wareagle84's HPI RS4 Sport 3

Boring background -
After considering my options and what (little) research and info there is out there, I've decided that the new RS4 Sport 3 will be my chassis of choice as I get back into drifting.  No, it's not really anything to brag about, but neither are my drifting skills or my knowledge of rc drifting.  Last year, after graduating college and completely upgrading my Sprint 2 Flux with basically every upgrade part there is (and making some custom pieces), I was planning on getting a MST or Yokomo chassis and getting more serious with rc drifting since I'd have more free time.  After lots of thought, I decided I'm pretty happy with just being a casual "driveway drifter".  No disrespect to those of you who are serious competitive drifters.  If I would have gotten a MST or Yokomo I would have ended up with an expensive fully upgraded chassis that is far beyond my needs or skill level.  Building, maintaining and upgrading the chassis is half the fun for me.  So in order to save money (hopefully) and not go overboard on a casual hobby, I decided to go with the new RS4.  I love the HPI brand.  They aren't the best, I'm not too fond of the direction the company has gone in the past few years, but they are the reason I got into rc cars in the first place and I have many fond memories of bashing/racing HPI cars and trucks with my grandpa when I was a little kid.


Intro -
This weekend I began by ordering parts to build an RS4 Sport 3.  I did not buy a pre-built RTR kit.  Since I love building the chassis just as much as driving the car itself, I was going to upgrade most of the parts anyways, and I'm in no rush to get it sideways, I decided it was foolish to buy an RTR.  Why spend money on stuff I won't need or use?  I do have a very thorough knowledge of HPI chassis and parts, and a huge surplus of Sprint 2 parts so I'll spend the first few weeks trying to see what (if any) existing HPI parts I can use with the RS4 chassis.  I plan on focusing more on performance than "bling" compared to my Sprint 2, but at the same time I want it to look good as well, so a little bling is in order.  I'll be spending most of my money on the parts that really matter, and less on those that are mostly just for looks.

My initial purchase consists of the main chassis, center drive shaft, 1 gear diff, spur gear/hub, bevel gears, bearings & pins, battery strap kit, front/rear bumpers, body posts, axle carriers & bearings, knuckles, suspension arms and pivot blocks. Pretty much everything to build a roller, minus suspension.  Since I'll be using CF shock towers and drive shaft cover, I left those out as well.
I already have a spare brand new transmitter/receiver/controller and carbon fiber bumper brace from an old RS4 that looks like it should fit.

I will be ordering some RPM ball cups and all of the adjustable tie rods/turnbuckles as soon as I decide what sizes exactly I need.  Still debating on what dampers to go with.

Then I'll be waiting on HPI to release the upgrade parts I'll be using.

I'll post pics and share my thoughts/reviews/tips along the way in case some of you are interested.

Hey, if someone decides not to buy a MST/Yokomo chassis, that is no a deal breaker, i still have my old TA04R from Tamiya i used to drift with, at the time i didn't know anything, only drove on the driveway or at my best friends nicer asphalt, we used a couple of cones and lay down a track with a stick of chalk..

It was some of the best fun i've had in years - when the car stopped because of the battery was flat, you would have that sadness in you (hehe).

I can see people who are starting today with drifting, some come through with 50/50 builds and they get to learn how to drive, use the throttle, brakes and entry a certain corner - they don't have the most fancy equipment but at least they are having fun while we are teaching them.

Also, if there is a track closeby it may advance your equipment where a MST/Yokomo is suited best, but for some, it get's too serious and for other's, it's perfect.

I still thinks the entry level to CS drifting is a little steep and recently MST are doing is kinda bad, they have a beginner or a ridiculous high priced VIP chassis.

Yokomo still have's entry level cars, Dib RS but is still high priced, though a Drift package is lower.

Eagle Racing is a copy of Tamiya's models, they are cheap and great, but the quality is not that high so that's like a beginner's choice i tend to recommend.

Yeah, I'm basically at the point where I just like to have fun occasionally drifting on a weekend afternoon by myself or if a friend stops by I'll slap some drift wheels on my basher and let them have at it too. I don't ever see myself getting more serious than that even though I now live in an area with lots of tracks. So spending $500 on another chassis then another $500 on all the upgrades because I couldn't help myself seemed silly. lol
Basically everyone that has reviewed the RS4 S3 says it's a nice improvement from the Sprint 2, and with a few mods is a very solid chassis for people like me. It's my first time owning a shaft driven car though. I've driven them and tinkered with a Tamiya before, but never owned and built one.
I've only got $38.78 invested in basically a brand new roller right now. Just need dampers, motor/esc, servo, turnbuckles and a few misc. parts and it'll be complete. Should come out right about the price of a new Flux RTR, but I'll have much better and adjustable equipment.

I recently bought myself a Traxxas Slash for that bash/fun style and for the friends to do something other than gaming in the weekends and do other random stuff.. Now i've got 4 batteries to it, it can do about 25-30 min on a pack so that right there is quality time with anybody.. . It came with a 3800kv brushless set and all i had to bring to the table was receiver, transmitter and battery, so fun and easy to drive.

Update: Basically the only thing that can directly and effectively transfer from the Sprint 2 to the new RS4 S3 are electronics, screws and dampers. Obviously drivetrain parts wouldn't (belt drive vs. shaft driven).
So now basically I have a brand new RS4 S3 roller in pieces waiting to be assembled. The only things I'm missing are the HPI option parts that haven't been released yet that I'll be using (spool diff for the rear, billet aluminum steering set and the billet aluminum motor mount). I am also waiting for some Spec-R 46mm swing shafts to come in stock and the carbon fiber bits from HPI to be released.
At first I'll be using the stock Sprint 2 Flux electronics from my Sprint 2 basher chassis since I already have them on hand, have the CastleLink and a solid tune for the motor/esc that I like and am familiar with.
Currently trying to figure out what pinion and spur gears would be best to use and still debating whether or not to splurge on some TRF's.

I was also thinking of using this chassis, but as you can see by my username status thingy, I am new to this, so I am going with the pre-fab kit. This is AWD though. Dunno if it'll work.

Yes 50/50 drifting works just fine. In fact, it was the most common until CS and a couple years ago RWD caught on. Most people learn to drift with an AWD chassis or a very low CS which is close to AWD but the rears turn a little faster.
Nothing wrong with 50/50 drift, but most people nowadays want more realistic (RWD) and crazy steering angle which you can't really get with AWD or CS.
AWD are great to learn the basic techniques with and then you can go higher CS or RWD when you get really good.