RE-Xtreme FD3s Spirit "R"

Prepare for a radical FD3s RX-7 with that true Mazda Spirit "R"

This is the body I am building for my Rear Wheel Drive Drift Package. The starting point is a Tamiya Rx-7.

The Tamiya kit comes with light buckets and raised headlight parts in the kit. I am just going to use the top section for the sleepy look. Inserts are 2/3rds of a Yokomo Supra light bucket for that Knight Sports quad light look.

I am also adding a front splitter cut from the left over front of the Tamiya body, Some canards left over from from the JZX  build and ...

The body is very narrow, so it needs some flared guards. I was planning to use a Stage D kit, but I've decided to go with Speed way pal fenders cut similarly to my previous 86.

I think it should give a cohesive and aggressive look. I have some leftover Yokomo front combination lamps in chrome also

I'll be using Craft Square style mirrors similar to these .. and I'll be venting the bonnet to dramatic effect.

I was going to paint this in a red black & white radical scheme. But I think I may go with Feed Grey in the Spirit R style.

if you don't know what it looks like... Check my RE-Xtreme features on Fujita Engineering.

RC Photography Guide

Ever wondered how to get that special shot? Practice.

Whats wrong with this picture?

Not too much, but the glass and body are white. You can solve this with a polarizing filter. (if you have one)
the pandora windows are not clear, so I actually want the white on the screen.

Why is the front wheel in focus and the rear wheels not?

The depth of field ( F stop ) is set very low. Use F4 or lower number to get this effect. Higher numbers  for full focus.

If you have an Aperture Priority function on the Camera, use it.

Get down low. Don't be afraid to lie down. Scale height of 1m is 10cm.

Alternative is to put the car on a hill and shoot from below.

Don't be afraid of your zoom.

this photo is about 5meters from target. In scale terms thats about 50 meters. So use stand back and use your zoom If you are too far back, just crop the image on the computer.

How can I fit the spoiler in the shot?

Try different angles to include or omit detail. If this image were flat, the wing would be out of frame.

Be careful of details like bricks and trees. they really effect the scale of your background. Unless your trees are Bonsai.

Here is my shoot location. I hid the door handle behind the body.

This image is what most people do. so come come on... get creative.

RE-Xtreme FD3s - Return

FD3s... RE-turn. 

I started RC drifting at a time when my real cars were RX-7s and there will always be a soft spot for the FD.  So I thought I'd ditch the 86s for a while and get back to what I really enjoy.

I mounted the FD3s back on the DRB and I had this Max Orido 86 wing to add that proportion on the rear.

The Pandora body has it's shape issues. the sides are too deep and the body itself is too wide,

I wonder when that BN Sports FD will be released.

RE-DRB Super GT-D RX-7 @ Max One

Tonight turned out to be quite special.

I took the Super GT-D1 Spec RX7 down to Max one. I love this body it's small and really has that Tuned FD look. It needs LED though to make it easier to see in the darkness.

A few details first. I made some small team stickers like Japanese drift team stickers. I gave some to Kuni-san from Max-One too.

I added a couple to my chassis as well.

Anyway... I headed up to route 701 and did some testing. first with tyres and then springs. I couldn't get the feeling for the chassis early on. So I tired softer springs and it helped a lot.

The Yokomo SSG spec long springs really  make the Active rebound dampers work more effectively. It's now soft and subtle. I had to raise the rear of the body one notch as the springs allow a little more drop than before.

But it made a difference. I was able to get into it a bit more. But my driving still needs work. I get on the power too much. I need to be more calculated.

Tonight, it was a chance to run with the big dogs. Some big names in Japanese RC drift were in attendance. These guys are awesome, their focus and lack of mistakes is enviable.

Sometimes, it was good just to sit back and watch, other times, try and join in the fun. Everyone is enjoying themselves.

You have to admire a drift package weighing 1.5Kg and stick controls. Especially when it runs lap after lap without mistake from the driver. 2.0 CS conversion with front one way and lots of weight added. When off throttle the car stops quickly allowing more power to be used. 10.5T still gets this thing rocking.

Others run ota-zeon custom setups of various config, but you'd never know from the body. All running JZX100 chasers within mm of each other on track in an awesome display.

