A 4WD "engine" idea

[domik]

Hello.

Some time ago I designed this 4WD "engine" as I call it. I basically got tired of the front steering wheels being just pushed around by rear motors in my RC cars. But I didn't really know how to build such a model that would use this engine, and didn't have as much bricks as I've got now, so I abandoned this idea. But now I'm coming back to it, and I started to wonder if it's even possible to make a car that has pretty good capabilities off-road with just two PF L Motors, and one Buwizz. So I wanted to ask if someone has an opinion on this.

There are two outputs on 2 sides, as you can see in this image. Have a nice day!

[HorcikDesigns]

Depends on drivetrain between this motor pack (I would not call it engine) and wheels, desired speed and size of the vehicle and wheels you would like to use.

But with the buggy tires (also from F150 Raptor set) you can build quite capable and fast offroader, if the vehicle is as simple and light as possible and has efficient drivetrain.

[Aurorasaurus]

5 hours ago, domik said:

Hello.

Some time ago I designed this 4WD "engine" as I call it. I basically got tired of the front steering wheels being just pushed around by rear motors in my RC cars. But I didn't really know how to build such a model that would use this engine, and didn't have as much bricks as I've got now, so I abandoned this idea. But now I'm coming back to it, and I started to wonder if it's even possible to make a car that has pretty good capabilities off-road with just two PF L Motors, and one Buwizz. So I wanted to ask if someone has an opinion on this.

There are two outputs on 2 sides, as you can see in this image. Have a nice day!

Are the two outputs connected? Why not have the motors hard coupled together, and an axle going through the middle of them? As for capabilities offroad, it really depends. Some people can make extraordinary things with 2 L motors (Attika, look at his pickup trucks on yt) and some people opt for much more power. If you want a decent balance of speed and power, I'm sure it can be achieved with 2 L motors, just keep the weight down.

Also, I think you might find Sariel's book on lego technic useful, as a good way to get all the basic knowledge you need coming into the hobby. Its outdated, we have better pieces now, but the principles are the same.

[gyenesvi]

Here's my attempt of such a car:

And also I built many others with just 2 (PU) L motors that are not too fast but climb well off-road, especially when powered by a Buwizz instead of Technic hub:

https://rebrickable.com/users/gyenesvi/mocs/

[domik]

21 hours ago, Aurorasaurus said:

Are the two outputs connected? Why not have the motors hard coupled together, and an axle going through the middle of them? As for capabilities offroad, it really depends. Some people can make extraordinary things with 2 L motors (Attika, look at his pickup trucks on yt) and some people opt for much more power. If you want a decent balance of speed and power, I'm sure it can be achieved with 2 L motors, just keep the weight down.

Also, I think you might find Sariel's book on lego technic useful, as a good way to get all the basic knowledge you need coming into the hobby. Its outdated, we have better pieces now, but the principles are the same.

I haven't thought about coupling these motors together in this way, but that is brilliant! Then there would be power of two L Motors in coming to each wheel..? This sounds impossible tho..

And I did hear about and thought about getting Sariel's book, but knowing me, I probably will learn more with experimenting.

[Aurorasaurus]

18 minutes ago, domik said:

I haven't thought about coupling these motors together in this way, but that is brilliant! Then there would be power of two L Motors in coming to each wheel..? This sounds impossible tho..

And I did hear about and thought about getting Sariel's book, but knowing me, I probably will learn more with experimenting.

Thats right, if you couple the two, the rpm should be about the same as just 1, but the torque is doubled.

As for sariels book, you may learn more by just experimenting... if you know what experiments to do! I'd highly recommend getting it, it'll save you a lot of time.

[TeamThrifty]

16 hours ago, Aurorasaurus said:

it'll save you a lot of time.

Perhaps time saving isn't the most important thing? I personally love the journey, the trial and error - thats the best way to learn, try and try again. And by far the most fun. Charging for the finish line with a book or this forum resolving all the puzzles teaches very little and is no where near as interesting.. just a thought..

[Aurorasaurus]

2 hours ago, TeamThrifty said:

Perhaps time saving isn't the most important thing? I personally love the journey, the trial and error - thats the best way to learn, try and try again. And by far the most fun. Charging for the finish line with a book or this forum resolving all the puzzles teaches very little and is no where near as interesting.. just a thought..

Thats a valid way to go about things, for sure. I wouldn't exactly say Sariel's book or the forum resolves all the problems though, there really is no substitute for experience. They are just tools to get you through those points where you feel like its impossible, or a way to get your base knowledge quicker.

Anyway, I think we can all agree that if you like what you're doing, there's no need to change it, as the hobby is about having fun!

[domik]

8 hours ago, Aurorasaurus said:

Thats a valid way to go about things, for sure. I wouldn't exactly say Sariel's book or the forum resolves all the problems though, there really is no substitute for experience. They are just tools to get you through those points where you feel like its impossible, or a way to get your base knowledge quicker.

Anyway, I think we can all agree that if you like what you're doing, there's no need to change it, as the hobby is about having fun!

I'd agree with what @TeamThrifty said. But you're right, you won't learn much when you don't know what to test, but I often find myself discovering a way to do something much quicker than if I had thought and thought about it. Anyways, I hope I'll be able to do some "experimenting" on this "engine" soon, it sounds that I can pull off something cool with it. Thanks for the idea with coupling the motors!