ET410 by HeavyBag

[RustyUs]

I remember when I first started reading RC forums; there had been, for years, thoughts of modifying a stadium truck into a 4wd "animal". Time past, and OFNA did it. They (OFNA/HoBao) put out the Hyper 10-TT. I thought that was just plain 4wd stadium truck greatness! I couldn't see myself coming up with the money at the time. Well, a rock racer, and a 1/8 scale buggy later, I was looking into finally purchasing the Hyper 10-TT...OFNA then fades away into RC history .

There has been a few 4wd STs on the market since the Hyper, but nothing that stood out to me. Most of the 1/10 scale 4wd "ST" offerings seemed too low in quality to me. I've always wanted a Tekno RC platform. The SCT410.3 has been in my wishlist for a long time. Just as my wife was very close to pulling the trigger on the SCT410.3, all this talk about a 4 wheel drive stadium truck from Tekno RC was happening.

Starting point for the ET410 will be with some left over spare parts/electronics that I had for my other RCs.

 

[RustyUs]

The only concern with the build is the one diff gear having rough/high spot on it. Hopefully, after a pack or two, everything will be broken in.

Some of TBR's bumpers have weird angles to them. Thankfully, there is more than one option for a particular platform (a lot of the times). I wasn't diggin' the other two styles of front bumpers. T-Bone Racing's 57023 Bastion Front Bumper will be used to help soften front end blows. The Bastion bumper is 3.175mm thick instead of the standard 2.36mm for the EB410 Line of TBR Parts. Plus, I think the Bastion bumper looks "the part" with the two mean-ish looking cut outs.

Unless you have a discount code for TBR's website, you can find the TBR bumper cheaper on eBay.

 

[Billl DeLong]

Congrats on the new build, definitely a high quality product for sure!

Hopefully your servo offers at least 250 oz-in of torque, these ET410's chew through weaker servo gears pretty quickly, ha!

I was looking into finally purchasing the Hyper 10-TT...OFNA then fades away into RC history .

Just to clarify, OFNA was once a distributor in the US and many people thought they were a manufacturer, but the OEM for the Hyper-10TT is HoBao, some other brands that OFNA used to distribute was for HongNor who also retired a few years ago, he sold his designs to RedCat, and OFNA also carried TeamC who is trying to re-establish themselves but are struggling... OFNA carried a few other brands like ActiveHobby and Nanda.

Anyway, HoBao has since broken off into their own distribution channel in the US and you can still get Hyper10TT parts here:
http://eshop.hobao-racing.com/c/rc-parts_hyper-10-tt_hyper-10-tt-e

My only complaint with the 10TT is that it never had proper team driver support and is a VERY dated design that needs a major overhaul in order to get up to speed with all the features that TEKNO offers.

I am planning to sell my ET410 later this summer once the PR Racing 401R-T is released, they have addressed many of the weak points that are lacking from TEKNO

 

[smirkracing]

Bill, you’re swapping your et410 for the 401RT?

That is a big move. Can you share what weak points are improved in the 401 truck vs the et410?

 

[Billl DeLong]

I personally haven't had any significant durability concerns with my ET410, I've had my share of nasty tumbles from time to time and I feel it takes a fare share of reasonable abuse, however it's definitely not bullet-proof. The weakest part of the design is the front bulk head, and they have made significant improvements with a locking A-block into the chassis, I still see folks breaking the front bulk head from time to time which also has a tendency to bend a front arm pin, usually damaging pill inserts and snapping an arm or severely wallowing out the hole where the pin goes through

$12 - Arms
$25 - Bulkheads
$10 - Pill Inserts
$8 - Hinge Pins
$12 - Chassis Brace

You're looking at an easy $70+ in parts after tax to make the repair from a single bad wreck at the track if you want to finish your race day... a savvy consumer would then ship the broken parts into TEKNO for 50% warranty, but I have issue with their overpriced shipping fees when replacing bodies. I've been keeping tabs on the long haul for maintaining my TEKNO fleet and with a sponsorship from PR, I believe there is opportunity for me to save some cash and have a more durable platform to race by making the switch to PR.

I also see folks breaking spindles and hub carriers on occasion with the ET410.

With PR Racing, the Type R includes a fully upgraded chassis with carbon towers, aluminum spindles/hubs/C blocks and most importantly are aluminum bulkheads! Arms are reversible so you're not stuck with too many arms of one side... I know a guy at the track sitting on 4 extra arms for his right side because he keep busting left arms on a tricky section of the track that he hasn't mastered yet

As for me, I typically snap a ball cup on occasion, which isn't bad at all, most of my wall taps are fairly light. I have broken a couple bulkheads and bent pins but not very often, I'm a relatively clean driver.

