HL Abrams upgrade questions

[87lc2]

I've read through the threads on the Abrams here and still have a few questions before I go ahead and order my upgrades. This is my first RC tank and I love it, but unfortunately after some extensive testing out of the box it desperately needs a few upgrades. I took it on a 2+ hour hike today through the woods and it did surprisingly well for a stock HL plastic tank. The main issues I noticed were:

-Gearboxes definitely need an upgrade. By the time I was done it would barely turn and you heard the gears clicking almost at all times.
-Tracks jumped off of the rear drive wheels continually by the end of the run. They were good for a while, but after a while I was stopping what seemed like every few minutes to get the tracks back on the sprockets.

I plan on doing the following upgrades and have a few questions:

-Steel 3:1 gearboxes with the tankarmy.com red motors. Hoping to get a bit more speed as this is a modern tank. I was going to go with the ultimate gearboxes from tankarmy.com but they are currently out of stock. Figured the steel 3:1 boxes should do the job for now.
-Metal Tracks - The stock tracks actually did quite well but figured I would just order the tracks now just in case I need them. I see there are three versions, Mato metal with rubber pad on the outside tread, Heng Long metal with rubber pads on inside & outside of tread, and the basic metal tracks. Are there any huge advantages of going with the rubber pads? I have read a lot about them falling off anyway. This tank will be used 100% off road on dirt, sand, and mud. Would the normal upgrade metal tracks be good for this?
-Metal drive wheels & idler wheels with through shaft from tankarmy.com I think these are a must with metal tracks.
-Metal road wheels, suspension arms, and springs. This was an upgrade I wasn't 100% sure about. When using metal tracks/drive wheels is it a good idea to upgrade the road wheels as well? Since the tank will be getting a new paint job I figured it would be a good time to get them so I can paint everything at once.

I would love to hear from anyone that has upgraded an Abrams and uses it outdoors/off road as that is what I will be using it for. If there is anything I'm missing or anything that wont be necessary for good performance please let me know. Thanks in advance.

[xhack2]

I also have the Abrams as well.
if your unit is an all plastic version, check your swing arms.

Mine, though made with a different plastic than with my previous RC tanks, are quite flimsy. but i dont think it will break but it does cause track throwing.

i'll post pics later, but i have made a simple mod with the swing arm next to the rear drive sprocket

the inside of the swing arm is largely hollow, so i got some scrap pieces of steel, roughened them up, shaped then into letter L shape, roughened the hollow side of the swing arm, filled in with devcon epoxy halfway, put in the L shaped pieces of steel and then filled any void with more Devcon Epoxy.

by the next weekend im going to run my abrams hard and will report back if it still throws or if my attempt failed.

[87lc2]

Thanks for the reply, I would definitely be interested in hearing how it goes. I ran mine around the yard/driveway a bit this morning and it didnt take 2 minutes before a threw a track. After looking at it closely it seemed like there was way too much slack in the plastic tracks and taking up slack on the rear swing arm does seem like it would help.

[HvyCgn9]

As you have probably seen in my build over in HL-modern tanks section, I have used a heap of the available upgrades from tankarmy!! I had the same problems with tracks coming off when turning on grass or dirt..no probs on concrete.
Best thing to get would be the Henntec track tensioner then you can get track tension right, then upgrade what you want, the ultimateII g-boxs are awesome probably just fast enough for scale speed.IMO
I found I could get the plastic tracks to come off when I tried a slow reversing turn too, as the slack track links would bunch up between the sprocket and last road wheel giving enuff slack for the track to migrate off the sprocket...if it wasn't for the skirt the track would work its way right off!!

Tankarmy has the cheapest M1a2 metal track too!! $93AU!!

Cheers Bruce

[Roboticus_Prime]

Tankarmy has the cheapest M1a2 metal track too!! $93AU!!

Cheers Bruce

Yeah, but they make it up with the shipping. Still, buying a full set of upgrades from them is cheaper than buying from Taigen here in the states. Plus, they have the better rubber pad tracks.

[HvyCgn9]

We have the same problem buying stuff out of the States too....I wanted a $15 pump for fixing my RC Submarine shipping was going to be $40 and that was for slowest shipping possible!

Best part about Tankarmy is they are really quick.....being in same country helps!!

Bruce

[87lc2]

Thanks for the replies and all of the good info guys. So do you guys prefer the all metal tracks, Mato rubber tracks with pads on the outside only, or the Heng Long metal tracks with rubber pads on the outside & inside?

I have actually been working on the Abrams recently but have not posted back. It seems that the plastic tracks stretched quite a bit causing the issue that HvyCgn stated where they bunch up and get thrown. I removed a link from each side and they are much tighter and stay on a lot better. I think the other key to keeping the tracks on is bracing the hull, there is just too much flex. I cut up some aluminum angle to brace the main hull, I just need to make some cross braces to finish it off. If that doesn't work I'll be getting a HennTec tensioner as recommended

The other thing I realized when taking the upper hull off was all of the mud/grass/etc that got trapped under the side skirts, it was pretty unbelievable. I have since cleaned it out and cut off the last panel over the drive sprocket like they do on the real Abrams, it doesnt pick up nearly as much debris as it used to. I have also learned that these tanks just do not work well in the grass. Since I've made the last few repairs I've only run it on asphalt and dirt/mud and have not had any issues.

[c.rainford73]

Hi on my Abrams the tracks are the metal type with rubber pads inside and out and they have been extremely reliable for me.

[87lc2]

Hi on my Abrams the tracks are the metal type with rubber pads inside and out and they have been extremely reliable for me.

Excellent, that's what I was looking to hear. The only thing I would be worried about is pads coming off, but sounds like they do pretty well.