Digital Project Gpv/aiv

[Tracker]

This is where my attempts to find a solution to a real transportation problem go. Things I needed a vehicle to do are: Survive a 300MT nuclear detonation at 100Km, take a collision with other objects, and run on any liquid fuel I happen to come across. Obviously, nothing like this exists, so for the past few years, I have been trying to find a solution that I could build. Once I do get one built, I will likely have to go to court against the EPA, because only one so far can actually have a catalytic converter.

The first attempt: The GPV

It is very small. So small that it makes air bags even more dangerous and too small for any more than a heads up display embedded in the windscreen. Or windshield wipers, just hot air, or much else in the health and safety department. It is also lacking in range so badly that tankers had to be made to refuel it while it is moving on the road. I needed to do better. And cheaper. It is a multimillion dollar vehicle.

The second attempt evolved into this:

I got cheap and went with steel and multifuel diesel. Now I have something to carry six people through Al-Queadatown without dying. Still, with 1200 horses in the stable, it lacks range, so more in flight refueling. It, like the one before it, has Rev-Steer, something I came up with to explain how the Chrome Crusher steers in LRR. It uses four locking differentials in each axle to allow the wheels to be mostly independent from each other while still having a common mechanical input. It can also right itself should it land on its side, which will happen as it is geared to 120mph, also like its predecessor. But still it has the same problems: Too much cost and too little range.

The third attempt: 4141 Overland Raider

This was an electrical nightmare. The turboshaft engine takes up so much room there is no room for mechanical steering or transmission and generates so much heat that segmented ceramic insulation is used instead of plastic insulation for the wiring. The steering is drive by wire made with ruggedized vacuum tubes and relays because semiconductors will not take the heat nor the voltage. The transmission is electric with in wheel motors that require cooling fans lest they melt from the 333.3 amperes they draw at 1000 volts. The motors and fans are so big they preclude all mechanical brakes except for a set of dog tooth parking brakes, also operated electrically. The main brakes are little more than toaster wire being fed 1000v by the traction motors cooled by a couple of turbochargers, and as such, fail often. The high beams are high pressure high intensity discharge xenon lamps that came from search light. Two of them for each side. The batteries are lithium iron phosphate, a feature that was carried on to the buggies, to provide the massive amount of energy to spool the massive main rotor and charge the capacitors that fire the spark gaps and the turbine needs a lengthy cool down after each run. It does have air conditioning in the form of a hot cold plate and a turbocharger, though. The tank holds 75 gallons, better than the 50 I expect from the GPV and AT-1, but not enough. And it carries a small fortune in copper around with it. I will let you guess where.

The fourth attempt was the Formula Raider, which looks a lot like an Ariel Atom, except with a either two or four 100 hp turbo shafts, depending version, but it was a little underpowered because it carries, I kid you not, 440+ gallons, not liters, of fuel. I clearly solved the very limited range of the previous attempts. There is also a spare wheel, as I feared fatigue will break it, and being an eight lug wheel, I can not just limp on 63 spokes to the local tire shop and get a new one. I also took a break from the "no mirrors" policy seen on the other: I gave it two small ones near the front corners of the fuel tanks. Now I have gone too far the other way: I have range, I have cost, I have a natural pulse resistance, and I have a variety of choice for fuel, but I do not have the power to get out of the way. Or over a hill. Or pull a trailer. Or much else for that matter. Come on, I know I can do better than this. I'm the one who sticks powerful power plants where they don't belong and make act like they do.

The fifth attempt: The Hyper Raider, a Formula Raider that has a better canopy and wings, because I stuck an Overland engine core and the power turbine of from an M1A2 Abrams MBT and those two together give it a lot of power. That I think will get the job done. 1200+ hp in a <4000lb vehicle done. If it does not, then I can always take the core from the tank as well, use it instead, and then have 2200 hp. I also dropped the spare wheel, as it is still unlikely that one will break. Other changes are more candlepower, all wheel drive as opposed to rear wheel drive, and an alternate set of springs to adjust the ride height with. Both the F-Raider and the H-Raider use push rod suspension. The Allison Hyper Raider, the one with the core from the tank, will almost certainly break 250 miles per hour, likely break 300, and possibly hit 400. At those speeds, the wheels will likely fail if I don't make them properly. Being based on the F-Raider, it still has those silly mirrors. They are those black things on the tanks, if you haven't found them already. The green things are just prisms. Now this is what I am looking for. No Chinese nuke is going to kill this. I can make my own fuel and it won't give a damg. It can be put to useful work. I can go the distance and do so where there are no roads. The only thing I may need to do to it is add a snorkel to add to its ability to ford rivers.

