Senton Additional Parts Needed to upgrade to brushless?

[BIGBOI]

Hello! I am back after a long hiatus and my senton mega 550 brushed v2 (not v3, even though that came out literally a few days after I bought my v2) has been sitting unused as I have been having some problems with it that have included the gears from the motor to the driveshaft braking, and also the motor itself grounding its own bearing. I feel like the best solution is to just get a better esc and motor, and I have been eying the Firma 85a brushless smart esc along with a 4000kv spektrum sensorless motor. Would this be the proper motor/esc combo to upgrade with? I also presume that I would have to install a center drivetrain brace along the chassis, where could I buy one of those? And also what would it make sense to replace my current gears for the motor and drivetrain respectively? As the plastic one for the chassis is already broken, I presume I should invest in a metal one, and would the current gear that works with the brushless motor work with the brushed one? I really have not that much experience with upgrading these, so every bit of help is appreciated! Thanks!

​

 

[FireDrake001]

Hello! I am back after a long hiatus and my senton mega 550 brushed v2 (not v3, even though that came out literally a few days after I bought my v2) has been sitting unused as I have been having some problems with it that have included the gears from the motor to the driveshaft braking, and also the motor itself grounding its own bearing. I feel like the best solution is to just get a better esc and motor, and I have been eying the Firma 85a brushless smart esc along with a 4000kv spektrum sensorless motor. Would this be the proper motor/esc combo to upgrade with? I also presume that I would have to install a center drivetrain brace along the chassis, where could I buy one of those? And also what would it make sense to replace my current gears for the motor and drivetrain respectively? As the plastic one for the chassis is already broken, I presume I should invest in a metal one, and would the current gear that works with the brushless motor work with the brushed one? I really have not that much experience with upgrading these, so every bit of help is appreciated! Thanks!

​

I would get a metal center driveshaft, metal diffs, metal input gears, Kraton 4s slipper clutch full assembly (you can get all these for a better price from JennysRc). These would allow it to handle up to 4s with ease. I run a vxl 4s Maxx setup in my Typhon Mega with these upgrades. No problems and so much more fun for everything.Not cheap but would eliminate many problems and make the Denton a top notch vehicle in performance.

 

[Velodromed]

Hello! I am back after a long hiatus and my senton mega 550 brushed v2 (not v3, even though that came out literally a few days after I bought my v2) has been sitting unused as I have been having some problems with it that have included the gears from the motor to the driveshaft braking, and also the motor itself grounding its own bearing. I feel like the best solution is to just get a better esc and motor, and I have been eying the Firma 85a brushless smart esc along with a 4000kv spektrum sensorless motor. Would this be the proper motor/esc combo to upgrade with? I also presume that I would have to install a center drivetrain brace along the chassis, where could I buy one of those? And also what would it make sense to replace my current gears for the motor and drivetrain respectively? As the plastic one for the chassis is already broken, I presume I should invest in a metal one, and would the current gear that works with the brushless motor work with the brushed one? I really have not that much experience with upgrading these, so every bit of help is appreciated! Thanks!

​

You don’t have to complicate things so much honestly. Since you have a V2, you will have to upgrade the drivetrain as well. You will need differentials, motor mount, spur assembly, brushless motor, pinion (20t is stock for the 3s senton) and ESC. The motor and ESC you mentioned are not going to hack it. You want to stick somewhere close to what the stock 3S cars come with. 3660, 3200kv motor and 100amp esc minimum. Metal differentials, spur, etc. are overkill.

You don’t need a chassis brace but you do need a center drive shaft bearing. The plastic driveshaft is fully adequate. They are just fine for the 4S cars so there’s no reason to get an aluminum one. All that metal adds weight and part of the durability of these cars is keeping them light. Jennysrc.com is a great source for 3s stock parts. You can get everything you need there.

I’m not sure what you meant by ‘gear for the plastic chassis broke’. The chassis doesn’t have gears. If you meant that your chassis itself broke, you can get one for less than 10 bucks of Jenny’s.

If I was in your position, I would just get a new 3S senton and save that one for parts. You’ll end up spending about 60-70% the price of a new car upgrading it anyway so might as well have everything new. Only you can decide if it’s worth it. Good luck bud.
Oh, some folks will recommend to upgrade it to 4s. However, doing so will stress the drivetrain and driveshafts to failure. It’ll destroy the stock tires as well. Even if you get metal differentials and a metal spur, you still have stock driveshafts. The actual 4S Arrmas have heavy duty drive trains and heavy duty CVD’s that can handle 4s. 3s is surprisingly fun and fast. Don’t sell it short until you’ve tried it. If you want to go 4s, get a 4S car.

 

[slick2500]

You don’t have to complicate things so much honestly. Since you have a V2, you will have to upgrade the drivetrain as well. You will need differentials, motor mount, spur assembly, brushless motor, pinion (20t is stock for the 3s senton) and ESC. The motor and ESC you mentioned are not going to hack it. You want to stick somewhere close to what the stock 3S cars come with. 3660, 3200kv motor and 100amp esc minimum. Metal differentials, spur, etc. are overkill.

You don’t need a chassis brace but you do need a center drive shaft bearing. The plastic driveshaft is fully adequate. They are just fine for the 4S cars so there’s no reason to get an aluminum one. All that metal adds weight and part of the durability of these cars is keeping them light. Jennysrc.com is a great source for 3s stock parts. You can get everything you need there.

