Suspension arm angle

[Oli Dainton]

Hi

I have just got my Panzer III on it’s wheel for the first time with just two drive motors installed and no upper hull at all.

I notice that the front two arms are almost horizontal with just this weight, while the rest of the arms sitting closer to 10 degrees.

Question for all Panzer III owners with added option packs:

Did you install arms at 20 degrees as per manual or should I have added some additional degrees to account for Ll the additional electronics weight?

If possible what angle are your suspension arms when on wheels at full weight?

Since I have flattened ends of torsion bar fittings to get better purchase on grub screws I am concerned I may need to order a new set if 20 is actually insufficient..

[Tom Miller]

I increased the angle to 25 degrees on mine. I figured I would rather have the tank ride a little hi than too low.
Tom

[Stephen White]

Oil, you might like to have a look at my Pz III build thread here:

http://www.armortek.co.uk/Forum3b/viewt ... 4&start=15

I've just had another look and I'm surprised to see that I set mine at 40 deg. It will sit at a much lower angle with weight on, naturally.

With my Pz III, I did put it up on blocks if it wasn't going to be used for a while. That may have been overkill but it seemed to be sensible to give the torsion bars a rest. Never had any noticeable settling in the time I had her.

[Oli Dainton]

Thanks both - is frustrating to be instructed to set at 20 degrees when it seems this will be insufficient..

[LesBernell]

I'm at the point of setting my Suspension Arm angle. The manual says 20 degrees. The consensus appears that 20 is too low. I have read suggestions of 25 to 40 degrees.
My question is: If you were doing it again, and considering that it would have all option packs, what would you set the angle at?
I appreciate your input.
Les

[Adrian Harris]

I'm not sure Armortek can win with this, as kits built to be static will sit too high if a fully weighted angle is given, and running kits will be too low if a static angle is given.

The manual for the first release Panzer III said 40 degrees, but that had a lot of steel floor and deck panels etc.
The manual for the first release Stug III said 30 to 40 degrees, and that had aluminium panels, as far as I recall.

The beauty of the adjustable suspension system is that you can set the angle, see how the tank rides, and fairly simply adjust it later if needed.

As long as you don't grind unnecessary flats into the components

Personally, if I were building a new release kit now, I'd set it at 30 degrees and see how it looks when loaded.

I have seen Panzer III kits running around which look like they're on stilts

Adrian.

[LesBernell]

I set the angle at 30 Degrees. It's coming along....