Senton Senton Identity Crisis Build aka "TNDKWHD"

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Greengaunja

Ise da by' dat burns da Senton........
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Durham Region, Ontario Canuckistan
Arrma RC's
  1. Senton 6s
  2. Senton 3s
Ok. SENTON 6S build or better yet, re-build. Last February, I started a build on my Senton 6s. The build kept changing as I tried different parts and different setups. Originally, it was meant to run on a Max6 and the BLX 2050. Now, it was mighty fast on this set up yet my 3s was faster. And I determined the reason was the weight of the 6s. I intentionally tried to swap out composite parts for aluminum to add weight to test a theory. I was trying to counter the parachute factor with a combination of Scorched fenders and weight to keep the truck planted. I figured 4 tires planted with traction would equal more speed. And we all know the Sentons (3 or 6s) has a rough time staying down. I figured speed was lost here. Then Notorious J comes along with a hopped up on steroids Granite and does a couple of test runs. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, he blows out his center shaft. Rather than calling it a day, he up and removes the shaft and figures, RWD runs.
Now, I bring him and those runs up for a reason. Notice above where I figure 4 wheels spinning with traction has to be faster? He disproved that. He actually achieved higher top speed with RWD than 4x4. And ever since I saw that, I have been burning midnight oil looking for a way to incorporate that. I spoke with other people about how that was possible and the best answer I've seen was simplicity. Less moving parts means less strain on motor and more torque to rear. Makes sense, right?
Doesn't help me too much as I'm too far along to consider a RWD Senton.
Instead, I'm building in a manner that defies conventional logic in an RC racer.
And it doesn't matter if I'm successful or not. I'm new. I'm learning. But more importantly, my son and I are having a ball with it.
Prebuild:
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Now, before we begin, as this is my second building of this same car in 3 months, allow me to share some things I wish someone wiser told me:
don't BUY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE A PLAN AND GOAL. Otherwise you find yourself getting CC happy and buying everything associated with your rc. Heck, I would have bought garbage if the garbage bag had Senton written on it.
don't PLAN WITHOUT A GOAL. Whether you are building a general truck to kick around, basher to send, or speed runner don't deviate from the GOAL. Don't buy GRPs for bashers or Trenchers for speed runners.
KEEP THE PLAN ON TRACK TO MEET THE GOAL. Yes, that part looks sharp. And trying that mod trick you read about would be kickers. But does it help you go faster or strengthen the truck?
THE PLAN SHOULD INCLUDE EVERYTHING NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL. Write your shopping list now. Everything. Tear down the truck before you write that list. Ain't nobody got time for surprises, replace what needs replacing and get what needs getting. Or else you end up with multiples or enough parts to build another Senton 6s. And a hole in your wallet.

Trust me, those 4 rules to abide by in builds will save you thousands. Or you end up(like me) with a $3000 Senton 6s and not much to show for it. Bounce your ideas off of people here. Pay no mind to people on FB. Those guys only said it was ok to do that so they could roast marshmallows over the burning embers of what was once your RC. In fact, that should be the 5th rule.
PAY NO MIND TO FACEBOOK

Now it is
 
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Senton 6s is an icon👍
I can confirm I follow your facebook rule, since don’t have an account. The first rule about only buying things that fit within a plan… 🤔 Your reasoning makes perfect sense, but can’t say I follow that rule. Part of the fun for me is searching for things out there you can buy. My spare parts bin is full of things bought without a plan😂
 
Well said ! Even though I stuck to a master plan with minimal deviation my Senton 3s project was a money 💰 vacuum. I’m sure you’ll agree that the satisfaction and gratification pretty much makes it worth while. That being said….personally I do suffer a little bit of buyers remorse.😝💸
 
Ok.. before I get into the latest build, I will update on what was done the the 6s that changed it from what I originally purchased. I meant to do a build thread on that but life and limited time kept me from doing so.
Firstly, initial runs with punch maxed showed me that like the 3s, she wants to pop up on the front end. I could have installed a wheelie bar except I don't want it to wheelie. So I decided to make what I'm calling an "Anti-Wheelie Wheelie bar" lol. I wanted something that would add to the overall look and create a drag or bounce back down. So I mounted a rear tire. It wasn't complicated, I simply used two light fixture bracket and, mounting stem, stem nut, and two small bolts and nuts to lock it onto the rear bumper.
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So, not only does it look nice it actually serves a purpose by functionally helping to keep it down. Here's a video of the initial test of the setup. The 6s has my 3s body on as I was doing some work on the 6s body.
Next step, I removed every single part of the truck. Everything was thoroughly cleaned and decreased with Simple Green baths.
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Looks good but seemed like it still wheelied lol. Have you turned the punch down to the lowest setting as that should help keep the front down.
 
