Upgraded motors

[tmodel66_71]

Has anyone ever tried the traxxas 18 turn 380 motors in your Heng Long tanks? If so what were your results?
thanks

[Rubicon99]

The question is what tank and are you running aftermarket metal tracks? Depending on tank you can also look at going straight to HL or Taigen high torque 390 motors which are a common and more powerful upgrade.

[tmodel66_71]

I have the pro version of both the HL King Tiger and the M1A2 Abrams. Just wanted to know if anyone tried the 380 traxxas motors in their tanks?

[Rubicon99]

I have the pro version of both the HL King Tiger and the M1A2 Abrams. Just wanted to know if anyone tried the 380 traxxas motors in their tanks?

You aren’t going to see much difference with 18T motors as they are build for speed not torque. Big tanks like the Abrams need torque more then speed from their motors. Torque allows the tank to have better turning, climbing and slow crawling performance over all terrain types. With both tanks you will be better served with HL or Taigen 390 motors. 390s will give you far more torque and far more speed then 18T motors.

Also you can up the voltage in your tanks to get more performance from the stock motors. I run most of my stock 380 motors at 9.6v. The MFU is rated for 12v so don’t worry about overloading it.

[tmodel66_71]

Thanks for the info. You completely answered my question. How do you turn up the voltage on the mfu?

[Rubicon99]

Thanks for the info. You completely answered my question. How do you turn up the voltage on the mfu?

Adding a higher voltage battery. I use 9.6 NiMH RC truck hump pack batteries. These require a small modification to the top of your battery box for the “hump to fit through but does not impede the strength of the hull. Or if you are comfortable with Lipo batteries you can use a 3 cell which will max out the allowed MFU volts to ~12.6 Then just run the tank in the “low power” mode which will limit the usable volts to 70% of max.

Also make sure you are currently not set to run in “low power” mode vs “high power”. To switch between the two simply press and hold the “G” button down while toggling the right stick up for HP or down for LP. Make sure both the tank and transmitter are on and the tank is running. Sorry to have to mention that last part but people have made that mistake many time.

If you chosen to run a 3 cell Lipo and the HP mode the tank will be very fast but the motors and MFU will also heat up fast. So I recommend using HP sparingly when the extra power is really needed.

Typical full size 9.6v NiMH Hump pack battery that I prefer use. The added weight is also a plus and will help with traction.

[tmodel66_71]

Again..Thank you very very much for the info. You and everyone else on this blog have been a great source of information for my new hobby. Tanking!!
thanks again and have a great one!!

[Zippersnapper]

You aren’t going to see much difference with 18T motors as they are build for speed not torque. Big tanks like the Abrams need torque more then speed from their motors. Torque allows the tank to have better turning, climbing and slow crawling performance over all terrain types. With both tanks you will be better served with HL or Taigen 390 motors. 390s will give you far more torque and far more speed then 18T motors.

Also you can up the voltage in your tanks to get more performance from the stock motors. I run most of my stock 380 motors at 9.6v. The MFU is rated for 12v so don’t worry about overloading it.

Please link to your preferred Batts. I'm all in.

[Rubicon99]

I don’t have any specific “preferred” brand I use. I like NiMH batteries because they are very stable (safe) and add more weight to my tanks then other battery options.

Lately I have been buying my batteries on Amazon or EBay. Depending on tank type, motors, tracks being used and the performance goals I have for it, will dictate voltage. General larger tanks I use 9.6v “hump packs” ( like pictured in an earlier post) in the 4000 - 6000 mah range. Smaller tanks like Sherman’s or T34s that have the internal space between the top of the battery box and bottom of the airsoft motors and which don’t need as much top end speed or torque I tend to use 7.2v standards or 8.4v NiMH “hump packs”.

By manipulating voltage and motor types one can tune a tanks performance rather well and achieve a tank that has everything rather well balanced in the handling department.

[761st]

I want proportional in all of my tanks. Currently looking at 5:1 motor and 7.2 NiMH.

[Evan D]

LiPo. If you don't feel safe don't use them but I have hundreds of them and have been using them for many years. I use these, I can run all day on a single charge and they fit the HL tank battery box perfectly. There are other brands, similar size, out there. I used these since I have eight of them I use in my airplanes.

HobbyStar 5200mAh 7.4V, 2S 45C LiPo Battery - Deans Connector | RCJuice

[tank_me]

The newer HL tanks now ship with Li-ION battery packs based on the 18650 cells instead of the NiMH packs they used to come with. I started using Li-Ion packs also, but in slightly larger 2S2P (two in series, two in parallel = (4) 18650 batteries) packs instead of the single pair supplied with HL tanks. The ones I've been using are branded Kluosi from Aliexpress with XT60 connectors. Been happy with them so far. I've even bought some of the single pair packs from them for tanks where I can't get the 2S2P packs to fit. They are similar to the HL batteries, but with either and XT60 or XT30 plug on them and 3.5AH or 3500mAH capacity. The HL packs by comparison are 1.8AH or 1800mAH.

Of course remember that when you start upgrading batteries you need to get a better battery charger and quit using the USB or HL wall chargers as those will literally take forever to charge these larger batteries.