Senton How do the plastic 3s diffs hold up?

[Starfox2005]

Just wondering because I have a friend who is looking to get into land RC and I'm wondering if the plastic diffs are a deal breaker between deciding between Arrma and the equivalent Traxxas. Thanks guys!

 

[Exc3l]

They hold up perfectly. Some even run them on 6s.

 

[grihn]

They've always held up fine for me. Of course, you can upgrade the diff case to aluminum if you want, and you can add steel gears if you want, but if you're sticking with 3s, it's not really necessary IMO.

 

[TN-RC]

(From a mechanical point (I have never owned one)) they are the same Diff's that they run 4s on I have heard that the plastic pinon for the diff snaps.

 

[Cereal_killer]

Still haven't touched the girlfriend's senton. Which has more than enough 4s and one 6s run abuse so. It's been pretty good that I haven't had to tear it down

 

[pug]

No issues after a year of owning my Typhon 3s.

 

[norcalsc]

if you are like me and feel you have to waste money on something, then get the Arrma/Hot Racing metal diffs, but there was NO need for me to do so. the plastic ones were doing just fine in my Typhon 3s

 

[419RC]

I have 3 3s cars in my house and I’m the only one who had had to change out two rear differential input gears. I attribute it to my driving style. It’s also an extremely quick swap for new ones if you get backups from Jenny’s.

 

[Peteyk49]

Just get the hot racing diff yokes and you’ll be fine… we run my sons brcc on 4s and tried 6s once.

 

[TN-RC]

wow I did not know that the plastic ones where that good. I thought that if you wanted to go 4s it was a must to go steal.

 

[rjinaz]

I've only had one diff fail on my and that was after about 30 runs.
I ran it hard, but even then, it still functioned. Just started to slip a bit on hard takeoffs.

Note: Do not lock up your slipper clutch if you plan on bashing. That's what caused my rear diff damage. Guess I gave the screw one or two too many turns. Oops...

 

[Yonic]

On lighter wheels/tires like the sentin or typhon they will last what it feels like infinity . They are really good.

 

[Velodromed]

Just wondering because I have a friend who is looking to get into land RC and I'm wondering if the plastic diffs are a deal breaker between deciding between Arrma and the equivalent Traxxas. Thanks guys!

They are extremely good. I have four, 3s cars and after 6 months to a year+ of heavy use between them, I’ve only stripped one and it was a year old one and my error. Just research, or have your friend research, the proper way to shim and set them up.

They are extremely good. I have four, 3s cars and after 6 months to a year+ of heavy use between them, I’ve only stripped one and it was a year old one and my error. Just research, or have your friend research, the proper way to shim and set them up.

I also have hot racing yokes in the two cars i run 80% of the time. And I only use super lube or similar silicon PTFE fortified grease and not much at that. Not not too much, too much is bad! And I clean the diff/input gear often, at every six runs or so and inspect, switch the shim if needed or add one etc. I pay much more attention to the rear. It’s easier to get to and takes the most stress. I only mess with the front around half as much.

 

[K-BASH]

I've stripped 4 diffs,always rear,4,6s..you put bigger,heavier tires that grip ,it'll go....did 1 with a set of 1/8 buggy paddles doing holeshot roostertails...smaller tires that'll spin some an all good.showed this video many times,but here's my opinion

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

I personally think they are a weak point. I've destroyed many diffs and input gears. Replaced the one in my Typhon with the steel version and it is solid. Worth the money. My Senton sits on the bench with its plastic rear diff clicking.

 

[Revomikey]

They are rock solid.

 

[jlatimore3]

For me they have been a weak point when compared to Traxxas. My Granite, Big rock, and Typhon have all had to get front/rear diff or input gears replaced at some point due to stripping. I've never had to replace any input gear and diff gears on my Traxxas 3s cars. When the plastic diffs move around in the Arrma diff yokes, they get too tight or loose and can cause strippage. Like someone mentioned earlier, shimming the diff or getting the HR aluminum diff yokes would prevent it from happening, but that is upgrades and time spent messing with them. The diffs are cheap if you get replacements from kit breakers like JennyRC but still an annoyance to fix. If your friend just wants to pull out a car and lightly bash, I recommend a Traxxas car. If they are mechanically inclined and don't mind wrenching if needed I'd recommended Arrma. My Arrmas outperform my Traxxas cars but need more wrenching.

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

For me they have been a weak point when compared to Traxxas. My Granite, Big rock, and Typhon have all had to get front/rear diff or input gears replaced at some point due to stripping. I've never had to replace any input gear and diff gears on my Traxxas 3s cars. When the plastic diffs move around in the Arrma diff yokes, they get too tight or loose and can cause strippage. Like someone mentioned earlier, shimming the diff or getting the HR aluminum diff yokes would prevent it from happening, but that is upgrades and time spent messing with them. The diffs are cheap if you get replacements from kit breakers like JennyRC but still an annoyance to fix. If your friend just wants to pull out a car and lightly bash, I recommend a Traxxas car. If they are mechanically inclined and don't mind wrenching if needed I'd recommended Arrma. My Arrmas outperform my Traxxas cars but need more wrenching.

This is my experience too. Never done a diff in my Team Associated or my BSD Racing rigs but all my 3s rigs had diff issues so I sold them all and just have the Senton left, which currently is down with a stripped rear diff. I drive daily, several packs a day so I'm a heavy user and need rigs that take daily abuse and use. That's why my go to Arrma is my 6s Typhon. That thing is built to last.

 

[slick2500]

In 3 years I have only ever stripped 1 plastic diff but I also snapped the chassis at the same time.

 

[TN-RC]

It is amazing how some people have no problems, and some have a lot of problems with their Diff's (I think this is a way to know how people drive their rigs ).