Sprint 2 questions...

[the_ghetto_rig]

I've got a Sprint 2 on the way, and it's my first belt-driven drifter.
Folks have posted up must-do mods on some other forums, but they seem to be for an earlier version, which had a pebble-collecting diff cover (consequently snapping the rear belt)..see pic below(the yellow outline being the spot to cut out):



The newer version, which I'm getting, has no rear cover and also a hole in the chassis (which the above one did not have), presumably to allow pebbles to fall out..see pic:




So my question is: What mods are necessary right out of the box to avoid calamity? I'm not necessarily looking for tuning mods
(though I could use the help ), just the essentials that will ensure the life of my drifter...

[K.O.M.]

Necessary? Nothing. I've owned 4 different RS4 variants over the past 15 years and I basically take them out of the box, race them for a year, sell it to someone else when I want a new kit.

I know that part of the culture of R/C is to modify things out of the box, but why not just try it out stock and see for yourself what you want to upgrade?

Now to tune for drifting, I would get a set of springs, some shock oil and experiment with how you want the car to react or transfer weight. You could also get some different viscosity diff fluid, or just get a spooled rear diff for the rear, you'll want it for a full-time drifter anyway, and if you decide to race, you'll want the spool on the front of the car and a diff on the rear, so just swap. Drift tires are a must, unless you plan on just putting in big power and doing lift-off and inertial drifts at the end of a straight where your car can get to top speed.

IMHO, the "counter-steer" setup, where the rear axle ratio is lower than the front axle ratio, will make the rear end kick out really easily, but you don't really learn to drift properly using weight transfer--and the car will not go anywhere near a straight line.

[the_ghetto_rig]

Thanx for the tips K.O.M...
I'm for sure gonna spool the rear.
I'm researching all the counter-steer set-ups, but that seems pretty advanced for me right now..