Hi guys!

As some of you may know, I'm a huge off-road fan. I never really saw the potential in on-road, and sometimes found it boring. But then, I watched a few drifting videos and instantly saw the potential to make a LEGO drifter. I got in touch with my friend @N1K0L4, which is an on-road fan and has experience in the field, and sent me a couple of chassis designs. I obviously chose the most overpowered one

You can check out N1K0L4's chassis here, and the full rebrickable post here.

Now, let's go with the details:

Features

• RWD with 2 BuWizz Motors
• Steering with a C+ L motor
• Realistic looking bodywork resembling Ken Block's Hoonitruck
• All fueled-in with a BuWizz 3.0 unit

For me, one of the most important functions is the drivetrain. It's built in a very clever way with the 2 BuWizz motors leaving just enough space for housing the BuWizz 3.0 unit. It's RWD, which isn't true to the real-life counterpart, but N1K0L4 is working on a new version with AWD and it's looking very promising! updates about the AWD version will be made in this topic.

To finish it off, the steering was added, using a rack and pinion setup to have as little slack as possible as that's a key factor in mini-racers. It's steered with a C+ L motor as said earlier, with this being my first time using C+ electronics. I have mixed feelings about it, but more on that later.

The bodywork was an interesting one. I wanted it to be as accurate as possible to the real deal, but I had to use white mudguards as LEGO for some reason doesn't produce them in black. Still, they didn't spoil too much the body for it to be recognizable, so I'm happy with it. Still, it was somewhat flimsy and would tear to pieces if I hit a jump wrong. Still, N1K0L4 has also addressed this while still making it more accurate. I guess union makes strength

For the video, I wanted to use a different setting in comparison to my other videos, as it's a very different model to the previous ones. I chose to go to a skate park, as it had some smooth concrete sections for drifting, and ramps to do some jumps, which is exactly what this model was built for. The model handled excellently in spite it's RWD, although I'm not used to models this fast, so I hit jumps wrong dozens of times. There are some included in the video, but many weren't included, but I'm considering making a bloopers video. How would you guys feel about that?

However, the parts didn't like the skate park, as concrete is very abrasive to abs plastic. The splitter was melted and torn to pieces, and the tires lost most of their thread in the process, up to the point where I had to use to sets of them to record the video. I guess I'm a bit of an aggressive driver, but you should be aware of that if you build this model.

About the C+ electronics, I'm not fully sold out. They do have some pros, like the more convenient shape of the motors or the faster response, but they show some disadvantages when taken into closer inspection. The steering trim was a pain to get right, and even when that was the case, it still veered ever so slightly to one side. I think it has to do with the fact that the 0 position is digital and not physical. Still, I'm considering using them in future build mostly because of the easier integration, but will probably stick to PF servos for faster models as they return to center more accurately.

Feel free to post a comment about what your thoughts are about it, and see you in the next one!

2 hours ago, Another Brick in the World said:

but N1K0L4 is working on a new version with AWD and it's looking very promising! updates about the AWD version will be made in this topic.

So, here's the first update:

After some iterations, this is the driveline I came up with. Geared down 1.25:1 from the fast output of the BuWizz motors it'll be some 15% slower then the RWD version, but with more torque.

I also improved the looks and stiffness of the body.

 

Now I just need to connect everything into one. 

I'd think at that scale with 2x buwizz motors you could gear up the buwizz motors rather than down..

Great donut machine! 😊👍👍

I guess with awd real drifts are possible , you should try this 😊

3 hours ago, Aurorasaurus said:

I'd think at that scale with 2x buwizz motors you could gear up the buwizz motors rather than down..

I could, but then it wouldn't have enough power for drifting because of 4WD.

2 hours ago, FriedlS said:

Great donut machine! 😊👍👍

I guess with awd real drifts are possible , you should try this 😊

It should be able to drift quite nicely with some tape on the tires or on some slippery surface.

So I had lost a bit of inspiration for the model back in May and I moved on to other projects. That why there was nothing from me here.

Yesterday I was looking at my folders to get some inspiration what to build, than I found this and got some inspiration for it again.

I did rethink the gearing and the drivetrain by comparing it to other similar models. I ended up using the same gear ratio as the RWD version, so 16:20 from the slow output. I can change that later if I really need more torque.

On 4/28/2024 at 7:57 AM, Aurorasaurus said:

I'd think at that scale with 2x buwizz motors you could gear up the buwizz motors rather than down..

I guess you were right :).

I tried to keep most of the weight in between the wheels for better weight distribution.

I'll try finishing the digital model this week as well as building the car. After that (if the car works) @Another Brick in the World and me will both build the car and maybe do a collab video (?).

That's it for now, happy holidays!

Edited December 27, 2024Dec 27 by N1K0L4

Nice footage Video!

What I am not getting yet: Why you want to have differentials when it shall get a drifter? Isn't no / locked diffs the way to got to allow for the wheels losing grip more easily (and making it more stable as the rpms are not altered between the wheels in dependence of the weight/force working on creating grip?

10 minutes ago, aFrInaTi0n said:

Why you want to have differentials when it shall get a drifter? Isn't no / locked diffs the way to got to allow for the wheels losing grip more easily (and making it more stable as the rpms are not altered between the wheels in dependence of the weight/force working on creating grip?

In the rear it's because I need to get a average rpm of 2 motors going to the front axle. Than I can set up a tracked steer module in the BuWizz app to have outer wheel spin faster while cornering. 

For the front wheels I'm still not sure what's better, with everything locked I sometimes get understeer so maybe open differential will allow one wheel to stay in contact with the ground? IDK, I have to test that.

Shit, this is sitting in my shelf untested for yearly one year soon.. my thought was "make all 4 wheels' rpm the same always, so it can loose its grip at all four wheels at the same moment.. but as said, untested & I really need to get back into doing more brick stuff again.

All the best with yours, following to see how it is progressing :D

Just finished the model digitally, we'll be building it soon :)