Attika

It's just a wannabe. This truck is just as much a tatra, like I am an NFL star.... Let's see, if monday is any better. I should say, there wasn't any. I've been trying to keep the drivetrain as simple as possible. Every additional gear connection would eat up efficiency, so both, the XL and the buggy motors were connected straight to the differencials (buggy motors with the slow output) Bottom line is: motors- differential (a 20/28 ratio) - wheelhubs 1/ 5.4. that's it. There is one thing I forgot to mention above. I've locked the diffs for the outdoor runs and for the slope test too. With open diffs, the max angle it climbed was 52 degrees With locked diffs, of course the crawling ability goes up, but the manoeuvrability goes down. I mean the turning circle grows. Just a a pro vehicle, requires (and offers) the right setup for the given task. The hubs did not show any sign of being on the edge of their capabilities. The model is close to 3 kg, I was frequently checking the hubs an the cv heads inserted. After quite extensive and- let say- intense usage there is some sign of wear, (check the left one on the picture in the original post) but knowing what they took, the lack of these signs would be more surprising. Let me highlight, the sign of wear I'm talking about is a hardly visible line in the groove of the cv head. It still works as good as new. Personally I'm very happy with these hubs. They didn't just brought me back from a longer dark age period, but in the meantime prooved themselfs very well crafted. I would say, a sensible outdoor usage does not mean any problem. Where sensible means, not to dip it into mud or sand. I've yet to find out what is their limit regarding the weight and torque they willing to take.

I guess that is the very essence of this hub. Somewhat a gamechanger. Surprisingly No part has been damaged in the process. I lost one ball joint pin though , but that happened earlier, came out from the old hub. It seems to be a very chatty topic.

Good people of Eurobricks, let me give you my first take on the planetary hubs: Please excuse me for the lenght of the video, it's meant to show the developement stage by stage. I had big expectations towards the new hubs, since they've been announced. I realised, these hubs will solve the problem of the stress on drivetrains, yet will raise a new challenge. Due to the increased torque on the wheels, the frame (chassis) and the bracing of the suspension will be the new weak link. A wanted to have a finalized rig to the date of the release of the hubs. The backbone of the design came from a five years old chassis concept, it was a non motorized chassis: To mimic the geometry of the new hub, I've used the old ones with some extension, so it can be easily swapped, when time comes: The concept of the chassis came together quite well, thanks to using techniques well practiced in my early years. But there was still a long time till the release of the new hubs. Driven by curiosity, I've planted two PF XL motors in the middle of the chassis, making them drive two axles each. One for the front axles, one for the rear ones. No additional gearing has been added, the motors were connected straight to the differentials. Of course it had to be tested, hat's the part around one minute into the video: https://youtu.be/PGQpUrOS-NQ?t=59 Came with a surprisingly satisfying result, despite the usage of the old cv's and hubs, yet it was understandably far from being a "crawler" it meant to be. Also at this point I was short of claas tyres, so I've used some similar size rc tyres on the front 4. Got the tyres eventually, still a lot of time till the hubs coming though. As the final design was gonna use 4 buggy motors, time came to make the change: Same principals, like with the XL motors: No gearing added (slow output used), 2 motors drive the front, other 2 for the rear axles. Now feeding that much buggy motors would require 4 buwizzes. Or one well sized rc lipo that can comfortably supply 2 sbricks. 4 buwizzes cost about 400-450 pounds, while the lipo comes for 30 pounds. Any question? At this stage (still no new hubs) it was an obvious, yet pretty crazy idea to hit the tarmac. So I did. That's what you see at 2:16 in the video: https://youtu.be/PGQpUrOS-NQ?t=136 I had a lot of trouble that day with the bluetooth connection, brought a head on crash int o a container. It was heart-, but no plastic breaking. Finally the hubs came by the post and the picture got full. I've also planted another servo for steering (2 in total now) Indoor durability test at 3:27 https://youtu.be/PGQpUrOS-NQ?t=207 Climbing test (60 degrees) at 4:18 https://youtu.be/PGQpUrOS-NQ?t=257 Hereby I apologize for the dark enviroment at this recording Peek on the suspension at 3:12 https://youtu.be/PGQpUrOS-NQ?t=191 Lego should not be used outdoors... ahm, okay... Outdoor test from 4:55 in the video. https://youtu.be/PGQpUrOS-NQ?t=295 I came to the verdict, that the new hubs worth their money. In a usage that abusive, you see in the video the hub-cv connection definitelly require some lubrication. I've been using silicone oil and no downside appeared so far. Here is the difference it makes: That's it so far, a little spoiler at the end of the video. Hope it's gonna catch some expert eyes...

That's just too cool to be true. Amazing design.

