Tekno RC, known best for their 1/8 racing rigs, has decided to make a big splash in the bashing market with the MT410 Monster Truck. The MT410 represents the first bash offering from Tekno and is marketed to be one of the toughest, best handling, monster trucks to ever hit the market. After weeks of bashing, thrashing, and jumping off of roofs, what did we find out? Is it tougher than adamantium coated nails? How well does it jump? It is the best bash truck that money can buy? Read on to get the scoop…
From: Tekno RC
Direct Link: MT410 Monster Truck
Unboxing Pictures: BSRC Unboxes the MT410
Review By: Cubby
Pictures By: Tim Mohr
Specs:
RTR or Kit: Kit
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 4wd
Shaft or Belt: Shaft
Electric or Gas: Electric
Scale: 1/10
Length: 530mm
Width: 420mm
Wheelbase: 323-335mm
Weight: Roughly 8.3lb
Motor: Not included
Speed Controller: Not included
Radio: Not included
Differential: 3 gear diffs
Slipper Clutch: No
Driveshafts: CV driveshafts with captured pins
Shocks: Aluminum bodies, plastic caps, oil filled
Servo Saver: In steering rack
Screws: Metric, hex
Spur/Pinion Pitch: MOD1
Bearings: Yes
Tires: Not included
Battery: Not included
Part Number: #TKR5603
Warranty: “We warrant that the parts included in this kit are free from defects.”
Bashing Specs:
Front wheel travel: 3.25″
Rear wheel travel: 3.7″
Wheelie on demand: Yes
Backflip off ramps: Yes
Top Speed (measured by BSRC on 4S 6500 LiPo): 49 mph
Runtime (measured by BSRC on 4S 6500 LiPo): 17 minutes
Street Price: $449
Primary Competition: You know, there isn’t a whole lot of competition in the 1/10th scale monster truck kit class. However, there are a number of trucks that are 4wd RTR monster trucks that we could consider competition to the MT410, with the closest being the ARRMA Outcast.
What’s Needed To Complete: The MT410 comes as a kit, a kit that does not include wheels, tires, or a body. To get the Tekno up and running you’ll need a radio with receiver, a monster truck body & paint, a steering servo, a 1/8th scale ESC & motor, a MOD1 pinion, a 4S LiPo battery, and 1/8 17mm hex monster truck wheels & tires.
Build Quality: Hey, it’s a kit, so that is completely up to you. We will note that we found the quality of the parts included to be top notch. Both the metal and plastic parts in our kit were extremely well made.
Build Notes: We didn’t run into any issues during our build. All the parts fit properly without the need for excessive trimming or modifications. The manual was well done, easy to read, and easy to follow. Take your time, follow each step to the letter, use calipers to make sure you are using the correct length bolts in the right locations, and your build will go smooth too.
Test Drivers: Hawaiian Chris, Iron Mikeee, Sam The Noob, Robbie G. T-Mohr, and your lovable Cub Reporter.
Test Venues: Ok, so testing a truck in the middle of the winter in the Northern Midwest can be a bit rough. We had loads of straight up cold conditions, and the ground was wet/snow covered for 95% of our testing time. With that said, we visited a number of our local haunts that included our Costco parking lot for pavement driving and speed runs, 4 local parks for normal bashing, and a very muddy St Louis Dirtburners 8th scale track.
Set-up Notes: Oh, there’s a lot on the Tekno. We pretty much went with the best of the best on our test unit. For tires we used pre-mounted Pro-Line Shockwaves and we used a Pro-Line RAM for the body. Steering was handled by a mighty Futaba BLS452. Power was provided by a MaxAmps 4S 6500 LiPo, a Castle Creations 2200kV 1515, and a Castle Creations brushless ESC. Controlling the beast was a Spektrum DX6R with a SR6000T receiver. We also used Castle Creations connectors and a 19 tooth Castle pinion gear. For paint we used a nice coat of neon orange from Duratrax. Camber was set to -1 both front and rear, ride height was bones level, and we ended up running 1 degree of toe-out. We used a Dynamite EZ mark body post set to line up the body before drilling and Dynamite hex wrenches were enlisted to put the kit together.
Turning: Just like its race oriented brothers, the MT410 has a lot of steering. Even though the tires we chose were a chevron design, the front end of the MT410 still planted quite well at corner entry and we rarely noticed any push, even on very loose surfaces. The rear of the truck didn’t display a lot of side bite which resulted in it rotating easily in tight corners. The rear of the truck felt loose in medium to high speed corners, but not overly so. To boil it down, the MT410 drove a whole lot like how a full on race truck does with the front remaining planted and the rear being a bit on the loose side.
Jumping: The MT410 has a center diff but can jump a bit like a truck without one. It has a short wheelbase, it had a lot of rotating mass with the tires we used, and its center diff sported fairly heavy oil. This resulted in a truck that was quite sensitive to trigger inputs while airborne. No, it was not as overly sensitive as a true 2 diff truck, but it was more sensitive than a typical truck with a center diff. As far as it geometry and stock suspension settings were concerned, it loved rough jump faces and big landings. The shocks, even with stock settings, soaked up nasty landings without a whimper. The MT410 has a LOT of suspension travel, thus allowing it to soak up huge skyshot landings in spectacular fashion. In short, very impressive.
