Mato tracks on HL M1A2 thoughts and observations

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D_Idaho
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Mato tracks on HL M1A2 thoughts and observations

Post by D_Idaho »

Good day to all…

After a few days messing around with track length, tension, etc, I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on these tracks for those of you interested.

My first observation is quality… These tracks are very good looking and well built. While I can see loosing track pads over the duration of their lifespan the end connectors absolutely hold the links together in a very solid manner. Fortunately I have a vice in my shop which makes pressing the end connectors on an easier task than wacking away with a jewelers hammer.

That brings me to ease of adjustment. It takes a bit of time and patience to align all of the parts. It’s much easier if you have the ability to slowly press the end of connectors on with slow measured force. After a bit of trial and error I have it down to a few minutes of fiddling with the parts to get the tracks together. I’ve found that track tension can be a bit fussy with these tracks. They’re a bit more stiff than the standard HL metal tracks and the rubber pads really bite. I added one link per side and then adjusted tension up one notch to find a happy medium. Too loose and you’ll throw a track quickly, too tight and your drive train will hate you. The HL tracks are definitely more forgiving in this aspect.

Drive train and motors… I think that you most definitely need to build in some structural support to your hull and drive train. Not to mention upgrade your motors. When I say the rubber bites, it really bites. A very noticeable difference when moving forward and reverse. Turns were much wider and pivot steer noticeably slower and more “strained”.

Drivability. Here’s the rub… No matter what I do with adjustments I inevitably throw a track. While a higher tension helped mitigate this a little I’d eventually find the track walking off of a sprocket. With a tank with skirts you end up jamming the track up, compressing the suspension, and have to remove the idler wheel to remove the track. No bueno… All of the test runs were conducted on either a concrete floor or gym floor foam rubber matting with a few small obstacles to observe the suspension.

So for me, while they are pretty gorgeous and well made, I’ll be sticking to the HL tracks simply because I find there’s a better balance while using them. They don’t grip very well, but so far other than a few pins walking out (fixed by super gluing the track ends) they do just fine for me indoors and out.

At some point if I decide to do a a static model the Mato tracks will make a nice addition to the display.

Cheers!
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: Mato tracks on HL M1A2 thoughts and observations

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

Out of curiosity, was you using stock Heng Long sprockets with the Mato tracks, or did you also swap the sprockets to Mato?
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D_Idaho
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Re: Mato tracks on HL M1A2 thoughts and observations

Post by D_Idaho »

I’m using the stock HL sprockets. I read around a bit and was under the impression that the two are compatible components.
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: Mato tracks on HL M1A2 thoughts and observations

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

Sadly I don't know about the M1's sprockets, but I know a few other models have slight differences where you have to also change the sprockets.
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D_Idaho
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Re: Mato tracks on HL M1A2 thoughts and observations

Post by D_Idaho »

That makes sense. I had also considered that bedding in of the components might have changed tolerances much like on bicycles. Change the chain and I change the gears on the rear of the bike.
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