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HL King Tiger Upgrades / Issue

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  • HL King Tiger Upgrades / Issue

    Hi everyone,

    I am new to the tanking scene, after retiring from the Army after 20 yrs of service, I decided to pick up a hobby. As a kid I was always fascinated with tanks and I believe that is what caused me to eventually join (pre 9/11). Anyway I digress, I bought a HL King Tiger because the Tamiya was just to crazy for me at the moment (price wise) because I wasnt sure about this hobby. After getting the HL pro edition which ran like a champ right out of the box (metal tracks / metal drive gears / metal gear box). It bite me I couldn't stop upgrading.

    So everything was running great I added metal road wheels and still everything was great. A tanking vet suggested to me to get the Mato 5:3 gears because the tank would function more like the period correct vehicle. I installed them using a video guide got everything back together, and now the thing is throwing a track every single time, it happens when I perform a neutral steer ( i.e.- stationary rotation). I checked the tracks but I noticed when I did the road wheels upgrade, I did not know there were two spring holes for tension. Could this be why the tracks keep throwing? Because I dont have the road wheel arms at the right tension for this entire metal bottom end now? Any help would ne greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    Stationary turns are just hard on RC tank track systems in general, best to pull forward into a turn to keep your tracks on. the road wheel arm springs shouldnt affect your issue over much. But iirc the KT has an adjustable idler wheel you should take a peek at.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by EvilMP View Post
      Hi everyone,

      I am new to the tanking scene, after retiring from the Army after 20 yrs of service, I decided to pick up a hobby. As a kid I was always fascinated with tanks and I believe that is what caused me to eventually join (pre 9/11). Anyway I digress, I bought a HL King Tiger because the Tamiya was just to crazy for me at the moment (price wise) because I wasnt sure about this hobby. After getting the HL pro edition which ran like a champ right out of the box (metal tracks / metal drive gears / metal gear box). It bite me I couldn't stop upgrading.

      So everything was running great I added metal road wheels and still everything was great. A tanking vet suggested to me to get the Mato 5:3 gears because the tank would function more like the period correct vehicle. I installed them using a video guide got everything back together, and now the thing is throwing a track every single time, it happens when I perform a neutral steer ( i.e.- stationary rotation). I checked the tracks but I noticed when I did the road wheels upgrade, I did not know there were two spring holes for tension. Could this be why the tracks keep throwing? Because I dont have the road wheel arms at the right tension for this entire metal bottom end now? Any help would ne greatly appreciated.
      Check that your sprockets are fully seated on the drive axles. Aftermarket drive axles can to be slightly thicker (or thinner ) in diameter then HL drive axles. So it may feel like the sprockets are screwed down tight but they may not be fully seated (or wobbles) and thus out of alignment with the track/road wheels. Poor alignment or even a slight wobble are often the prime cause of many track issues.


      Also do you have axle hull bearings installed? These will help keep the drive axles straight and thus reduce them moving out of alignment.

      The more versatile gearbox for the Tiger is the Taigen 4:1 with black 380 motors running at 7-8 volts. Why someone recommended the Mato 5:3 is interesting because it is not a popular choice for WW2 tanks these days. It was once when the only batteries were old 7.2v NiCad or NiMh but when using the higher voltage/power 7.4(8.4 actual) or 11.1v LiPo or Li-Ion the performance of the 380 motors mated to 4:1 gearboxes is often superior. Then if that is not enough and you need more torque or speed simply swap out the readily available Taigen 4:1 380 motors for Taigen 4:1 390 motors and presto you have even more performance.



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      • #4
        After I installed them I noticed the tank did drive really nice with the Mato and it had more torque compared to the stock gearbox. Also that horrid whine that drowns out the sfx was gone also.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Rubicon99 View Post

          Check that your sprockets are fully seated on the drive axles. Aftermarket drive axles can to be slightly thicker (or thinner ) in diameter then HL drive axles. So it may feel like the sprockets are screwed down tight but they may not be fully seated (or wobbles) and thus out of alignment with the track/road wheels. Poor alignment or even a slight wobble are often the prime cause of many track issues.


          Also do you have axle hull bearings installed? These will help keep the drive axles straight and thus reduce them moving out of alignment.

          The more versatile gearbox for the Tiger is the Taigen 4:1 with black 380 motors running at 7-8 volts. Why someone recommended the Mato 5:3 is interesting because it is not a popular choice for WW2 tanks these days. It was once when the only batteries were old 7.2v NiCad or NiMh but when using the higher voltage/power 7.4(8.4 actual) or 11.1v LiPo or Li-Ion the performance of the 380 motors mated to 4:1 gearboxes is often superior. Then if that is not enough and you need more torque or speed simply swap out the readily available Taigen 4:1 380 motors for Taigen 4:1 390 motors and presto you have even more performance.


          I went back and took the tracks off and seen that one of the drive sprockets had a bit of a crazy wobble to it. Almost like a bent rim on a car wobble, these drive sprockets were the professional upgrade ones that came with the tank.

          Is there an aftermarket torsion bar kit for these? Kind of kicking myself I should have opted for a Taigen.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by EvilMP View Post

            I went back and took the tracks off and seen that one of the drive sprockets had a bit of a crazy wobble to it. Almost like a bent rim on a car wobble, these drive sprockets were the professional upgrade ones that came with the tank.

            Is there an aftermarket torsion bar kit for these? Kind of kicking myself I should have opted for a Taigen.
            Professional upgrade = stock metal, they are nothing special. That said they are rather quite durable. You stated the issues you are having started after you installed the Mato gearbox. So the problem lies in the Mato drive axles not the HL sprockets. Blame Mato for not being in HL specs.

            No torsion bar retrofit kits for the HL Tiger. But with correct adjustments of the HL suspension springs the stock set up is actually pretty good if not slightly better in some areas of performance.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by EvilMP View Post

              I went back and took the tracks off and seen that one of the drive sprockets had a bit of a crazy wobble to it. Almost like a bent rim on a car wobble, these drive sprockets were the professional upgrade ones that came with the tank.

              Is there an aftermarket torsion bar kit for these? Kind of kicking myself I should have opted for a Taigen.
              If you have a wobble, remove the sprocket, and observe the end of the drive axle while it runs. You may very well have a bent axle. I had a bent axle on one of my tanks that was accidentally dropped. It was fairly easy to bend it back straight. I removed the bent axle from the gearbox and secured it in my vise and straightened the axle by careful bending with pliers. Re-installed it and it ran just fine.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Cascabel View Post

                If you have a wobble, remove the sprocket, and observe the end of the drive axle while it runs. You may very well have a bent axle. I had a bent axle on one of my tanks that was accidentally dropped. It was fairly easy to bend it back straight. I removed the bent axle from the gearbox and secured it in my vise and straightened the axle by careful bending with pliers. Re-installed it and it ran just fine.
                It was exactly that the one drive sprocket was bent from the factory. Luckily the dealer/seller is replacing the drive sprocket.

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