RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

i am planning of buying HL jagdpanther or HL king tiger and was wondering should i get them with the metal tracks and gears. it costs around $60 more with metal tracks. do the metal tracks make the tank run smoother or is it just for looks. this is going to be my first rc tank and dont want alot of problems with it because i dont know alot about them

jimmy321
Metal tracks add weight, by adding weight you get 2 things, realistic tank movements ( makes em look real sharp ) and more stress on the drive gears. Obviously more stress equates to more wear and tear.
FYI the metal gears the that come with the upgraded tank really are only slightly better than the standard plastic gear box. You need to upgrade the upgrade when it come to the gearboxes. Both gearbox and tracks kind of run hand in hand
So here are the standard choices
1. Upgrade the gears to a stronger set ( If your playing with the tank then the black steel gears can NOT be beat as they run forever and require little or no mtce, the extra stress from the tracks is nothing to the steel gears? and they are low cost )
2. Upgrade to the 3 to 1 ratio brass gears, expensive and it doesn't gaurantee a no fail run but they are stronger than standard and make the tank run at a truer realistic speed. They add weight but the extra torque from the higher ratio clearly overrides that.
3. No upgrade and stay with the plastic tracks. Get the metal tracks and use them when your tank is a display model.

Regardless you will probably be looking for a better gearbox as they do wear and break. Many people here can offer help to switch them out, its a simple task.
Me personally I run steel gears on my serious practice tank ( Tiger 1 ) I run brass 3 to 1's on my battle tank BOTH with plastic tracks. The extra weight is only useful when people pick up the tank to admire it. I am more concerned about the weight and the stress on the motors.
I would love some metal tracks for display but at the extra cost I just don't feel it is worth it.
Other people will feel differently.
This is Your tank and your choice. I hope I gave you food for thought, Forgebear and welshdragon sell both gear boxes if you buy them as an upgrade. Good luck and welcome to tanking.

Metal tracks add realizam to your drive enjoyability - imho
most tanker go down this road - not seen anyone selling second hand used tracks

It costs a lot less if you buy the tank with metal tracks and gears already fitted as it should also include metal sprockets and idlers, if you look at the cost of buying them individually as after market upgrades you will see its a lot more than the $60 increase in cost.

I've been using the plastic tracks on my Tamiya Tiger for years with no trouble whatsover.

Then I bought my HL Stug with plastic and they broke immediately, so an upgrade was necessary. Now, the structure of a Pz III/IV track link and a Tiger are completely different, which I suspect is the real cause, but I don't know what the HL Tiger links are in comparison to the Tamiya.

Having said all that, when I bought the metal upgraded Pz III and Pz IV, they came with both the plastic and metal tracks. For $60, the metal sprocket, idler and gear boxes are worth it alone in my opinion.

Most ir tank battlers like the plastic tracks, a slow tank is a dead tank. Heavy tanks also seem to kill gear boxes faster.

I started with a plastic Tiger then got the pro version of the KV1 and Tiger I then spent a lot of money adding full metal hulls etc now each weigh about 7kg each and drive very realistic. But I prefer running all my other tanks with plastic tracks over the two heavy metal ones.

So having both I would say stay plastic, you can always add low ratio metal gearbox which gives realistic speed and drivability the metal gears you get in the pro version are rubbish anyway. Also plastic tracks are a lot quieter than metal.

do the upgraded versions on amazon have the metal gear box. yes or no