Initial mods of the LEGO Technic 42129 Zetros - wheels, suspension, body parts & a potential problem

[@CharloBagis]

The loss in climbing performance was interesting and unexpected. Thanks for sharing Balazs!

[@adrianprepelita8683]

So, from all official Lego tires, this one are the best) Egor from BrickGarage used some cheap soft 1.55' tires, and they did improve the climbing performance of the set. Also, thank you for showing the mod with soft suspension, that was informative. Looking forward for new videos)

[@hilliebert25]

How about swapping only the rear shock absorbers for the less hard ones? That way there will be some extra travel in the wheels but the ground clearance won't get messed up, because most of the weight is in the cabin including the battery box. Also it's so disappointing that bigger tires decrease the performance! Now it's gonna be a lot harder to get rid of the terrible ground clearance beneath the axles issue.

[@XenorMV.]

it climbs well because the tires are brand new on every new lego set you can see that the tires are really glossy and sticky but over time a lot off dust gets stuck to them. They become less grippy and they also become matte

[@creamyhummus]

Following the series closely; you're the best Lego channel I've found on KZbin!

[@jakubjakub3347]

Yes is so pretty good idea to video the testing AWD suspension

[@coffeeinhandproductions3238]

Interesting results. Batmobile wheels are a surprisingly good fit though the stock wheels now make a lot more sense why Lego in the end decided to use them. Most others would have just completely compromised the truck's climbing ability as it was a major selling point. Looking forward to the outdoor tests/trials vid.

[@vladyslav_andreiev]

8th tyres (aftet Tumblers) with low profile gives the best look)))

[@radbot1]

Tyre results are surprising results, the best kind of results! Is it possible to fit the longer springs, like from unimog? You might find a spring hardness more suitable and get more flexibility from the axles.

Great! Some easy fix for parts opening and/or falling apart.

[@leafycrossing4755]

The thumbnail just made me laugh!

[@xaytana]

I still think this set would've benefited from using portal axles. The housings for the differentials are just way too bulky to not use portals for ground clearance.

[@ryzen4368]

agreed. the planetary hubs are cool but portals are so much more affective

[@RacingBrick]

I guess Mercedes didn't want them to put portal axles on a truck that does not have them

[@xaytana]

@@ryzen4368 I don't even understand why Lego decided to produce the planetary hubs. The ratio is only 1:5.4, a ratio that can be accomplished elsewhere. There's ten possible configurations of 2 gear pairs, and many more possible configurations with 3 or 4 gear pairs, or a 1:5 set with three possible configurations of a single gear pair, or other gearsets that're close in ratio; there's no reason the planetary hub exists, other than maybe part reduction, but it's also not easy to integrate the hub into the middle of a drive train, as it's designed only as a final reduction meant to be used on wheels or track sprockets. The part is an assembly, something that isn't common throughout Lego parts, and is typically unusable outside of it's intended applications, deviating from the entire philosophy of Lego being made of interchangeable parts; this assembly is also filled with grease and isn't meant to be user-serviceable or user-modifiable at all, unlike other assembly-based parts. At least early versions of the hubs did have issues, I'm not sure if this has been resolved, but these earlier versions did deteriorate fairly easily, especially in dusty or wet environments; the fact that these aren't user-serviceable when they're poorly sealed to the elements is a problem. The entire existence of these seems like such an odd decision for Lego to make, and it's not really a realistic part considering the only machinery I know of that uses in-hub planetaries are tracked vehicles, or CAT at the very least uses them as I'm unsure about the tracked industry's adoption rate of in-hub planetaries as a whole. With how much money goes into R&D and production for standard parts, and with how much additional money goes into an assembly line, additional materials, lubricant grease in this case, and the sealing process after assembly, this piece seems like a waste of money to produce when it has no practical use outside of one intended use, and that intended use does also have alternative methods to accomplish the same gearing ratio. The part just doesn't make sense. If we were to get any planetaries in the future, I'd much rather see them based on already-existing gears, where we can actually manipulate which components are input, output, free-spinning, and held. This would be better in-line with the philosophy of Lego, as it's a part with multiple uses among multiple applications. Sure, they'd be large, we already have one in the form of the banana racks, the 11x11 quarter ring gears, there's no reason why we can't have these pieces in a smaller footprint, or just a full ring gear, with supplemental components for carriers, and to properly drive and hold the various components. Doing this seems like a much more worthwhile investment into R&D and production for parts, and these parts don't require additional assembly, materials, or post-processes. Doing this makes a lot more sense than whatever decisions went into the making of the planetary hubs.

