ET48.3 or 2.0?

[CloudyyDayz]

So there is an ET48.3 roller with a few extra parts local to me on facebook marketplace for 400$ should i buy it or hold off and get an ET48 2.0?

 

[Nicochau]

$400 is a bit too much for an ET48.3, if you ask me. More like $300 for a roller in decent shape.

If you’re racing, don’t bother, get the 2.0. If you’re bashing, maybe worth negotiating a deal and throwing some m2c goodies at it as well.

 

[KitsAreFun]

I got a ET48 2.0 as roller for $400. Not the best choice for bashing but the price was to good to pass on it. The MT410 is or was on sale for under $400 which shares some parts with the ET48. 3. Wouldn't pay $400 for a ET48.3

 

[RC_User]

right now you can get a new sct410.3 for $305 shipped on amain.com with june coupon. if you're just bashing i'd get that and save a lot of $

but i concur, if racing go for the 2.0

 

[Billl DeLong]

$400 is a bit too much for an ET48.3, if you ask me. More like $300 for a roller in decent shape.

If you’re racing, don’t bother, get the 2.0. If you’re bashing, maybe worth negotiating a deal and throwing some m2c goodies at it as well.

+1

though I wouldn't pay more than $250 for the ET48.3 unless the parts lot was extensive then I might pay a little more if it came with wheels, bodies, etc...

 

[TeknoHov]

hi @Nicochau which "m2c goodies" would you recommend?

Cheers!

 

[Nicochau]

hi @Nicochau which "m2c goodies" would you recommend?

Cheers!

That truly depends on what you want to achieve with it, what type of terrain you’re running and if you’re building a fast basher or a stunt truck.

Function of your plan for it, you can chose the right chassis length and how much stiffening you are applying to it.

Ex: how much room do you have to play?
if you’re in a large city with limited space, i would stick to the shorter chassis that will feel more fun at low speed. On the contrary, if you have access to large areas of grass, you may want to build a speed basher with room for a larger motor and battery…

How much jumping are you planning?
Chassis stiffening is mainly to protect the driveline while jumping. The shorter chassis gives a lot more air control. Larger heavier tires give more air control as well.

Skate parks?
Nothing you can do for skate parks, if you’re sending your truck on concrete, you will brake it. Whether you like it or not and independently from all the possible upgrades…

Hope that helps, tell us more about your plans and we will try to point you in the right direction.

 

[TeknoHov]

hi @Nicochau

Ex: how much room do you have to play?

On the edgea city so have some open parks / grassy areas as well as within woods and dirt tracks, so short wheelbase sounds best. Will be running a HW 4274 on 4s with 14t or 15t pinion so expect speeds up to 48mph.

How much jumping are you planning?

Will want to pop off mounds etc, so shortish low height, not looking to jump over houses or long distances (he says..!)

Guessing the M2C rear centre brace 6996 and upper steerring plate 7000 would suffice?

Skate parks?

Agree, shall stay away... metal on concrete / hard surfaces aint going to end well no matter the vehicle..

Hope that helps, tell us more about your plans and we will try to point you in the right direction.

it does, thank you

 

[Nicochau]

hi @Nicochau

On the edgea city so have some open parks / grassy areas as well as within woods and dirt tracks, so short wheelbase sounds best. Will be running a HW 4274 on 4s with 14t or 15t pinion so expect speeds up to 48mph.


Will want to pop off mounds etc, so shortish low height, not looking to jump over houses or long distances (he says..!)

Guessing the M2C rear centre brace 6996 and upper steerring plate 7000 would suffice?

Agree, shall stay away... metal on concrete / hard surfaces aint going to end well no matter the vehicle..

it does, thank you

That's awesome, regular Truggy can, nimble short wheelbase chassis and 4s power (your driveline will thank you). Sounds like you could run stock.

Here are the key elements people want to change / upgrade from stock MT410:

1. Strengthening body mounts / posts & towers
2. Managing chassis flex
3. Getting more room for a larger motor
(4.) (of course there is a fourth, but it doesn't count) Just get a aluminum servo horn and alu shock caps. Do yourself a favor and don't look back. Tekno shock caps a great, m2c too.


Regarding the body mounts / posts / towers:

They are flimsy and will break unless you are being extremely gentle with the truck.

Your first option: the washers


https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipM8C3s9kW77j7c-Nh_8gby0BgY_J5lTir9QZG7B
Can be found here: (but it can also be fairly easily home-made / replicated)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264576030977

Pro:
+ This is a great mod! Almost no added weight.

Con:
- Requires longer shock stand off screws.
Here is an option from m2c: https://m2cracing.net/tekno/264-m2c-6762-tekno-mt-410-shock-stand-off-kit.html
- does not strengthen towers

Second option: the Go Big kit (and tower braces) from m2c (here a picture of the front)

Here is the rear:

While m2c (https://m2cracing.net/) and mmm (https://www.mmm-germany.com/) have moved to a stronger towers options (see below), this is kit is still a great solution!! It will dramatically improve the situation and will be more than enough to handle up to medium bashing.

I would mainly do the back tower and possible front as well. This kit is mainly a chassis brace kit but will very well work for helping body mounts as well.

