Now what....

[Ritz413]

So I bought the Redcat RDS builders kit back in October, and now I have built it. My whole motivation was that it looked like a interesting and fun build to do over the winter. It was! Now that it's built I am still not a drift guy, and don't have an appropriate place with polished cement to run it. I only think that is the surface of choice, but don't know that either. I have access to a carpet track...has anyone tried this? Is it a terrible idea? I have plenty of asphalt, I expect that will destroy the plastic tires, and none of my std. Rims fit without rubbing due to diameter or offset. No body at this time, I have 2, and neither line up. That is an issue for another day. Either way it's really pretty cool...maybe once I drive it I'll be hooked on this drifting thing...maybe not

Definitely a fun build, and highly recommended to those who have been looking at 1 based on quality, directions, and everything else I have come to expect from Redcat.

 

[HPIguy]

For starters, your front toe setting is way off. You want neutral or slight 1 to 2 deg toe out to start with. Then focus on your Ackerman and get that dialed to how you like the car to feel. More front toe out will make the car very stable and forgiving, but very sluggish for transitions, and terrible at tight low-speed slides.

I would google, FB, Reddit, etc what other RDS owners are running for wheels that clear properly. From there, they make tires for just about any surface, from asphalt to carpet.

Stick with it, it's a lot of fun and very satisfying when things start to click.

 

[Ritz413]

For starters, your front toe setting is way off. You want neutral or slight 1 to 2 deg toe out to start with. Then focus on your Ackerman and get that dialed to how you like the car to feel. More front toe out will make the car very stable and forgiving, but very sluggish for transitions, and terrible at tight low-speed slides.

I would google, FB, Reddit, etc what other RDS owners are running for wheels that clear properly. From there, they make tires for just about any surface, from asphalt to carpet.

Stick with it, it's a lot of fun and very satisfying when things start to click.

Tie angles etc are set to build directions. They provide measurements I matched exactly with calipers during assembly...that being said I have no experience in this game...you could totally be right.

 

[HPIguy]

Tie angles etc are set to build directions. They provide measurements I matched exactly with calipers during assembly...that being said I have no experience in this game...you could totally be right.

I can assure you with 100% authority that front-end is all wrong for pretty much anything, and especially drifting. Most manuals are in Chinglish at best, and they likely don't care. You should see the joke of a manual I got with my Drift Art. It's not even really a manual, just pictures. LOL

 

[Ritz413]

I can assure you with 100% authority that front-end is all wrong for pretty much anything, and especially drifting. Most manuals are in Chinglish at best, and they likely don't care. You should see the joke of a manual I got with my Drift Art. It's not even really a manual, just pictures. LOL

I assure you the manual is one of the best out there. Clear instructions, exploded views with part numbers next every piece etc. Company is based in Arizona.

 

[Lukedavis]

For starters, your front toe setting is way off. You want neutral or slight 1 to 2 deg toe out to start with. Then focus on your Ackerman and get that dialed to how you like the car to feel. More front toe out will make the car very stable and forgiving, but very sluggish for transitions, and terrible at tight low-speed slides.

I would google, FB, Reddit, etc what other RDS owners are running for wheels that clear properly. From there, they make tires for just about any surface, from asphalt to carpet.

Stick with it, it's a lot of fun and very satisfying when things start to click.

on drift doesn't the front toe the complete opposite way as to how his is set up?

 

[HPIguy]

I assure you the manual is one of the best out there. Clear instructions, exploded views with part numbers next every piece etc. Company is based in Arizona.

Good deal, sounds like you've got it under control then.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

on drift doesn't the front toe the complete opposite way as to how his is set up?

Me too. I thought toe out

Not a great photo but you can see it's toe out.

I wonder if the front links need to be swapped.
Not being critical just looking at the pictures.

 

[Ritz413]

on drift doesn't the front toe the complete opposite way as to how his is set up?

