Max Speed Technology FS-01D Review

Background

The Tamiya TA-03F has left a significant impression on the RC Drift community, especially the older generation, many still consider the TA-03 the best chassis ever designed. Now the front motor revolution has returned once again, this time Max Speed Technology (MST) has brought us the FS-01D chassis. The original TA-03F was born in the beginning of the drift era, before counter-steer (CS) modifications was even conceived. The MST FS-01D is born right in the middle of the CS generation; it will be interesting to see how it stands up to modern drift standards. Without further ado, Drift Mission presents the FS-01D by Max Speed Technology.

FS-01D Kit Impressions

The kit comes assembled and only requires damper fluid, checking belt tension and electronics installation to run. The silver surface carbon and silver anodized alloy are a good combination, they complement and contrast each other nicely. Unlike the MS-01D Pro kit, the FS-01D does not include a front one-way unit or countersteer CS gears; they are sold separately as optional parts. For this review, we chose to fully upgrade the FS-01D chassis with all the available option parts.

Quality of FS-01D Kit

The included alloy and carbon parts included are very generous. The quality of this kit is very good, now it comes pre-assembled from the factory. The silver alloy and silver surface carbon really make the FS-01D stand out. When the chassis stiffeners are removed, the amount of flex in the chassis is very evident; especially in the rear section of the chassis, the flex will be very useful for mechanical traction. The new FS-01D also includes several mounting positions and locations for greater user configuration.
Alloy Parts

• Front silver aluminum bulkhead assembly
• Rear silver aluminum Bulkhead assembly
• Silver aluminum adjustable dampers
• Silver aluminum cooling bar
• Silver aluminum servo mounts
• Silver aluminum upper belt tensioner
• Silver aluminum turnbuckles
• Front and rear steel universal driveshafts
• Steel layshaft (5mm diameter)

Silver Carbon Parts

• Main chassis plate
• Upper chassis plate
• Side stiffeners
• Rear W stiffener
• Front damper stay
• Rear damper stay

The Good

• Front motor position
• Longitudinal battery position
• 4 different lateral battery positions
• Multiple alloy parts
• Useful carbon stiffeners for controlling chassis flex
• Shares several parts with MS-01D
• Front ball diff and Rear solid axle
• 60 degrees front universal driveshafts
• rear universal driveshafts
• Full ball-bearings
• Wheels and tires included

The Bad

• CS kit not included – Included with the MS-01D Pro kit, this chassis should also have it included, especially with CS popularity.
• Long rear belt – *Do not over-tighten the belt* Belt bounces slightly due to long length but not enough to hamper performance.
• Too much front weight – Loss of rear traction due to front weight bias, especially with longitudinal battery position.
• Battery size and clearance limitation – Does not fit Turnigy 5000mAh battery, the height is too high and causes the belt to rub. Ended up using a lower profile Hyperion 4000mAh LiPo battery.
• Longitudinal battery position mounting – Requires strapping tape to hold stationary. Not a big problem, in this position you want to make sure the battery does not move, it will contact rear belt tensioner.
• Front body clearance – Does not fit low profile RC bodies due to larger front motor bulkhead, this problem is an inherited problem in front motor chassis design. We used a Tamiya GT-R35 body, HPI RX-7 will not fit on this body. We will experiment with various other bodies in the future.

Overall Build Process

The FS-01D is pre-built straight from MST. We checked all of the screws when disassembling, and they are all properly tightened. We decided to upgrade the FS-01D into a full silver alloy edition of the chassis. Once the edges have been glued, we proceed to assembling the FS-01D will all the silver option parts available. The full FS-01D chassis build can be found in the chassis build section.
Check out the full build here.
Build Notes:
The chassis is fully assembled directly from MST. The chassis was disassembled and several upgrades were applied. Refer to full FS-01D in the chassis build section: http://driftmission.com/chassis-workshop/chassis-builds/max-speed-technology-fs-01d-chassis-build/

Test Drive and Feedback

Test Drive #1 (Lateral Battery Position)
Using out-of-box settings, the chassis drives extremely well. It is very easy to control and manage around the a track. Front end grip is the most noticeable difference with the FS-01D, especially when you are off the throttle; grip returns almost instantly and recovering from a mistake very easy. No setup involved here, just fill dampers, check belt tension, install electronics and then test drive.

Test Drive #2 (Longitudinal Battery Position)
Used the same out-of-box settings, only exception was change of battery position. It drives completely different with the battery in this position. The weight balance is very close down the centerline of the chassis, but now the chassis becomes even more front weight bias. The rear end becomes “looser” due to overall weight now shifting further forwards.

Test Drive #3 (Removed rear chassis stiffener)
The longitudinal battery position reduces the rear weight for traction. The rear chassis stiffener was removed so that the chassis can produce more traction. Once the stiffener is removed, the flex in the chassis is very impressive. Small changes to the rear set-up, such as camber and toe so that mechanical traction can be utilized. When the chassis stiffeners are removed, the amount of flex in the chassis is very evident; especially in the rear section of the chassis, the flex will be very useful for mechanical traction. The results was immediate, improved grip, faster drifts, better angle and good CS around the track.

Overall Value

The chassis pre-order price was $420USD with several free gifts from MST, which is a very good deal for a full front motor chassis. The MSRP is in the $470USD range, which is still very reasonable. The FS-01D is very well equipped from stock and does meet our RC Drift expectations. The closest competitor for front motor domination is Active Hobby, with a FR conversion kit. The FR conversion kit costs approximately $480USD (MSRP) and still needs a TA06 donor chassis. The total cost of TA06 and the Active FR conversion would be very close to a MST FS-01D full option parts version. To us the choice is simple, but ultimately it comes down to personal preference.

Conclusion

Once again MST has produced a very good product. The FS-01D offers many different unique features for a RC Drift chassis. The front motor positioning really sets this chassis apart from all other mid-ship chassis. It is a very capable chassis especially in the hands of skilled drivers; nearly every setting can be adjusted to fit the driver’s every need. The FS-01D has many great features, but the best feature of this chassis is the high traction design with adjustable/removable carbon stiffeners. The front motor design makes this chassis a good candidate for RWD; now RC Drift can become more scale with the FR layout (front motor, rear wheel drive). The potential of this chassis is endless, MST has done a good job with the FS-01D.

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