Sebas2

Do these motors put more of strain on the wheels and plastic tracks? they are quite stronger then my current standard Heng Long 3:1 motor with plastic gear.

Also, my current set with standard Heng Long is very abrupt: one touch to the control stick let them speed from zero to full force. I am thinking to put a diy limiter on the transmitter since it is quite hard to drive the tank at lower speeds

Fsttanks

Sebas2

That's good to know, thanks.

About using 9.6v : I read elsewhere on this forum you might risk the battery getting very hot and 8.4v would be better. What are your experiences regarding this?

Fsttanks

Sebas2

Well for the moment I will do with the standard delivered battery. I have already added extra weight by placing some small steel plates in the fore hull, and wil probably add more when the new gearbox has arrived. Will determine that by balancing the middle of the hull and see if the weight is evenly distributed to both sides.

Sebas2

Hello Guys,

First of all I'd like to thank you once again by guiding and helping me. @Fsttanks you were totally right about a 3:1 box for a heavy tank and I am grateful for your advice not to buy the 4:1 gearboxes. @ Gary you were totally right advising me to buy this 380 3:1 gearbox. Erik-Imex thanks for you pointing out to file/ sand the shaft end a bit.

The Taigen gearbox is a big improvement! It makes my Leopard 2a6 much more stable when running in terrain. Also It is much easier to control now, from slow start to top speed. The speed is also much more scale like without it becoming too slow.

There is however one caveat: The axles have a bit of play , causing my sprockets to wobble. The original Heng Long plastic gearbox has the axles perfectly fitted without any play.

At first I thought it was because of me filing the axle ends a bit. Maybe the axle ends were not perfectly evenly flat filed by me. Then I discovered in another tread that the easy way is power on the gearboxes and holding a heavy duty metal file firm to the axle ends and so sanding it as evenly flat as possible. I did that, but it makes no difference at all to the wobbling gear shafts. When taking the axles in my hand there is definitive play in it.

I have to add that I bought also new steel sprockets and idler wheels form Heng Long. They fit perfectly to the axles after some drilling in the center opening to fit the larger hexagonal bolts of the Taigen gearboxes. This was a easy job.

Both the steel sprockets and the original Heng Long plastic sprockets do wobble.

I do not now if it is a serious problem. During my first test ride I did not have tracks trowed off due to the decentred sprockets. What I did see is that the sprockets now scrape the hull side, but just a tiny bit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you guys.

Edited: I use the word filling but that must be filing. Sorry, English is not my native language but I should have checked with Google Translate. My bad.

Crius

Have you thought about axle support bearings? That may cure the wobble. Take a look at these

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-Drive...-/142391428218

Now, these are made for Tamiya so you'll have to be sure they work with your tank or get a pair made for Heng Long tanks, and you'll have to check around for a local supplier and to get the best price, but this will give you an idea of what to look for. You might try rctank.de or dklm for these, or one of the UK vendors like welsh dragon or forgebear. I know forgebear has an excellent reputation but I'm not sure about welsh dragon. This would be a good question for the other forum you belong to, as those guys have much more experience with vendors in your part of the world.

Hope that helps.

Sebas2

Thanks, I have thought about it. You can buy them at a German RC tank shop, Heng long Panzer.de They also sell the Taigen ones, which fit the Leopard. I think the main reason is that the rods at the back of the gear boxes have become somewhat loosely moving , maybe when I was fiddling with the sprockets, to make them fit to the shafts. I don't know.

Would there be any way to make them again tightly fitted at the side casings of the gearboxes, I wonder?

Crius

Without seeing them I can't really say. You may be able to put in a shim or something to make them tighter, but again, without seeing them I can't be sure. Just pop round for tea and we'll check it out.

Sebas2

Well you're right Thanks!

