[MOD] 42065 RC Tracked Racer

[Lasse D]

The 42065 RC Tracked Racer is a nice canvas for modding.

 

I was a bit disappointed when I found that it didn't have any technic gears apart from what you find when you disassemble the motors. Technic has always been used to teach mechanics to kids, and I personally find differential drive to be a super interesting alternative to the direct drive approach.

It didn't take more than a couple of hours to stuff in a couple of differentials, so I made a little video of this mod in action:

 

Another obvious "MOD" is to SBrick the model. This is a ridiculously simple MOD, so I decided to document the whole process of unpacking, updating, and programming a remote using the SBrick:

 

I also had super high hopes for the L-motors. Perhaps this would be more interesting with a 2:1 gearing for double speed. This is how the standard direct-drive model performs with L-motors:

Next up will be a GBC-module built mostly from parts of the model. To make a plain belt drive module is not really interesting anymore, so I'm currently trying to figure out if it can be made more interesting.

[Imanol BB]

Very cool modifications, the differential MOD looks good so as the L-motors and the SBrick, they all seem to work well, i am wondering if we will see a MOD of this model with RC motors and an SBrick soon, that would be great, i am looking forward for more MODs.

[Appie]

I made the model as well, but from my own Lego and modded the drive to 2x L motors with 1:3 speed up. It's pretty fast, but the lack of torque makes it struggle a bit on carpet at home to turn in its spot compared to direct drive L motors, but on smooth surfaces it's a lot of fun. 

[Alex Ilea]

Awesome to see interest in modding this set. I quite like your mods and can't wait for more :)

Easy way to mount the RC motors:

[Imanol BB]

That looks cool, do you have any videos?

[technic_addict]

23 minutes ago, IA creations said:

Awesome to see interest in modding this set. I quite like your mods and can't wait for more :)

Easy way to mount the RC motors:

 

Not many projects use the buggy motors.  I would be very interested to see how this performs.

[Alex Ilea]

I will do a video in a few days. Performance are very good and it is very fast :)

I might do a separate topic if you guys want .

Edited January 24, 2017 by IA creations

[Lasse D]

47 minutes ago, IA creations said:

Awesome to see interest in modding this set. I quite like your mods and can't wait for more :)

Easy way to mount the RC motors:

 

That's quite possibly the most powerful 100% LEGO mod you can make. I would love to see a video as well! Looking forward to it :)

The RC motors have a tendency to overload the PF receivers. What is the normal way of overcoming this problem? Is the SBrick OK with these motors?

Edited January 24, 2017 by Lasse D
Messed up formatting.

[Alex Ilea]

I found a really good combination , a V2 recever + a big bb can run RC motors very good at good speeds. But the weight is too hight so if we use the train bb the weight is lower but the baterries get empty faster. Would you want a comparison ?

[Lasse D]

5 hours ago, IA creations said:

I found a really good combination , a V2 recever + a big bb can run RC motors very good at good speeds. But the weight is too hight so if we use the train bb the weight is lower but the baterries get empty faster. Would you want a comparison ?

From what I have read, the PF receiver would turn hot and shut down when overloaded. I'm glad to hear if this isn't the case with the V2 receiver. Perhaps the weight problems can be fixed by further removing parts from the model? A comparison of the time that the model can run on the two battery sources would be nice, yes. Thanks :)

[GBTechnic]

Excellent modifications.  I wish it were in sale in the United States so I could buy one!

[ifilin]

Yesterday I've built it with my son from spare parts with SBrick.

Wondered, this Racer moves very well over snow (hight 2-3 cm). Cool set!

[Lasse D]

Yeah. It works quite well, even though it is only powered with M-motors.

I was a little disappointed with the performance of the differential drive mod, so I substituted the 2 M-motors with 3 L motors :D

 

[vladoniki]

My color mods: orange and yellow.

 

Video:

 

 

 

 

 

[Lasse D]

That's some nice recolorings. I prefer the orange one, although those transparent wheels of the yellow one look great too.

[Victor Imaginator]

Nice recoloring. I think i'll add my variation. Already posted, but not in this thread)

[Lasse D]

Hi Victor. I see you have added L-motors to the mod as well. That's a great change. Do you have a link to your original thread for reference?

[Victor Imaginator]

@Lasse D No, it was just quick attempt to build another LEGO set, that i don't have. So it's only this one picture remains. I used V1 reciever, so performance is really poor)

[Immo]

I'm really bugged how 42065 performs on my floors (panels and tiles) and would want to improve it while keeping it 100% Lego ;) Want to add more details to the model, too (increased weight would also require increased traction to reduce thread link wear).
I did some tests with adhesive "microgum" and the performance was stellar: the threads weren't spinning in place while the turning performance wasn't hampered noticeably. But the glue was too weak and it started to fall off...

The current plan is to go 100% "legal": to buy 80 pcs. of 24375 (rubber attachment for Technic link threads). I want to use 74, 37 set in a row on each thread (and leave 6 as spares). I'd much rather see them set in an alternating fashion, but since the number is odd, at one point there would be two in line anyway. And as far as I reckon, setting them in a row will have lesser effect on turning.

What do you reckon?

[kbalage]

@Immo - you can see the rubber attachments used in my video below, they are installed in an alternating fashion as you described. In general they have a significant effect with the climbing abilities, difference is clearly visible there. The difference in traction on the floor is noticeable with the buggy motors, it does not have much visible effect on the M or XL motors.

 

[Immo]

5 hours ago, kbalage said:

@Immo - you can see the rubber attachments used in my video below, they are installed in an alternating fashion as you described.

Not exactly as I described - the alternating fashion is not "perfect" as the number of links is odd. It triggers my obsession with order

[Aventador2004]

My mod would be adding spiked treads, I made a version with those and it was very good at crawling.

[kbalage]

7 hours ago, Immo said:

Not exactly as I described - the alternating fashion is not "perfect" as the number of links is odd. It triggers my obsession with order

Believe me, you won't notice any difference :) I had to make the 4 buggy motor version one stud longer to fit everything properly therefore I had to add an extra link - you can do it on your model so the order of the universe can be restored :)

[Immo]

1 hour ago, kbalage said:

Believe me, you won't notice any difference :) I had to make the 4 buggy motor version one stud longer to fit everything properly therefore I had to add an extra link - you can do it on your model so the order of the universe can be restored :)

I'm rather thinking about adding an extra link and additional pulley on top to "tighten" the whole extended thread

[Bricksanity]

Hi guys,

Love these mods!

I decided to custom print mine, and have just ordered some XL motors to give it more power.

heres a few pics of mine