HL 2.4 G 1/30 R/C IR Pershing battle tank suspension mods.

[modler]

The are nice little 1/30 2.4G Heng Long Infrared battle tanks. I bought a set a new set recently (Pershing & Sherman) so I now how 2 sets. The radio gear in these Tanks are very good and are excellent for other projects. I like the M26 model but it seems to have a short battery life compared to the Sherman so decided to look into it and realized the tracks are a bit tight on this model and there is no way to adjust them but after looking at it discovered a way to decrease the track tension and decrease the the track turning resistance at the same time. When I first looked at this tank from a side profile, Something was off, after some time I realized the road wheels are all touching the ground at the same time. After removing one of the suspension arms I figured out a way to fix this problem. When turning in place with this tank, there is a lot of ground track resistance. By changing the angle of the front and rear road wheel on each side the tank performs better and has a longer run time of the small 600mAh lipo battery.

In the next post I will show how this mod is done if any interest

[Herr Dr. Professor]

As you know, the road wheels should all be keeping the whole length of the track on the ground. As far as I can figure, the only means to overcome the friction while leaving all the road wheels on the ground would be a more powerful motor and/or reduced gearing. Fitting more powerful motors or reducing the gearing may not even be possible without major modifications. Do you think I understand correctly?

[modler]

As you know, the road wheels should all be keeping the whole length of the track on the ground. As far as I can figure, the only means to overcome the friction while leaving all the road wheels on the ground would be a more powerful motor and/or reduced gearing. Fitting more powerful motors or reducing the gearing may not even be possible without major modifications. Do you think I understand correctly?

Yes, but in this case of a underpowered model, with no spring suspension, This is a solution that improves overall performance of the model. Being that is is an inexpensive 1/30 model, This is the way to go.

Oh I forgot to mention that the tracks are too tight on this model from the factory with no adjustment. Moving these road wheels a few degrees adds a little slack to the tracks thereby using less power and increasing performance. I think on real tanks the spring tension is more in the center road wheels depending on balance front to rear.