Front brace: $26
https://m2cracing.net/tekno/263-m2c-6760-tekno-mt410-front-upper-shock-tower-brace.html

Rear full kit: $84
https://m2cracing.net/tekno/304-m2c-6970-tekno-mt-410-go-big-rear-tower-chassis-stiffiner-kit.html

Note that the above kit also includes this tower brace: https://m2cracing.net/tekno/305-m2c-6971-tekno-mt410-v3-tower-brace-.html

This part is totally underrated, it is critical! It makes no sense to install a beefy tower on the gearbox with 4 flimsy screws. This brace solves that problem.

Pro:
+ strengthens both mounts and towers
+ reasonable budget
+ good enough for serious bashing
+ this is also half your solution to address chassis flex

Con:
- a bit more weight, but very reasonable

Third option: upgraded towers with Arrma body mounts & posts

Here is the front MMM tower:

Pro:
+ solves all problems

Con:
- most expensive solution
- requires new holes position in the bodies
- still requires the rear tower brace v3 from m2c to make sense
- is it overkill?!? Who really needs that?

I will post on chassis flex tomorrow...

 

[Nicochau]

Regards to Chassis flex:

A few forewords before we dig into the details, chassis flex is GOOD because:

• flex makes the truck's handling a bit more forgiving
• more importantly, flex gives traction! Traction turns into speed...
• flex allows the absorption of energy in case of crash

BUT, flex is complicated to manage with a metal driveline. In a crash, the chassis will flex to the point where the center (or back) dog bones (shafts) becomes the parts limiting the amount of chassis flex you can apply and they usually don't hold up at all to the task and they bend.

So, too much chassis flex becomes a liability to the driveline.

In other words, weight is BAD. Because weight accentuates all the negatives linked to flex. The wheels being a huge contributor to that. Huge wheels are going to have much worst impact on handling and robustness of the truck than any other addition. The larger the wheels you use, the stronger bracing you need.

The solutions for flex range from adding plastic chassis braces to full metal bracing that leaves no room for flex anymore.

Here is an example of doubling the rear plastic brace (the an NT48.3 second brace):

Note: this truck also runs a stiffer M2C chassis

This is a chassis stiffener from MMM: (yes that little metal part that sits between the two plastic braces). Great way to reduce flex without removing it completely.

Pro of partial bracing:
+ still allows flex
+ saves traction
+ more forgiving truck to drive
+ allows for crash energy absorption

Con of partial bracing:
- the more weight, the more bracing is needed
- driveline remains exposed to harder crashes



And of course the full aluminum bracing:

You can really tune your build for what you want to do with it.

Pro of full bracing:
+ driveline is safe
+ makes a very "precise" truck to drive (I like that feeling on the SWB MT410)

Con of full bracing
- there is no more flex at all, parts will resist heavy crashes until... they don't. That is when aluminum starts to bend. Can this be counterproductive? Yes, if you're bending a part that is more expensive than the driveline that you are trying to protect.
- in order to save some flexibility, you need to invest in more protective aftermarket bumpers

Hope that helps assess options.

 

[Megafandrew]

I would wait and get the ET48 2,0 or see if you can bargain down the price of the 48.3. Both are great trucks. I have the 48 2.0 now and I only bash with it. It drives and jumps so well I have not had any crashes or any damage yet. I don’t get too crazy anyways. I like current cars in the hobby because parts are easier to get but I do live in So we don’t have as many hobby shops around here

 

[TeknoHov]

Thanks @Nicochau thats an amazing guide to all the pros n cons to bracing.

I recall one thread suggested the ET48 2.0 shock towers didnt need replacing with beefier M2C towers, would they still benefit from the brace?

Filly understand the implications on weight and big wheels, and was considering the rear n centre m2c bracing, over here in the UK M2C parts seem to be drying up, IIRC MMMvis Germany based so might try em.

Thanks again, yet to start my ET48 2.0 build but appreciate all the great advice.

Cheers

 

[Nicochau]

Thanks @Nicochau thats an amazing guide to all the pros n cons to bracing.

I recall one thread suggested the ET48 2.0 shock towers didnt need replacing with beefier M2C towers, would they still benefit from the brace?

Filly understand the implications on weight and big wheels, and was considering the rear n centre m2c bracing, over here in the UK M2C parts seem to be drying up, IIRC MMMvis Germany based so might try em.

Thanks again, yet to start my ET48 2.0 build but appreciate all the great advice.

Cheers

I would run it stock to start with, and take it from there.

Take it to the track if possible. It is an awesome truggy.

 

[RCmaniac88]

I bought a mt41 but decided I didn’t want to turn it into a heavyweight basher which I felt defeated a lot of the benefit of the tekno platform and I already have dozens of dedicated 8th scale basher rigs. So I decided to put the 48.3 m2c racing chassis , body posts, shafts and other required bits, just using the m2c rear brace and top plate but stock otherwise. I know there’s still some different parts, but it’s pretty close to a 48.3 I believe. I really love it, it’s durable, mind you I’m not beating it senseless, but I’m not banging it either. it gets plenty of ramp launches. The handling is incredible, you can just feel how light it is in the air and when it lands… that’s most likely a big part of the durability. I have a monster 6s exc amd the 1515 on it. Its plenty fast on 4s and ballistic on 6s. I just bought et 48 2.0 and I’m also building it as a light badger because I like my 48.3 / mt41 hybrid so much.