Arrma senton mega upgrade suggestions

[Noah Zimmerman]

I am looking for upgrade suggestions in general but mainly for a brushless setup. I am still learning about the world of brushless. I am looking for something similar to the blx system but I dont really want spektrum. I plan on running 2s most of the time. Is it absolutely needed to upgrade the spur, input, motor mount, etc.? I am leaning towards hobbywing or a castle motor/esc at the moment. I thought about the cheapo goolrc combo but I have heard of many people having issues with them. Also, can I use the stock pinion or do most of the brushless motors have a larger motor shaft? If so, is the stock gearing too high or low for a brushless setup? Thanks for any info.

 

[Joe crawler]

I have upgraded my brushed mega senton recently I pretty much made it a senton blx using parts from Jenny’s rc. which is Spectrum electronics …so mine is running the stock pinion also I forget what count it is…I can find it if u need and I also think the pinion is bigger I.d

 

[The_RC_Dude]

Could you use the Spektrum motor, pinion, spur, motor mount, ect. that comes on the BLX version, but use your own ESC? Not all cheaper brushless combos are garbage, for example, I have a Surpass Hobby 2440 4600kV and Surpass Hobby 35A BL ESC in my 1/14 scale buggy, both of them were bought as a bundle on Ebay (you can get it elsewhere too) for under $40! It works well, no complaints. Check out this post on a budget 1/10 scale BL setup from my favorite RC blogger.

Also maybe consider this blog by the same guy, it's for a 1/10 scale 4wd off road buggy, so keep that in mind. If you go with this buggy BL combo, you might want to drop the kV a little bit to componsate for the heavier weight of the Senton, or gear down more.Could you use the Spektrum motor, pinion, spur, motor mount, ect. that comes on the BLX version, but use your own ESC? Not all cheaper brushless combos are garbage, for example, I have a Surpass Hobby 2440 4600kV and Surpass Hobby 35A BL ESC in my 1/14 scale buggy, both of them were bought as a bundle on Ebay (you can get it elsewhere too) for under $40! It works well, no complaints. Check out this post on a budget 1/10 scale BL setup from my favorite RC blogger.
Also maybe consider this blog by the same guy, it's for a 1/10 scale 4wd off road buggy, so keep that in mind. If you go with this buggy BL combo, you might want to drop the kV a little bit to componsate for the heavier weight of the Senton, or gear down more.Could you use the Spektrum motor, pinion, spur, motor mount, ect. that comes on the BLX version, but use your own ESC? Not all cheaper brushless combos are garbage, for example, I have a Surpass Hobby 2440 4600kV and Surpass Hobby 35A BL ESC in my 1/14 scale buggy, both of them were bought as a bundle on Ebay (you can get it elsewhere too) for under $40! It works well, no complaints. Check out this post on a budget 1/10 scale BL setup from my favorite RC blogger.

Also maybe consider this blog by the same guy, it's for a 1/10 scale 4wd off road buggy, so keep that in mind. If you go with this buggy BL combo, you might want to drop the kV a little bit to componsate for the heavier weight of the Senton, or gear down more.

 

[biggman100]

Could you use the Spektrum motor, pinion, spur, motor mount, ect. that comes on the BLX version, but use your own ESC? Not all cheaper brushless combos are garbage, for example, I have a Surpass Hobby 2440 4600kV and Surpass Hobby 35A BL ESC in my 1/14 scale buggy, both of them were bought as a bundle on Ebay (you can get it elsewhere too) for under $40! It works well, no complaints. Check out this post on a budget 1/10 scale BL setup from my favorite RC blogger.

Also maybe consider this blog by the same guy, it's for a 1/10 scale 4wd off road buggy, so keep that in mind. If you go with this buggy BL combo, you might want to drop the kV a little bit to componsate for the heavier weight of the Senton, or gear down more.Could you use the Spektrum motor, pinion, spur, motor mount, ect. that comes on the BLX version, but use your own ESC? Not all cheaper brushless combos are garbage, for example, I have a Surpass Hobby 2440 4600kV and Surpass Hobby 35A BL ESC in my 1/14 scale buggy, both of them were bought as a bundle on Ebay (you can get it elsewhere too) for under $40! It works well, no complaints. Check out this post on a budget 1/10 scale BL setup from my favorite RC blogger.
Also maybe consider this blog by the same guy, it's for a 1/10 scale 4wd off road buggy, so keep that in mind. If you go with this buggy BL combo, you might want to drop the kV a little bit to componsate for the heavier weight of the Senton, or gear down more.Could you use the Spektrum motor, pinion, spur, motor mount, ect. that comes on the BLX version, but use your own ESC? Not all cheaper brushless combos are garbage, for example, I have a Surpass Hobby 2440 4600kV and Surpass Hobby 35A BL ESC in my 1/14 scale buggy, both of them were bought as a bundle on Ebay (you can get it elsewhere too) for under $40! It works well, no complaints. Check out this post on a budget 1/10 scale BL setup from my favorite RC blogger.

