Well the ma-01 IMO is much faster and better handling in stock form than the mr-02. The mr-02 is the tried and true kyosho racing chassis. The ma-01 will be funner out the box if you decide just to drift. BTW drifting with the ma-01(and kyosho drift tires) in stock form is very easy and a simple tire change and steering adjustment will also make it track ready.
Batteries last anywhere from 15-30 min depending on how you drive it. Drifting burns up some juice but so do hotter motors.
All the drifting in my videos are with an awd car, the silver skyline is an x-mod and the others are the ma-01.
At this scale or with any R/C for that matter, you will not be able to hold as long or as controlled drifts in a 2WD vehicle compared to 4WD. Because we are not sitting in the actual vehicle and cannot feel the motion, we need the extra 2WD to help give us more control. With 2WD, the car will tend to pivot on the front tires and just 180, even with just as slippery tires as on the rear. You can maybe get it to powerslide and recover, but thats about it.
4WD for drifting and stock class (stock motor, no upgraded electronics) racing, 2WD for stock class and mod class (unlimited modifications) racing. It's up to you whether you want 4WD or 2WD for stock class racing, the 2WD will be faster on 3/4's of the tracks, but the 4WD will be close behind.
At a recent race, my fastest time with my MA-010 was 9.73 seconds (check MA-010 mini-reviews for setup), while fastest stock class 2WD was much lower, in the 9.2's and mod was in 8.5's.
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