Looks good but seemed like it still wheelied lol. Have you turned the punch down to the lowest setting as that should help keep the front down.
Yeah it wheelied but didn't stay up. I will experiment but that's the old blx185 and blx 2050kv. I have HW Max6 and 1650kv now.
Yeah it wheelied but didn't stay up. I will experiment but that's the old blx185 and blx 2050kv. I have HW Max6 and 1650kv now.
Also, it's driven with DumboRC, which I didn't like too much
 
Ok, carrying on.
Long story short, I ordered Scorched fenders to help keep chassis clean and maybe cut back parachuting. And also ordered almost every Hot Racing part made. I had a nice beefy machine. I ditched the BLX185 for a Max6 and had a few initial test runs I wasn't happy with. Sure there was noticeable boosts to acceleration and slight boosts to top speed. Yet I needed this to go ALOT faster than my 3s. Otherwise what's the point?
I conclude that while yes, the Max6 improved the BLX2050's performance I needed to better account for an aspect I factored in with everything except the motor. More weight needs help moving and this means torque. So I got the HW 1650kv.
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And hit another hiccup.
Turns out the Hot Racing mounts were not really fans of bigger cans and spurs. I barely got my motor installed and worked the 16t pinion in(I left it stock for before and after comparsions). This was troublesome as all along I meant to experiment with gearing, and learn a thing or two. End goal 34/40. Anyways, this left my set up a bit dodgy and meshed a notch or two tighter than desired. But I just worked my butt off and wanted to see my money at work.

Well, motor set up, calibrated. Double calibrated for luck and plans made for some racing. I set up steering, endpoints, throttle, GNSS and made sure gyro was off. Then lightning struck.
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Ka ka happens, especially at 63mph. oh well. It motivated me to make it stronger than ever simply to CRUSH the next one lol.
Since the whole build was worth 2 exb Mojaves with good electronics, it's apparent the noob got ridiculously in over his head. So how do I one up that ridiculousness?
 
I went with a max6/4092 1730kv hobbystar and it's absurd on 24/46. I think the badlands buggy tires might hook up TOO well but it's a blast!

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Love the gold on Black on your body. I went with silver. Glad you posted this as I have been trying to get info about the HR center brace. I can get the brace caps, and both mounts for mine. I was debating this because I had two questions, and your pic answered the one regarding front mount. I thought it was installed in place of the steering plate. Love that it's on top.
Do you know if the brace can/will work with the center body support?
 
Love the gold on Black on your body. I went with silver. Glad you posted this as I have been trying to get info about the HR center brace. I can get the brace caps, and both mounts for mine. I was debating this because I had two questions, and your pic answered the one regarding front mount. I thought it was installed in place of the steering plate. Love that it's on top.
Do you know if the brace can/will work with the center body support?
I would think as long as there is clearance between the diff case and that support it would, or you could make room and change the brace a little.
I would think as long as there is clearance between the diff case and that support it would, or you could make room and change the brace a little.
Here’s some measurements for you
I would think as long as there is clearance between the diff case and that support it would, or you could make room and change the brace a little.

Here’s some measurements for you
Roughly 12mm above the center diff case on a v4 diff
 

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I would think as long as there is clearance between the diff case and that support it would, or you could make room and change the brace a little.
Yeah.. im worried as a necessary tweak may have caused an issue there. More on that sometime today but might have to tweak some more to make up for the tweaks already done. And the issue it may have made can be resolved with a centre brace.
 
Yeah.. im worried as a necessary tweak may have caused an issue there. More on that sometime today but might have to tweak some more to make up for the tweaks already done. And the issue it may have made can be resolved with a centre brace.
Basherqueen makes a carbon fiber brace already made up, that’s where I got that one from on ebay
 
Ok, while waiting on parts ordered, I decided to start rebuilding my Senton back up.
Issue #1: The adjustable motor doesn't have very much room to play with pinions. I admit, this one caught me by surprise. First noticed when I had no room to put the mount insert into the mount with motor and pinion installed. I also didn't like the tightness of the motor touching the chassis. This called for two mods to be made.
First, and most importantly, I needed room to go alot more teeth on the pinions.
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First pic shows 27t next to the 16t pinion and the second shows how I wouldn't even get the 27t meshed. So I drilled and tapped a new hole.
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There, plently of room now. I plan to make a bolt plate for the top and use both bolt holes to tighten and make up for any loss in structural integrity
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With that out of the way, we can now move on to the next problem.
Issue# 2: the HW 4985 can touches the the chassis. This issue seemed a harder one to overcome until another member pointed out what he had to do. That's one thing I love about this Forum, sometimes the best solution is the most simple one. He used washers to raise up the mount assembly. I did the same.
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In total, I raised it 1/8th of an inch. Whenever you raised something, you throw other parts out of whack too. In this case, the front and rear center shafts are now a little too close to the upper end of the shaft notches in the tower braces. Because there is some flex to the chassis that will cause the shafts to rub the braces, I had to rethink this build. I'm holding out hope that installing a tower to tower brace will eliminate this possibility. More parts to order now.