Also maybe consider this blog by the same guy, it's for a 1/10 scale 4wd off road buggy, so keep that in mind. If you go with this buggy BL combo, you might want to drop the kV a little bit to componsate for the heavier weight of the Senton, or gear down more.

You dont actually need most of what you listed. You can easily drop in a BL motor, as long as it has a 3MM shaft, and ESC of your choice, and that is all you need to change, or, if you want to go with a 32P spur, just get the Arrma 32P mega spur and slipper pads, then get some matching 32P pinions that match the motor you are using. I built a mega/3S hybrid using parts from both the mega and the 3S lineup (Granite, Senton, Big Rock, Typhon, and Vorteks), and this is the spur I'm using: https://www.ebay.com/itm/294781100937 with these slipper pads: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144138244109 using the stock mega slipper assembly, paired with this motor: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363525708028?hash=item54a3d218fc:g:N~UAAOSwCSlhLfEH&LH_BIN=1 (it has the 3MM shaft, but, some of the cheap motors will have a 5MM shaft, so check the specs carefully), with this pinion: (i am currently using the 17T. I bought the set to see what the different pinions would do). Here is the thread on my build on the Arrma Forum: https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/3s-mega-hybrid-build.48405/#post-682354


As for the link to the "buggy" you posted, its actually not a buggy. Its a 4WD short course truck (i have 2 of them), and, the combo he uses, i want to know how he was able to make the ESC last more than a couple weeks. I have 5 of those GoolRC/Surpass Hobby ESC's, and every one of them died on average in roughly 2 weeks, which is why now, i just buy the motors, and buy either HW10BL60 (paired with either a 3650 3300KV or 3650 3500KV motor), or the Arrma BLX100 from Jenny's RC to pair with the 3650 3900KV and 3650 4370KV, or the 3660 3300KV or 3660 3800KV.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

You dont actually need most of what you listed. You can easily drop in a BL motor, as long as it has a 3MM shaft, and ESC of your choice, and that is all you need to change, or, if you want to go with a 32P spur, just get the Arrma 32P mega spur and slipper pads, then get some matching 32P pinions that match the motor you are using. I built a mega/3S hybrid using parts from both the mega and the 3S lineup (Granite, Senton, Big Rock, Typhon, and Vorteks), and this is the spur I'm using: https://www.ebay.com/itm/294781100937 with these slipper pads: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144138244109 using the stock mega slipper assembly, paired with this motor: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363525708028?hash=item54a3d218fc:g:N~UAAOSwCSlhLfEH&LH_BIN=1 (it has the 3MM shaft, but, some of the cheap motors will have a 5MM shaft, so check the specs carefully), with this pinion: (i am currently using the 17T. I bought the set to see what the different pinions would do). Here is the thread on my build on the Arrma Forum: https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/3s-mega-hybrid-build.48405/#post-682354


As for the link to the "buggy" you posted, its actually not a buggy. Its a 4WD short course truck (i have 2 of them), and, the combo he uses, i want to know how he was able to make the ESC last more than a couple weeks. I have 5 of those GoolRC/Surpass Hobby ESC's, and every one of them died on average in roughly 2 weeks, which is why now, i just buy the motors, and buy either HW10BL60 (paired with either a 3650 3300KV or 3650 3500KV motor), or the Arrma BLX100 from Jenny's RC to pair with the 3650 3900KV and 3650 4370KV, or the 3660 3300KV or 3660 3800KV.

Ok, thanks. I didn't know about the parts, as I don't have a Senton and haven't researched this stuff before, so I was guessing.

No, I posted 2 links, one for the SCT, and the second one for the 1/10 scale buggy, the Wltoys 104001. Look back and you should see it Try following the exact setup he tried, if you have any of those ESCs left. So no 4s, no high gearing, high kV, ect.