[@riccardoraffaele5479]

What if you put hard absorber in the front and soft absorber in the rear?

[@verengard2729]

Please make a test with soft springs in rear and hard in front.

[@RacingBrick]

It might help with the look a little bit but I don't see how it would make a significant difference

[@steventhomas5865]

@@RacingBrick then you should look at real life suspension where you always have stiffer springs where you have more weight.

[@RacingBrick]

@@steventhomas5865 well you should probably look at LEGO suspensions where you have like one cm of suspension travel. Yes on full scale cars it definitely makes a difference, but not at LEGO scale.

[@RacingBrick]

@@gustavbreitbartnielsenasf1124 I wanted to test them but I don't have any sets with those. But again, I don't think changing the shock absorbers here would improve anything other than the look without compromising other things. The truck would need a complete overhaul with bigger wheels, modified axles, and then a softer suspension with a longer travel could be useful.

[@technicmaster0tutorials]

I wonder if the diameter (and the additional speed) has a negative impact on the climbing performance. Maybe the bigger tires would grip if the motors turned slower.

[@osamahanged]

That was an awesome vid!

[@CJGlobius]

Regarding cracking problem, my quick suggestion is to put 'T' liftarm with 2 pins holding it to the 5x7 frame and 11L 'perpendicular' liftarm just below it and then adding a 5L liftarm to the 'T' piece that way, that one its end will prevent a problematic liftarm from moving. Instruction to this set is still unavailable, so I can be completely wrong.

[@Unbrickme]

I can't wait to get this set and test it in really rough terrain! Seems like the tires from the power functions crawlers will raise the ground clearance enough but wont be too big to hit the truck itself

[@gosmbricks9833]

Tbh lego should have totally introduced a new kind of "mid hardness" shock absorbers, it would have increased the responsiveness by so much while keeping it from sagging.

[@RomAerial]

Cant wait to buy it, test it outdoors in my coomb and compare with my MOCs)

[@vVeazel]

Thank you for consistently producing top-notch content. The production quality is superb! I prefer your channel over the competition (cough Sariel cough :D) who like to blast obnoxious music in their videos.

[@superb334]

Sariel of course does text instead of talking, and I guess music is better than silence

[@EarlLeeBird]

@ RacingBrick Its been a long time since this test was done but since the updated model is now out, maybe you could do one additional test buy building custom tracks for it (similar as in set 42069 or 42038 and others)?

[@SwastikRastogi]

nice video!👌👍🏻

[@kccubing7649]

try the yellow spring from the off road buggy

[@AnthonyK0907]

what will be the next video about the Zetros ? maybe how to upgrade this x)

[@mihamaker]

Real nice!! Looking forward to mod my 42070. For now with BuWizz it drives just right. Will drop down the weight even more dismantling the crane and connecting one more xl motor at the back.

[@ygrbooks]

Up until this set came out, the Yugo was considered the worst car ever produced in the real world. It luxuriously featured a rear window defroster, which gratefully helped keeping you hands warm while you were pushing it in cold weather (it would not really run in any weather). HOWEVER, in defense of the Yugo: it did not fall apart just moving it. This Zetros does. Well done, Lego and Mercedes. And we haven't event mentioned the recent Lego - Ferrari collaboration. So, please Lego, produce a Yugo set: give the car its record back - in the model world also. The way you go about Technic sets these days, this should be an easy task for you, and I would love to see in how many categories your Yugo fails horribly. ;-)

[@ambucea7423]

Love from Romania

[@SuperLeader96]

What is the diameter of the rims? I would like to get RC tires for it

[@BrixDownUnder]

A couple of wheels *pulls out like, 40 wheels and gets the camera to pan across them*

[@GrimJerr]

The Diameter of the tire is too large for the drivetrain gear ratio and torque of the motor. Build some Portal axles ?

