Best RC Drift Cars Buying Guide for Beginner 2023

Are you considering buying an RC drift car, but do not know how to choose because of the many RC drift models on the market?

As a 3 years RC drift car player who started from 0 and became a track player, I would like to share my experience and advice on choosing the most suitable RC drift car for you.

Tips and suggestions before buying your first RC drift car

2wd or 4wd RC drift car？Power sliding or not?

Before buying an RC drift car, you need to know, what kind of RC drift car you want to play with.

RC drifting is mainly divided into two driving modes, 4wd drift （power sliding）and 2wd drift (rear wheel drifting).

RWD drift plays on the track and expensive

RWD drift mainly refers to the drift of a 1/10 ratio rear-wheel rc car. Mainly Drift on the track, which is relatively difficult and the cost of a chassis is expensive.

4WD drift-power sliding cannot play on the track

4wd drift RC mainly refers to the entertainment level drifting. It is also called power sliding.  Power-sliding RC is not able to play on the track, and it can not accurately drift to the point of the track and follow or chase the front car.

Drift based on donut drift and figure-eight drift.

 What’s your budget?

Different budgets, models, and equipment that can be purchased vary greatly. The prices of 4wd and 2wd drift cars range from tens of dollars to thousands of dollars.

4-wheel drive drift RC only costs tens to hundreds of dollars, while professional rear-wheel drive drifts RC costs thousands of dollars.

Where to play？

1/10 scale RWD drift chassis required a very flat road surface

The precision of the RWD drift RC chassis is very high, the setting of the chassis is also as fine as 0.1mm, and the empty position is very small. Since the height of the car is generally very close to the ground and a very flat road surface is required.

4WD power slide RC can play happily on most road surfaces.

For 4wd 1/10 scale models, the car height is relatively high, so it can be played on most of the road. Except for 1/24 scale RC drift cars and miniz.

 Who to play with？

Single-player

If you are playing drifting RC cars alone and don’t have any RC experience, I suggest you start playing with cheap 4wd RCs. So that you can quickly find the fun of drifting.

Because if you want to play professional 2wd drifting models well, you need a lot of experience to set it up before you can play it well.

As a drifting player from a novice to running the track normally, I know many players who bought expensive drifting chassis and equipment but finally gave up without learning how to drift. This is a pity.

Multiple players

If you are not playing alone, but with a group of friends, then it is recommended that you choose similar RC models with your friends so that you can discuss more topics, make better progress, and have more fun playing.

If you have solved all the previous problems and decided to start an RC drift car, the following is a relatively good RC drift car I compiled from my personal experience and experience, I hope it will be helpful to you.

The best power sliding 4wd RC drift car for beginners 

The Cheapest 1/16 Scale entry-level Rc Drift Car—SG1603/SG1602

This car is a 1:16 RC road car. It is equipped with a set of drift tires. After the drift tires are replaced, the car can complete simple donut drift.

The built-in PVC body has front and rear lights.

The price is very cheap, and it is an RTR set, which comes with batteries, chargers, and remote controls.

The SG1603 car is with a brushed system,  the remote control comes with a gyroscope (body stabilization system).

At present, this car has released many new shells that can be replaced.

The quality of the car is very good, the accessories are cheap, and the car is not easy to be damaged.Remove featured image

At the same time, the official has a brushless power suit, and metal shock, and the price is very affordable.

If you want to drift more easily, you can add some weights on the front of the car, so that the front wheels have more grip and drift better.

The built-in battery life is about 15-20 minutes, and the charging time takes 1 hour.

The problem of insufficient battery life can be solved by replacing the larger battery, and the charging speed can be improved by replacing the charger.

The remote control distance of the remote control is not far, and it can be controlled within about 20 meters.

Pros:

• RTR
• Cheap price
• Cheap accessories
• Very durable and fun
• 2 ways to play

Cons:

• The battery life is short
• The charging time is long
• The brush power is easy to overheat
• The PVC shell is not durable.

In general, SG1603/SG1602 is an entry-level RC that is very suitable for adults and children. It is reasonably priced and very entertaining. It can complete simple drifting actions.

Check on Amazon

The cheapest 1:28 drift car-WLtoys K969/K989

WLtoys K969/k989 is a 1:28 RTR drifting car. This car is only the size of a palm.

It is very suitable for indoor drifting. At the same time, it can be used as a road car by replacing the road tires.

This car has a metal chassis and is equipped with brush power. Although it is small, it has a full-scale throttle.

Feature:

The price of this car is very cheap, and it is very suitable for entry-level players to buy, in its original state, it’s easy to drift.

