Set its internal anti-wobble just below the point where it buzzes.
OpenDrift v1.0 tuning guide
Tune the car.
Then tune the gyro.
A practical setup order built from real track testing. Start simple, change one setting at a time, and only add assistance after the car catches and transitions cleanly.
01 · Before touching gain
Build a mechanical baseline.
The gyro cannot repair an unstable chassis, a buzzing servo, steering bind, or hidden receiver stabilization. Those problems become control-loop problems as soon as gain is added.
Disable TSM, AVC, or any other built-in stability assistance.
Check endpoints at full lock and make sure nothing binds or hits the arms.
Confirm toe, camber, ride height, rake, damping, and tire condition.
Calibrate steering center, travel, servo direction, and gyro direction.
With wheels clear, rotate the chassis. Correction must oppose that rotation.
Do not skip the direction test.If correction assists rotation, reverse the gyro before putting the car on the ground.
02 · Safe first run
Begin with the controller stripped back.
These values expose the basic response without memory or settled-drift assistance hiding what the chassis is doing.
| Setting | Starting value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gain | 1.50 | Enough authority for a cautious first test |
| Deadband | 4 | Ignores tiny yaw noise near center |
| Max Correction | 250 | Limits steering authority while direction is verified |
| Smoothing | 0.01 | Minimal filtering and delay |
| Countersteer Assist | 0 | Keeps settled-drift help out of the base tune |
| Prediction | 0 | Starts without extra yaw look-ahead |
| Hold Assist | 0 | Disables quiet-drift reference holding |
| Drift Memory | 0.00 | Disables reference feedback |
| Memory Limit | 80 | Ready for later memory tuning |
| Servo Quiet | 0 | Add only if the servo needs it |
One change. One run.Save surface-specific profiles instead of trying to make one tune cover every track.
03 · The order matters
Build authority first. Add intelligence last.
Raise Gain
Use low-speed entries. Increase it until the car catches rotation decisively without mid-drift hunting.
Set Max Correction
If response is strong but runs out of steering authority, increase the limit in small steps.
Add Prediction
If fast chassis motion overshoots before settling, add steps of 5. Back it down if transitions become sharp.
Use Smoothing only for noise
Add steps of 0.01 only when the yaw signal is visibly noisy. Filtering is not an oscillation repair.
Choose driver involvement
Add Countersteer Assist in steps of 10 if the driver is carrying too much settled countersteer.
Add Hold Assist
Once entries and transitions are clean, add steps of 5 to stabilize long sustained drifts.
Add Drift Memory last
Use steps of 0.05. If a transition carries the old drift, reduce Memory or Hold Assist.
04 · Know what the knobs do
Every setting has one clear job.
Gain
Direct correction for predicted yaw. More gain catches harder; too much creates mid-drift hunting.
Deadband
Removes very small corrected yaw near zero without changing the response once outside it.
Max Correction
The hard correction ceiling in microseconds. It limits authority, not responsiveness.
Smoothing
The single yaw low-pass filter. Higher values reduce noise but add delay.
Prediction
Yaw-acceleration look-ahead. It helps the gyro meet rapid rotation before it becomes an overshoot.
Countersteer Assist
Adds settled-drift countersteer without increasing fast damping. Zero keeps the base response.
Hold Assist
Controls how slowly the quiet-drift reference follows yaw during a sustained slide.
Drift Memory
Feedback strength for deviation from the learned quiet-drift reference. Tune it after everything else.
Memory Limit
Caps the Drift Memory contribution so reference feedback cannot dominate steering.
Steering Travel
The final logical steering range available to both the driver and gyro.
With throttle connected: OpenDrift can extend prediction briefly around load changes before the chassis response develops. General Prediction still remains independently adjustable.
05 · Symptom finder
Adjust the cause, not the noise.
| What the car does | Try this first |
|---|---|
| Gyro feels weak and the driver does most of the work | Raise Gain |
| Initial response is strong but authority stops building | Raise Max Correction carefully |
| Fast response overshoots before settling | Add a small amount of Prediction |
| Direction changes become sharp or nervous | Lower Prediction |
| Stable drift needs too much driver countersteer | Raise Countersteer Assist |
| Gyro feels too hands-on after settling | Lower Countersteer Assist |
| Long drift slowly wanders after entries are clean | Add Hold Assist |
| Reference is present but does not correct enough | Add Drift Memory |
| Transition carries the previous drift | Lower Hold Assist or Drift Memory |
| Wheels oscillate in the middle of a drift | Lower Gain first; verify servo and chassis |
| Correction sits at Max Correction | Inspect travel and geometry; more gain cannot add authority |
06 · RC1 experimental
Tail Slide Speed
Keep Tail Slide Speed at 50 for the proven RC1 response. Lower values add entry and transition damping. Higher values release some damping for faster rotation. Its influence fades substantially in a settled drift.
Test this last.Only change Tail Slide Speed after the base tune is stable, and compare matched runs or blackbox logs.
Ready to drive