In general toe in is for passenger cars, although not this severe. Makes it easier to track a straight line over distance but is less aggressive for high speed cornering. Toe out is seen more often in racing applications where responsive steering is key. Can make the car feel twitchy etc.

 

[Lukedavis]

In general toe in is for passenger cars, although not this severe. Makes it easier to track a straight line over distance but is less aggressive for high speed cornering. Toe out is seen more often in racing applications where responsive steering is key. Can make the car feel twitchy etc.

isn't that what drift is supposed to be? Not sluggish, but quick and snappy? I feel that with that much toe in (or out idk which one is which), it would drastically reduce your turning radius, making it hard to drift in tight corners.

 

[Ritz413]

isn't that what drift is supposed to be? Not sluggish, but quick and snappy? I feel that with that much toe in (or out idk which one is which), it would drastically reduce your turning radius, making it hard to drift in tight corners.

There is enough steering angle to max it out where the outside wheel rubs on the front shock spring

 

[Lukedavis]

View attachment 264051
There is enough steering angle to max it out where the outside wheel rubs on the front shock spring

its not getting max steering angle. If you loot at the outside wheel, its hardly turning at all.

 

[Ritz413]

its not getting max steering angle. If you loot at the outside wheel, its hardly turning at all.

I can see why we are having this debate over set up etc....I was hoping someone would answer one of the questions I actually asked in the first post. What if we start with the type of track it's supposed to run on. If I don't have access to that the steering toe or angle makes no difference.

 

[Ritz413]

Maybe I'll put a nice late model body and some actual tires on there and make it an oval car. Lots of adjustment to fine tune each corner independently.

 

[HPIguy]

I can see why we are having this debate over set up etc....I was hoping someone would answer one of the questions I actually asked in the first post. What if we start with the type of track it's supposed to run on. If I don't have access to that the steering toe or angle makes no difference.

I did answer that. People run on all kinds of surfaces, go read what I posted.

You're steering is all jacked up. You want this. With the leading wheel (wheel closest to the direction you're sliding in) to have just a bit more angle than the outside tire.

 

[Lukedavis]

Maybe I'll put a nice late model body and some actual tires on there and make it an oval car. Lots of adjustment to fine to each corner independently.

I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or start an argument. I was only pointing out that it wouldn't even be worth it to run it as it sits now if you had a place to run it. Sorry for the misunderstanding .

 

[Ritz413]

I did answer that. People run on all kinds of surfaces, go read what I posted.

You're steering is all jacked up. You want this. With the leading wheel (wheel closest to the direction you're sliding in) to have just a bit more angle than the outside tire.

I was already aware I can throw money at different wheels and tires....if I run these wheels and tires what is the intended surface? Can I use it as is on carpet with any positive results. Your beef with the set up is with redcat let's stop pretending you and I have an argument going.

 

[Ritz413]

I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or start an argument. I was only pointing out that it wouldn't even be worth it to run it as it sits now if you had a place to run it. Sorry for the understandment .

No worries man. When I have questions about set up I will put them out there. It is set up according to the directions. I have made no claims this is how it should be or will stay. As stated in the first post I am not a drift guy, if I don't become interested in drifting it will be set up as something else or sold or traded.

 

[AjDale]

You can use it on carpet all day long. The results won’t be good. That much toe in is unheard of on any RC I’ve seen. I’m not hating nor am I saying you built it wrong but something is clearly out of alignment. I have many drifts RCs now and never run any toe in. I’m not sure if Redcat messed up their length on what the measurements should be for your steering links or what but I’d definitely work on that. Your lead tire should be capable of 90 degree turns.

 

[Ritz413]

You can use it on carpet all day long. The results won’t be good.

Excellent!! Exactly what I wanted to know. I have only built the car, I have done zero set up. Now that I know I don't have access to something I can run it on to experiment with drifting to see if it's for me, I can move on to deciding what it will become or if it will go live somewhere else. Thank you