Hey all! I’ve been lurking on the forum without an account for a bit, but I’ve created an account now to ask some questions about a build I’m thinking of putting together.
Some feedback about my part selections would be much appreciated, and if you have any suggestions on anywhere I could cut cost, that’d also be good; I live in Canada so this build is more expensive with shipping costs and such than if it were to be built in the United States.
My goal for this build is a street build with reasonable range, good top speed, and fairly reliable while having a sleek aesthetic.
I’d consider myself a fairly skilled DIY’er, I’ve dealt with lots of RC electronics in the past and have experimented with building my own 18650 battery packs. I own a 3D printer and a quality soldering iron, along with other standard tools like multimeters, hex keys, etc.
Deck and Enclosure
The deck is the Hummie deck and enclosure from Nexus Boards, I quite like the Hummie platform and the included enclosure is nice.
Drivetrain
The drivetrain is all from Boardnamics, mainly:
dual 6384 motors (they don’t have 6374 in stock right now)
dual M1 gear drives (gears seem like a nice option, good torque transfer and low maintenance, also won’t come out to much more than an equivalent belt setup from Boardnamics)
the standard precision baseplates from Boardnamics
Electronics
I’ve heard good things about the MakerX DV6 ESC, seems like it’ll fit my requirements well and with reasonable reliability.
The VX2 remote seems cheap, is readily available, and fairly reliable.
Wheels
The Torqueboard TB110’s seem like the de-facto option for some big urethane wheels.
Battery
I’ve dealt a lot with 18650 batteries and building my own packs in the past, and as a result am quite familiar with what is required to build an 18650 pack. I made my own DIY spotwelder, which worked for a bit, but for this build I’m going to upgrade to the KWeld, and end up building my own pack. I’ve planned for a 12S 3P Molicel 42A pack.
That’s pretty much it for the main stuff in the build. I’m aware of other miscellaneous costs (wheel bearings, grip tape, etc), but I’m just looking to cover the main parts for now.
I believe it would be possible to drop through, but only when using adjustable baseplates due to their taller height.
Using M1 drives with adjustable baseplates and 6384s will require BN270s instead of BN220s due to interference between motor and baseplate on the narrower trucks. They might also require forward mounting (under the deck) due to clearance between the motor and the hanger. I know this is the case on 220s. If that is the case, the motors will be a very tight squeeze between the deck and enclosure, and I’d be the most worried about being able to drop through successfully in this scenario.
An older version of the BN adjustable baseplates does exist that has the necessary clearance, but I’m not sure how you’d source one. You could also grind down the edge of the newer style baseplate enough to make things work if you really want narrower trucks.
TB110s are ok, but I second the recommendation for MAD wheels. You will lose a lot of clearance between the gearboxes and the ground with 101mm wheels though. @PedroMcJimenez runs MADs on M1s and the bottoms of his gearboxes are beat to shit. Maybe also consider Zoobomb 111s or the kegel-compatible nylon Hoyt 123mm pneumatics that should be releasing soon.
12s3p P42A will be a good fit length and width wise in the single stack BigBen enclosure, but height wise it’ll be a tight fit. You’ll have to be very tidy with your balance wiring and get creative with your series connections.
If you decide to go with M1s, be aware that pinion retention has been an issue historically. The current generation uses only Loctite 638/648 to retain the pinion, and there have been quite a few instances of it failing over time. I know Kevin has been working on a solution but I’m not sure it’s made it out the door yet. Adding a shaft collar has been recommended by a few folks to mitigate the issue, or @ZachTetra came up with a solution using thrust bearings.
I would go with a Hoyt Puck over a VX2 for your remote because of its proven reliability in harsh RF environments.
Here’s a picture of my board which is dropped through on adjustable baseplates with forward mounted motors on M1s. Keep in mind I’m on TKPs, so on RKPs you’ll have a shorter effective wheelbase, bringing the motors closer to your enclosure. It’s a very tight fit, and I don’t recommend it for anything but smooth streets. I have maaaaybe 20mm of ground clearance here.
Very detailed reply, much appreciated! Thanks for the input on the potential clearance issue. From what I gathered from your post, adjustable baseplates + BN270s along with forward mounting would solve most of the clearance issues? I’ll also keep your other suggestions in mind!
as you can see it puts your motors horizontal, lower than your truck axle which is not very good for impacts etc on it. also you want to run relatively “small” wheels so impacts are gonna happen. also he is on TKP trucks which give more distance for forward mounting. rkp trucks will make it so when you forward mount those motors, they will hit the dropthrough part on the underside of your deck.
I think it would be optimistic to say clearance issues are ever solved on a dropped through Hummie on gears
But yes, if being dropped through is your top priority, adjustable baseplates + 270s + forward mounting is likely as good as you’re gonna get. Your motors are gonna get destroyed though. I’ve put about 100 miles on my board with the M1s and the motors already have some scratches and a chunk taken out:
Yes, it is quite possible that the motors would hit the drop of the deck or the enclosure. I held up some RKPs and they look like they’d put the motors a solid inch further forward, maybe a bit more.
