RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I've stripped a gear in my Heng Long KV1 and I intend to replace the gearboxes with Black steel ones. What I would like to know is are the 3-1 versions worth the extra money or are the std £19.99 ones just as good?

big joe wrote:I've stripped a gear in my Heng Long KV1 and I intend to replace the gearboxes with Black steel ones. What I would like to know is are the 3-1 versions worth the extra money or are the std £19.99 ones just as good?

That depends big joe.... the black steel gearboxes are very smooth running... the only reason I would change ratios is if your tank is excessively heavy..or if you don't run at speed ...if it's still stock.. the black steel gears are fine... if you want to go slower ...get the 3:1 or 4:1


ALPHA

Once you try black you never go back!

dgsselkirk wrote:Once you try black you never go back!

it's funny coz it's true.
the plastic ones are ok, the zinc alloy ones are a waste of time & i haven't managed to wear out a black steel gearbox yet.
as for ratios, i prefer mine with the standard ones & would rather control the speed on the stick
although if you need the torque for a heavy tank, you might want to consider 4:1
3:1 are really slow but good for hill climbing

Hi Big Joe,

If you thought your KV1 was fine then go for the standard ones. The 3:1 are suppose to be 3 x lower ratio than the standard ones so that is 3 x times slower with 3 x more torque which helps with steering.

Other factors which also effect speed, torque which people forget to mention when advicing you to go a certain route.

1) Size of drive sprocket. Big means fast tank (KV1, Tiger), small means slow tank (Bulldog, Leopard) and that's with exactly same gearboxes

2) Motors. HL motors are rubbish and slow (about 10,000 RPM). Upgrade to speed 400 or 480 motors (about 15,000 RPM) helps speed and torque. This is can sometimes be a better improvement than low ratio gearboxes.

3) Electronics driving the system. Obviously some are better than others, specially on slow speed control or on tough terrain.

Here is a video show casing the IBU2 Pro but the Panzer 4 has standard ratio gearboxes, standard HL motors, and drive power restricted to 80% (IBU2 Pro feature "True Scale Speed Setting") driving in long grass.



Ian

Thanks for all your help. I'm running it with Tamiya KV1 electrics and I was happy with how it ran before, so I guess I'll just go for the direct replacement gearboxes.

Guys - If I want to go for more of a scale speed rather than a scaled-down formula one smokin' off the grid aka the standard heng long gearboxes, what should I go for?

I've just bought some HL black steel boxes for my Panther G but am now looking at slowing down my Tiger 1 to a more realistic rate of knots.
Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Am not keen on the looks of the waltersons or other non-HL boxes, having read many online articles which highlight the sloopy assemblies. heavy gear backlash and misalignment due to poor quality control and in many cases, poor materials.

whjohnson wrote:Guys - If I want to go for more of a scale speed rather than a scaled-down formula one smokin' off the grid aka the standard heng long gearboxes, what should I go for?

I've just bought some HL black steel boxes for my Panther G but am now looking at slowing down my Tiger 1 to a more realistic rate of knots.
Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Am not keen on the looks of the waltersons or other non-HL boxes, having read many online articles which highlight the sloopy assemblies. heavy gear backlash and misalignment due to poor quality control and in many cases, poor materials.

4:1 Black steel gearboxes did the trick for my Tiger 1.

I have 4:1 black steel boxes in both of my Tigers. They work great, slower than the originals, and better for heavier tanks.

I agree the 4:1 gearboxes are easiest way of slowing the tank down. The IBU2 Pro you can set to run slower and realistic. Another option is changing the motors, most which fit will actually increase speed as run faster, but if you could find motors which fit which are slower than 10,000rpm but higher torque that could also work.

Ian.