Drivetrain help!
 

Hi guys,I'm starting to build a off-road truck with my son and I'm wanting to slowly upgrade what I'm working on now. The drivetrain is my main concern at the moment.I'm a newbie and have no idea what the parts are called. I can see the set ups in pictures but there are so many different set ups that I'm lost. Is it better for the motors to be in the axles themselves or in the middle with a drive shaft type setup? Also is there a difference between mounting a brushed and brushless motor as far as the setup is concerned? The truck im working on is going to be strictly dirt road and yard ran if that helps.

do you need help selecting a kit?

Not so much a kit. I can find parts online pretty easy,but I'm not sure which setup is the best. I also don't know what type or brand I should look into or which is ideal for off-road use. I also just want to make sure that I understand the setup of the motor not being in the axles on hobby grade rc. So my biggest question is what is needed,more importantly the part name,to mount the motor and then get the power to the axles?

When you use the word "setup" that implies you want to build a kit which has adjustable tuning options, for example here is one of my build threads to see what I mean:

• BUILD/REVIEW TEKNO SCT410.3

Within the thread I include a "Setup Sheet" which shows the specific setup I am running for the given driving condition Dirt, low traction smooth track:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...98ae71da6e.jpg


You can see the optional parts I have listed by part number in the Notes section.


Before we talk about "setups", it sounds more like you need help deciding which "class" of vehicle to select?

Clearly you are interested in an off-road class, but your options will be limited based on your budget, so if you can specify what range you are willing to spend, then I'd be happy to help you explore your options from there. Keep in mind that you will get what you pay for... the higher the quality, the less likely you will wear out parts and you will end of saving more money in the long run. I once bought a $100 car only to spend another $200 in parts and upgrades within the first month of owning it, I would've been far better off buying a $300 car in the first place which didn't have any design flaws, etc.. Instead I had wasted $300 on essentially a paperweight.

If money is no object, then you can build an MT410 in the $1,000 to $1,500 range depending on how fancy the electronics you select, this is what I would consider is the "King of all bashers" on the market today:

Let me rephrase that a little better. I want to know how to make sure that the axles and drive shaft match up to each other and the motor itself. For something as simple as I'm doing which drive shaft type and axle will be best for my wallet and situation.

Sounds like you're asking whether to select a Solid Axle vs Independent Suspension?

Solid Axle only does well for Rock Climbing when driving very slow and the diffs are locked.

Independent Suspension works better in every other situation when cornering at speed, whether flat surface to bumpy terrain with jumps, etc.

Be sure to select a kit with sealed gear diffs, many low end kits will not have sealed diffs and they will drive like crap... you will get what you pay for, remember this.

That's the info I'm looking for. I'm not a mechanic by no means but I've replaced parts and turned wrenches enough to recognize things. It's my understanding that the majority of the drive train parts are closely related to and look like regular auto parts. So I get what you are saying about the suspension as it implies to a car,but I don't know what parts are needed for it on a rc. Like if I were to get on Google to look for it what would I put in the search box? And what parts are needed to complete it? And with the independent suspension what kind of drive shaft would I use? Let's say that for example im wanting to build a 4 wheel drive truck,not specifically a rockcrawler but not far off,for dirt roads and yard. What is my best option as far as the drive train setup that won't break the bank?

Sounds like you might be interested in the "Rock Racer" class, which from a performance perspective, you want all 4 wheels to have independent suspension if you will be going faster than 10 mph.

There are some which come with a IFS (Independent Front Suspension) and solid rear axle, these are just a gimmick and are trying to copy the look of full size cars, where a solid rear axle won't perform well.

This is what I would buy for myself today if I was going to get a Rock Racer:
https://www.horizonhobby.com/product.../LOS03028.html

If you need to cut some costs, then this is a decent alternative, it will be durable, but will lack performance/tuning options compared to the Lasernut U4 I just linked above:
https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...O34411T2B.html

This following doc is an excellent resource to help you better understand what parts are called and how they relate to the performance of your setup:
Attachment 2268212