Senton Brand new Senton, I have some concerns

[Normand_Nadon]

Hello community,

I have just purchased a Senton 3S BLX V3 and I am really excited after 2 trial runs...
I have not owned an RC truck in 20+ years (was on flying models for a long time).

I have a few concerns / questions:

1. Why does the car have toe-in on the back and toe-out up front... I hate it! It wobbles when trying to go in straight line!
   Il like my cars neutral... real cars and RC cars! And I saw that it is designed this way.
   I was able to square the front end with the adjustable rods, but how can I do the same on the rear-end ? It seems like it is fixed...
   
   
2. The design let's all sort of dirt and debris inside the body, where all the sensible components are... Why is that?
   I tried the truck for around 30-40 minutes total today, on concrete, dry grass and a bit of fine gravel and it came back filled with all of these items!
   The fan on the motor had grass stuck inside and it kept it from spinning. The exterior of the truck looks new, but the inside is filled with debris!
   Do you people have ways to mitigate this problem?
   
   Thanks all, have a nice evening.

 

[arrmadillo]

You can get a dusty motor cover or use panty hose to keep dirt out. I don't have a Senton but other models get stuff inside the chassis also, just the way it is. I seen vechicles run in the grass that had so much stuff inside that you could feed a cow.

Tow in on rear helps it track better, almost every rig I've owner has toe in in the rear. As for the front, you can adjust it the way you like. These RTRs are thrown together at the factory, every rig will not be the same, that's why RTR means ready to rebuild.

 

[jondilly1974]

The Mega line does not have adjustable links, so your toe and camber are preset from the factory. If you want to make adjustments, you will need the adjustable links from the 3S line.

 

[Normand_Nadon]

You can get a dusty motor cover or use panty hose to keep dirt out. I don't have a Senton but other models get stuff inside the chassis also, just the way it is. I seen vechicles run in the grass that had so much stuff inside that you could feed a cow.

Okay, thanks for the panty hose tip... But still the truck is meant to do off road and running it with the cover directs everything in the components "tray" inside the chassis... it is kind of a stupid design in my opinion... The truck is nice, don't get me wrong, but there are "rough edges" on the design side of things - to my taste!

Tow in on rear helps it track better, almost every rig I've owner has toe in in the rear. As for the front, you can adjust it the way you like. These RTRs are thrown together at the factory, every rig will not be the same, that's why RTR means ready to rebuild.

I have seen pictures and they are all made this way... I guess that if you are going in S-Shaped tracks all the time, it makes sense... But I find that it makes it nearly uncontrollable in straight line! Before I adjusted the front end to neutral alignement, the truck would not be able to reach full speed... It would always enter in an uncontrollable spin... That is not pleasant! I am pretty sure that with the rear end straight, the car would handle even better... Like a real car would!

The Mega line does not have adjustable links, so your toe and camber are preset from the factory. If you want to make adjustments, you will need the adjustable links from the 3S line.

It is a 3S BLX... Front has Toe adjustment, but not the back.

 

[roondog]

The debris is really a rc body issue where it covers the wheels. Vehicles like the kraton avoid it because the body does not cover the wheels. All sct trucks really have the debris issue though. Dusty cover is your best bet unless you have a pair of pantyhose readily available.

 

[Arrmature]

Why does the car have toe-in on the back and toe-out up front...

Not sure, but I can make an educated guess. Toe in leads to stability - if the car veers left, the toe in will naturally bring it back to the right. If you were able to adjust the rear to neutral toe (which you can't) you would have all kinds of stability problems. Unlike road cars, there is quite a bit of play in both the axles and the tie rod ends. If you did manage to get neutral toe in the back, the truck would be uncontrollable. The toe in keeps the axles and tie rod ends under enough pressure to keep them predictable.

I've played around with the front and have decided that toe out is the way to go. Toe out leads to instability, but instability has another name - maneuverability.

I have no wobbles in my Granite or Typhon, although I did go with a stronger spring in the servo saver in both. You might want to look for loose parts,

 

[Mr.Vylan]

I also own the Senton BLX and it was my first Arrma vehicle. I've learned to ignore the debris that gets pushed into the chassis area. I've tweaked my toe and camber adjustment several times including upgrading to aftermarket shocks (stiffer and allows for micro-adjustments). I also purchased the Spektrum DX5C and SR6100AT to take advantage of their AVC system. My car is extremely stable, fast, and drives true. It is set up pavement and with a swap out to dirt tires (12mm conversion), it rocks in the dirt. I now own three Arrma vehicles (Senton, Kraton EXB, Felony), and all three drive different and have subtle toe-in/out settings.

And, as you know the toe and camber adjustment is based on your driving style and how you want it to turn, track, and the overall feel.

 

[Jason537]

I made a top cover out of screen door mesh and secure it with velco, this will get remodeled when I install my BRCC side frame deflectors. I adjusted my rear camber links to about -2 which helps with the toe-in a little but helps more with the rear tires wearing properly.

The biggest issue with debris is the full SC body,.. in short time I will be switching to the BRCC body or something similar.

 

[MrJoe]

Had the same issue with debris and dirt in mine. I used disposable catering hair nets available on Amazon and keep all of the rubbish out.

