Challenger 2 makes short work of ditch crossings and bomb craters.
03-20-2018, 12:31 PM
#1
Challenger 2 makes short work of ditch crossings and bomb craters.
Well the wife finally gave me the ok to dig up a portion of our 1/3 acre backyard that for drought watering restrictions here in Ca. no longer has grass. So I am making a test track for my tanks (and others if so desired) in an effort to determine performance ranges from base, moderate to advanced mods. I decided to use my Challenger 2 to help set up the start basics since it had been retraced back to the original plastic and had much of it internally added balancing weights removed (this was done to give it a higher top end speed). I thought it would be a good base line to compare with my upgraded track and suspension mods on other tanks (note: the Challenger is running a Taigen 3:1 gear box, red HL motors powered by a 8.4v bat).
The section I am working on first is to determine ditch and bomb crater crossing abilities with some minor semi packed mound of dirt to act as small hills. Below is the Challenger 2 working through some of the basic terrain features. There are a lot more photos that show more of the terrain but I am saving those for later posts. Note the Challenger 2 is larger than the Abrams and Leopard 2 which in true are much larger than almost all WWII tanks so the ditches may look shallow but they are not, ranging in depth from 3.5" to 5" and roughly 7" to 9" wide. I also shot a test video but do not think I can upload it in its raw form.
As always any constructive input or question are welcome.
The section I am working on first is to determine ditch and bomb crater crossing abilities with some minor semi packed mound of dirt to act as small hills. Below is the Challenger 2 working through some of the basic terrain features. There are a lot more photos that show more of the terrain but I am saving those for later posts. Note the Challenger 2 is larger than the Abrams and Leopard 2 which in true are much larger than almost all WWII tanks so the ditches may look shallow but they are not, ranging in depth from 3.5" to 5" and roughly 7" to 9" wide. I also shot a test video but do not think I can upload it in its raw form.
As always any constructive input or question are welcome.
Last edited by Fsttanks; 03-21-2018 at 11:31 PM.
03-20-2018, 06:57 PM
#2
Gave my T90 a short run over the first part of the basic ditches. It made short work of all and easily out preformed the Challenger 2 mostly due to my “hybrid modified track” which is a combination of the plastic OEM and the addition of silicon pads. The combination is lighter than the all metal tracks and provides superior grip than either the plastic or metal T90 track alone. Thought I did snap the right sprocket in half during the run but it was well worn prior and scheduled to be replaced with a metal one just as soon as it arrives from China.
03-20-2018, 08:34 PM
#4
Both. The T90 is the factory paint that I weathered then just let the “natural weathering” take place as I use the tank. The Challenger 2 has no real weathering except for natural weathering and handling with dirty hands. Kind of letting the weathering and wear just happen on it.
Last edited by Fsttanks; 03-21-2018 at 11:27 PM.
03-21-2018, 11:00 PM
#5
Here are a few more photos from the Challenger 2 course run. These are scene shots taken from the video of the high speed run across a ditch and are in sequence. Notice the suspension working to soak up the impacts as the tank crosses the ditch. 