With respect, I bought 12 of these hubs, but not the set.(I don't like the new electronics either) All the hubs are in constant use, all together 6 rc and two PF L motors in the 3 vehicles. And they get it hard, but apart from some reasonable wear, no problem came ahead on this lot. I've started as they came, dipping the cv heads into silicone oil. Apart from one that I forgot to lubricate. The photo speaks for itself. High performance comes with a price. Lubrication. For those, who don't like lub on the parts: Well, the parts do like it. Just listen them, they speak on the language of physics. Of course there is a limit on rpm and torque they can take, it isn't a DARPA project, it is ABS. Outdoor isn't a problem, but keeping away from dust sure helps on the life expectancy as it did with any other moving part before. At this point for me, this hub is the best thing could happen to my inventory so far.

oooops. That explains a lot. My bad. I don't know why, but I had the misconception that it's motorized "there" as well. In this case I apologise for the related part my first comment and DO NOT use the planetary hubs . Would be the craziest idea ever. Your arrogance was mild and too late, you should have questioned me about my (turns out to be ridiculous) recommendation straight away. Boy, I feel stupid.

That info puts the model in a different perspective. Now I belive it can be moved by the drivetrain. It is still a massive weight though.

I agree, don't even understand why it wasn't obvious at the first place. Don't have the set, but bought a set of 8 from these hubs and joints. Knowing that they gonna get assembled into a 3 kg 8x8 straight away, driven by 4 buggy motors. Accordingly I've started with dipping the cv's into silicone wd40 before the 1st use. Let's just be real. TLG's application of this parts was in a low torque setup. If then it goes under high rpm, high torque, then no surprise, something's gonna give. Lucky us that it is the cv, not the hub. Even in the genuine RC crawlers, where all the gears and cv's made out of steel, lubrication is crutial, while the weight-rpm data is quite similar to our experimental builds. So I guess that would be news, if there wasn't any wear on them. For the record, my cv's on the two rear axles on my truck have some minor signs of wear, but nothing on the front axles. Spent about 2 hours climbing ditches and very loose, dusty slopes and I wasn't gentle. Then I've concluded, that it does no good to the hubs, nor the buggy motors, so the experiment is over. Gonna spawn some short video anyway. I'm still happy what we got from TLG. I think these hubs elevated the level of possibilities well above, than what we had before. If an outsider is reading this topic, he's gonna think that it is really hard to make us happy.

Respect! That's a lot of lego!

I'm amazed by the little details,starry roof, c'mon and that electric window is just another level. I see why the panel wheelarch had it's right to be there at the first place. The curveture was very close to the real, nevertheless changing it brought the whole car to the same accord. I can't help, but think about it's weight. Do you have a number there? Isn't it heavy for the divetrain? If so, the new hubs should solve the problem, although the chiron wheels are different again, (WHY?!) Thanks for the belly pic. It really tells about the complexity of the model. I guess it"s gonna end up in the HoF, whether you like it or not.

Why don't you buy it straight from lego? It's available in the UK. Cars, trucks, maybe a bobcat, but no planes for sure.

It might be just the photo, but it seems like the border between the colors highlights some rough edges, which were hidden while it was the same color. It's the hood, that made me say this. Couple of tiles might change the story though. Now you made me involved...

Got it, fair point. Still I like the way it looks even in this WIP stage. Can't give you any useful feedback though. With my (non existing) scale building skills, I'd already declared it "as good as it gets". So the best I can do is to wish you the best and quietly wait for the end product. Btw this electric window thing is a whole new level of madness.... in a good way. I love the idea.

What a beefy piece of art! Spectacular. There are certainly some angles it looks better from, than from others, but I admit it is a challenge and a half to make it look like and make it work like as intended. On the "look" part I think you've succeeded. More than I ever could. I belive a MOC always represents the perception of the builder about the subject, we can call it style, but it's more than that. Therefore getting and using advice from the public will always take away some of "you" from the model. For this reason: A, I say nothing about what could've been done differently (I'm sure you spent countless hours on details) B, you wont see a wip topic from me Anyway, I don't know much about bodywork, yet I'd die to see a belly pic (some say it's mandatory). Also I'm curious about the weight. I'm glad I could contribute, hope that stepper wont let you down. Looking forward to see the developement.

Cute Must drive like crazy. I'd love to see too in motion.

She's very pretty.

Cool stuff, no doubt.

Very impressive build. I really admire that portal solution.

Very impressive build , I'd love to see the "under the hood" details too, but don't rip it appart just yet.

Yeah, that rear axle steering made me grab the keyboard too. Nice job, kudos.

Pretty impressive build. Both in functionality and aesthetics. Well desrved price on the contest.

That is promising. Thank you.

Do you think some silicone grease on the cv might improve on the perfomance? By the way how strong is the cv connection? It clicks in I suppose...

I'm not sure anyone knows yet. My take on it, that TLG already have a well prooven planetary system in the PF motors, despite being plastic, it seems to hold up quite allright. So my bet is on plastic.

I get it, same here. Unbelievably AFOL friendly developement. We aren't used to it, are we?