Are there any out there? How does it compare to dual rear motors?
I have some dkp trucks, 107mm e-flys and a switchblade40" on the spares shelf and it looks so sick in my mind.
I’m especially curious if there’s any noticeable steer while accelerating in a diagonal setup? that would probably be even worse on dkp’s.
It has been done many times in the past. Especially the early days where most trucks available have been too narrow to fit two motors next to each other.
About steering maybe @b264 might have some experience, not sure thou if he ever did build a dual diagonal board.
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Most iconic split mount board i can remember was the old Ollinboard setup. I think the main issue was always that it was just needlessly complicated compared to a side by side design these days.
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I enjoy building complicated things, so that would be a + for me.
But not in exchange for strange driving properties.
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I’ve ridden a dual diagonal before, but it was on 184mm hangars. Feel wise is almost like a 4WD, without the 4WD since you use two motors and ESCs.
Having a motor driving both the front and back, gives you a bit more traction based on how i felt. However with a wider truck there might be a steer twist issue if you were to accelerate hard from a stop.
Doesn’t having the motors diagonally create a turn bias in the same direction?
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I have had a few dual diagonal boards and can list some of what I noticed:
Great for:
- narrow trucks
- traction in inclement weather
Not great for:
- appearance
- torquesteer
- shorter enclosure space
In wet or otherwise low traction environments, having one wheel per truck whose entire amount of traction is dedicated to steering, is very helpful. You can lock up the brakes and still steer, in a weird sort of way like a car that has ABS.
Torquesteer is very off-putting at first, but as soon as you get used to it, in my experience, it’s not really a big deal at all. It’s just a characteristic of the machine and when you learn to ride it, it becomes part of muscle memory. Pull throttle? Lean right. Pull brake? Lean left. It becomes automatic to the point it’s hardly even noticed. You’re already leaning forward when you pull throttle and leaning backward when you pull the brake… But yes, torquesteer is present in this setup.
One other thing I’d list as a downside, is while you CAN put both motors in front of their trucks, it’s much more likely one motor will be in front of its truck and one behind its truck. Motors behind their truck take a LOT more debris and dings than motors in front of their truck. But this is assuming the alternative setup wouldn’t be a rear drive with both motors behind their truck. Dual diagonal would be better in that regard.
Dual diagonal also allows for narrow trucks which can be a lot more responsive and stable than wide trucks. The BN145 truck hangers would be ideal. Or those Ronins above.
TL;DR: Dry? Dual rear inward mounted. Wet? Dual diagonal inward mounted.
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Good question @Nordle , and thanks a lot for your advice @b264 ! I’m currently building a dual diagonal on BN184 trucks w/6384 motors, so this info was very helpful.
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Ooooo, do make a build thread and take many pics! I am keen to see how it turns out
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Yea that’s what I meant.
Maybe going front and back on the same side makes more sense?
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That would eliminate the torque-veer, but then you’d be giving up one of the big advantages of diagonal: Having at least one drive wheel with weight on it, no matter which way you turn. Let’s say you have both motors on the left. If you turn right, both your drive wheels are unloaded because all the weight is on the other wheels (the direction you’re leaning). This means you’ll have weird inconsistent traction for acceleration or braking while you’re turning one way or the other.
Instead of veering left or right, it would tend to “crab” sideways. (remain pointed forward, but not move quite the same direction it’s pointing).
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It does, until you lean hard into a turn and both drive wheels start slipping which causes a wipeout.
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