Quad is an honest guy, I assure you, he didn't skew the results of fake anything.

The BL HW ESC you linked to is good, so I've heard, and it won't break the bank.

 

[Noah Zimmerman]

Thanks for the info peeps. I do really like quadify and his information too. His reviews have been helpful with my wltoys 144001. It is still hard to trust a few good reviews compared to many bad reviews I have seen of the goolrc stuff. From what I hear it seems hobbywing could be the best bang for the buck without any issues. So now I am thinking I need about a 3200-3500 kv motor with the 3mm shaft and at the very least a 60amp esc to swap straight in? Looks like the 80amp hobbywing esc is not much more than the 60amp. Does it make sense to get a higher capacity esc if I am only running 2s packs?

 

[The_RC_Dude]

Thanks for the info peeps. I do really like quadify and his information too. His reviews have been helpful with my wltoys 144001. It is still hard to trust a few good reviews compared to many bad reviews I have seen of the goolrc stuff. From what I hear it seems hobbywing could be the best bang for the buck without any issues. So now I am thinking I need about a 3200-3500 kv motor with the 3mm shaft and at the very least a 60amp esc to swap straight in? Looks like the 80amp hobbywing esc is not much more than the 60amp. Does it make sense to get a higher capacity esc if I am only running 2s packs?

Oh, you follow him too? Awesome! Yes, he's super helpful with the Wltoys 144001/124019 platform, I have his "budget brushless" setup in my 144001! If you want to play it safe, go for the HW. If you're willing to spin the wheel and save some $$, then try GoolRC. GoolRC stuff is a hit or miss from what I've heard. My Surpass Hobby brushless ESC and motor works fine though, it isn't a 3650/60 size motor. HW is reliable and trustworthy, of course there are some flukes or problem here and there, but MANY people including me like HW (I haven't tested any BL HW setups, only the Quicrun 1060 brushed ESC).

The Senton 3s BLX comes with a BLX 100a ESC. I'm not sure about 1/10 scale off road SCTs, but I'd say you probably don't want an ESC lower than 60a, it really depends on the car weight, motor kV, gearing, and how hard you drive. If you can afford the HW 80a version, and you don't need to solder or anything with that one, then you could go with the 80a for peace of mind. It should run a little cooler (possibly), and maybe give you a little more overhead. No need to go crazy and find like a 160a 2s ESC, 80a should be enough, or more than enough. IIRC, the higher your cell count, the lower max amps you draw. I don't remember why exactly, but yeah.

 

[pug]

For a 1/10 4x4 RC, I recommend that the ESC is rated at 100a minimum, 60a is good for 1/10 2wd.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

For a 1/10 4x4 RC, I recommend that the ESC is rated at 100a minimum, 60a is good for 1/10 2wd.

I see. You need that many amps for a 4x4 1/10 scale? Also take into account the car weight (Senton is about 6-6.5 lbs I think, stock), gearing, kV, and tire size

For @Noah Zimmerman, I'd recommend he watch and read some Senton 3s BLX review videos and articles, see if anyone says the Senton BLX runs hot or cool. If it runs cool, Noah can probably use a 80a ESC. If the BLX stock runs hot, then the 60a is a firm no go.

Basically, look at the motor size and kV, and compare to the Senton BLX, as this way you can get a pretty fair test of the ESC's amp number. Hope this makes sense

 

[pug]

I see. You need that many amps for a 4x4 1/10 scale? Also take into account the car weight (Senton is about 6-6.5 lbs I think, stock), gearing, kV, and tire size

For OP, I'd recommend he watch and read some Senton 3s BLX review videos and articles, see if anyone says the Senton BLX runs hot or cool. If it runs cool, OP can probably use a 80a ESC. If the BLX stock runs hot, then the 60a is a firm no go.

Basically, look at the motor size and kV, and compare to the Senton BLX, as this way you can get a pretty fair test of the ESC's amp number. Hope this makes sense

I have seen many issues with the 60a ESCs in the Arrma 3s/mega line, so that's a definite no, the stock ESC does get pretty warm, but it works great. I'm not too sure about the 80a ESCs, but the more amps the better!

 

[biggman100]

Oh, you follow him too? Awesome! Yes, he's super helpful with the Wltoys 144001/124019 platform, I have his "budget brushless" setup in my 144001! If you want to play it safe, go for the HW. If you're willing to spin the wheel and save some $$, then try GoolRC. GoolRC stuff is a hit or miss from what I've heard. My Surpass Hobby brushless ESC and motor works fine though, it isn't a 3650/60 size motor. HW is reliable and trustworthy, of course there are some flukes or problem here and there, but MANY people including me like HW (I haven't tested any BL HW setups, only the Quicrun 1060 brushed ESC).

