Speedhunters+RC Drifting

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/11/07/gallery-gt-gt-rc-drift-at-mini-mobil-welt.aspx

RC DRIFT AT MINI MOBIL WELT


For this month's theme I traveled to Germany after I got an invitation from the Dutch ‘Team Wreck it Sideways'. I was told there was a small gathering at Mini Mobil Welt, an RC heaven in Lünen, Germany with several tracks including two where you could drift.

I never had any close encounters with these cars so I didn't really know what to expect. When I entered the building I quickly met up with the guys who invited me. They introduced me to the world of RC drifting.

It seemed there was much more to it than I initially expected. It is all about personalizing and fine tuning the cars just like in real life. The Soarer above belongs to one of the team members who invited me. When you look closely you can even spot Turbozilla on the side shooting rockets. That is because the ‘Team Wreck it Sideways' is officially sponsored by Touge Automotive. I'll have a closer look at their cars in another post.

The guys who were driving had to pay a small entry fee. Here you see some of them drifting their cars on the large track that is normally reserved for race cars. The track is fully paved and features some very twisty corners.

Right at the entrance of the building was this much smaller track that had been specially made for drifters.

They even had small section reserved for the rock crawlers. These guys take things very seriously.

I saw so many cool bodies that I lost count. Some of them are built as street versions like this Lexus GS.

But others are built as fully fledged drift cars - as demonstrated by this Toyota AE86.

The AE86 body proved to be quite popular. This purple version had some cool features but I will show you this car in greater detail in a different post.

The car belongs to Ricardo, you see him here making some small adjustments before heading out onto the track.

They take this ‘hobby' very seriously. I was amazed that you can adjust almost everything just like you can on a real car. Everybody uses different setups to accommodate their own driving style.

Even the controllers can be adjusted in a gazillion different ways.

This is a Street Jam OTA-R3R chassis made from carbon fiber and lots of custom parts. The owner even used titanium screws to fix the components to the chassis.

But sometimes stuff breaks. Just like in real life these guys bring lots of spares so they can continue drifting no matter what happens.

One of the pulleys broke so the car lost its front wheel drive. All these cars are four wheel drive but you can adjust how much power goes to the front or rear wheels.

As I mentioned before the AE86 shell was one of the favorites amongst the RC drifters. This orange one looked pretty tuff with its bright yellow wheels and green rollcage.

I was pretty stoked seeing so many Speedhunters stickers all over the place. I spoke to several people telling me that they all loved Speedhunters, luckily I brought even more stickers for them to use.

I even saw several replicas of our own Team Need For Speed S14 driven by Matt Powers. This one had the 2010 livery on it. I'll have a spotlight on the one with the new 2011 livery on it, it has been replicated even in the smallest details.

Most of these stickers are custom made by the builders themselves.

Most of the cars had lights and some of them even flashed. This wide S15 even had a small light inside the exhaust simulating flames.

In the other room I spotted this replica of Mad Mike's RX8. Although it is not a perfect replica it still looked good.

Even Itasha found its way onto RC drift cars demonstrated by this Toyota Supra.

This cool R33 even had vented brake rotors behind its bright yellow wheels.

Here is the same car while it receives some TLC.

Tijs Lochbaum, the guy who invited me, let me drive his convertible Soarer and I must say it is a lot of fun. I did need some laps before I got the hang of it because it isn't as easy as it looks. I already started looking at several kits. This can only end in another expensive hobby ...

 

I made a realization the other day that my underground garage is heated and can work in the winter for r/c cars

 

LOL! Yes it can. Under ground garage work very well for RC's. You should ask your apt people if they would have an issue with us holding a RC meet there this winter

 

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/11/15/collectables-gt-gt-demi76-s-rc-car-collection.aspx

DEMI76'S RC CAR COLLECTION

Following on from yesterday's 1:10 scale 4AGE motor, we thought you might like to see some of its creator's other models.

Bogdan - aka demi76 - is a Speedhunters reader who obviously has a penchant for scaled down models.

He sent through a bunch of photos of his RC cars, including this DRoo-P inspired AE86...

...That is nicknamed the Crab Master.

The AE86 body shell isn't the only thing that Bogdan has been concentrating on...

...Inside you'll find plenty of one-off touches, like the fuzzy dice, fire extinguisher and harness. There's even a miniature car magazine to keep the driver occupied during car washes.

A recurring theme amongst Bogdan's RC builds is the influence of Japanese car culture. Take, for example, his Mazda Savanna...

...Which is done in boso style.

This is his 'Drift Garage' Levin Coupe, which sports some patched up dings and rust spots...

...Along with a busted side mirror and more body filler on the fender.

Bogdan also has a clean 180SX body.

You'll spot Heartbreaker stickers on the windscreen and side windows.

And finally, there's his 70s Skyline HT2000 complete with external oil cooler.

The C210 features Japanese trade plates...

...Along with a tacho and can of Coke! Nice work Bogdan.