 

[RustyUs]

I was waiting for PR Racing 401R-T's street price to be spat out somewhere. Maybe it was, and I missed it?

The deal breaker for me was the military discount Tekno RC offers when I purchased the ET410. If PR Racing can produce a kit for me to build, and arrive at my front door for under four bills, then the 401R-T would be looked at closer by me. I don't see that happening.

 

[RustyUs]

Congrats on the new build, definitely a high quality product for sure!

Hopefully your servo offers at least 250 oz-in of torque, these ET410's chew through weaker servo gears pretty quickly, ha!...

Servo choice for me was quite simple. My spare parts box had a couple of Associated/Ace XP DS1015 servos stashed in there. If figured, if that servo can handle a couple of years of 8+ lbs. 1/8 buggy abuse; along with running one in a SCT with no servo saver, it should hold up relatively well in the ET410. If not, I got extra gear sets for the XP servo(s). I also have a 319.4 oz / .12 Titanium Gear servo waiting in shopping carts .

I run my RCs on plain old dirt. I'm sure you guys, and gals running on turf covered cement floors, push your servos to the next level. I also don't have my RCs 10' off the ground...searching for the down ramp .

 

[smirkracing]

I was waiting for PR Racing 401R-T's street price to be spat out somewhere. Maybe it was, and I missed it?

The deal breaker for me was the military discount Tekno RC offers when I purchased the ET410. If PR Racing can produce a kit for me to build, and arrive at my front door for under four bills, then the 401R-T would be looked at closer by me. I don't see that happening.

What is the percent off they give for military service?

 

[RustyUs]

Before y'all knock on me for using stock Tekno servo arm, I have an aluminum clamping style waiting for the day to come.

I like to run things stock first before I opt for upgrades. Sometimes you have to see for yourself.

 

[RustyUs]

What is the percent off they give for military service?

50% off retail price of kits. 25% off retail price of parts. It boils down to me saving $14.54 compared to me going to online hobby store and using one of those "Save $35.00 off orders of $300.00 or more!" store coupons, and getting free shipping. Every little bit helps. Right?

I'm thankful Tekno RC supports our troops. That means a lot to me.

 

[smirkracing]

Thank you for your service!

I see the price on the Tekno website: $429.99

https://www.teknorc.com/shop/tkr7200-et410-1-10th-4wd-competition-electric-truggy-kit/

That is also the price on most hobby sites like Amain etc.

So do they sell you the kit for $214.99? Or is the 429.99 NOT the “retail” price?

 

[RustyUs]

Thank you for your service!

I see the price on the Tekno website: $429.99

https://www.teknorc.com/shop/tkr7200-et410-1-10th-4wd-competition-electric-truggy-kit/

That is also the price on most hobby sites like Amain etc.

So do they sell you the kit for $214.99? Or is the 429.99 NOT the “retail” price?

Retail price on the ET410 is $699.99 ?

 

[RustyUs]

Having dumped my Yeti to help pay for this little truggy, I had a few spare 120A ESCs laying around. Without having the ET410 kit in front of me, I honestly didn't think a Hobbywing WP-SC8 would find it's way onto the chassis.

I even have enough room to wedge the ON/OFF switch in there. #barely

 

[RustyUs]

I'm all about kickin' up dirt, and Panther is the only tire manufacturer that makes my favorite loose dirt tire, the Step Pin. I had planned on running some Step Pin tires on the ET410. However, my anxiety over Panther not producing their Step Pin ST tires any more, pushed me into my backup plan sooner than I thought...to use SC wheels and knobby SC tires on my stadium trucks. I'm loving the look. The short course tire/wheel combo makes STs look more like a truggy.

Panther did not respond to my pre-Thanksgiving emails. I usually place a large order of tires on Black Friday, but this last one...no specials to be had; along with no stock status on the
T300 Step Pin ST tires. I just assumed Panther was "on their way out". As of about a month ago, Panther has Step Pin tires in stock; ready to ship.

My wheel hex issue has been resolved...for the moment.

Tekno's TKR1654X aluminum +1mm hex adapters arrived today. The TKR1654X hexes measure about 5.51mm wide (including the raised lip). If it was not for that little extra lip on the +1mm hex, there still could possibly be an issue with binding on the hubs. Anticipating this, I have ordered 6mm wide hexes.

 

[Billl DeLong]

Yes, my military pricing on the ET410 shows $350 + $25 shipping for a total of $375

AMain lists the kit for $429 + free shipping and $35 coupon for a total of $394 shipped

That works out to roughly a 5% military discount when all is said and done

I have slowly caught on to the high shipping charges from TEKNO which really cuts into the military discount they offer me, depending on what you buy there are times where AMain is better even with the military discount from TEKNO, so don't take for granted that your military discount will always be the better deal.

