Recommended Arrma 4x4 BLX and Mega Upgrades

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The Arrma 4x4 Mega Granite/Senton is a pretty solid platform out of the box, but like most any other RC there are some weak points that can certainly be improved upon. Below we'll look at a few of those weak points and provide alternatives to fix said points.

If the Arrma Mega 4x4 is your first RC then there are going to be a few things you'll need first.

Required items for an Arrma 4x4 Mega



Batteries - The Arrma 4x4 Mega supports either a 7 cell NiMh or 2S LiPo battery pack.

My recommendation would be to go with a 2s LiPo pack and would suggest checking out SMC LiPo battery packs. However if you are looking for a list of suggested brands check out our "Budget LiPo of choice" thread.

LiPo Charging Sack - If you are going to go with a LiPo battery you MUST use a LiPo charging sack. These things are silly cheap and offer a huge amount of protection in the event a LiPo starts to go south.

*If you are not using a LiPo battery you can forgo getting a charging sack*

Battery Charger - For someone getting into RC and looking for a good bang for their buck, I would recommend checking out the Dynamite Prophet Sport Duo charger. It will easily charge dual 2S LiPo or 7 cell NiMh packs at the same time allowing you to get back to racing/bashing quicker.

If you want other suggestions, check out our Recommend me a battery charger thread.

4x AA batteries - The 4x AA batteries are used in the transmitter that is included with the Arrma 4x4 Mega trucks. I'm would recommend getting Eneloop rechargeable batteries. Either the Panasonic Eneloop or Eneloop Pro (higher capacity, longer run time).


That about wraps up the required items, now onto the recommended Arrma Mega 4x4 upgrades!

Most Recommended Upgrades for the Arrma 4x4 Mega



Servo - Soon after the Granite/Senton 4x4 Mega trucks was released, several people reported issues with the included servo.

An inexpensive upgrade would be the Savox SW-0231MG servo which has metal gears, faster and MUCH stronger than the stock servo - and it's also waterproof. A near bulletproof upgrade (maybe even a bit over kill ;)) would be a Savox SW1211SG or Savox SC-1256TG digital servo (probably want to pick up a BEC while you're at it too if you go with the 1256 servo).

Servo Saver - In the same breath we recommend a new servo, the stock servo saver is in need of some help as well. I don't think the stock servo saver hasn't saved many servos and looks like a knock off of a Kimbrough.

Skip the issues and get a legit Kimbrough #123 servo saver instead.

Shocks - We get a lot of questions about this one and right now these are the most commonly suggested and used shock upgrades:

Bearings - I've said it before and will say it again, stock bearings in nearly any RC stink. Get yourself a set of NICE bearings from Team Fast Eddy - he offers both a Granite and Senton bearing kit for the Mega 4x4's.


Aside from the above, there have been several people ask about 17mm hex adapters and a common reply is to buying a set of these 17mm adapters that so far seem to be working very well for members here.

Finally I would suggest anyone looking for more information, tips and other mods check out these useful threads below:

Please, if you have other suggested upgrades, mods or tips for the Arrma 4x4 Mega Granite or Senton trucks please share below!
 
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This is an awesome truck. I've already upgraded to a brushless setup and upgraded the servo to an Arrma with metal gears. It doesn't do wheelies, but it's fast, and is very solid. Bashed it 4 or 5 times and only a hairline fracture to the lower front bumper (fixed with epoxy). :D
 
I drive, crash, and jump my senton pretty hard, some of the stuff that broke is the front skid plate, front bumper, and the front shock shaft. From my browsing of the forums those are pretty common breaks and it would probably be good to buy those upgrades when you buy the truck. Surprisingly my stock servo has survived for a while but I replaced it anyway, the metal-tooth one doesn't have to be re-trimmed as much.

This is my first hobby-grade RC and I bought it because it looked simple to maintain, and it really is not hard to replace stuff and tinker with for a beginner. I'm probably going to keep it brushed and buy a kraton later, haha.
 