The modification potential of this car is very huge. Almost all parts of the car can be changed, including the steering system, motor, battery, gear, wheels, shock, and so on.

The most worth mentioning is that you can use almost all 1:28 car shells on the market, and you can have a very cool looking.

In addition, this car has a lot of players, a very mature modification plan, and a lot of modification parts, and the price is cheap.

However, even after modification, this car cannot achieve the feeling of a professional 1:28 drifting car, so it is not recommended to invest too much money in modification.

Pros:

• Cheap price
• Rich accessories
• Huge modification potential

Cons:

• The original state cannot drift perfectly, it needs to be modified.
• It cannot reach the professional level of 1:28 drift RC car through modification

In general, WLtoys K969 is an entry-level RC. You can experience RC drift at a low cost and understand RC structure.

It is convenient for new players to experience the fun of RC modification. It is highly recommended for low-budget new RC players.

The following is a video of k969/k989 great gods.

Check on Amazon

The most suitable RC drift car for beginners to learn  drifting- The Kyosho-Miniz ma020

If you are interested in WLtoys K969, then this Kyosho Miniz ma020 is not to be missed.

This is a 4wd RC drift remote control car that is very suitable for drifting without any modification and can complete professional drifting actions.

I also learned how to drift with this car.

Features:

1. Equipped with a very good remote control kt513, the remote control has a very delicate feel and can do more precise drift control.

2. This car has a lot of modification accessories and car shells to choose from, and you can make it very beautiful according to your personal preferences. At the same time, it has a very large player base.

3. This car comes with racing tires and drift tires, which can be used for racing and drifting at the same time. It is recommended to play drifting at home or in a small indoor place because the racing speed is very fast.

4. By using the  AAA rechargeable battery and charger, the charging can be completed quickly, and the battery life is very long. It can play for more than half an hour after a single charge. The car shell that comes with it is very delicate and beautiful. Even if you don’t play it, it’s very good to put it as decoration. If you buy a relatively rare car shell, it will also increase in value. In addition, this car has a very detailed manual, including an introduction to how to drift.

5. The downside is that the price of this car is not cheap. Compared with the previous k969 and sg1603, it is much more expensive. But the drifting experience it brings is indeed the previous two cars cannot offer. This car is also very popular, and the second-hand price is also very valuable.

Pros:

• The original state is very suitable for drifting.
• There are many modified parts.
• The remote control is very good.

Cons:

• The price is relatively expensive.
• The small-scale car is only suitable for indoor playing.

This small-scale remote control car is very suitable for novices with enough budget. The car shell is very beautiful and the car is easy to control and suitable for learning to drift.

Check on Amazon

The most comprehensive entry-level 1:10 drift car Tamiya TT02

TT02 is a 4-wheel drive road car chassis produced by Tamiya. Although it is a road car, it can drift excellently after changing the drift tires. It is very easy to make figure 8 or donut drift.

Features:

1. The price of this car is very cheap. If you buy the kit version, you can also experience the joy of assembling rc.

2. Since it is Tamiya’s 1/10 scale model, this car has a lot of car shells to choose from.

3. There are many cheap Modification accessories.

4. Tamiya’s 1/10 scale car shell has very rich details and is very worth buying.

5. With a slight modification of this car, this car can be turned into a rally car or a road car.

6. This car has very detailed assembly instructions, and it is very simple to assemble, which can help you quickly get started and understand RC

7. This car is not an RTR version. You need to purchase additional remote controllers, ESCs, motors, servos, and batteries and make the car shell yourself.

If you add a gyro (gyroscope), you can also try to run the track.

Pros:

• Cheap price
• Rich car shell details
• Many modification accessories
• A large number of mature modification solutions
• One car with multiple ways of playing, road, drifting, and rally.

Cons:

• You need to assemble it by yourself.
• You cannot make a perfect drift.

https://amzn.to/42xuM7X

This car is very suitable for novices with insufficient budgets. You can experience the delicate and detailed car shell of 10 ratio RC cars, and learn RC assembly at the same time. This car is easy to maintain, and the accessories are cheap.

Through simple modification, it can also be turned into a road car or a rally car.

The quietest RTR 1:10 RC drift car READCAT

Redcat Racing EPX Drift Car is an entry-level drift 1/10 scale road car, similar to TT02.

The price of this car is very cheap, and it comes with drift tires, which can be used for simple drifting.

It can be turned into a road car by replacing the road tires.

The car is belt drive so it is very quiet. This is an RTR RC car, suitable for friends who don’t want to assemble RC by themselves.

