Interested in Mini-Z Scale RWD Drifting? Check out GL Racing's GLD. Review and Essential Upgrades.

In this video we are going to review the GLD drift chassis designed by HRC Arena and GL Racing. Before diving into the technical review, some history is required to understand the chassis. This kit came out back in 2020. At that time, there were not many micro 1:28/24 scale RWD drift chassis on the market. With GL known to produce high quality high performance kits, the GLD release was highly anticipated.

To the dismay of the designers, there was a manufacturing issue with the plastic transfer gear in the gear box. The original part was slightly off-centered to cause some binding. An upgraded gear (GL-Drift-OP-016) was needed to address the issue. People who bought the original batch (myself included) received the replacement free of charge. Even with the issue fixed, the early frustration seemed to have dampened the excitement for GLD. That's unfortunate because GLD is an awesome chassis.

So why do I think the GLD is awesome? Let's go over its high level architecture. Please note this GLD is not entirely stock. The front end is double wishbone suspension with fully adjustable turnbuckles for width, camber, toe, and caster angles. Steering is dictated by a Yokomo-style curved sliding rack for stability and symmetry. Ackermann cannot be adjusted.

Unlike many drift chassis on the market today, GLD can do true Mini-Z narrow front. Plus using the convertible chassis, it can support as short as 90mm wheelbase. This means the GLD is compatible with almost every Autoscale body out there, including the awesome 90mm bodies.

In the rear, the GLD also uses double wishbone suspension with adjustable camber and toe angle using optional toe blocks. GLD allows for two different motor mounting positions. This one here is configured for the high position, which shifts more weight towards the back for sustaining larger drift angles. The other position puts the motor in front of the gear box. It drifts fine too but I prefer more mass in the back.

So far we talked about GLD's adjustability and Mini-Z body compatibility. What else? The parts quality is good. The build was mostly straightforward, but exercise patience when building turnbuckle links and freeing ball joints. A careful build is absolutely critical to a RWD drift car. And finally because this is GL, parts availability is good.

So what's the catch? I'd say several option parts are almost essential, thus bumping up the cost of the build. In my opinion, the most important upgrade for GLD is the threaded adjustable shocks (OP-011). These shocks not only enable granular ride height adjustment, they are essential for distributing traction evenly. Uniform traction on the left vs right means being able to accelerate straight, and drift in both directions equally well. It's important to test traction level with the front wheels straight and in full lock.

I also got the spring sets (OP-001 front, OP-002 rear). I prefer a really soft suspension for drift cars.

Another important upgrade is the aluminum front bulkhead (OP-GLD01). By locating the shock tower and shocks further behind, it creates more clearance for the wheels and therefore steering angles.

Next, the aluminum front top and bottom suspension arms (HRC-OP-GLD02). Not only do they increase rigidity of the front suspension arms, it also makes building the turnbuckle links much easier. Turnbuckles are screwed into tapped metal threads and they are guaranteed to go in straight. There's still a tiny bit of play in the arms, but overall it's quite solid. Each turnbuckle is further secured by the provided screw locking it in the suspension arm.

This GLD got a few other upgrades but they are more for durability and aesthetics only. At the end of the day, make sure the suspension is 100% free, turnbuckle lengths are even left vs right, and traction is also even left vs right side.

Let's see how it drifts. Nothing matters if the GLD doesn't perform. Because it's running 90mm and narrow, it really tests the limit of the chassis. There's a little bit of gyro wobble with the sensitivity set at 35, but overall GLD is drifting stably.

Electronics-wise, it's using the stock GL003-DMG servo, NB4 receiver, Furitek Momentum ESC, Atomic Proton 3500kv sensorless motor, and AFRC gyro. Tires are good old DS Racing LF-1.

The chassis manages left and right drifts similarly. Drift transitions are pretty reliable too with a bit of throttle control. The soft springs help.

I hope you've found the video informative. I've run the GLD since it came out 2.5 years ago I still drive it a lot. If you are into 1:28 scale bodies and haven't built a RWD drift chassis before, GLD is definitely an option to consider. If you are ready for a more challenging build, DriftArt may be better. Please feel free to ask me any question about the GLD. I will be happy to help!

Music: "Instructions for Living a Life", Savfk (   • Instructions for Living a Life by Savfk  )