Metal vs plastic tracks.

[Conor]

Greetings, all.

I'm currently in the process of aquiring knowledge to start modifying my Challenger 2. The version I have is the stock plastic version (I believe it came with steel gears, but nothing else). I'm currently making a mental list of modifications I wish to undertake to make the tank more durable and less likely to break/be damaged.

So far on the list I have a chassis brace, metal sprocket/idler, shaft support bearing and resin-ing the lower hull.

Additionally, I'm considering metal tracks and road wheels.

RC-wise I have been modding and driving fairly fast off-road trucks in the past and with those there's a general rule to avoid replacing plastic with aluminium whereever because the added weight doesn't necessarily help and plastic parts can actually be stronger/as strong as aluminium ones because they flex.

So I'm curious - is there a definite argument for metal tracks? Detractors I can currently think of is the increase in weight on moving parts, putting more strain on the transmission/Idler/suspension arrangement.

[Will01Capri]

this question just goes round and round, there are many discussions in this subject on the forum

Sometimes there is an argument for it, but if the tank gets used and abused and on varying environment, then plastic tracks do tend to work ok

I used metal tracks on my vehicles sometimes, but typically they are not as well used as other tanks i have with plastic. They do look cool on the shelf with metal though in comparison

Some metal tracks are just for show however and are weak, so for sure it depends on the metalurgy used

[jarndice]

Heng Longs Nylon gears combined with ABS wheels, sprockets, idlers and nylon tracks are a well matched combination BUT if you put metal into the mixture you come upon the law of diminishing returns,
All Metal good, All Plastic/Nylon good, Mixing BAD!!!
The Heng Long "Metal Gearbox in your Challenger is probably pot metal and should be replaced as soon as you can afford to do so,
It is far worse than the Nylon gearbox it is advertised as an upgrade to

[43rdRecceReg]

The resin tracks on Tamiya tanks generally look good, and wear well- this is, not excessively. Plastic tracks on Taigen and Heng Long tanks don't look as good, IMHO, but fitting metal tracks for the sake of it can add a lot of heft to your model. That's especially so when you begin adding metal sprockets, wheels, and other running gear items. Whilst you might impress an unsuspecting guest with the weight of your beast, (it having gone up from a modest salad-eating 4kg, to a serial burger and fries eating 8 kg (16-18lbs), the extra weight can also put a lot of unwanted strain on the gearboxes. That weight will also give the controller- and especially the battery, a harder time too. That's something to bear in mind.
However, metal tracks do sound cool on concrete and paving

[tankme]

I typically like the metal tracks because they just look better while running to my eye. I like the extra weight of them, but I also use all metal gearboxes, tend to pour resin in the bottom of my chassis to increase strength, and beef up the rest of the tank to compensate (high capacity batteries, tensioner, and internal hull bracing).

[Estnische]

I typically like the metal tracks because they just look better while running to my eye. I like the extra weight of them, but I also use all metal gearboxes, tend to pour resin in the bottom of my chassis to increase strength, and beef up the rest of the tank to compensate (high capacity batteries, tensioner, and internal hull bracing).

Likewise for me - if you run outdoors, then the plastic tracks slip on some vegetation. Metal tracks have more ground pressure.

[General Jumbo01]

If your model is new and has a recent version mfu then the steel gearbox is just that, steel and not the old alloy they used to use. These run well with plastic tracks and wheels. HL's plastic tracks are fine for running on flat floors, short pike carpets or very short grass but struggle with other surfaces. However, as said above, if you use metal tracks your plastic sprockets become the next weak point.

If you remove the plastic tracks and treat them to a coat of gun metal, light on the outer surface, standard on the inside and then give them a weathering wash they can look better than metal (though you can give metal tracks the same treatment!).

Why not use what's fitted until they break, if they ever do? Take a look at the 3D printed armour upgrade sets around. I've added the full kit to one of mine and it looks great.

[Conor]

I don't know if my gearbox is actually steel, however I need to depost some trim weights in the hull(Weight bias is towards the rear which makes climbing easier in reverse, amusingly) so once I have that open I will check the gears with a magnet. The MFU is the 6.0S I believe, which is the only one I found in the challenger (apparently they aren't made in 7.0)

From the general consensus I'm reading here it is better to leave everything as is, which seems reasonable to me. I was thinking about aquiring a metal sprocket simply for the reason that those come with a track retention ring - is it possible to modify the stock sprocket to the same effect?

[OldWolf]

If you decide to get metal tracks for your challenger 2, be sure to get the ones that have actual rubber blocks integrated into the metal tracks, as the real challengers do. All metal tracks that have molded metal track blocks are too smooth and slippery and metal tracks with glued on rubber blocks tend to lose the blocks. DKLMRC is where I got the ones I use but having just checked their website, they are currently out of stock.

[Jarlath]

I understand both sides of the coin since I run both in IR combat.

Metal track:
Pros:
Have better "sag" effect
Grab better in terrain/slopes due to mass
Cons:
Need beefed up driveline (Gearbox/sprockets)
Harder to spin due to track grab
Less ground clearance (mass of tracks collapses suspension)
Higher overall current draw (less run time, faster peak draw)

Plastic Track:
Super light (I have a HL KT with original plastic gearbox used in IR Combat for the last 3 years)
Maximum ground clearance (runs fast on really short grass/dirt)
Lower overall power draw
Cons:
Plastic seems to break more often due to debris in tracks (small rocks/twigs/etc...)
Lower incline climbing ability/grip (lack of mass)
Always look taught/stretched

I have purposely not included the effects of tracks on hulls that do not have good tensioning systems (aka, plastic hulls). The tighter plastic tracks and the heavier metal tracks both will destroy the simple plastic hull tensioning systems with time due to hull flex and stresses on the retaining screw.