Update 5/11/20-

For your steering not centering, this is common with the Mega's, here is what I did -

First - Bearings - the bell crank rides on plastic bushings that wear quickly and create lots of slop. Replace these with bearings will help tremendously. Most bearing kits will include these bearings.

2 - Check each pivot ball for smooth action. I had several that were sticking. Tweak them buy giving them a squeeze with pliers till they move free. Check every pivot ball, get them all moving free.

3 - My servo save was dragging on my chassis. I added a washer under the servo to raise the servo (and SS) up a bit, so it will no longer drag.


After these three things were done, my Granite steering is rock solid. The only slop is minor, and 90% of it is in the servo saver (can't be avoided with this style of SS). Steering centers great, and is very predictable now. Best of all, I didn't really need to buy anything, as the bearings came in the bearing kit I already had for the truck.

Jerry


Edit- now that the 17t HD input is available, that would be a better upgrade vs this DIY.

 
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Jerry, will a bearing (taken apart) with 9-10mm OD work as a spacer for the yeti spur? I don’t have access to a work shop so I’m trying to get creative.
 
You need one with a 10mm ID, and 4mm width. The OD of the bearing does not matter. The black ring where the spacer rides has a 10mm OD, you need the spacer to fit over that.
 
I meant the part inside the spur gear, I saw in your video you used a strip of a soda can to remove the slop between spur gear and shaft that it rides on.
 
I broke the front bumper on my Granite 4x4 Mega. Planning on upgrading it to a Tbone. I'm already brushless. Are there there any other *structural* upgrades I should do?
 
I meant the part inside the spur gear, I saw in your video you used a strip of a soda can to remove the slop between spur gear and shaft that it rides on.

Over in @Megasty 's Granite 4x4 thread, he talks about doing this. I think he started with a 10mm ID bearing race, and milled it down fit the HR gear. Check his thread for details. That thread is where I got my inspiration for my spur swap, and my HD diff input mod.
 
I ended up using a soda can and eye balling it with scissors lol...

If you’re going to do this mod. Make sure that the bearing you are using as spacer has a flat face or you will spend 3 hours trying to figure out why your spur is wobbly lol.
 
LOL...

Yeah, with the soda can method, you can't really get the spur 100% centered - it will always be off by 1/2 the thickness of the can skin. But with 32p teeth, I don't think it matters. At walking speed, I can hear my spur going wa-wa-wa-wa. but I don't think it matters.
 
Shocks - We get a lot of questions about this one and right now these are the most commonly suggested and used shock upgrades:
Just a question. Why can't we used Senton 6s shock on Mega? Too short...?

IMG_1438.JPG


Thanks for all the Thread info.
PL
 
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You don't want to use shorter shocks, especially if you're doing big jumps. The suspension won't have enough downtravel.

On my Granite BLX, I would actually like some slightly longer rear shocks.
 
Thanks for the link. The green ones seem cool, I like blue but that powder blue isn't it. I think I'm gonna order these now, coming from China I might not get them until like a month from now and by then I might need new shocks.

Another question, are there any more options for body mounts? I don't want to deal with body clips and would rather use the screw on caps like the proline ones. I guess there might be nothing on this yet right?
 
Thanks for the link. The green ones seem cool, I like blue but that powder blue isn't it. I think I'm gonna order these now, coming from China I might not get them until like a month from now and by then I might need new shocks.

Another question, are there any more options for body mounts? I don't want to deal with body clips and would rather use the screw on caps like the proline ones. I guess there might be nothing on this yet right?
I want the silver ones but I don't want to wait a month to get them.

I would think you can mod the stock mounts to accept these https://www.prolineracing.com/performance-parts/pro-line-body-mount-thumbwasher-kit.asp
 
Good idea with the modding. My front mounts are pretty messed up already from landing upside down so I might order a new set and try to mod the old ones. I already have that thumbwasher kit on my Stampede so I can try it out.
 
Has anyone done the proline mod with that thumb washer kit? I bought that kit, but it looks like there is not enough on the bottom of the mount to be able to seat the stud in?
 
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