Sebas2

This video ( although not taken by me), and with a HL steel gearbox, not my Taigen one, shows my problem:
I took the gearboxes off of the tank, with power cables connected and checked them while running, without the sprockets attached. The gearbox shafts, which run the sprockets, did not have wobbling or so it seems. Quite less in any case as in the video.
they do have a small kind of horizontal play ( you can move them just a very little bit from left to right) but in another thread it was stated this is necessary to handle with the pressures put on the shafts when driving.

When I then put the HL metal sprockets on , there is again movement on the sprockets. They are running de- centered, nearly exactly so as in the video. One sprocket has minor wobbling, the other quite a bit. Both are still not wobbling free.

Turns out the the openings at the back of the sprockets, were they are attached to the shafts, are a bit to large and too loosely connected to the drive shafts.

I then put some rubber tape at the end of the drive shafts and this helps, but still some wobbling.

Maybe I am just worrying to much. When attached to the tank the force of the plastic tracks put on the sprockets plus the tension of the metal front idler wheels will be sufficient to not cause any real problems? Maybe it is all just about the tolerances of all the parts involved?

Also the reactions on the video are informative for me. One caveat: this is a video from 2013.

Do you have any suggestions? I am sorry to ask all these questions. But I am simply not clever enough into mechanics and I would be grateful for a little help.

Fsttanks

Wobble is not uncommon. What is important does the wobble effect the track staying on the sprocket. Both my Abrams have some wobbling in their axel shafts and it does not cause issues. My Leopard 2 has very little wobble so far (it will in time as shaft do bend under the higher power and torque loads I put on them). I am not concerned about wobble until I start having track retention issues at which point I simply replace the bent shaft with a new one. Now if visually it bothers you then that is another story. It could be like pounding your head agains a wall or very simple trying to solve the visual aspect of the wobble. The parts for HL tanks do not always have the best tolerances.

I would suggest running the gearboxes "tracks off" with both the plastic and then metal sprockets to see if both show the same wobble. If they do it is most likely a slightly bent axel shaft or you removed to much material fitting the shafts to the sprockets (I did it once). Also try running the tank and seeing if the wobble effects the track retention. Most likely at your lower power combo 380/7.2v there will be no significant issues.

Sebas2

Thank you very much this is so much help for me, very appreciated! I will do that. There seems not so much info on all aspects of rc tanks on the internet for a newbie like me.
Yes it might well be I removed a bit too much of the shaft end while sanding. Ok I'will try and report back. Indeed while testing the tank on rough terrain the tracks came off tree times, but I guess that is due to the heavy clay and some uncontrolled movement from me with my controlling unit, while turning the tank.
Oh and I am still waiting on the sprockets with the retention rings you advised.

In this thread there's a very interesting discussion how to drive your tank while in rough terrain: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-t...g-tanks-8.html Fascinating to read , and essentially a lot of common sense. Not that rosy feeling when my wife gave me this tank blinking from the box: 'just drive me all is fine and perfect'

tankme

If you are worried about the loose fit, I an some other have used an aluminum tape that is normally used for sealing air ducts. My local Ace Hardware had it. Cut a small piece the size of the shaft and wrap some of it around the shaft to increase the diameter slightly. Of course you will have to redo it if you remove the sprockets for maintenance. Doesn't take much.

Fsttanks

Driving technic is important as is learning the nuances and quirks of your tank. Each have their own personalities and similarities, both my similar built Abrams are very fast, but one is really good at high speed hard over turns and the other is really good at extremely rough terrain. I have to drive each slightly different and then there is my Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 with their driving needs. But that is half the fun, learning what your tank can and can not do well in a variety of terrain types in a given state of "build" (modification). One thing I have learned, my "modern" tanks do not do well in thick sticky mud/clay and track loss is always going to happen if I push the slow grinding turns or slam the throttle wide open and hard over. Once the sprockets and road wheels become "balled up" with mud/clay the fun is OVER! For playing in the mud I have found my M41s and M26 Pershing do best (?). So in short it is no surprise your Leopard is loosing tracks in the mud/clay.

