Review and Discuss: Heng Long 1/16 "T-72" Tank

[keilau]

Been doing quite a bit to my T-72.(?)

I got a couple of cheap spare 2800 mah batteries, but looking for some higher mah batteries in the 7,2 range. also looking at IR receiver options.

Heng Long T-72 tank has a small battery compartment that can house 2S 18650 battery pack. The battery that came with the tank has only 900-1100 mAh. If you can find 2S 18650 Lithium Ion pack of 2800 mAh for cheap for cheap, you are very lucky. 2S 18650 Lithium Ion pack is electrically limited to around 3000 mAh. You can try the Admiral brand Li-Ion from MotionRC which may or may not give you longer run time. It is $29 plus shipping.

https://www.motionrc.com/products/admiral-3500mah-2s-7-4v-li-ion-battery-with-xt60-connector-adm6024-016

[tank_me]

Before I completely removed the battery box, I was able to fit a 2S2P 18650 battery in the stock location by removing the top of the box and using a velcro strap to keep it in place.

[keilau]

Before I completely removed the battery box, I was able to fit a 2S2P 18650 battery in the stock location by removing the top of the box and using a velcro strap to keep it in place.

I purchased 3 packs of the Kluosi 2S2P 18650. The advertised 7Ah capacity is highly inflated. I measured their capacity to be about 4000 mAh which is not too bad. They are cheap. My biggest reservation about the Kluosi battery pack is that they use unprotected Lithium Ion cells.

[tank_me]

Are the stock HL batteries protected?

[keilau]

Are the stock HL batteries protected?

I don't know since I don't use the HL packs. It may be less a problem because of its low capacity. It is easy to tell whether a 18650 Li-Ion cell is protected or not. Unprotected cell measures about 65mm tall plus/minus 1mm. The protection PCB adds 3mm or more to the individual cell height. Typical height of protected 18650 cell is 67mm to 70mm

Many of our fellow members are wary about using Lithium battery in RC tanks. It can be dangerous if the cell is unprotected and the pack is handled improperly. An unprotected Lithium battery can be an instant fire hazard when shorted out or overdischarged.

[blessedbus]

quick question i wanna get this tank as a first i was wondering if anyone has ever put a crawler motor in it i wanna make this a nice trail runner and am thinking to put a new motors in it as a first upgrade and does anyone make any dif era packs i think it would look cool as a t-72m2 moderna

[keilau]

quick question i wanna get this tank as a first i was wondering if anyone has ever put a crawler motor in it i wanna make this a nice trail runner and am thinking to put a new motors in it as a first upgrade and does anyone make any dif era packs i think it would look cool as a t-72m2 moderna

The 1/16 scale is a much better rock crawler than any buggy crawler. The high volt, low rpm crawler motor won't work.

This is a good upgrade for your Heng Long T-72:

https://www.toucanhobby.com/products/hl-3939-metalchassis-dzn1?_pos=10&_sid=5286362a7&_ss=r&variant=44624248275194

[Rubicon99]

quick question i wanna get this tank as a first i was wondering if anyone has ever put a crawler motor in it i wanna make this a nice trail runner and am thinking to put a new motors in it as a first upgrade and does anyone make any dif era packs i think it would look cool as a t-72m2 moderna

There are a good number of conversations kits available for the T72/T90. DKLMRC has a beautiful modernized T72/T90 full upgrade kit.

Motor upgrades are numerous so are gearboxes/transmissions. Simply adding 390 motors to your stock metal gearboxes will give you quite a performance improvement. With the T72/T90 look at upgrading the tracks to "dual pin" metal MATO tracks. These are more flexible than the stock HL single pin tracks and have far more aggressive track cleats which greatly improve off road handling especially climbing.

[keilau]

There are a good number of conversations kits available for the T72/T90. DKLMRC has a beautiful modernized T72/T90 full upgrade kit.

Motor upgrades are numerous so are gearboxes/transmissions. Simply adding 390 motors to your stock metal gearboxes will give you quite a performance improvement. With the T72/T90 look at upgrading the tracks to "dual pin" metal MATO tracks. These are more flexible than the stock HL single pin tracks and have far more aggressive track cleats which greatly improve off road handling especially climbing.

I agree with Rubicon99 on motor and track upgrade. The Mato track are very heavy in construction. In addition, I will strongly recommend upgrading the gearbox to one with ball bearing:

https://www.toucanhobby.com/products/hx-dgb-s-ml59-redmotor-bearing-dzn1?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=0cb3afd97&pr_rec_pid=8009474343162&pr_ref_pid=8009474441466&pr_seq=uniform