Zerobricks

Thanks to @Alex Ilea this model has now instructions available, check them out at Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-163596/Zerobricks/42161-sterrato-motorized-mod/#details

Well done! Nice to see such a good replica of the rear trailing / A-arm suspension.

1. The front uses triple shock absorbers, since they don't get comprssed all the way due to suspension limiters in order to prevent the steering links from popping out. I am not using 9L shock absorbers, since there's no way to mount them on lower arm due to the steering link being in the way and because they are no longer produced. 2. I agree, forgot to mention it, I use Molykote PG75. 3. Ideally I would use geraboxes only to gear down to the hubs, but due to the nature of LEGO tranmissions (especially when it comes to high torque) the only way is to gear high and have the final gearing as close or on the wheels. Of course I can easily remove the third gear and save some 100 parts, but a new version can't end up slower than the previous one, you know I think with a very light enough model, you could maybe get away with direct drive to the Audi's hubs via new diffs and actual gearing down in the gearbox, but I would be worried about other factors such as windup which would cause wheels to oscilate... Might be worth a try though, since geraing down once is far more efficient than gearing up and down again.

It calibrates according to the mechanical limit angle, in my case it's 180 degrees and from that it knows it's 3 positions. It's basically deisgned to be sued with PU L motor and wave selectors.

Thank you!. I'm using the Gearbox module

Thanks. Have to admit I wasn't sure the new, smaller shifter rings will work well with wave selector due to their smaller diameter, but in the end they did. The big ones in the hubs are the same ones as in older version, there are signs of wear, but I did lubricate all the driveline parts, so that helps. The front small ones are okay too, but they have to carry much smaller load than the rear ones. Yes, the third gear is more of a let's do it just because we can, but it's still fun. Can't wait to meet up again soon!

Took me 2 days of recording, lots of crashes and frustrations, but it was all worth it: Final technical information: Dimensions: 35 x 24 x16 cm Weight: 1450 g Nr. of Pcs: 796 Download the LDD file here: https://bricksafe.com/files/Zblj/universal-offroader-v2/Universal Offroader V2.lxf Download the control profile here: https://bricksafe.com/files/Zblj/universal-offroader-v2/universal_v2.zip To conclude, I am really happy with the performance and especially durability of the model. I was worried about using wave selectors in the gearboxes, but they have shown to be extremely reliable, they have yet to slip a gear even under heavy acceleration or sudden reversing. Same applies for the 12 tooth bevel gears, they have held up really well and have yet to slip or show signs of wear. Of course the model is not totally indestructable and crashing at high speeds may cause the panels or wheels to fall off, but the central frame/core holding the model together survived all the crashes thanks to the way the flip flop beams are interconnected. I can't wait to use the controller for it as soon as the gearbox module is supported and to just race it around like a little kid.

That's unique for sure! Also, I spy my eye on your small angular motor.

Both axles have the same width. The front axle uses CV joints, so the base is 7 studs with 9 stud long arms. Rear axle does not use CV joints, but the whole gearboxes swivel around the driveshafts, so the base is 3 studs with arm length of 11. This way I got rid of the CV joints in the rear, increasing reliability, efficiency and suspnsion angle/range.

The old version had an open diff which could reduce performance when one of the wheels would come off the ground. Having dual drive increases maneuverability and reliability, even if one drive fails, the model can still move. Yes, I had to use 12 tooth bevel gears, which are a bit weaker and less efficient, but they only have to carry the load of one driveline at a time. So far none have slipped/broken and I stress tested it by stalling the wheels. I used 4x 2473 and 2x 2471. Afaik, they are currently still under license, so not available at Pick A Brick , but I managed to aquire some from offical source. Weight is coming soon,t but I can tell you that the distribrution is around 50/50. I'd love to have a bit more in the front, but because the model is so low, there are no issues rolling over back even at 50+ degree uphill angle. Regarding color scheme, i decided to color code things, yellow for suspension arms, red for shock absorbers, grey for steering linkage and the body is black to look more mature (and because the 17x 15 studded flip flop beams are ATM mostly available in black). I plan to record a video of the model and gearbox in action soon, just waiting for good weather...

I will post the weight as soon as I get around to a scale. For now I'd say 1,5 kg. Control mechanism? I can uplaod the profile along with the LXF file once I publish the video. Sure, I can make a smaller, lighter but slower model too.

Thanks for clarification, can't wait to post stuff when available.

Ah, yes it's a mistake, it's 28:8, yes. Thanks for noticing.

It's around 25-ish degrees, nothing too extreme, but good enough. That's why skid steering helps if you need to be more maneuverable. Wow, thank you, Milan. And yes, of course, as soon as there's good weather. 28 diffs act as a 28 tooth clutch gear. All the gears are in L shaped 2-1 spacing, so they are all in correct, legal spacing. The reason gears are spaced in such way is to get the desired raitios and to have the drive axles lower than the moors ones, but still confined to the panels. That is why the low gear is 20:16 and not the other way around, since a 20 tooth gear would touch the panel underneath.

