scottd1975

Looks like I will be getting the Heng Long Abrams tank. Are there modifications that I should look at doing. The one I am getting comes with a metal gear box with rubber treads...

Crius

Congrats! What do you mean by "rubber treads"? Metal links with rubber pads or all plastic links?

If I were you the first thing I would do (assuming the GBs are acceptable out of the box) is metal suspension arms, road wheels and possibly better springs.

Imex-Erik

Suspension arms first IMO. If you have steel gearboxes then you can get metal drive/idlers, but definitely suspension arms first.

YHR

The fist thing I replace is the gear boxes. The Pot metal gears that come with these are not that good. A good set of steel gearboxes wiith bearings on all shafts will make a big difference in performance. The number one thing a person should do with a stock Heng Long tank. However I did get a HL Sherman with the pot metal gears, and they were very smooth and quiet, so I just left those in.

You will probably want to get new electronics at some time.

Other upgrades need to be really thought about. Run it stock and see how you like it. My bet is that if you don't touch anything the tank will run well. I and others have learned that once you start adding this and that then the stress on the original parts is increased to the point of failure, and then you just have to keep adding things.

IF you run this thing until parts fail, before you replace them you might be very surprised how trouble free these can be,

scottd1975

what do you mean by the suspension arms? can I get a picture of them? Also what if I get a tank with a metal gear box and use the plastic rollers and treads is that ok? It look like to me by the time I buy all the extras I might as well get the premiere version.

YHR

You don't need the metal idlers and sprockets if you are running stock plastic tracks.

Imex-Erik

I agree with Dan. Gearbox always first, but since you said you got a metal gearbox I assumed it was steel. I am not sure of the configurations on the HL models and should of clarified that Are you gears silver or black? That would be the easiest way to tell if you have zinc or steel.
As for the suspension arms, they will look like the pictures below:

Also yes, if you have plastic tracks, adding metal drive and idler wheels will only cause extra wear and tear on the tracks. It will be minimal, but something to note. The suspension arms I do suggest no matter what. It really stiffens the tank up.

Sky_HawK

The zinc gears are extremely loud, the ones in my Leo are terrible and the bushings are already sloppy. I really like the M1 being all plastic right now. It's super quiet and smooth. I would like to do 3:1 gearboxes in the future though, it needs a little more speed.

Imex-Erik

I THINK I might have some 3:1 nylon gears left that I yanked from the original Abrams if you need. PM me and I'll see what I can do.