[@liammartin6437]

maybe repace the geard hubs with the portal hubs

[@ryzen4368]

the smaller tractor tires are better for climbing than the full size because they have the same traction but they put down more torque due to being smaller diameter. The larger tires are still better for most off road applications because they offer more ground clearance. I would go with hard springs on the front axel and soft on the rear since most of the weight is up front.

[@MattSmith-ks2lc]

I would like to see how it performs with the original six wheels.

[@Nocumforu]

do you think it would be worth it to add a air tank to the heavy duty tow truck?

[@proftuna43]

What about defender wheels + tires, or tires from the RC off road buggy?

[@RacingBrick]

Defender wheels & tires won't work. Forgot the ones from the Off-road buggy, could be good from a performance perspective but the look is off, they are way too narrow.

[@McKrushi]

@@RacingBrick Is it possible to attach the tracks from the 42069? ^^

[@RacingBrick]

Everything is possible ;)

[@McKrushi]

@@RacingBrick You are the expert! :D kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHzSo4NraqakrMk This truck with tracks for more ground clearance? :> Now I want to buy it just to build it this way, damn I'm easy to manipulate by myself =(

[@helenroberts1019]

Wonder if a front diff lock could improve it further.

[@klaymoon1]

Great video. I wonder if you can add two more wheels to make it 6 wheels truck and still control with the app.

[@RacingBrick]

If you can make the diff lock work with another axle...

[@jakobhassler6139]

@@RacingBrick Hi can you Tell me where you bought the Offroad tires i would call Them which are not from Lego...the Last ones you Show on the Ramp...i really Like Them as an Offroad tire and would Like To buy them?

[@RacingBrick]

I bought them on AliExpress or Banggood, cheap RC tires

[@HeavyDuty177]

The second set of test tires were on backwards

[@RacingBrick]

OMG, that ruined the whole experiment! :)

[@JoeZarx]

You installed the 42099 tires backwards

[@lio2143]

good job) In the next time try to change general L-motor on XL-motor

[@RacingBrick]

There's no need to do that, it's already too powerful

[@giangoc123]

I can see that you used my hood lock mod!

[@RacingBrick]

Sorry but I didn't know it was your hood lock mod

[@lsjk]

I know this video is a few months old but at 4:43 it looks like you've put the stickers on the side of the hood upside down.

[@RacingBrick]

And it took all this time for someone to recognize it, congrats! :)

[@lsjk]

@@RacingBrick 👍👍

[@richardjulien1329]

So, in the end, we just secure the parts?

[@Spudgun88]

You put the tyres from the 4x4 on backwards.

[@RacingBrick]

Just for you to be able to comment :)

[@dariuszdembinski781]

better is to add not remove parts. adding parts will improve weight to gripp

[@markbryan9272]

I'm about to order another Technics set and I'm curious to know whether you'd recommend the Zetros or the Sian. I've never built one with electric motors. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[@RacingBrick]

They are very-very different sets. If you want something for display and the building experience, then go for the Sian. The Zetros is an ok build but it's mostly about driving it around.

[@markbryan9272]

@@RacingBrick Thanks for the input. The only other model I've built with a gearbox was the Ducati so building the 8-speed is appealing. I've recently rediscovered my love for Lego through building things with my children. I missed a lot over the last 30+ years. I'd love to see a legit F1 set

[@drt5665]

Can anybody recommend relatively thin aftermarket tires for offroad, with a diameter of about 90-100 mm? i cant seem to find any within budget available in central europe

[@Fenolly]

You could give him buwizz 3.0 :D

[@PR3M3]

Do the wheel hubs come with the no name rc tires?