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Ok, as noted in post above, I felt a center brace was necessary to eliminate potential flexing in chassis. That leads to my latest "hold up" to sending Senton to infinity and beyond. I decided to try doing my own carbon fiber parts. I was inspired by BasherQueens 6S ESC plate. I like how it was done but feel I can improve on it. And I also need to make a plate for my HR battery tray. Gonna go old school and use my router(ordered carbon fiber cnc/router bits)
Also, the mod done to the HR motor mount to allow bigger pinions wasn't necessary. I gain the room I needed by reducing the spur to Limitless 40t spur. Fits like a glove!
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Another thing that kept me busy the last week or so was building a counter to my "failure to launch" of the cliff the week before. So I tasked my son with sourcing materials from the garage so we could build a "launch pad". I'm impressed, that apple fell close to the tree.
None of the material was bought(for this project. The wood, stain, friction tape, nickle cabinet handles are all unreturnable stock from previous jobs. The hinges were "take offs" from another job. Kid drove most of the screws in and did the friction tape and stain himself.
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ĺ,
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Also did some arts and crafts. The issue is I did too good that I don't want to mount it. Too good the be used.
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WANTED: JEDI SPEED MASTER FOR OLD PADAWAN

Now, the objective to this speed run build is 100mph on stock body. Hasn't changed but will go slightly off track. Remember the drunken Kraton? Same guy bought an XO-1 roller. His first run, he asked me to race him. And with the 8s not finished, I had to race him with the 3s. And surprisingly, I beat his @ss like bongo drums. He was running mamt0ba 2 and blx 2050. In fairness to him, I will point ou t he raced before being complety.
Well 2 weeks of "trash talking" eachother not only has our group looking forward to this race, it's drawn attention from other local groups.
General consensus is, I'm retarded for bringing a Senton into this and I'm going to blow up RC.
Fair enough.
I wanna know how BAD my rc is gonna blow up lol.
Max6 HW1650kv 32-34/40 8s
 
Ok, as noted in post above, I felt a center brace was necessary to eliminate potential flexing in chassis. That leads to my latest "hold up" to sending Senton to infinity and beyond. I decided to try doing my own carbon fiber parts. I was inspired by BasherQueens 6S ESC plate. I like how it was done but feel I can improve on it. And I also need to make a plate for my HR battery tray. Gonna go old school and use my router(ordered carbon fiber cnc/router bits)
Also, the mod done to the HR motor mount to allow bigger pinions wasn't necessary. I gain the room I needed by reducing the spur to Limitless 40t spur. Fits like a glove!View attachment 154252
This is the second pinion photo I see this week, that got my looking at the ones I just bought. These photos made me doubt whether or not I mistakenly bought 1/24th scale pinions, but luckily they say 1/8th scale.😂
 
Ok. Been a pretty minute since I posted anything, but you know how it goes. Work, kids, summer equals less time. But my build hasn't been forgotten. In fact, finished the final touches last night.
Said I wanted to do a Senton 8S EXB and I do believe that's what I have.
Now, the following may sound crazy but bear in mind, testing already done.

HobbyWing Max6 and HW1650kv running 34/40.

Now, one thing had me a little worried. Because I have almost every Hot Racing part known for this model(notable absence are the bulkheads), I DOUBLED its weight. That is, if the listed 3.8kg(8.4 lbs) I found is correct, I'm now 16.2lbs with dual 4s batteries.

Most say weight isn't wanted for RCs. I believe I may have hit on a happy medium with my setup. I have speed, zero lift, zero parachuting, minimal slip on full throttle, zero tipping potential, nice slides.
I still wonder if I can achieve 100 MPH with this setup. Current top speed is 87 MPH but I keep running out of room.

I'm drooped so low, there's barely any shock action, which essentially means I need to choose the surface I run on carefully. One lot I ran in had cracks in the asphalt. I hit one full throttle and the chassis slap catapulted her spiralling clear into the air amid a shower of sparks(the best accidents always happen when not videoing, anyone else notice that?)

Now, yes the gearing and weight all seem to contradict eachother. And really, it does. My first 8s run ended with the ESC shutting down due to temps. No damaged and I wrote it off to "noobish me forgot to plug the fans in". But running 5 fans seems to be doing the trick and keeping it all nice and cool. For now at least.

I've gotten some flack on FB over this build. "Just because you throw in some EXB parts doesn't make it an EXB'
Fair enough but let's clarify some things. Parts? There's only 1 and that's the 7075 EXB SWB chassis. Yet what does EXB even mean? Extreme Bash. So one can take that to mean a build made to take a beating. Check out this video and judge for yourself:
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That concrete block in the video? I lfyed it and estimate its weight to be between 60 and 80 lbs. My baby rocked the poop outta it! And begged for more!
Drunken Kratons BEWARE!

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Great build for sure! Man my custom build looks similar to your Senton but in reality besides some small differences my custom build is basically a 6s Senton. Differences being Mojave arms, driveshafts etc. Limitless rear tower, Typhon front tower, felony body mounts, Typhon front Mojave rear shocks.
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