Plastic or Metal tracks

[oldfeller]

Hi all
Information please.
To keep my costs down , I have painted my metal tracks silver with a bit of rust effect in fact I’ve painted another set silver which I will be fitting to my next tank and they look great , don’t know what they will look like after running them but even that cant take all the silver paint off and then I will have mud on them or I can repaint where needed.
Now what I want to know is: apart from the weight of the metal ones which you could say would give me more traction, and couldn’t this be made up by finding out the total weight of the metal tracks then dividing by? Then fixing the weights around the inside of the hull to spread the weight. If there is no difference in performance or grip between the plastic ones to the metal ones, couldn’t I to do a cheap upgrade and just buy a set of metal/brass gears and keep my plastic tracks .
Gerwyn

[Gerula]

IMO the metal gears will destroy the plastic tracks quite fast.

[Johnf]

If you upgrade tracks you will need sprockets and idlers plus will need metal gears. One upgrade leads to another. If you want to keep it cheap go with what you have and save towards another tank. Next time get one ready upgraded. Seems to work out cheaper that way.

[oldfeller]

IMO the metal gears will destroy the plastic tracks quite fast.

Hi Gerula
Thank you for your reply .
You could be right in what you say, have you tested this idea to find out how long they would last.
Regards
Gerwyn

[oldfeller]

If you upgrade tracks you will need sprockets and idlers plus will need metal gears. One upgrade leads to another. If you want to keep it cheap go with what you have and save towards another tank. Next time get one ready upgraded. Seems to work out cheaper that way.

Hi Johnf
Cheers Mate , my point is can't I just upgrade to metal/brass gears, then place weights inside the hull
this would slow the tank down and give more traction, with this in mind I bought metal gears from Dave ( Forgebear ) he did mention the brass ones but as I was new to this hobby he said if I bought them I would have to modify where they sit, he did not say I would have to buy new sprockets or idlers as I would be still be using the plastic tracks. I under stand what you have said but the way I want to do it is not to use metal tracks.
Gerwyn

[Storky]

The only problem that I can see with using weights, is the extra strain that you would put on the plastic sprockets and tracks, especially when turning on anything other than tarmac etc. You may find that the tracks break quicker.
Phil

[oldfeller]

Hi Phil
Thank you for pointing out the risk with the weights putting extra strain on the plastic sprokets and tracks
I could put less weight in the tank but then I would have trial and error before I got it right, or I could just
buy metal/brass gears and this would add the extra weight, the point I'm trying to make is why do I need
metal tracks as I will not know how long my plastic tracks will last untill I brake them.
Gerwyn

[Storky]

I played in the snow on grass last year, and the gears slipped before any damage was done to the tracks whilst turning on my M26 Pershing. You could always 'suck it and see' with the meatal gearboxes. Plastic tracks and sprockets are a lot cheaper to replace than the metal ones.

You may also find that the metal gearboxes do not weigh very much more than the plastic ones. Also all the weight will be at the back of the tank. An all metal ( Gearboxes, sprockets and tracks) set up would be better if you can afford it really. I cannot justify the expenditure for my M26 by the way.

Phil

[Gerula]

IMO the metal gears will destroy the plastic tracks quite fast.

Hi Gerula
Thank you for your reply .
You could be right in what you say, have you tested this idea to find out how long they would last.
Regards
Gerwyn

First of all I believed that by gears you ment the gears that engage the tracks (sprockets?) not the gears in the gearbox. English isn't my main language, so things like this happen . I think it's obvious that getting metal sprockets will kill plastic tracks quite fast.

But my affirmation was correct even if you mean getting metal gears in the gearboxes. I suppose you'd get metal gears in order to get 3:1 ratio, and the extra traction is going to rapidly damage the plastic tracks. I haven't tested on tanks, but it's mechanical common sense, so to speak. It's like getting a sport gearbox on a car without beefing up the clutch.

[oldfeller]

I played in the snow on grass last year, and the gears slipped before any damage was done to the tracks whilst turning on my M26 Pershing. You could always 'suck it and see' with the meatal gearboxes. Plastic tracks and sprockets are a lot cheaper to replace than the metal ones.

You may also find that the metal gearboxes do not weigh very much more than the plastic ones. Also all the weight will be at the back of the tank. An all metal ( Gearboxes, sprockets and tracks) set up would be better if you can afford it really. I cannot justify the expenditure for my M26 by the way.

Phil

Hi Phil
Your right in the end "suck it and see" " run them, brake them, fix them "if I put metal gears with plastic tracks and the plastic tracks brake then it be on how long they lasted, if this was a ridiculous short time then it not be cost efficient then I would have to buy the metal tracks and this would mean upgrading further to take them.
Gerwyn