Bumps/Whoops: The truck’s short wheelbase works against it a bit in the roughest of sections, but its well thought out suspension still did a stellar job. We were pounding some insanely rough sections at break neck speeds and the MT410 rarely stepped out of shape. If you want to beat the other guy to the end of a whoop section, the MT410 proved to be well up to the challenge.
On-Road: Oh yes, good old fashioned on-road driving. Where do we start? I guess a good start would be that we had an absolute ball driving the truck on pavement. No, it was never designed for on-road use, but that is what really makes it fun. Its short wheelbase allowed it to wheelie on a whim and its width kept it from constantly traction rolling. Yes, you can get it to traction roll, but it was not a constant aggravation like on some other trucks. If you like wheelies and going really fast over large potholes, the MT410 is going to be a blast for you.
Grass: We found the Tekno to be an absolute beast in grass. It was amazing the carnage that the Tekno wreaked on our local grassy fields, throwing up huge grass rooster tails when pinned WFO. The Tekno can easily chew through moderately tall grass and we consider it a great backyard basher.
Tires: Nope, the Pro-Line kicks that we used don’t come along in the kit, but we have to give them a little shout out. The Shockwaves are soft enough to get good grip on high traction surfaces, while their chevron style design gives them a monster truck look and great traction in loose dirt. We can highly recommend the Shockwaves to all you MT owners, they did a fantastic job on our Tekno.
Power: Once again, the Tekno is a kit and doesn’t come with a power system, but the Castle/MaxAmps combo we used in our test truck was gnarly. We used one of the new Castle sensored motors (set-up unsensored) on a 19th tooth pinion and were never lacking for power. Rip right off the bottom was straight up wicked and it kept pulling like a Rhino on crack up to nearly 50 mph. Actually, our truck probably had more top speed in it, but it liked to wheelie out at the end of our speed runs. And that was only on 4S!
Radio: To mix things up a bit, we went with a Spektrum DX6R. Our full review of the Spektrum will go up at some point in the future, but for now we’ll just say that it did a fantastic job of doing what we needed it to in this build.
Broken Parts: Ok, so Tekno has quite the rep for putting out the toughest 1/8th scalers on the market, after all, that is how Tekno got their start, by making bomb-proof upgrade parts. We found our test truck to be extremely tough. It has enormous a-arms, it has ultra beefy shocks & driveshafts, and we could basically slam very hard objects at speed without breaking any plastic parts. However… it comes with a plastic spur. While a plastic spur might live on a racetrack, it didn’t survive a whole lot triple backflips and was the first thing on our test truck to break.
Misc Notes:
The Tekno runs a “Losi” style motor mount, which is a great thing. However, the Tekno unit uses a pair of screws instead of just one to make mesh adjustments. That is one more screw than it needs. Also on the motor mount, the unit on our test truck did not slide properly. The machining was slightly off, causing the front end-bell of our motor to rub, making it hard to slide.
The body post do a fine job, but ours were quite loose. Loose isn’t a bad thing but did make it hard to properly mark drill holes in the body.
What is it really like to drive the MT410? Because of its relatively short wheelbase, it loves to wheelie. Wheelies are great fun of course, so that isn’t a bad thing on a bash truck. The MT410 can easily do standing backflips and we had no trouble landing double backflips off of a curb. A longer wheelbase would have made the truck more stable, but as it sits, it falls more into the stunt truck category. If you are looking for a truck to hit the track with and do some bashing, a full on truggy would probably suit you better. However, if you are all about doing crazy aerial maneuvers and wheelies, the Tekno is dialed.
Speaking of wheelies, the Tekno could really use a wheelie bar as it is hard to control when scraping on the rear bumper.
Oh ya, that rear bumper. The one on our test truck proved quite durable and generally worked well for soaking up bad landings.
Best Mod: This one is easy- order up a #TKR5115 ($29) hardened steel spur gear and the truck can be a true beast.
Summary:
A = Outstanding/Best in Class, B = Above Average, C = Average, D = Below Average, F = Horrific
Time To Bash: B We had no issues while building the kit, but it will take a lot more time to get bashing than a normal RTR.
Workability: B While we didn’t break many parts on the Tekno, what little work we had to do was quite easy. The hex hardware and open layout made wrenching a breeze.
Car Show Rating: ? This one is really up to you as the Tekno doesn’t come with a body or wheels/tires. The reason it doesn’t come with such items is that Tekno knows those are the parts most likely to be immediately replaced by a new owner. Why force a body and wheels/tires on a new owner that might never even use them?
Bash-A-Bility: B The MT410 is a steel spur gear away from being a virtual tank.
Fun Factor: A Quite simply, if you are a hardcore basher, it just doesn’t get much more fun than this. Stunts are easy, breakage is rare, and depending on the power system you install, it can be as ridiculously fast as you want it to be.
Handling: B The suspension on the Tekno proved to be top shelf, helping to soak up gnarly ruts, bumps, and big jumps with ease. It also handled well in corners, much like the racing oriented trucks in Tekno’s line-up.
Value: B When you cut the check on the Tekno you are buying high quality parts with great fit and finish. Add that fact to how well the Tekno drives and we think it is a solid value.
Parts Availability: C While not many local hobby shops stock Tekno parts, they are easy to find from on-line retailers.
BigSquid Rating: B Is the Tekno MT410 the best bash truck you can buy? That simply can not be answered without a shootout. What we do know is that it is extremely tough, it handles really well, and it is fantastic at pulling off crazy stunts. Yes, the Tekno is well worth your money and will put a whole lot of smiles on your face.
