3D Printed RC Mini Drift Trike. Yes, It Really Drifts!

My favorite motorsport is drifting. There's something magical about watching a car enter a controlled slide and being inches away from a wall and another car. Drifiting a full car is expensive so I thought I would get into rc drifiting instead. Turns out the hobby of rc, especially drifting, is also expnsive! I was lucky enough to get my hands on a MST RMX 2.5 drift car for half the asking price. The first time I got my rc car into a nice flow around the track, it was like being in a trance. After that experience, I decided to create a 3D printed kit that would be both affordable and easy to build. I experimented with cars, hovercrafts, and even converted slot cars, but nothing compared to my MST rc drift car. My previous prototypes didn't work well because of the complex steering geometry required to enter a controlled slide. Then I remembered I used to have a drift tricycle when I was a kid, and its steering mechanism was simple. This ultimately led me to make an RC version of a drift trike. I made several prototypes until I came up with the one in this Instructables. If you decide to make this drift trike, I hope you find lots of joy in the art of drifting. Please leave questions in the comments below.

Mini RC Drift Trike Kit Coming Soon

2.4GHz Transmitter with matching Receiver

TT Motor

Steering Gyro

12v LED

Brushed ESC

2s LIPO battery with charger

9g or more servo (I designed the kit to fit any servo with dimensions the same as the SG90)

Two breadboard wires with a female connector

Electric tape

Hot Glue or CA

Mounting Putty

3x 605 Bearings

2#56 Screws and Nuts: 6x 1/4 and 2x 3/16

Pliers

Plastic Nippers

Screwdriver

Optional:

Pin Vise Hand Drill

1/28 RC Drift Tires

Add the STL files of each part to your favorite slicer.

Here are the settings I used in Bambu:

15% Infill

Brim on

Tree Support at 30 degrees

There are several option parts:

If you are using a flat battery similar to the one found in a 1/24 RC Crawler, select the part Holder Slim.

There are two sets of wheels: Narrow and Wide. Both have a 20mm diameter and match with Narrow and Wide 1/28 RC tires.

Using the plastic nippers, gently remove the brim and supports from each part.

Take three 605 bearings. Press two bearings into each side of the chassis and one into the front wheel. I used the back of my screwdriver to press the bearing into the wheel.

Take the motor mount and screw two 2#56 1/4 screws into it. This will tap each hole. If you prefer, you can use a pin vise drill to widen the holes instead. Remove the screws from the motor mount. Align the motor mount with the 2mm slit at the rear of the chassis. Secure with two 2#56 1/4 screws and nuts. Do not fully tighten yet. Next, remove the motor from the TT gearbox by unhooking the silicon clasp. Take the motor driver and find the + and - wires for the motor, and cut and strip them. Twist the stripped wires and lace them through the motor's terminals. See orientation in the 6th picture. At this point, you can either solder the wires or tightly wrap them with electrical tape to the motor's terminals. Finally, slide the motor, with its terminals facing the front of the chassis, into the mount.

Slide the rear axle into the chassis and the drive gear. See the first picture for orientation. Align the axle so it's even on both sides of the chassis. Align the gear with the motor's pinion. Use hot glue or CA to secure the drive gear to the axle, being careful not to get it on the motor or in the gear's teeth. I chose to use hot glue since I can remove it later if I need to re-align the drive gear. Once the glue dries, slide the mount so the pinion rotates freely when the drive gear is turned by the wheels. You can use putty or hot glue to secure the bell of the motor. See the fourth picture for an example. Finally, tighten the motor mount to the chassis.

Note: The LED is optional and is not required for driving this RC vehicle.

Cut and strip the ends of the LED's wires. Do the same for the breadboard female connectors. Twist the LED wires stripped ends with the matching breadboard wires. Secure the connections with either solder or electrical tape. Insert the LED through the rear of the fender. Bend the LED's terminals towards the bottom of the fender to secure them. Lace the LED's wires through the notch at the top of the fender. Lace the wire of the servo through the notch of the fender. Snap the servo's bottom through the top of the fender, being careful not to crush the wires in the notch. See picture six for orientation. Take the wires from the LED as well as the servo and lace them through the notch in the stem. Snap the servo with the fender attached to the underside of the stem. Feed the wires through the notch on the handlebars. Snap the handlebars onto the top of the stem. Lace the wires through the top of the handlebars. Lace the wires through the stem. Insert 2x 2#56 1/4 screws into the stem to tap the holes. Remove screws and align the stem with the centermost 2mm slit at the front of the chassis. Attach the stem to the chassis using the screws and nuts. Make sure the stem is pushed as far front of the chassis as possible.

Using 2x 2#56 1/4 screws, tap the battery and electronics holder. Remove the screws and align the holder over the two 2mm slits next to the stem on the chassis. Using the screws and nuts, secure the holder to the chassis.

There are two sets of tires you can use:

1. RC Mini Drift Trike Narrow/ Wide Tire
2. Great for bashing and fast donuts.
3. RC Mini Drift Trike Low Grip Tire
4. Great for slow and controlled drifts.

Each tire has a recess in the back, which aligns with the ridge at the back of the wheel. Slide the tires onto the wheels. I used pliers to gently press the tires onto the wheels. You can also use any 20mm 1/28 RC tire as well with these wheels. Note: The front tire for this drift trike only fits narrow-sized wheels.

Center the servo by connecting it to the receiver and powering it on. See picture two for example. Note: Each receiver and transmitter may be different, with which channel controls steering and throttle. Please refer to your transmitter and receiver manuals for instructions on which channel controls what. Press the front fork onto the servo; the front of the fork is denoted by a small rectangle. Using the screw provided with the servo, tighten the fork down. Push the pin through the holes at the bottom of the fork and the bearing in the front wheel. You can center the wheel by using a screwdriver to gently nudge it into place. If the front wheel is loose and easily slides, use the front wheel spacers to lock it into place. I've found 605 bearings vary slightly in size and can cause the front wheel to be loose. It's important to keep the front wheel in place for the best drifting experience.

Align the rear wheel attachment points with the axle. Press each wheel on being careful to keep the axle aligned with the motor. Using 2x 2#56 3/16 screws, secure each rear wheel.

Using putty or hot glue, attach the reciver to the battery and electronics holder. Using putty or hot glue, attach the steering gyro in the orientation shown in the second picture. Connect the steering gyro to the receiver channel for steering. Connect the servo to the steering gyro. Connect the ESC to the throttle channel on the ESC. Tuck the ESC and the wire behind the battery and electronics holder. Slide the battery in and connect it to the ESC. Important: Disconnect the battery when not in use.

The trike can drift without a figure on it. I use 1/144 Gunpla and 30 Minute Mission figures from BANDAI to drive my trike. Find a smooth surface, power on the trike, and go drifting! The steering gyro will automatically countersteer for you to keep the drift going. If you find the trike is uncontrollable and constantly gets stuck in donuts, turn the gyro up. If the trike won't enter a slide, turn the gyro down. Use smooth acceleration as well when attempting to drift; too much power will cause a spin. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below, and I will answer them ASAP.

If the motor is running in reverse, check your transmitter for a switch that can fix this. Otherwise, remove the motor and reverse the wires.

If the trike is driving slowly, readjust the motor mount so it's not pressing the pinion tightly against the drive gear.