The Senton 3s BLX comes with a BLX 100a ESC. I'm not sure about 1/10 scale off road SCTs, but I'd say you probably don't want an ESC lower than 60a, it really depends on the car weight, motor kV, gearing, and how hard you drive. If you can afford the HW 80a version, and you don't need to solder or anything with that one, then you could go with the 80a for peace of mind. It should run a little cooler (possibly), and maybe give you a little more overhead. No need to go crazy and find like a 160a 2s ESC, 80a should be enough, or more than enough. IIRC, the higher your cell count, the lower max amps you draw. I don't remember why exactly, but yeah.

With a 1/10TH buggy, even 4WD, as i have learned through trial and error, a 60A ESC will work fine if you dont overdo the motor. However, on a heavier 4WD like an SCT, even 80A, unless you stick with a 3650 3100-3500KV motor, the ESC wont last long. Through trial and error, and a lot of back and forth discussions with several people on here i came up with a simple rule. For 2WD, and light 4WD buggies, even a 60A ESC paired with a 3650 4370KV motor will work fine (its the combo in both my Traxxas Slash 2WD and my ECX Torment 2WD, and my only running 4WD buggy runs a 60A with a 3650 3300KV with no issues), but, my 4WD SCT's (Arrma hybrid and DHK Hunter), a 60A esc, even with a 3650 3500KV motor would cause the motor to overwork itself and run a bit hotter than acceptable, so, on them i run an Arrma BLX100 ESC, and, in the case of my Hunter, it is currently paired with a 3660 3800KV motor, and i have had no issues with it at all. However, all of my 60A ESC's are HW 10BL60's. I get the rebranded Redcat ones on eBay because they are a bit cheaper.

Thanks for the info peeps. I do really like quadify and his information too. His reviews have been helpful with my wltoys 144001. It is still hard to trust a few good reviews compared to many bad reviews I have seen of the goolrc stuff. From what I hear it seems hobbywing could be the best bang for the buck without any issues. So now I am thinking I need about a 3200-3500 kv motor with the 3mm shaft and at the very least a 60amp esc to swap straight in? Looks like the 80amp hobbywing esc is not much more than the 60amp. Does it make sense to get a higher capacity esc if I am only running 2s packs?

Where are you looking at ESC's through. There are actually several places to get new ESC's for less than the hobby shops charge. Jenny's RC is a dismantler that takes new vehicles, strips them, and sells the parts, and is my go to for the Arrma BLX100, since you can get them for half of retail. For example, they are $110 from Horizon Hobby, and $45 from Jenny's: https://jennysrc.com/products/arrma...-typhon-ara4303v3?_pos=1&_sid=613e6db8b&_ss=r They dont only do Arrma vehicles though. They also carry Traxxas, HPI, Habao, and several others.

 

[JCsRCcar]

Choosing between a Hobbywing or Castle sensored setup I‘d go with the castle setup if you want better adjustability. I go with the Hobbywing if cost is more of a concern. I would only upgrade to a sensored motor and esc just because having that extra control is very noticeable and nice. I have both setups and I like thenCastle B-link and all of the features in the Castle better than the Bobbywing OTA wi fi module.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

With a 1/10TH buggy, even 4WD, as i have learned through trial and error, a 60A ESC will work fine if you dont overdo the motor. However, on a heavier 4WD like an SCT, even 80A, unless you stick with a 3650 3100-3500KV motor, the ESC wont last long. Through trial and error, and a lot of back and forth discussions with several people on here i came up with a simple rule. For 2WD, and light 4WD buggies, even a 60A ESC paired with a 3650 4370KV motor will work fine (its the combo in both my Traxxas Slash 2WD and my ECX Torment 2WD, and my only running 4WD buggy runs a 60A with a 3650 3300KV with no issues), but, my 4WD SCT's (Arrma hybrid and DHK Hunter), a 60A esc, even with a 3650 3500KV motor would cause the motor to overwork itself and run a bit hotter than acceptable, so, on them i run an Arrma BLX100 ESC, and, in the case of my Hunter, it is currently paired with a 3660 3800KV motor, and i have had no issues with it at all. However, all of my 60A ESC's are HW 10BL60's. I get the rebranded Redcat ones on eBay because they are a bit cheaper.