I’m not sure what you meant by ‘gear for the plastic chassis broke’. The chassis doesn’t have gears. If you meant that your chassis itself broke, you can get one for less than 10 bucks of Jenny’s.

If I was in your position, I would just get a new 3S senton and save that one for parts. You’ll end up spending about 60-70% the price of a new car upgrading it anyway so might as well have everything new. Only you can decide if it’s worth it. Good luck bud.
Oh, some folks will recommend to upgrade it to 4s. However, doing so will stress the drivetrain and driveshafts to failure. It’ll destroy the stock tires as well. Even if you get metal differentials and a metal spur, you still have stock driveshafts. The actual 4S Arrmas have heavy duty drive trains and heavy duty CVD’s that can handle 4s. 3s is surprisingly fun and fast. Don’t sell it short until you’ve tried it. If you want to go 4s, get a 4S car.

I see so many hobby shops pushing that Spektrum combo onto people looking to upgrade their brushed Arrmas to brushless. I am starting to wonder why that is.

 

[BIGBOI]

You don’t have to complicate things so much honestly. Since you have a V2, you will have to upgrade the drivetrain as well. You will need differentials, motor mount, spur assembly, brushless motor, pinion (20t is stock for the 3s senton) and ESC. The motor and ESC you mentioned are not going to hack it. You want to stick somewhere close to what the stock 3S cars come with. 3660, 3200kv motor and 100amp esc minimum. Metal differentials, spur, etc. are overkill.

You don’t need a chassis brace but you do need a center drive shaft bearing. The plastic driveshaft is fully adequate. They are just fine for the 4S cars so there’s no reason to get an aluminum one. All that metal adds weight and part of the durability of these cars is keeping them light. Jennysrc.com is a great source for 3s stock parts. You can get everything you need there.

I’m not sure what you meant by ‘gear for the plastic chassis broke’. The chassis doesn’t have gears. If you meant that your chassis itself broke, you can get one for less than 10 bucks of Jenny’s.

If I was in your position, I would just get a new 3S senton and save that one for parts. You’ll end up spending about 60-70% the price of a new car upgrading it anyway so might as well have everything new. Only you can decide if it’s worth it. Good luck bud.
Oh, some folks will recommend to upgrade it to 4s. However, doing so will stress the drivetrain and driveshafts to failure. It’ll destroy the stock tires as well. Even if you get metal differentials and a metal spur, you still have stock driveshafts. The actual 4S Arrmas have heavy duty drive trains and heavy duty CVD’s that can handle 4s. 3s is surprisingly fun and fast. Don’t sell it short until you’ve tried it. If you want to go 4s, get a 4S car.

Thanks! I'm really hoping not to have to spend a whole lot of money on a brand new car, just 100ish dollaroos on an esc-motor combo (There are loads on horizon hobby's website). What I meant by the plastic gear broke is that the gear that is part of the central driveshaft that meshes with the gear on the motor has broken, some of the teeth have been grinded. I believe it's called the clutch assembly. What do you mean by "differentials"? Would the ones that I have not be fine already? The new motor mount I can buy straight from arrma, that would be a good choice. I will look in to getting a different motor set, not very knowledgeable about what goes and what doesn't with the esc and motor. Many thanks!

I see so many hobby shops pushing that Spektrum combo onto people looking to upgrade their brushed Arrmas to brushless. I am starting to wonder why that is.

I just saw that a bit ago and thought it a good buy considering the price of the arrma branded parts online and the other motor and esc prices online, I presume the quality of these is not up to par or it has some other performance constraints that limit its abilites, although I am not aware of those and I would be grateful if you would enlighten me!

 

[Velodromed]

I see so many hobby shops pushing that Spektrum combo onto people looking to upgrade their brushed Arrmas to brushless. I am starting to wonder why that is.

Hey slick, what is a good video for the OP to become familiar with the names of all the bits and pieces in a car? Thanks man!

 

[BIGBOI]

Would I be able to replace the current stock slipper clutch with the fully built 3s BLX one (part #ARA311034) along with the 20t pinion gear for the motor (part ARA311003) if I were to also replace the motor? Would this gear ratio be fine for running on 3s and would the new slipper clutch assembly even fit in the "old" chassis? I presume I would also want to buy the new motor mounting set (part ARA311106)? Thanks!

 

[Velodromed]

Would I be able to replace the current stock slipper clutch with the fully built 3s BLX one (part #ARA311034) along with the 20t pinion gear for the motor (part ARA311003) if I were to also replace the motor? Would this gear ratio be fine for running on 3s and would the new slipper clutch assembly even fit in the "old" chassis? I presume I would also want to buy the new motor mounting set (part ARA311106)? Thanks!

Here’s the exploded view of the 3s senton. Study it so you can learn about the car. Cross reference the part number on horizon hobby’s website to see the name and info on the part in question.
https://www.arrma-rc.com/on/demandw...wb23077ca/Manuals/ARA4303V3-exploded-view.pdf

The differentials, or Diffs, are at the front and rear of the car and transfer power from the center drive shaft to the wheels.

The part you broke is called the spur gear. Yes, that one you posted a bit ago will work. Here’s the thing, it’ll cost more then 100 bucks to make the 3s conversion unfortunately. Here’s a link to the 3s senton stock parts on jennysrc.com. You need the-
Spur gear
2 differentials
2 input gears
Metal motor mount and spur case combo
Brushless motor
Brushless ESC
Pinion gear
You’ll see the cost of the parts, much more than 100 bucks. That’s why I said it may be best to get a new one. They are sometimes on sale so maybe you can get a deal.