As soon as I saw the new parts in the 42159, I knew I just have to use them to upgrade the previous version of the Universal 4x4 off-roader. After tinkering for a few weeks in LDD, and actually building it IRL yesterday, it is officially finished: The V2 has a big list of upgrades comapred to V1. Dual independent drive, one for left and other for right wheels - allowing skid steering Two 3 speed gearboxes - that's right, this is my first off road vehicle with 3 gears for optimal performance Improved steering system - much more direct, accurate and responsive Highly modular design - easier access for maintenance and charging Top speed has been increased by 40% both in low and high gear - the previous version had ample torque, so I geared up all the ratios by 40% and added a middle gear Increased suspension travel at the rear - first time I'm using 11 studs long suspension arms Improved drive motor mounting - now they are no longer at a weird angle Similar part count to the V1 - even though it's 2 studs longer and has way more functionality it has only 20 or so extra parts, totalling at 796 (I tried to keep it under 800) Here you can see how the model looks in LDD: Overview of drive, switching and steering drivelines: The dual driveline is powered by 4 BuWizz motors, 2 motors for each side. The lower PU L motor moves the steering rack via an 8 tooth gear. A second, higher mounted PU L motor spins 4 wave selectors via 8 and 28 tooth gears which in turn switch between the 3 gears. The gearboxes have the following gear ratios: First gear is 20/16 = 1,25 - totalling 4,32:1 gear ratio from motors to the wheels Second gear is 24/12 = 2 - totalling 2,7:1 gear ratio from motors to the wheels Third gear is 28/8 = 3,5 - totalling a 1,37:1 gear ratio from motors to the wheels Thanks to the 3 speeds gearboxes, the model has plenty of torque to climb at 45°+ degrees angle, yet can also reach a speed of over 18 km/h, making it my fastest dedicated off-roader to date: Testing it outside, jumping over pump track course, driving through tall grass, etc... I have yet to encounter any major issues. The model is reliable, fast and can take a beating/rollover with ease. So far I'm really happy with it and can't wait to record more media and publish it soon, so stay tuned!

Thank you for this massive update, Stephan! Unfortunately it seems, some files are missing, I'm getting an error 17 pieces could not be loaded including 3538, 3885, 68577, and searching for those ID shows up no .xml or.g files.

Took the time today to record some media of the model, it think the photos came out really good: More details in the video: To sum up, it's a really fun mod, skid steering really adds another control dimension to the model, especially on smooth, slippery surfaces. Only thing left to improve for future is the front axle assembly, to make it sturdier and not relying on friction alone to hold it together.

Thanks fort the praise. Of course the PLA is nowhere near as smooth or reliable as properly moulded ABS, but they work really good for such small and light, manual models. No broken parts so far. Maybe I will build a full, proper car to properly test them. That is why I use 2 gearboxes in parallel, each driven by a maximum of 2 motors in such cases. Also wave selectors can have too much slack and can be unreliable, not to mention wear down sooner due to a lower contact area, so I prefer to use handles.

Wanted to show off some custom designed and 3D - printed parts. First are the 1 stud - wide gear shifter pieces + 12 tooth clutch gear with extension: From left to right: A bush with the shape of an axle joiner 1 stud wide transmission ring 12 tooth clutch gear with a ring extension Custom transmission handle Here's how they work (minus the 12 toooth clutch gear): The shifter actually works good, there is no way of forcing the handle off from the ring and it's quite durable for its size. The only issue I see is when using it with larger 24 tooth or 20 bevel gear, where it will touch the sides of the gears before fully engaged. Second concept I wanted to show is using 4 new pieces to create a very narrow independent suspension: First there is a custom hub that can accept the small CV joint axle: I am using bar holes so that you can insert the bar with a ball joint into any of the 3 available holes: And the rest of of components: Again from left to right: 3 stud long link 3 stud long suspension arm with an axle hole and 2 cross axles 3 stud long double CV joint Combining it all together, you end up with a very narrow and compact independent suspension, perfect for the small 1:16 models (one 3x5 yellow L beam was removed to show suspension more clearly): It works really good at this scale and I'm really happy with the concept. The only thing I'd improve is to redesign the hub to have a fixed steering ball, since bar connections can be tricky/weak and the outer position will be used in most applications anyway. So that's a few concepts I have been working on, what is your opinion? Personally I believe that some of these may actually happen in the near future, if I had to bet it would be the 12 tooth clucth gear with extension and a shorter version of suspension arm.

From my experience, the plastic is softer for sure. Had issues with reinforeced version of the wheels hubs failing while driving models and the new, mushier pins and beams tend to leave marks when moving, like in the landing gear of the Airbus. Though big advantage of using MABS instead of ABS is that any part can now be moulded also in transparent color without needing a seperate mould...

What a beauty. Also those rim and tyre combo is really great!

Any ETA on the next pack update? Or a link where I could download the individual components? Thanks and keep up the good job, Stephan!

Could be just a simple mechanical issue, I don't see how else it would work in one model and not in the other. Anyway, if you keep having issues, pleae send an E-mail on support, so we can solve it there.

Maybe you have a bad contact somewhere, all 6 contacts of the port have to have connection for intelligent motor control.

Skid steering is the steering ability mosty traked vehicles use. By spining the wheels in opposite directions, you can spin on the spot like a tank basically. So the turning radius is zero.