Battery upgrade added little performance

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Quackman
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Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by Quackman »

Hi guys,

Today I got to use my HL Tiger I outside on the lawn for the first time and I was pretty disappointed. Indoors it drives fine and I can spin left/right without too many dramas, however on the lawn? well that's a different story! No chance, it tries and then gives up.

So..... Out with the 7.2v 5000mah and as a test, in with a 3S 3000mah Lipo. 2nd test drive completed and I can see there is a performance increase. It drives faster than it did before, but it's still really weak when trying to do spin turns on grass. Also, a downside of running it 11.1 volts is that the motors get red hot. I can smell them burning after about 10 minutes of use.

I've come to the decision that the standard motors suck! Before I go down the road of changing them, I just wanted to sanity check with you guys that my results are inline with what you'd expect.

Whilst I'm here.... if I do replace the motors, can anyone advise what would be a suitable upgrade that wouldn't break the bank?

All the best

AD
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silversurfer1947
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by silversurfer1947 »

Running on grass is always a problem. Trying to do spin turns on grass is definitely not a good idea.
Richard
Tamiya Tiger 1, Taigen FlakPanzer IV,Torro M16 half-track, Tamiya Panther,WSN/Torro T34,Taigen M41 Bulldog,H/l/Taigen Sherman M4A3,H/L T90, Haya M3 Grant, Metal Origins 234/2 Puma, Nashorn by Alwyn. I was only going to have one tank - honest! :D
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BarryC
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by BarryC »

silversurfer1947 wrote:Running on grass is always a problem. Trying to do spin turns on grass is definitely not a good idea.
Yep! I have always wondered why the "Spin"? :think:

That is why tanks have turrets, right! ;)

Barry
"Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail."
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Quackman
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by Quackman »

Yeah fair comments guys. I just thought that it should work. If I'm beating a dead horse then I'll just put the 7.2v 5000mah back in a leave it alone.
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Jimster
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by Jimster »

I've read WW2 accounts (Tigers in the Mud) about Tiger tracks coming off during "spin turn" maneuvers if the commander and or driver would panic or wasn't paying attention which then required tank extraction or putting the track back on if the situation allowed. A bit of forward or reverse movement during the turn will make the tank turn with much less resistance and less chances of motor heating or tracks coming off.
So it sounds as if your tank is actually behaving realistically. Slow and steady on grass, spin turns and drifting on the hardwood floor :D
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Herr Dr. Professor
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by Herr Dr. Professor »

Also, a downside of running it 11.1 volts is that the motors get red hot. I can smell them burning after about 10 minutes of use.
There are plenty of more knowledgeable people about motor change-outs, but I would be concerned about using the higher voltage battery. The board(s) too are likely affected. (A retired Prof., writer, and editor, I got 'affect/effect' straightened out. But 'lie/lay'; 'sit/set'--I can't remember those any better than does my Schnauzer.)

Can one of you wizards jump in on the 11.1 volts through boards for 7.4? Am I fullofit?
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abramsky
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by abramsky »

Herr Dr. Professor wrote:
Also, a downside of running it 11.1 volts is that the motors get red hot. I can smell them burning after about 10 minutes of use.
There are plenty of more knowledgeable people about motor change-outs, but I would be concerned about using the higher voltage battery. The board(s) too are likely affected. (A retired Prof., writer, and editor, I got 'affect/effect' straightened out. But 'lie/lay'; 'sit/set'--I can't remember those any better than does my Schnauzer.)

Can one of you wizards jump in on the 11.1 volts through boards for 7.4? Am I fullofit?
The new generation of MFU Heng Long TK 6.0/6.1 ( and also 6.0s/6.1s - 160A ready ) allows you to use of 2s or 3s Lipo batteries (8.4 -12.6 V).
Standard gear motors are a different story. Higher voltage results in larger RPM which with the same motor resistance results in more current flow - and as a result a lot of heat. I reworked the same in my son's HL TK 6.1 and found that instead of using a higher voltage battery (3s instead of 2s) and rebuilding the interior of the model to fit a larger battery, it would be easier to buy respectively stronger or faster motors. it depends what you like more - more RPM or more torque.
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RenoirLV
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by RenoirLV »

silversurfer1947 wrote:Running on grass is always a problem. Trying to do spin turns on grass is definitely not a good idea.
Because our grass isn’t the right scaleImage. You can’t really win. When you have a high torque gearbox your battery C value may turn out to be too low and the tank would cut out at a spin turn due to low battery. If you fix it by getting a better battery the setup will twist the idler tensioner and make permanent damage to it. Maybe something else too. I’m sure it will find the weakest link. So I don’t see a way out. If it’s grass no spin turns. Better drive straight.


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MITCH
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by MITCH »

My son has a Torro King Tiger on which the engines were poorly efficient ... two things have solved the problem: a 4: 1 gearbox and a track tension adjustment (they have to be slackened a lot).
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Quackman
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Re: Battery upgrade added little performance

Post by Quackman »

MITCH wrote:My son has a Torro King Tiger on which the engines were poorly efficient ... two things have solved the problem: a 4: 1 gearbox and a track tension adjustment (they have to be slackened a lot).

Thanks for the info. I might look into the 4:1 gearbox ratio. I'm not interested in high speed so that could be a good option.

I've got my tracks as loose as I can go without them falling off. I find the tracks fall off fairly easily on the Tiger
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