Taigen Panzer III - Fitting Lower RPM - Higher Torque Motors - For More Realistic Scale Like Speed

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Martin2556
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Taigen Panzer III - Fitting Lower RPM - Higher Torque Motors - For More Realistic Scale Like Speed

Post by Martin2556 »

Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors - For More Like Scale Speed

Hi, I have a Taigen 1/16 Panzer III (metal chassis, tracks & running gear).
I am looking at the possibly of changing the original motors on the 3:1 gearbox’s for lower RPM higher torque motors to try & achieve a more scale like speed. Reading through the forums I see that the Igarashi N2738-51 motors come up quite often.
Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Cheers Martin

Update August 2020
Started a build log, Link Below: 1/16 Taigen Metal Edition Panzer III - Build

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=30246
Last edited by Martin2556 on Mon Nov 21, 2022 10:23 pm, edited 14 times in total.
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by HERMAN BIX »

G'day Mr 2556, sometimes lower RPM motors are not as effective as lower ratio gear box units.
Rpm can be controlled to a degree by an easing of the throttle stick, but once things kick in, your tank runs to fast.
gear box replacements to a 4.1 or 5.1 ration will allow an even greater level of control, hey, if those are combined with these motors you mentioned, who knows how slow you could get it to go ;)
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by Kaczor »

In case of Panzer III there is room for modification of gearbox. My father modified last gear. It required some cutting an using lathe for new shaft. Now it have lower speed, bigger torque and lower usage o power. Photos before and after.
xPphje.jpg
ApgkCd.jpg
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Max-U52
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by Max-U52 »

Hello Martin, and welcome aboard from the Motor City. First I should let you know that you really ought to go to the introduce yourself section and post a thread there. The guys here consider that the polite way to do things, first introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself, and then ask all the questions you want.

As for your Panzer 3, I have several of them, so I know that the four shaft gearboxes won't really fit in there, so what I use are the Dual ratio black steel gear boxes, the ones that they call "5:1". That's not the real gear ratio, it's just kind of a made-up name that the manufacturers came up with so they could tell the different gear boxes apart. Now, those 5 to 1 gear boxes are no good for anything except a small light tank like a panzer three. I've put them in many Panzer threes and Panzer fours with no problem, but when I tried to put one in a KT it just wouldn't work. Any way you decide to go, changing the gear boxes is a much better solution to your problem than changing the motors.
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midlife306
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by midlife306 »

Out of interest what board is in your Pz III?
I ask because I picked up an old Heng long version from Hobbyking for £45 a while back & it thinks it’s a dragster, the old school board that’s in it is either full blast or nothing lol
I bought a HL Tiger 1 just before Xmas which had the new V6 board in it & it drives brilliantly, the really slow speed control is on another level.
Cheers
Wayne


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Martin2556
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by Martin2556 »

Many thanks to all for your informative reply’s.
This Panzer III is the latest I/R offering from Taigen (3:1 steel gearbox’s, metal chassis & turret, tracks & running gear), recently purchased from Dave at Forgebear (highly recommended).

The main reason for looking into fitting lower RPM / higher torque motors is the Panzer III will not accommodate the 4:1 (90:1 ratio) gearbox’s due to height restrictions, these gearbox’s would have been my first choice had it been possible to fit them.

The 5:1 (45:1 ratio) gearbox’s & 3:1 (39:1 ratio) gearbox’s are fairly close in ratios & don’t slow down the tank sufficiently with out changing the motors, hence the main reason for considering lower RPM / higher torque motors.

Reading through the forums I see that the Igarashi N2738-51 & Promax 480 motors come up quite often.

I may fit the 5:1 gearbox’s but not sure as I’ve read mixed reviews about them, mainly that they are still too fast & not a great improvement on the 3:1 gearbox’s ratios.

Ideally I’m looking for a ratio that’s close to the 4:1 gearbox’s (90:1) with plenty of torque & hopefully a tank that performs more realistically to scale & less like a toy.
Cheers Martin
Last edited by Martin2556 on Tue Jun 23, 2020 7:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MITCH
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by MITCH »

The kind of gearbox is important, but the electronic board is as much important !
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Max-U52
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by Max-U52 »

Martin2556 wrote:
The 5:1 (45:1 ratio) gearbox’s & 3:1 (39:1 ratio) gearbox’s are fairly close in ratios & don’t slow down the tank sufficiently with out changing the motors, hence the main reason for considering lower RPM / higher torque motors.
Who told you that? The "3:1" is what should have come in your tank. There is a significant difference in top speed between those two sets of gearboxes. The PIII is one of my favorite tanks (I have several) and I've tried many different gearboxes. I think you said you have the Taigen metal edition PIII, yes? I have a couple of those. The stock GBs are like a rabbit, way too fast, eh? With the PIII I'm looking for a top speed of about 25 mph (scale) and I get very close. My Tauchpanzer has the dual ratio (what they call 5:1) gearboxes but they're the cherished brass jobs that come with 360 motors. When I had those in my StuG III (same lower) I had to replace the 360s with 380s to get up to 25 mph (40 kph). Anyway, how big a hurry are you in? I'm putting those in one of my new PIIIs soon, I can let you know how it turns out.

Watch this and see what you think.

phpBB [video]
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Martin2556
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by Martin2556 »

Many Thanks Gary
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Martin2556
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Re: Taigen Panzer III Lower RPM Higher Torque Motors Scale S

Post by Martin2556 »

midlife306 wrote:Out of interest what board is in your Pz III?
I ask because I picked up an old Heng long version from Hobbyking for £45 a while back & it thinks it’s a dragster, the old school board that’s in it is either full blast or nothing lol
I bought a HL Tiger 1 just before Xmas which had the new V6 board in it & it drives brilliantly, the really slow speed control is on another level.
Cheers
Wayne


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I’m not sure what board this tank has Wayne, it’ll be whatever’s fitted as standard to Taigen tanks.
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