The Lego 42065 RC Tracked Racer is a pretty cool set. You get remote control capabilities out of the box – all Power Functions components are there for some real RC fun. There were some previous RC Technic sets produced by Lego, but they had a much higher price tag.
Although the set is fun to play with by default, there’s always room for improvement with Lego 🙂 I really wanted to know how much I can push the limits of this vehicle. I quickly realized that I cannot have everything in one package – I can aim for climbing capabilities or for speed, as they require a different setup. I tried to keep the overall look and structure of the original version, only modified what I really had to to be able to fit the bigger motors. Finally I came up with quite a few versions, you can see most of them in the video:
The different incarnations you see are:
- 2 M motors with Lego PF AA battery box & IR reciever (stock version)
- 2 M motors with BuWizz
- 2 XL motors with Lego PF AA battery box & IR reciever
- 2 XL motors with BuWizz
- 2 Buggy motors (#5292) with BuWizz
- 4 Buggy motors with 2 BuWizz units
- 4 Buggy motors with 2 BuWizz units and 2 SBricks
I used two types of tracks on them. The first is the standard one, the second had rubber attachments (#24375) for additional grip. Based on my tests the rubber attachments did not add much to speed with the standard PF motors, but the improvement was noticeable with the Buggy motors (it was quite slippery without them at high speeds :)). As for the climbing tests, they clearly had an advantage, so they were used for all of those tests.
So which one is the ultimate version? The quickest is definitely the 2 Buggy motors + BuWizz combination, the top speed is around ~12 km/h versus the ~2,5 km/h of the stock version.
I had high hopes for the monster equipped with the 4 Buggy motors and 2 BuWizz units, but I quickly realized that with the current BuWizz application it’s almost impossible to control it – as you can see below I’m not the best at playing piano either, probably that’s the reason:
I’m sure the situation will improve when the application will be upgraded with the option to edit profiles and control multiple units on a single interface. That will help with the control, but I don’t think it’ll improve significantly the speed, so apparently Colin Chapman was right – less weight is better then more power 🙂
I tried to solve the current shortcomings of the BuWizz app with 2 SBricks, but apparently the high speed output of BuWizz cannot be used at the moment with the SBricks, so I could not test the full potential of this setup. It still looked very convincing 🙂
Regarding the climbing capabilities, the winner is the XL motors + BuWizz combination, beating an impressively steep ramp (around 50 degrees)! But I also have to mention that the “classic” Lego combination of the XL motors and the Lego Battery Box almost performed as well (around 48 degrees), so you only have to swap your M motors with XL ones and your racer will be ready to climb!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments, please also tell me if you’d like to see more pictures or videos about these mighty racers 🙂
Great job on the video and models
joefraser
Eurobricks
I ordered the car for my son for Christmas. I like the comparison you have on the different combinations. My only problem is finding the parts online. Any help would be appreciated.
The set is motorized by default, you don’t need to buy extra parts. My modifications are using different type of Lego motors which can be purchased additionally. I suggest to assemble and try the RC Tracked Racer first as is, then you can look for upgrade options if you’d like to improve the abilities.
Hi,
I’m Camilla from Sweden. I wonder if I there ics somewhere I can buy the REDCOLOURED tracked racer? I googled, and I only find the green one (in Sweden and ebay for example).
Thank you in advance.
Camilla 🙂
Hi! The red one is custom made, Lego only released it in green. It does not have many parts so you can buy the necessary red pieces e.g. on bricklink.com
Hi Racing Brick, thank you for all your videos and all the tests. they are really so good and so good in deciding which unit to build.
i would like to ask how can i build an exact replica of the black racer with 2 buggy motor and buwizz with rubber tracks?
i live in the UK.
Hi Daniel,
thank you for the kind words! I’ve sent you an e-mail with the details, please have a look.
Hi! Great review of the different options! I would be glad if you could send me an email with details on the version with 2 buggy and i buwizz too!
Hi! Instructions will be available in 1-2 weeks here on the webpage.
thanks in advance!
Hi! I would be very glad if you could send me an mail with details on the build too!
Kind regards, Ben
Any information that I shared about these builds are already available on this webpage or on my YouTube channel, not sure what details are you looking for.
Hi. Where so you recommend purchasing the buggy motors?
You can try Ebay or bricklink. Try to look for a set that has the motors and not the motors individually, you can get a better deal.
Hello, I was thinking about what lego canige started for my first motorized between motorized movement and or with motorized objects how for example the lego technic – The all-terrain crane (42082).
In view of the tests you have done and a few videos that shows some of the defaults on some lego, I think I choose the lego technic – the remote-controlled tracked car (42065) for that great speed by optimizing it:
– 2 Buggy motors (# 5292) with BuWizz
A big THANK YOU to you because your videos are good calité and very good demonstration with true life size tests, very pleasant for the rendering on the scale of the lego as well as gap or proesse. 🙂
Hi, Great work,
My son ordered 2x XL large motors to make the “2 XL motors with Lego PF AA battery box & IR receiver” version, but we can’t work out how to fit the XL motors into the set. they are very wide! anyone got any photos or even just point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
You need to rearrange a little bit the beams that connect the two sides of the racer. I could only find one photo of it, hope it helps:
Hi RacingBrick, I would also like to build the black one with 2 buggy motors and Buwizz. Where can I get the buggy motors and Buwizz? It would mean a lot to me!
– Here you can purchase the necessary BuWizz units
– Regarding the buggy motors you can only buy them used, I can recommend bricklink
can’t you use a tablet/ smartphone and the crane profile?
This was created 3 years ago when the BuWizz app was still very simple. Nowadays there are much better control possibilities with the official app or e.g. with BrickController 2.
Oh. I don’t know Buwizz since 2017. Last year I had my first Buwizz units.