HELP!! Eight out of my fourteen tanks have metal tracks. All but four have metal gearboxes. But I am having a difficult time getting the metal tracks to run very smooth. Is that just their normal. I bought a Tiger I with metal running hardware, tracks, road wheels, drive and idler. I have a King Tiger Premium, Leopard, JagPanther, Panzer IV etc. The JagPanther runs duck footed and no matter what I do the rear idler sprocket forces the track out of the grove. The new Tiger seems to hang up and once in a while tracks "snaps" like it's skipping a gear. The King Tiger tracks are so loose that they almost derail when sharp turning, and so on. I have spent hours trying to align and adjust and with only limited success. My T-34 has no adjustment at all! The metal running hardware is very difficult to manipulate. If you happen to throw a track it is a major operation to get the damn thing back on. My tanks with the plastic tracks just run smoother. Yes, they do throw tracks more often and I have even broke one or two. But when I find myself wanting to go out and have some tank time I have been grabbing the plastic versions more often than the metal. I thought about getting some of the Henntec idler axles and similar solutions. With that said I love the look and feel of the metal versions. When they do run they are awesome, but I just need to figure out how to be able to find some way to adjust metal tracks easier. Thoughts??
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First question. Are all your tanks 6.0 versions?Originally posted by Olddowl53 View Post
WWII German tanks were well known for having track issues and this is carried over to the scale models. They do require a bit of tinkering to get to run well just like the real ones did.
If your T34 is a 5.3 version it will NOT have an adjustable front idler. If it is a 6.0 version IT WILL have one. Regardless the T34 is well known for being very forgiving with its track tensioning. I run mine rather “slacked” where the track is laying on top of the road wheels. Both my T34s have no track issues. If you loose a track though the easiest way to put it back on is to simply unscrew the rear sprocket halves and replace the track then screw it back together.
Keep in mind on all your tanks you may have to remove links or add links to achieve the proper tensioning even with adjustable idler wheels.
Metal tracks take a while to “wear in” as they are stiffer when new but as they wear they become far more flexible then the plastic tracks but maintain being many times stronger.
HL 6.0 T34 with metal tracks.
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I am a newbie for R/C tank and I learn a little bit everyday. Tell me if I am wrong. If one plans to run midly on carpet or outside on smooth road, then plastic tracks would be suffice. If one runs over tall grass, rough off roads, over big rocks like on YT, then metal track is a must as well as metal ( non zinc) gears. I plan to do IR battles outside with three HL tanks ( Leopard, T90 , Challenger) so all have metal gears and tracks. The Challenger has metal wheels too. DaiComment
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Since I plan to run outside I think I made a wise choice of metal gears and tracks. DaiOriginally posted by Rubicon99 View PostComment
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I have noticed that the larger modern main battle tanks flex more than the smaller WWII tanks. The metal tracks grab the ground really well which makes the flexing even worse. I had nothing but issues with my Challenger II with metal tracks. I could not go 5 minutes before the tracks would come off. I added bearings to the main drive shafts which helped a lot. That should be a standard feature. But ultimately I put on a set of plastic tracks and now I can drive the tank all day. The plastic tracks will slip more on the ground and take the pressure off of the hull.Originally posted by Olddowl53 View Post
I am not sure about your JagPanther but my King Tiger with metal tracks, sprocket, road wheels, and Idler had a tendency to creep off of the idler groove. And always sounded rough like the teeth were catching an edge. After some investigation I discovered that to resolve this issue the King Tiger's idler needed to have a V shaped groove ground into the Idler. This mod made the tank much smoother and the tracks would no longer creep off of the correct part of the Idler. See images. below. I believe Heng Long upgraded the Idler because you can now buy one with the V shaped groove already there.
Here is the what it should look like with the V in the part of the Idler that the teeth go.
Here is how the Idler came in my King Tiger. It was totally flat. Once a tooth caught an edge it would pull the track out of the grove.
I was able to grind in a rough V shaped grove in my Idlers using a Dremel tool and grinding bit.Comment
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I modified my King Tiger idlers the same way.
I might do the same to the road wheels also so I don't get the click click click of the guide tabs of the tracks missing the grooves once in a while.
SteveComment
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Do the Panzer III or Stug with metal tracks have the same issues? They are smaller in size.Don't just fly--WREAK HAVOC!!!Comment
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No.On the PzIII and Stug the guide tabs run on the outside of the idler.
SteveComment
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I have an HL 6.0 T-34 85 metal tracks, drive, idler and road wheels; and while I have had no problem with the tracks I notice the drive wheels are set a bit closer to the hull than the road wheels are. The track teeth still find the slots they are supposed to be in going from drive wheel to road wheel and back but this misalignment must be causing some stress. Is this likely to cause future problems? And if so, how can it be corrected?Comment
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Don’t worry about it you will not have any long term issues. The T34 is a very forgiving RC tank. You would be spending time and effect to gain nothing.Originally posted by oldwolf View PostComment
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Excellent, that is exactly the answer I hoped for. Lol! Thanks.Originally posted by Rubicon99 View Post
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