All of them except for the GPV use a resilient wheel that measures 40 inches by 24 inches. I may have to upload it as well. In the meantime, a drawing that has those wheels in it:

Remember the what I said about the EPA? Here is why I said it: Gas turbines are the only internal combustion engines that can be made to work with any fuel and not require electronics, but will barely self sustain, or just fail entirely, if you try to put emission controls on them because of the pressure difference they rely on. I don't think a cat will survive the heat if you put it in the combustion chamber, which the only place you get away with emission controls, either. Only AT-1 can have them and still work, as it uses a multifuel diesel. Now regarding street legality, none of them have airbags, as airbags would probably be lethal, certainly very dangerous, in the confined space of the GPV, F-Raider, and H-Raider. They also use prisms instead of mirrors. And with the exceptions of the O-Raider and AT-1, there is seating only for one. Why that would be a problem, I have no idea, but supposedly, it is.

[McJobless]

That Formula Raider is f***ing amazing. Good job.

[Tracker]

That is not the Formula Raider. It is the Hyper Raider. I think I may need to build a F-Raider to clear this up.

[McJobless]

That is not the Formula Raider. It is the Hyper Raider. I think I may need to build a F-Raider to clear this up.

Ah, sorry. That would probably be the best course of action in this situation.

[Tracker]

Well, that is what I tried to do, but LDD is so poorly written this time around that it crashed half dozen times in less than three minutes. Stupid hinges. A lot of the crashes seem to be related to them.

[Cyrem]

I have to say that the Hyper Raider looks pretty decent. Nice touch with the mechanical sections.

[McJobless]

Well, that is what I tried to do, but LDD is so poorly written this time around that it crashed half dozen times in less than three minutes. Stupid hinges. A lot of the crashes seem to be related to them.

I agree there, except I never get LDD crashes. How many parts were you using?

[Tracker]

Not that many. Not enough to crash it in previous versions.

[McJobless]

Not that many. Not enough to crash it in previous versions.

That's beyond weird.

Also, I'm quite annoyed by that flex tool. There's only about 3 parts which you can use it on, yet a multitude of parts like backpacks, briefcases and laptops all need it...

[Tracker]

As I have said before, it will crash with just a a few parts, as little as 100. Or it could wait until there are 20000. How is that for screwy? TLC must have a bad time with deadlines, because it looks like some of the stranger glitches in LRR come from incomplete code left there because of deadlines and I think the same is happening here.

Anyways, any comments regarding the Formula Raider proper? Or the L-scale Hyper Raider?

[McJobless]

As I have said before, it will crash with just a a few parts, as little as 100. Or it could wait until there are 20000. How is that for screwy? TLC must have a bad time with deadlines, because it looks like some of the stranger glitches in LRR come from incomplete code left there because of deadlines and I think the same is happening here.

Anyways, any comments regarding the Formula Raider proper? Or the L-scale Hyper Raider?

Agreed again. LEGO is getting antsy, and I don't like it because they rush and sell out on bad products.

I haven't seen the Formula Raider yet, so no comment their, but I do love the Hyper Raider concept.

[Tracker]

I edited the main post in case you have not noticed.

[Tracker]

I have just done some research into the predicted behavior of the Hyper Raider using Forza 4 (Bugatti Veyron with over inflated tires), and the results are startling. The actual brakes will do nothing above a certain speed (I do not know yet what it is, but it is pretty low), so both wings will have to serve as air brakes and I will likely have to add dedicated plates for additional stopping power.

[McJobless]

I don't think you're using an equal equivalent. It looks more like an F1, and the F1 and Veryon were designed in completely different ways. I think the aerodynamics are going to have an effect on how the friction plays with the brakes.

[Tracker]

That is my only real hope for the brakes that I am aware of. I can tune the aerodynamics for more down force, but I need to do more career work I think. If only Forza had the Caparo T1.