 

[K-BASH]

As jason537 said big rock crew cab frame rails HELP ALOT.bolt right up to senton.but must remove nerf bars.id rather save electronics than have nerfs.

 

[Jay R]

Seconded on the hair net. Not perfect but it keeps out 90% of what gets in before you fit it.

 

[Fyxxterzc]

My 2 cents add is to look into a higher quality receiver with a gyro if the control bothers you much. Whether that means getting a different transmitter too I'm not sure is needed. Nothing wrong with the factory receiver but a gyro/stability controlled receiver is amazing. I changed mine to one and its night and day from it going straight on full punch. On the mega v2 senton before switching it to brushless it was more than adequate, but once it had 3s power behind it it was a bit of a handful without the flysky gt5 system I purchased.

 

[Mr.Vylan]

My 2 cents add is to look into a higher quality receiver with a gyro if the control bothers you much. Whether that means getting a different transmitter too I'm not sure is needed. Nothing wrong with the factory receiver but a gyro/stability controlled receiver is amazing. I changed mine to one and its night and day from it going straight on full punch. On the mega v2 senton before switching it to brushless it was more than adequate, but once it had 3s power behind it it was a bit of a handful without the flysky gt5 system I purchased.

I agree 100%
that was the first thing I did and my DX5C controls all three vehicles and they all run AVC. I dial in the percentage of AVC for steering and throttle per vehicle and driving situation.

I agree 100%
that was the first thing I did and my DX5C controls all three vehicles and they all run AVC. I dial in the percentage of AVC for steering and throttle per vehicle and driving situation.

I had a misspelling, and it said: "per DRINKING situation". I should have kept it.

 

[Normand_Nadon]

My 2 cents add is to look into a higher quality receiver with a gyro if the control bothers you much. Whether that means getting a different transmitter too I'm not sure is needed. Nothing wrong with the factory receiver but a gyro/stability controlled receiver is amazing. I changed mine to one and its night and day from it going straight on full punch. On the mega v2 senton before switching it to brushless it was more than adequate, but once it had 3s power behind it it was a bit of a handful without the flysky gt5 system I purchased.

Thanks for the tip! I have several digital head-lock Gyros from my previous helicopters... Some not stable enough for my helicopters, but surely well enough for a car!
The new remote has 3 channels (Spektrum) and has been updated from the infamous model Arrma included in the beginning of 2019.I have to investigate how the 3rd channel works, but anyways, there is always a trim potentiometer on a gyro if you don't have a spare channel to adjust it...

Would you use the gyro in head-lock mode or in rate mode only?

 

[Fyxxterzc]

To be honest mine was a built in plug and play into the flysky receiver. I just turn it on as a transmitter option. My realm of knowledge to how it works or other setups stops there currently.

 

[Wankel]

I agree 100% on both counts! Doing full speed runs on my street, the car is impossible to track straight under full accel. I too noticed the severe toe out, and have also dialed mine back in to neutral. Definitely a difference, but I think to really track straight, I need to replace the steering linkage (not to mention a gyro).

And yeah - how could Arrma design the truck without at least SOME effort to keep dirt out. BY THE WAY!!!!: as fall is approaching, be careful of OAKS. Little acorns fit perfectly in the chassis holes and jam up the steering servo.

 

[MrJoe]

To overcome the dirt and gravel getting in from below i placed some gorilla tape on the underside of the vehicle. Does a good job keeping some of the dirt out

 

[Yonic]

I have seen pictures and they are all made this way... I guess that if you are going in S-Shaped tracks all the time, it makes sense... But I find that it makes it nearly uncontrollable in straight line! Before I adjusted the front end to neutral alignement, the truck would not be able to reach full speed... It would always enter in an uncontrollable spin... That is not pleasant! I am pretty sure that with the rear end straight, the car would handle even better... Like a real car would!

But real cars also have toe-in in the rear.

It's actually aids in straight line, for turns you'de better be without it. it also takes the slop out.

As for the fronts, toe-in balances the car to center, and tow-out to get off center, that's why the fronts is set with toe-out, to aid in turns. If you prefer driving in straight lines then set the front for toe-in as well like the rears. Neutral is not very good as there's no force on the wheels and then the slop is making the car is unpredictable.

 

[Jason537]

I agree 100% on both counts! Doing full speed runs on my street, the car is impossible to track straight under full accel. I too noticed the severe toe out, and have also dialed mine back in to neutral. Definitely a difference, but I think to really track straight, I need to replace the steering linkage (not to mention a gyro).

And yeah - how could Arrma design the truck without at least SOME effort to keep dirt out. BY THE WAY!!!!: as fall is approaching, be careful of OAKS. Little acorns fit perfectly in the chassis holes and jam up the steering servo.

I used a hot glue gun and covered the 2 openings under the belly with some clear thin plastic. Glue pulls off really easy if need to access screws.

 

[ho lee chit]

Ran in gravel today and had to turn the car over every minute because it would steer in only one direction due to a little stone.

After 7 minutes one rear wheel flew of. The 7mm nut was still in place with a piece of an axle. I'll have to figure out what that's all about