Compared with tt02, the configuration of the car is higher, but the disadvantage is that the car shell does not have as many choices as tt02, and it is not as beautiful as tt02.

In addition, there are fewer accessories and upgrades in the aftermarket.

Pros:

• Cheap.
• RTR can be played at hand.
• It can be used as an entry-level RC car for beginners

Cons:

• The car shell is not as beautiful as TT02.
• Late modification space and accessories are not abundant.
• There are not many car shells that can be adapted.

Check on Amazon

As an entry-level 4-wheel drive RTR drift car for beginners, this car can make beginners feel the fun of drifting, and the requirements for the ground are not high. Since the price is cheap, you can play more boldly.

Recently the redcat rc also introduce its latest RWD drift RC the Redcat RDS, but I don’t think it’s as good as the following RWD chassis I will introduce so I will not mention it here.

 

In addition to the entry-level four-wheel drive drifting cars recommended above, there are many other four-wheel drive RCs that can also be used for simple drifting. Since the price is not suitable for novices, I will not list more. If you want to know more, welcome to leave me a message. I will also update more when I found a better car.

Please continue to read if you want to know about a professional RC rear wheel-drive drift car. (here refers to the chassis)

Please note that the chassis listed below are all kit versions, which need to be assembled by the player, and the player needs to equip the car shell, tires, electronic equipment, remote control, battery, etc.

The best Rwd RC drift RC car for beginners

The cheapest rear-wheel drive drift RC car- Sakura D5s

Sakura D5s is currently the cheapest rear-wheel drive drift RC that can be bought on the market because the price is very cheap and it is also the reason why many beginners choose it.

We can see many wonderful drifting videos of D5s on video websites. Many new players bought D5s because of these videos.

But this car is not very friendly to newcomers, and it cannot quickly let newcomers learn to drift.

In my opinion, it is more suitable for experienced and old players.

The following is the information I got from some old players who have played D5s.

The unfriendly places for novices are as follows

1. The manual of Sakura D5s is not clear. According to the settings in the manual, it is basically difficult to drift.
2. The original car has a lot of clearance (the 1mm accuracy and clearance of the drifting chassis can affect the player’s control)
3. The setting of the original tie rod is not reasonable and it is difficult to adjust.
4. The shock absorber of the original car is not smooth.
5. The chassis feels too plastic and the adapter is not durable.
6. The chassis cannot adjust the rear wheel toe.
7. D5s has a lot of interference, which makes the car not smooth (the basic requirement for a professional rear-drive drift RC is smoothness)
8. There are very few aftermarket options.
9. It is difficult to adjust AKM and KPI.

However, D5s also has many advantages

1. The price is very cheap.
2. The steering action of the D5s is very fast.
3. Very suitable for players who like DIY to solve problems.
4. Adjusted D5s is very fun.
5. You can play D5s with confidence and boldness.

Check on Amazon

Overall, Sakura D5s is cheap you can buy it for a simple experience but it is difficult for beginners to get started, and it is not as easy to learn to drift as MST and yd2.

It will cost players a lot of energy to modify the chassis, time-consuming, and lack of options.

The money spent on upgrading the chassis is enough to buy a set of yd2 chassis. D5s is great for experienced players, not newbies.

The best entry-level RC drift car for carpet drifting-MST RMX

Compared with D5s, MST RMX performs very well. You can start to drift easily on the carpet through the settings in the manual.

This is a very well-designed car. Compared with YD2 and other brands at the same price, the chassis precision is higher.

At the same time, this car can use Tamiya’s car body shell, so you have a lot of car shell choices.

 

But this car is not very easy to adjust or change setting. Compared with yd2, more parts need to be disassembled to adjust the AKM.

At the same time, it is more suitable for playing on carpets. The car is heavier and there are fewer after-market options.

 

The RTR version of MST is not recommended, because the RTR version of the chassis does not have adjustable tie rods.

Pros：

• The precision of the chassis is very high.
• The ride quality of the car is relatively stable.
• There is an abundance of cheap, high-quality car shells available.

Cons:

• MST are more expensive.
• The car is heavy.
• The AKM of MST is relatively poor.
• It is mainly suitable for playing on carpets.
• The car is not easy to adjust quickly, and there are many parts that need to be disassembled to adjust the chassis.
• Lack of after-market options.
• Metal options are expensive.

Check on Amazon

If there is a carpeted venue nearby, MST is worth buying.

The handling and accuracy of the car are good, and there are also rich choices of car shells.

If there is no carpet venue near you, then the yd2 car series is more recommended.