Where are you looking at ESC's through. There are actually several places to get new ESC's for less than the hobby shops charge. Jenny's RC is a dismantler that takes new vehicles, strips them, and sells the parts, and is my go to for the Arrma BLX100, since you can get them for half of retail. For example, they are $110 from Horizon Hobby, and $45 from Jenny's: https://jennysrc.com/products/arrma...-typhon-ara4303v3?_pos=1&_sid=613e6db8b&_ss=r They dont only do Arrma vehicles though. They also carry Traxxas, HPI, Habao, and several others.

I see. I do wonder where all the extra weight of these bigger cars some from, but all the parts are bigger and heavier than smaller cars. @Noah Zimmerman was looking at a 3200kV-3500kV motor. Some brands like Redcat do rebrand name-brand parts, like you said, which is helpful, as often times they are cheaper that way! Some brand, I can't remember which, maybe Redcat, had rebranded a Flysky GT5 for like $65-$75, the GT5 is normally, when under the Flysky brand, $75-$80.

Hold on, I found the rebranded GT5, it's from HobbyKing, rebranded under Turnigy, for $60! Anyway, yeah, I'm going off track.

So bottom line is, Noah needs at least an 80a ESC if he's running a 3650/60 3100kV-3500kV in his Senton? You also mentioned " For 2WD, and light 4WD buggies, even a 60A ESC paired with a 3650 4370KV motor will work fine", you run a 3650 4370kV motor with a 60a ESC in a 1/10 rig? That's a pretty high kV as far as I'm concerned...did you gear down?

For Noah, I think it might be a good idea for him to get a 3650/60 motor with a medium kV, so not a very low or very high, just in the middle, this way he'll be able to gear up or down easily (since if he used, say, a high kV motor, and he gears down, but can't gear down enough, then he's kinda stuck).

I've heard of Jenny's RCs before, but haven't bought from them before, as they don't stock any parts for the cars I own, or even any cars from that brand. I get it though, my cars' brands aren't as big as Arrma or Traxxas.

50% off is really good! $45 for that ESC seems like a great deal (actually $42 right now, almost 1/3rd of the normal Arrma price...this deal is getting better for Noah by the minute!)! I wonder if they also make smaller BL ESCs for <1/10 scales.

 

[biggman100]

So bottom line is, Noah needs at least an 80a ESC if he's running a 3650/60 3100kV-3500kV in his Senton? You also mentioned " For 2WD, and light 4WD buggies, even a 60A ESC paired with a 3650 4370KV motor will work fine", you run a 3650 4370kV motor with a 60a ESC in a 1/10 rig? That's a pretty high kV as far as I'm concerned...did you gear down?

This is the combo that was originally in my Slash 2WD: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3633526015...XyJvFyXG1PRixNmzKnSTexV1v8RLo%3D|ampid:PL_CLK Until the ESC burnt up. Now, it has the 4370 motor, paired with a HW 10BL60. The first video of it i have on YouTube is of it with the GoolRC ESC, and the second video is with the HW. As for gearing, i would have to pull the cover because i can't remember which spur it currently has. I do know, with that combo, the truck is extremely fast, whereas my ECX Torment with a 3652 3250KV motor is the exact opposite, and my Arrma Fury with a 3650 3500KV is somewhere in the middle of the two, and all three of those trucks run the HW 10BL60. This is my collection of what i currently have running: https://www.rctalk.com/forum/thread...ntly-running-rc-vehicles.133409/#post-1324358 If you look through it, you will see which vehicles have which ESC.

 

[pl9171]

From what I hear it seems hobbywing could be the best bang for the buck without any issues. So now I am thinking I need about a 3200-3500 kv motor with the 3mm shaft and at the very least a 60amp esc to swap straight in? Looks like the 80amp hobbywing esc is not much more than the 60amp. Does it make sense to get a higher capacity esc if I am only running 2s packs?

Not really.
My son is running a basic Max 10 (3200 KV) + 60A ESC on his Senton at outside track and the Combo is still heavy duty, years after years;

On 3s, he will approch 100 Celcius temp on the motor and ESC after 5 minutes of racing/running... But, still ok. Just have to check the motor bearings at the end of the season.
On 2s, ou will run, run and run with no problem, even with a 26t pinion...
The HW program box is pretty cool too, easy to use;