A few things that will aid with driving in the mud and other terrain types, one rear axle bearings, two is metal suspension arms and the third is metal road wheels with bearings. These will greatly reduce the "slop" or "wobble" of the road wheels which leads to the track "slipping" out from under them and thus go a long ways toward helping with track retention. The rear axle bearing will provide greater support and help resist the added forces applied to the rear axle especially in mud. These are pricy items but well worth it in the long run.

Sebas2

I will ask my local dealer for some alu tape. Something has to be done, since one of the sprockets is damaging slightly the rear end lower armor plate, the one which protects the sprocket area.

Sebas2

Thank you! Good to read this is common behavior in mud / clay for a modern tank. "Good' is not the good word, but that I can recognize it and it helps a great deal in not worrying to much.
For the time I've spent enough but in time I will buy these items . I will prioritize first my driving techniques. I see it as the next step in taking the most out of my Leopard and as a great new learning process.

As a former model builder the second step is the weathering.

It will hopefully give so much more pleasure, bringing together all the different aspects of rc and learning the goods and not so goods of my particular tank.
Thank you guys for helping, much appreciated!

PS you can see some reference pics of Leopards of the Royal Netherlands Army. I was a freelance photographer for some units of the Dutch and Belgian army: RCU Member Gallery - sebas2 I will add more of them in the coming time.

Crius

Here's a good driving lesson. It takes about 12 seconds to get to the good part.

Sebas2

Thanks friend, I will try to steer like that

The Russians are just awesome: https://giphy.com/gifs/russia-DbDYl7YtP1zLa

Sebas2

Today a drive through the sand while it was raining. The Leo did a great job. A lot of hard turns and spins and only four times did the tracks come off. No wonder while I was pushing the Leo through its limits, the first time on sand.

I did remove one of the rear armor plates, because there's a still a bit of wobbling here, despite putting tape around the shafts. Just a bit too much movement on the right axle, but nothing bad for driving the tank.

The new Taigen 380 gear boxes plus motors and the steel sprockets and idler wheels are great.

The decals will be replaced by a set for a Dutch Army tank. It was big fun!

Fsttanks

Sebas2

Now the only thing left is looking for sandy areas, since were I live you only have all those Dutch polders.... clay and more clay. Like you have written before mud and wet clay is asking for troubles with my Leo. It was impressive to see the Leo throwing around lots of sand already when wet. I guess this what's it all about, just a lot of joy and not bothering about problems. Now cleaning the tank with a good amount of water and back again to the sand asap

Sebas2

Update: The Leo is running better every day. The metal fore idler wheels and sprockets do a great job to prevent tracks coming off. The Taigen gearbox has some issues but nothing serious for operating the tank. (one of the gearboxes had slobbery built quality whereby two metal gearwheels did not grip well into each other). After running the tracks for a long time, the tank positioned on the supports, its going better now, but makes a nasty sound.

I come from the model build world and know the after marker business. RC tank aftermarket so far is bad: no info, false info , fancy ball bearings which are not really all needed , just the first and last axle. A lot worse as the model build after market. There they have the decency to at least give you full instructions.
These aftermartket parts are nearly always expensive and to give bad service ( excluding Erik-Imex and Forgebear, thanks Guys you are great!) is disdain for the buyer, imo.
If it were not like forums as here , I would be lost and probably have ruined my tank due to bad info and letting you in the cold as a webshop owner.

But The Leo runs and it runs well! Not too expose to the winter mud goes a long way.

A few pics:

Crius

Lack of instructions is something I've just learned to live with, but i agree entirely that they should provide better info when you spend the kind of money we spend in our hobby.

If there was any issue at all with your gearboxes you should tell Erik, he's very, very serious about quality control and after sale support, so if it's something new to him he may want to make a deal so he can examine your gearboxes. You'd have to ask him, but i definitely would ask.

Fsttanks

Natural weathering always looks great on r/c tanks. Good to hear your tank is running well.