Your first £400 RC drift build, parts list included

£400 is the realistic floor for a drift car you will still be running in a year. Below that you will be upgrading within the first month. Above that you are paying for convenience. Here is the parts list — not a starter kit. A build.

The scope

A complete build means chassis, motor, ESC, servo, gyro, transmitter, receiver, battery, charger, tyres, and a body shell, painted. All of it ready to drive out of the box. Not a kit plus "the rest".

The build

Chassis — MST RMX 2.5 (AWD) £190 or Sakura D5S (RWD) £160. Both are good first chassis. The MST is more forgiving; the Sakura is more educational. Your call.

Motor + ESC — Hobbywing Justock 17.5T combo £75. Paired, sensored, drift-mode ESC. Reliable, well-supported, low risk.

Servo — Savöx SA-1256TG or equivalent £38. 0.08s response, 10kg-cm torque, digital, metal gear. Spec matters. Do not go below 10kg-cm.

Gyro — Hobbywing G-Force 1 £25. Entry-level mid-range. Remote dial support on channel 3. Good enough to win club nights.

Transmitter + receiver — Flysky FS-G7P Pro + matched Rx £55. Cheap and entirely adequate. Three-channel minimum, with a rotary dial for the gyro.

Battery — 2S 5,200mAh 65C LiPo £18 + a balance charger £20 if you do not already own one. Budget for a second pack by session three.

Tyres + rims — 4 x CS38 tyres + ABS inserts + pre-mounted rims £28.

Body shell — Pandora S15 or ABC Hobby R34 (unpainted) £35 + polycarbonate paint £12 + masking tape £2.

Running total

Chassis + electronics + battery: £321–£351. Tyres + shell + paint: £77. Total: £398–£428 depending on chassis.

Where we cut corners

Flysky over Futaba saves £130. A Pandora paint kit over a pre-painted shell saves £25. The Hobbywing gyro over a KO Propo or Sanwa saves £60. Each of these is upgradeable later once you know what you actually need.

Where we do not cut corners

Motor and ESC. Servo. Tyres. These are the things you feel every run. Cheap any of them and the whole build feels cheap.

Month two

Budget £50 for a second battery, £30 for a set of ball bearings if the chassis came with plain, and £20 for shock oil and a shim kit. That covers the first real tune and brings the total to about £500 for a year's running.

Where to buy

Radio-Controlled.co.uk stocks most of the line items above. Pandora shells and competition CS tyres are specialist JDM imports — drop us a line if you want a specific livery or shore. See our shop for current drift stock.