Upgrade Paths, Explained

[Rubicon99]

I ordered a custom Heng Long M1A2 direct from the Heng Long factory. Took 1 month to complete but it's being shipped. I should get it within the next 2 weeks in Canada.
Pretty much added every option you can get on it with the exception of the auto stabilizer and flash in the cannon. Attached is the pictures my sales guy posted for me before he ships it to me.
Originally I wanted the green camo but the factory does not make them anymore. So yellow it is.

Additionally I got the new heng long drive train installed.

You do know you can paint the tank any color scheme you want once you have it in hand. The EURO NATO green camo is rather easy to paint especially on the Abrams and it’s flat surfaces.

[DimMak]

I ordered a custom Heng Long M1A2 direct from the Heng Long factory. Took 1 month to complete but it's being shipped. I should get it within the next 2 weeks in Canada.
Pretty much added every option you can get on it with the exception of the auto stabilizer and flash in the cannon. Attached is the pictures my sales guy posted for me before he ships it to me.
Originally I wanted the green camo but the factory does not make them anymore. So yellow it is.

Additionally I got the new heng long drive train installed.

[Chrislaf]

Oh my bad its 4.1 V2 gearbox. I gotta text quick cause I'm at work

[Rubicon99]

Would the red 390 motors be alot faster than the 390's that came with it ?

You still have not answered the first question. Which gearbox is it? Meaning is it a 3:1 or 4:1 it has been sold with both ratios. Does it already have 550 motors, though based on your last question I assume it does not. In which case you can’t just simply add 550 motors as they will not fit without a lot of work.

If 4:1 there is little you can do to make the tank much faster even if you were able to squeeze 550 motors in. The gearbox ratio is too low. If a 3:1 gearbox then stay with the black Taigen 390 motor as they have slightly higher top rpms then the red 390 motors.

I suspect the tank you bought has 4:1 gearboxes. If so, dump them and buy a set of 3:1 gearboxes with black 390 motors. Bump up the voltage to 9.6 via a NiMH battery, sit back and enjoy a fast tank. This will not require you to change the control system.

If you want top end scale speeds for your Leo you will not get them with 4:1 ratio gearboxes easily or cheaply. The simplest route is as stated above.

[Chrislaf]

Would the red 390 motors be alot faster than the 390's that came with it ?

[Chrislaf]

It's the all metal version. I was thinking about putting a pair of Traxxas 12 turn brushed motors for speed but idk. What would you suggest ?

[Rubicon99]

Hey guys I gotta taigen Leopard 2a6 and wanna put in the 550 motor gearbox. What other upgrades should I do to handle the extra power ? Thank you

It all depends on which 550 motor/gearbox combination you are talking about and voltage you want to put through them. Also what exactly does your Taigen Leo have already from the factory? Is it the all metal one or the rebranded Heng Long one?

[Chrislaf]

Hey guys I gotta taigen Leopard 2a6 and wanna put in the 550 motor gearbox. What other upgrades should I do to handle the extra power ? Thank you

[UltraVargen]

Hmm, I didn't think of that.

So it would be wise to clip the Tamiya connector off one of my batteries and replace it with a Dean connector or get a separate battery that already has a dean connector (any recommendations on MRC?)

I basically got the 6.1 to build the servo recoil (and barrel smoker) in the Panzer III. I'm not replacing the motors or planning on running it in dual power mode as it's a WW2 tank. Would overheating still be an issue in this case?

[canklebreaker]

Love the name canklebreaker

😅

[Rubicon99]

Today I got my 6.1 MFU in, and noticed Heng Long opted to use a "dean" style plug for the power cable. An odd choice since the batteries they use have a Tamiya plug.

As I'm basically a noob when it comes to electronics: Why did HL switch to a different style plug? And what is best practice to adapt? I already have a spare Tamiya power cable with no plug attached to one end. Thinking of buying a separate female dean socket to create an adapter cable.

They switch to Deans because the 6.1 has a higher amp and voltage rating and Tamiya plugs do not do well with high amp and voltages. Tamiya plugs are good to about 9 volts and 15 amps after that they get really hot and can melt with prolonged high voltage and amp draws. The 6.1 is meant to handle 3 cell Lipos (11-12v) and larger motors when combined can easily draw up to 20 amps = very hot.

Trust me the Tamiya plugs would melt and most likely burn with 12v and 20 amps flowing through them for anything much over a minute or two of use.

[Chrislaf]

Love the name canklebreaker

[canklebreaker]

Agreed, deans is superior in my experience. I use them in my airsoft guns.

[Chrislaf]

In my opinion Dean's connectors are way better than tamiya's. I use them in all my rc cars, trucks and tanks. I've had tamiya plugs meltdown in the past that's why I never use them.

[UltraVargen]

Today I got my 6.1 MFU in, and noticed Heng Long opted to use a "dean" style plug for the power cable. An odd choice since the batteries they use have a Tamiya plug.

As I'm basically a noob when it comes to electronics: Why did HL switch to a different style plug? And what is best practice to adapt? I already have a spare Tamiya power cable with no plug attached to one end. Thinking of buying a separate female dean socket to create an adapter cable.

[Chrislaf]

Ok I've been looking all over the web trying to find a set of bump stops for my taigen JS-2 and I can't find them anywhere. If anyone knows where I can pick up a set I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you

[Chrislaf]

Oh ok I thought if it was the same size I could just pop it on and plug it in. What other steps are there usually ?

[Rubicon99]

Sweet !!!! Oh 1 more question if ya dont mind ? I picked up taigen JS-2 and was thinking about putting a KV-2 turret on it. It looks to be the same size but is it ?

Depends. There usually is a bit more involved then just swapping turrets.

[Chrislaf]

Sweet !!!! Oh 1 more question if ya dont mind ? I picked up taigen JS-2 and was thinking about putting a KV-2 turret on it. It looks to be the same size but is it ?

[Rubicon99]

Thanks again bro you've always got the answers I need. I bought a challenger 2 with metal gearbox but plastic everywhere else and also bought an Abrams with metal tracks and wheels. I also bought metal tracks with rubber pads with corresponding drive and idler wheels for the Abrams that I now wanna put on the challenger

You will need to length the Abrams tracks by a few links. It is just a little shorter then the Challenger tracks if you want to swap them. It super easy to do.