RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi guys,

I was going to get the metal heng long gearbox and do the reduced plastic gear mod, but the place I order the gearboxes let me down and told me their out of stock and didn't give indication of timescales.

Plan B. Get top of range instead.

So what's peoples opinions on the two different gearboxes?

The Mato i've seen on ebay @ £43, says it's the later version 2 model comes complete with motors

The Asiatam @ £46, says brass bushes, ball bearing axles and upgraded motors

I've just put a pair of Asiatam 3:1 boxes in my Tiger, although I haven't tested them yet, because I'm also fitting track tensioners and Elmod. However first impressions are good. They seem high quality (they're bl*@dy heavy) and were a straight drop in replacement.
If you can wait I'll let you know as soon as I get a chance.

My expieriences -

1 - * Mato 3 to 1 brass gearboxes , can be hit or miss quality wise , right hand side one has a mispressed chassis causing misalignment - worse on the long shaft versions ! but this can be cured by adjusting the ' stand offs '/ packing under the left hand edge .

• otherwise good solid performers .

• 2 . New type Heng Long brass 3 to 1 gearboxes , mine were actually made by Mato . - 1 wonky cog , caused by sloppy manufacture but cured by repressing it in a vice , along wih too much endfloat on the shafts , again a simple fix , I just squeezed the sideplates together before reassembly . Even so , these are better . Two mounting holes needed adjusting slightly but these are about as drop in as you'll get something that can't often be said about other types .

3 . * Asiatam 3 to 1 metal ( die cast zinc , not brass ) - again some side play , usual fix . stripped teeth can occur if any cogs are eccentric or subjected to heavy abuse but they are normally very durable .

The asiatam panther 3:1s are awesome, theyre the only gearbox ive never destroyed (and ive bust up the steel impact boxes before) , the motor will go before the teeth do! Very smooth, very quiet and have a great low speed movement!

Has anyone got the tech details of the Mato boxes as their don't appear to be in the gear box calculator. Also on the Asiatam.de website it mentions the motors are rated at 18,000 u/min (presume that's rpm) this is quite a lot higher than the 15200 in the gearbox calculator or have Asiatam started using different motors.

Are these the gearboxes you were looking at ? The ' NEW H/L brass gear 3 to 1's ' - made by Mato and came with the adaptor plate , leads need soldering on . I like 'em .

Well I managed to test my Asiatam 3:1 boxes, along with the Elmod, and the difference is phenomenal. It drives better, laps up the rough stuff and her hill climbing ability is awesome. I spent about 3/4 of an hour playing before I remembered it was supposed to be a test run and I still had to finish the wiring! So I think they're worth every penny. A true upgrade.
I wish I could say the track tensioners were as easy to install!

Hi,

I have just fitted a set of asiatam motor/ gearboxes to my late tiger 1. It is chalk and cheese. The lower ratio coupled with the more powerfull motors work really well. It is what the tank should be supplied with in my opinion.

Hi Tankbear, :~
The 'Gearbox Calculator' on the site allows you to alter figures to show what the result will be. So you delete the dispayed motor speed and then you type in YOUR actual motor speed and the gearbox calculator will automatically change the scale and actual speed figures for you. It does the same thing with pinion gear sizes as well. Remove the one that is currently displayed and replace it with your own pinion gear size and the calculator will automatically give you the result

I just picked up a set of Mato 3:1 2.0's for my Panther. The left side has a stripped out drive sprocket mounting screw, and was rather tweaked and bound something terrible. I hadto completely disassemble it and rebend the plates as well as polish the shafts ect.. They run fine now, but still frustrating to say the least.....