15 Years of Evolution

This time, I'm talking about 15 years of technological evolution and the human relationships that remain unchanged.

Drift RC

The Drift Package from a manufacturer called YOKOMO,
commonly known as the 'Dori-Pake,' is quite famous as an entry-level model.

I was into it about 15 years ago too,
but a friend from back then told me he started again, so I asked him about it.

It has evolved to a completely different level; it was beyond surprising.
I want to do it too!

The latest model with a gyro sensor

Modern RC cars are equipped with gyro sensors, so if you perform an action that would cause the vehicle to lose its posture,it automatically moves the tires to try and maintain the drift.It's amazing.

It seems you can even control the motor to intentionally over-rev it, and the movement and control of the vehicle are just like a D1 car. It's an F1 machine.

Coming from someone who only ever played with old-school RC cars, I was absolutely astonished.

At first,
'It automatically applies counter-steer, so if you think you're going to spin and over-correct, the drift won't continue'
apparently, you need to get used to that kind of operation,

but it has become something from a completely different dimension... it's incredible.

I really want to show you a video of it.
I took one, but I can't post it here.

A slightly troublesome part is that
if you change parts that affect the vehicle's posture, like the suspension, you need to recalibrate the sensor's zero point.

My assumption that 'RC cars haven't changed that much since the old days'
has become a thing of the past.

However!!
He said his entire salary was taken away in one month.
He really is a 'crazy guy' (I mean that as a compliment).

Usually, you can get started just fine with about 50,000 yen.

Annual tradition

Why did this topic come up? Well, I went to the Kumagaya Fireworks Festival, which is held (roughly) on the second week of August every year.

And in Kumagaya, famous for its 'It's hot, Kumagaya!' slogan, there's a car shop I've been going to since I was in high school.

I've bought several cars from them over the years, had them do vehicle inspections, and they've been a huge help.
Even now, I have about four vehicles just dumped there.
Always thank you, and sorry about that.

So, on the day of this annual fireworks festival, they gather neighbors and regular customers for a party inside the factory grounds.

The meeting

In high school, I made a car-loving classmate in a club.
He said,
'I have friends in town who love cars, so let's all hang out!'
So I was all for it and went, on my bicycle.
I was told the meeting place and met them directly on-site.

When I got there, I found out my friend's family home was a car shop.
When we started talking,


'A crazy guy who bought a Silvia and an AE86 with his New Year's money and is restoring them'Are you serious? A high schooler? We're the same age, right?

Thinking back, I remember a Silvia cost about 50,000 yen back then, so I guess he could still buy them.

Conversely, I was recognized as
'A crazy guy who pedaled a bicycle for 30km'

To each other, our impression when we met 15 years ago was that we were both crazy guys.

What about the fireworks?

I don't remember seeing the fireworks.
We spent the whole time
talking about 'cars, RC cars, and work' until it was over.

I feel like we used to meet almost every week,
but lately, meeting once every few months is considered good.
This time was also the first time since January of this year.

From our perspective, fireworks are just an excuse to get together.
But these kinds of relaxed times are what I look forward to every year.

I look forward to us gathering at the fireworks festival again next year.