats an AFX 510, right? What're you using for wheels on that? Those are way cool and look like the real thing!


Yep that's an AFX 510. The car itself was done by a member of my BBS and the image was in the archives. Here is another photo showing the materials and jig he used to make the wheels. Pretty innovative. But they may only be good for show purposes.


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## Yoshi Nagura (Feb 9, 2008)

Pete McKay said:


> Looks a bit like Godzilla's little brother..



Godzilla? GODZILLA!!!!

YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!


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## Yoshi Nagura (Feb 9, 2008)

..seriously though, never tease a Japanese guy about Godzilla, we all have those nightmares.

I don't have a digital camera (but a killer film camera) but I'll try to get a few for you guys. I like the 510 slot car, the question is where can I find one? X-tractions are fine really, there's a lot of cool things you can do and they're fairly cheap.


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

joez870 said:


> Bandai 1:55 Drifting Slot Car Racing "Press Hard" set.
> I thought one of the HT guys picked this set up?
> Maybe this will help?



I bought a set and played with it a little. Some where in the archives is a report I did on it.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=148826&highlight=Bandai

Roger Corrie


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

*Drifting*

Yoshi, Tomy AFX produced a set in 1991, called Speed Hook, set had a section of track that you slid or drifited through the turn. There was no power or rails, so you had to slide all the way through and pick up the power when you came out of the turn. The surface area in the curve was smooth flat plastic. The slots were squeezed together so both cars would fishtail or slide out. If you look at the pic, you can see where the rails stop and start, and the squeezed slots. This may be what you are looking for on a smaller scale. Just happen to think of it....RM


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## mmheyho (Jan 3, 2008)

Yoshi Nagura said:


> .. I like the 510 slot car, the question is where can I find one?
> 
> I don't know where you can get the 510 slot ,but I just found a die cast version from Jada at wal mart on discount. When I figure out this molding thing. It is on the to do list!!


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