RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Anyone own MATO Metal Challenger II tracks ? If so, how to keep the silicone pads on the tracks ? They fly off constantly. Most glues wont stick to silicone. The pads on MATO Leopard II track s hold in place just fine. Fit tight. No glue required.

Actually contacted MATO Toys concerning these Challenger 2 Tracks and pad attachment. The response was ridiculous. The Mato customer service rep instructed to "superglue" each pad in 3 places. Next, clamp pad to track. Later, surround pad with superglue on all four sides. Repeat on the other more than 320 pads. Tried this procedure on just 2 pads for the hell of it. Very hard when using all that superglue to not get some on the track pins. Total waste of time. Total fail. Silicone resist any known type of glue. Engineering failure by mato. Shady company. Mato will NEVER get another dollar from me. Never.

Do your tracks have rubber pads on the inside and the outside?

Barry

No sir. They are the Mato Toys Challenger II tracks. The most common maker of tank treads on this side of the planet .The problem is twofold. First, the tracks do not hold the pads by design (or lack of). Second, the pads are silicone rubber. Not natural rubber. No glue made today will securely hold silicone in this application. Pads flake right off as the tank rolls. Total junk.

BarryC wrote:Do your tracks have rubber pads on the inside and the outside?

Barry

Whoops sorry. Yes they do. For a second I was thinking you meant top and bottom.

Navy chief wrote:

BarryC wrote:Do your tracks have rubber pads on the inside and the outside?

Barry

Whoops sorry. Yes they do. For a second I was thinking you meant top and bottom.

I believe we're talking about the same only different descriptions.

Outside surface


Inside surface


Barry

Mato tracks are not like those in your illustration. Mato pads only meet the road surface. Nice to see there are tracks such as yours made to be used. I notice none of your track pads are missing. Mine fall off with only a 3 meter run across my kitchen floor. Photo above is a Mato track set. Notice pads slide on to the metal track from the outside. A tiny rubber spine is what the engineers decided would hold it in place. Holds the pads to the track just long enough to cash a buyers check I suppose. Mato claims a 1 year warranty but does not honor it. They know this track design is flawed. The customer service rep with all the glue instructions practically told me so. Note. I did not purchase these tracks from Toucan Hobby as illustrated on the photo. Toucan Hobby has been a great seller).

Hey guys I used the super glue method on my challenger 2 tracks and low and behold the majority of tracks pads fell/ripped out, on my leopard 2a6 build I used 2 part epoxy to glue the pads in and over the 2 tracks I have maybe lost 5-10 pads with alot of running, the challenger has lost over half, so my recommendation is 2part epoxy/araldite

As recently discussed on the Forum (Tips and Tricks),
Have you tried "PLASTI-DIP" ? available from your nearest Home Improvement Centre.

You could also try Shoegoo, a clear air drying liquid rubber type glue that dries hard but flexible. It will fix anything to anything - l have used it for years. Its available from most good model/RC shops and can be found on eBay too. I reckon it'll do the job.