In addition, the MST of RTR cannot adjust the tie rod, and needs to be upgraded later, so the RTR version is not recommended.

The best RWD drift RC- YD2

YD2 is a RWD drift car owned by yokomo. The YD2 series is one of the best drift RC chassis with the largest player group on the market.

It has the most mature modification options and is the drift chassis with the most abundant accessories.

YD2 has a series of drift chassis models, and the latest entry-level chassis is yd2z, which is the chassis I use.

This YD2Z chassis is an all-plastic chassis, but it has a very good handling experience.

The YD2 series has a lot of upgrade accessories, and the upgrade version of yd2z is yd2zx.

Compared with yd2z, the whole chassis upgrades metal and carbon fiber accessories.

The yd2 series also has yd2-sx3 and RX series chassis. The difference from the z series is in the layout of the motor and the material.

For beginners, I recommend yd2z, which has a very good adjustable layout, and you can have a driving experience of a more advanced and high-level chassis with very few option upgrades.

Check on Amazon

If you are determined to play RC drift for a long time, it is recommended that you buy yd2zx or yd2sx3.

Although the price is relatively expensive, these two chassis are almost all made of aluminum alloy and carbon fiber, which can save a lot of later upgrade costs.

Pros:

• YD2 is the most professional drift RC chassis on the market.
• The chassis is very easy to adjust.
• There are a wealth of after-market accessories and options.
• It has a very good handling feeling.
• The precision of the chassis is very high.
• The packaging comes with detailed instructions.

Cons：

• Even entry-level chassis are more expensive.
• The starter chassis is made of plastic.
• Premium chassis are more expensive.
• Can’t use Tamiya body, the body shell is more expensive

If you want to play professional drift RC and drift tracks, the yd2 series is a very worthwhile chassis, because almost all the most professional players in the world are playing with this chassis, and you can learn a lot of professional knowledge. This chassis has very rich options. This chassis is perfect for both novice and experienced players.

Once you get past the beginner phase, things get really interesting.

The most expensive RC rear drive drift car Overodse GALM

The price of this car can be 10 times that of the ordinary full option yd2 model. It is very beautiful, but I have not tried it. I think it is more suitable for collection, not for practicing drifting, so I won’t introduce too much.

 

The latest belt drive drift RC – DRR01V2

The DRR01V2 is bm-racing’s latest 1:10 ratio rear-drive drift chassis, which is driven by a belt and super-rear-mounted motor.

This car is very distinctive and has a super simple slide rail adjustment system（AKM justing system）.

The factory state chassis is almost a full option, and no additional options are required.

 

The overall price is also very reasonable, which is also very good for friends who want to try something new.

However, the handling feel is not as good as that of the yd2 series models.

Several friends around me have bought this model, and I have also tried it. It has very distinctive handling feeling, but I still think the yd2 series or mst is better for beginners.

However this car is not available in the US market.

Best micro drift rc -1/24 scale rc drift car

In addition to the 1/10 scale drift RC, there are also 1/24 scale drift cars. Compared with the 10-scale car, this type of drift car is very small, and only needs a very small place to play.

Like the YD2 drift car, it can also make very smooth drift. The 1/24 scale RC drift car is convenient to store, easy to carry and can be played at any time.

But the disadvantage is that the accessories of the car are very small, it is difficult to install, and there are relatively few optional parts on the market.

Because the car is relatively small, the driving posture is not as good as the 10-scale drift car, and there are fewer car shells to choose from.

In addition, the player population of this kind of drift car is not as large as that of the 1:10 ratio drift car.

The bmr-x of bmracing is one of the current mainstream 1/24 sacle rc drift car chassis. This is also a product made by my friend’s company.

But the bmr-x type of drift car is more difficult for beginners to operate than the 1/10 scale car, and it needs more time and energy to play well. So for novices, I recommend a 1:10 ratio drift car. It is easier to find rich accessories, find more learning content, richer drift knowledge, and a larger player group.

Conclusion

If you are a novice player and have not found a drift organization group, it is recommended to find a local player before buying a RC car.

If there is no player nearby, you can play power sliding drift first and buy an entry-level RTR version RC.

If you plan to buy a professional drift chassis such as the yd2 series, you can ask the seller if they can pre-assemble and debug for you and install electronic equipment for you.

 

In the future, I will share more information about RWD drift RCs, including recommendations for electronic equipment such as batteries,

remote control, servo, gyroscope, etc.

The 4 best rc drifting gyros each rc drift players should know

 

If you have any questions, please leave me a message, email, if you like my content, please remember to share it with your friends.