As far as pricing on the PR 401R-T, they are supposed to do the reveal sometime this week... and then I'll get you some accurate pricing, not sure how close to "4 bills" it will be, we will soon see!

Now let's take a look at some of the hidden expenses which I've sunk into my ET410 just to help give you a big picture of what the actual price would be in comparison to what already comes standard with the 401R-T

ET410 Kit	$394
Arndtcraft fan shroud/ center carbon brace	$30
Lunsford Shock Mounts	$36
Lunsford Turnbuckles	$32
Aluminum Shock Caps	$36
Front Carbon Brace	$12
VRP +4mm Front Carbon Tower	$20
VRP +4mm Rear Carbon Tower	$20
VRP Front Camber Plate	$12
Trinity Aluminum Steering Rack	$31
Exotek Rear Aluminum Hubs	$34
Exotek Rear Locking Pins	$13
Sway Bar Set Front	$15
Sway Bar Set Rear	$15
Aluminum Servo Arm	$18
SCT410 Hexes	$20

Total = $738

This is the point where the 401R-T starts to become insanely more affordable when you don't have to sink in a small fortune in upgrades

Now if you plan to do moderate bashing and don't need any high performance parts, then perhaps the stock kit parts will do... just some food for thought comparing features... once I get my hands on the kit, I'll definitely do a side by side comparison before I sell my ET410... assuming the 401R-T holds up after a few race days and it performs as well as the 401R has been doing overseas

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Yes, my military pricing on the ET410 shows $350 + $25 shipping for a total of $375

AMain lists the kit for $429 + free shipping and $35 coupon for a total of $394 shipped

That works out to roughly a 5% military discount when all is said and done

I have slowly caught on to the high shipping charges from TEKNO which really cuts into the military discount they offer me, depending on what you buy there are times where AMain is better even with the military discount from TEKNO, so don't take for granted that your military discount will always be the better deal.

As far as pricing on the PR 401R-T, they are supposed to do the reveal sometime this week... and then I'll get you some accurate pricing, not sure how close to "4 bills" it will be, we will soon see!

Now let's take a look at some of the hidden expenses which I've sunk into my ET410 just to help give you a big picture of what the actual price would be in comparison to what already comes standard with the 401R-T

ET410 Kit	$394
Arndtcraft fan shroud/ center carbon brace	$30
Lunsford Shock Mounts	$36
Lunsford Turnbuckles	$32
Aluminum Shock Caps	$36
Front Carbon Brace	$12
VRP +4mm Front Carbon Tower	$20
VRP +4mm Rear Carbon Tower	$20
VRP Front Camber Plate	$12
Trinity Aluminum Steering Rack	$31
Exotek Rear Aluminum Hubs	$34
Exotek Rear Locking Pins	$13
Sway Bar Set Front	$15
Sway Bar Set Rear	$15
Aluminum Servo Arm	$18
SCT410 Hexes	$20

Total = $738

This is the point where the 401R-T starts to become insanely more affordable when you don't have to sink in a small fortune in upgrades

Now if you plan to do moderate bashing and don't need any high performance parts, then perhaps the stock kit parts will do... just some food for thought comparing features... once I get my hands on the kit, I'll definitely do a side by side comparison before I sell my ET410... assuming the 401R-T holds up after a few race days and it performs as well as the 401R has been doing overseas

I'm not sure if you like Tower Hobbies or not, but if you are a member you get discount coupons and you can get the ET410 for $429.99 - $65 for a total of $364.99 with free shipping.

Sorry to go off topic, I just wanted to let you know.

 

[Billl DeLong]

I haven't been a Tower member in years, glad to hear they are still offering that discount program since the bankruptcy, thanks for sharing!

So even if you needed to join as a new member that's $10 + $365 = $375 which is pretty much a wash with the military discount from TEKNO, ha!

I guess it all depends on which state you live too, some folks might get hit with sales tax where I live in Texas and not currently subjected to sales tax whether I buy from TEKNO, AMain or Tower

 

[Billl DeLong]

BTW, I am trying to get a set of these tires here to test:
http://www.pr-rc.com/pdt_view.asp?sn=1829

 

[RustyUs]

Whoa! It's been awhile since I updated this thread on my lil' monster. Sometimes, while living a fast paced life, you forget stuff. Spring is always hectic around here. Anyways ...

 

[WoodiE]

@HeavyBag love that paint job and nice touch taking it back to the wing as well. Nicely done!