8043 - L Motors?

[andythenorth]

8043 excavator is a classic, but the M motors strike me as a bit gutless.

The L motors are almost a drop-in replacement (need to extend the house by one stud), but I'm wondering if it's actually a benefit. According to Philo (http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm) the L motor is slower than the M motor, and although more powerful, will drain batteries much faster.

I've swapped an L motor in, but measuring performance is not easy

Opinions from the crowd?

[efferman]

look what L motors can do

[andythenorth]

Thanks Efferman. I've swapped in 2 L motors - for the boom & stick / track travel functions. (I only have 2 L motors right now).

There is subjectively more power with the L, but I'd also like faster cycle times on boom and stick.

A simple gear swap in the chassis will increase track travel speed, but I can't see an easy place to swap any gears in the house to move the boom & stick faster. Any suggestions?

I could also add an L to the bucket curl / slew, but the performance is ok right now with an M. Do you see much benefit from an L motor for those functions?

Edited February 1, 2014 by andythenorth

[efferman]

my 8043 mod is fully made with L motors so i think that every function has an benefit of them. my motors for the uppercarriage are all with an 1:1 ratio equipped

[andythenorth]

As far as I can tell, stock 8043 has a 12:20 reduction on the boom lift? Looks like I can swap those for 16t gears, to get a 1:1?

Edited February 1, 2014 by andythenorth

[davidmull]

Jurgens ultimate 8043 works great with the XL motor.

[andythenorth]

I swapped a 12:20 gear pair in the chassis for a 12:12 pair. With L motors = faster travel speed, and no less torque

EDIT. I also swapped the 12:20:12:20 for the twin LAs on the boom for a chain of 16:16. The boom now lifts much faster.

Problem: the boom slightly clips the upper 16t gear when at lowest point.

I could move the attachment point of the LAs to the boom so that it doesn't lower so far. This is unrealistic, but I'm not actually going digging with it

Considering making the stick about 4 studs longer - more reach. And swapping the bucket - it's too big

I know there's Ultimate 8043, but I don't want to do a full rebuild, 8043 is really elegant. Just some tweaks...but where will it end?

Edited February 2, 2014 by andythenorth