My videos weren't too good today, but you can be sure of coverage. There were cameras everywhere.

RE-RX-7 @ MAX ONE

Big thanks to Kuni for making this. I love the slow mo!

It was a nice birthday present.

This is the D-Like RE-R CS 1.67 With CE-RX steering Keyence 7.5T Brushless and Sanwa MT4

RE-DRB 1.8 CS SSG HT OD - Shakedown @ Max One

Yokomo RE-DRB 1.8 CS Hogh Traction Overdose Shakedown @ Max One with Inital D Project D Takumi 7.

Of course the splitter is big and already broken where the original cracks in this old body were. but it's holding together well.

I'll start with the body. I originally tried it with 3mm Offset Advan RS wheels, but I couldn't see the black rims well. It's a problem at this dark course.

Because the DRB is not adjustable for wheelbase in the front, only at the rear, I had to trim the front wheel arches to allow for +9 offset clearance with 8 degree camber. The turnbuckles are at maximum position at the front and back. 

I could run +12 on the rear but for now this is ideal with the Top Line Moon N model Wheels

The RE-Amemiya style slashes look great with the SpeedHunters / RE-Xtreme / and G-Reddy logos. As this was just the shakedown for the chassis, The body posts are new and as yet untrimmed.

LED lights look great through the sleek lights but I may increase the opening angle for more illumination. But during mid-drift It looks AWESOME! The bright Yellow is great and easy to see exactly what the car is doing.

So how is the Yokomo DRB out of the box. I must say, very impressive! It feels a little different to the RE-R. Not as "punchy" but that's just gearing. I also have to use a little more brake and accel. But this is on the normal spring settings from Yokomo. The slow rebound pistons don't really work with these springs. The whole car needs to be softer for carpet. It tends to stay flat rather than bite into the corners.

But it's great. Everything simply works. I had a small issue with gear belt pulley (that wasn't tight) but after tightening the grub screw, it was ALL ok.

I was very tentative at first, but soon found it was easy to control and I was joining in the fun on a busy night.

At the end I was having fun in some tandem and triple and quad drifting. Crashes are fun too! Gomen Nasai.

So now I need to get some springs and then practice more. That is all. I didn't take any pictures of the chassis because it's not set up as I want it. I need a longer brush-less sensor cable before I show it.

I've updated the full build here -> RE-DRB

RE-Amemiya Initial D "Takumi 7" - Part 5

Touge Time Attack Battle. Is this the ultimate for Takumi and Project D.

Refreshing this old body hasn't been easy. But I think the result has maximum impact. Lights are connected and ready to go.

The body is just sitting on my display chassis. You can see the side skirts quite well here. They are actually from a HPI Mazdaspeed Body left over from a D-Stage conversion.

The difficulties in bending lexan to create complex shapes is tough. So I chose this sharp diffuser option. It's basically reinforced with electrical tape that just happens to match the body color.

It's bolted onto the existing body in 10 places.

Can't wait to get this out for some driftage...

RE-RX @ Max One Video

Here's a rather long video from the other day. I'm using my D-Like RE-R(X) with Celica Supra XX and Custom Yokomo RX-7.

The other cars are a Kazama GP-X under the Chaser and a Kei car set up for drift.

RE-RX @ MAX ONE

I didn't have enough time last night to enjoy the RE-RX's new found abilities. So, today was about consolidation and confirmation.

I slapped on the Jupiter DRS-10's which really match the RX-73 Shakotan and headed out.

I took the hook, but I forgot the exhaust... Damn!

I slapped the LED back in also. It's unfortunate that splitters don't last long though.

The venue was pretty empty so Kuni-san and I played chase on a different tight course. I was really enjoying this new-found ability and the car was performing beautifully.

Later on I swapped to the XX and old school rims.

The knight rider in the house.

I also had a close look at the Overdose DRB chassis. It's a nice upgrade, but I can't justify this expense personally.

A de-anodised DRB looks cool. I also have some ideas up my sleeve.

And you always find something awesome at MAX-ONE

Today was Kei-Car drift.

Stay tuned for a video... From me and one from MAX ONE.