Testing The Limits Of CarX Drift Racing 3’s Damage Physics

Are they really THAT good? Decide for yourself as SLAPTrain puts the soft-body system to the test, featuring chassis-bending crashes and panel destruction.

SLAPTrain‘s latest dive into CarX Drift Racing 3’s damage system showcases the most impressively realistic physics we’ve ever seen in a drifting game, which you certainly wouldn’t expect to see on mobiles!

In the video above, the popular drifting YouTuber takes us through a hilarious crash test session that puts the game’s damage modeling through its paces.

He starts with the JOE’S MST90, the game’s take on an unlicensed Mustang and the most powerful of the three free starter cars. It’s immediately obvious that this one wasn’t the best choice, as it has no body panels.

As part of the in-depth tuning aspect of the game, you need to purchase these panels separately. Sometimes, you’ll receive a new car with no wheels or missing various engine components, which you’ll need to fit yourself.

Despite the lack of panels, he smashes the car into what he discovers to be an amusingly sturdy fence, showing off the game’s impressive damage system. While most games (Forza Horizon, we’re looking at you!) might simply crack the windshield or scratch the body panels, things are a little different here.

Under the force of the impact at over 100km/h, the chassis bends and twists realistically, reminiscent of what you’d see in other driving games with impressive soft-body physics, like Wreckfest or BeamNG.drive.

The damage system does have its limitations, though. While you can thoroughly wreck your car, it never reaches the point of being completely undrivable. Instead, the damage becomes more cosmetic after a certain threshold.

One great feature of Free Roam mode is the ability to instantly reset your car to pristine condition at no cost by going to the menu and pressing ‘Repair.’

Don’t get too excited just yet, though – this feature is deliberately restricted to Free Roam only. This means you won’t be able to exploit this to avoid the wait/cost of repairing your car for the Campaign, Tandem, or Top32 modes.

After obliterating the MST90, SLAPTrain moves on to his next victim – the clean KYOTO E86 (a digital incarnation of drift legend Keiichi Tsuchiya’s Toyota AE86 Trueno) with all body panels intact, where he gets a better look at the panel-removing process.

With this cleaner car (at the start, at least), the body panels begin getting knocked off or mangled one by one; from the front-mount intercooler to the bent roof, nothing remains unscathed! As he throws down some laps, you can still see the body panels from his previous encounter with the wall lying on the floor.

Next, the NISHIMO S13 (based on the Nissan Silvia 180SX PS13) gets its turn on the NASCAR-style track and Ebisu before meeting its inevitable fate, Adam LZ-style!

While you won’t see things like wheels falling off with the game’s damage system, the level of panel destruction is impressive, whether you’re intentionally testing the limits of the game or just learning the ropes where crashing is inevitable (ask us how we know!)

The most appealing aspect of CarX Drift Racing 3 is that it’s completely free to play (although it does have obvious ads and wait times), and there are PC and console releases confirmed for the future, although these will come at a cost.

There are various modes, including single-player challenges, Tandem battles, and Top32 competitions. However, newcomers to drift games might find it somewhat challenging to master.

For those seeking simpler alternatives, free browser-based drifting games like Drift Hunters MAX offer simpler mechanics while maintaining features like free roam (including AI traffic – something missing from CarX 3) and ‘Drift Attack’ challenge modes. While it doesn’t match the CarX Drift Racing 3 damage system, it can be a great way to learn the basics of drifting, upgrading, and tuning to get you started.

The damage system in CarX Drift Racing 3 provides the best damage we’ve seen in a drifting game to date. While trashing your car won’t completely disable the drivability, it provides enough to make the impacts feel satisfying while keeping the game fun.

We’re just waiting for the game to hit PC and consoles now!

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