[@RacingBrick]

Nope

[@PR3M3]

@@RacingBrick do you remember where you go them I would really like to know.

[@RacingBrick]

@@PR3M3 I don't remember sorry, It was Aliexpress or Bangood, there are tons of sellers there with such tires

[@PR3M3]

@@RacingBrick don't worry about it thats good enough for me to get close or find something I like more thanks.

[@T86D]

Hm okay Off road Needed only motor and few panels 🤣🤣

[@Starling_54]

Hi

[@Leo1_Lego]

0:42 Just 'a couple' of wheels

[@blubbntroet]

Watching you trying to improve a flawed set is highly interesting. The Suspension part is a dissapointment as a softer version seamed promosing. Ist just shows and confirms the flawed weight distribution. Bigger tires also show that the set‘s smaller diameter tires are chosen for a reason (not just scale of original). It’s supposed to be a trial truck jet it can‘t perform the task…

[@user-qt7yr9nu3j]

Wow

[@Ross_Estuace_Gellert]

Gyurjál merci!

[@fabiosalerno1490]

Se Monti ruote più grandi devi accorciare i rapporti di trasmissione

[@FLIP_diecast]

2:20 did it orginal lego wheel?

[@RacingBrick]

Nope, but I also said it in the video :)

[@FLIP_diecast]

@@RacingBrick i was asking because it looks so beautifull, like japan work wheels

[@josephmudrovcich8741]

what if you put 2 soft shock absorbers in the front the just 1 in the rear?

[@RacingBrick]

Any change of shock absorbers will compromise the ride height

[@benjammin9833]

Huh I feel pretty tired now

[@AlienPrague]

1:17 tires wrong way? :/ It can affect the test

[@RacingBrick]

No it can't, tire orientation is clearly overrated

[@AlienPrague]

@@RacingBrick maybe it need a comparison :P I noticed it.. but no big deal :) Btw it's interesting how well it can climb on original tires, I thought bigger will be better..

[@littleman8928]

Try the yellow suspension

[@Grandmaquil]

mercids benzzzz zetors

[@superbuilders]

Wow I’m view 1 and like 1 and comment 1

[@steveo2626]

You fit ATV wheel on the wrong side!

[@RacingBrick]

OMG that ruined the whole look!

[@steveo2626]

@@RacingBrick LOL This is not for the look but for the grip IN A GRIP TEST XD

[@steveo2626]

I'm disappoint...

[@RacingBrick]

@@steveo2626 orientation of that tire has exactly zero effect on a surface like this, I suggest to do a few tests yourself

[@steveo2626]

@@RacingBrick Your initial test was wrong! Tread orientation is really important but the Lego don't climb it... That's it...

[@hemttgaming6284]

nice beard

[@cen121]

i think the best mod is to change the rc- components to the old power functions with buggy motor and servo

[@Sanzerizeli]

Kinggggggg

[@eshokorat2994]

yay I got the first like

[@smbdy5519]

Tudom hogy magyar az ember,ilyen az akcentusa lmao

[@RacingBrick]

És mennyire vicces hogy ezen kizárólag magyarok tudnak fennakadni, más országokban anyanyelvi angoloknak teljesen természetes hogy száz féle akcentussal beszélik a nyelvet...

[@smbdy5519]

Nem akadtam fel tetszik a tartalom csak meg akartam bizonyosodni hogy tényleg magyar vagy e ennyi😉

[@jzonneveld9849]

Just saw Diederik van Leeuwen 42129 B-model Hot Trot. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6XIdH93qqt0f9E Better make that one...no hood, door and cracking...problem solved 🤪

[@RacingBrick]

It's a great mod for sure!

[@JONI_LT]

Фирст!!!

[@eshokorat2994]

Second

[@antihelix3627]

Still a overpriced shitty Lego modell.