In this post, I will start with a review of the T-Bone Racing front bumper. The bumper is also an upgrade to many different RC vehicles since most stock bumpers are not as strong as they need to be. It is nice to have options that allow you to upgrade to a more durable product. T-Bone Racing gets the job done!
T-Bone Racing Website
Let’s start things off with a little Q&A, and then, we will install one of the T-Bone Racing front bumpers on one of our RC trucks.
What kind of bumper is this?
TBR XV4 Front Bumper – ARRMA Senton 4×4 3S – 10079
The front bumper is a more scale-styled bumper made to withstand the pressure of everyday RC use. Most times, I see people using this version of the bumper on basher vehicles. The T-Bone Racing front bumper is designed with a brace to help with rigidity and includes a hinge pin retainer as well.
What type of RC is the bumper for?
The T-Bone Racing front bumper – XV4 fits the Arrma Senton 4×4 3s and Mega versions. T-Bone Racing designed this bumper in a scale short course style. The bumper is a direct replacement for the stock Arrma Senton bumper and includes all hardware to complete installation.
What does this bumper do for the RC?
The T-Bone Racing front bumper will help to make sure you have protection if a crash or collision occurs with your RC. Keep in mind, the bumper helps to strengthen up the front end of your truck much better than the stock bumper.
As you can see in the photo below, the stock bumper breaks pretty easily even on an almost new RC, which only took one ding at medium speed to break the stock part.
Who makes this bumper?
The TBR XV4 front bumper is made by T-Bone Racing. T-Bone Racing is a company specializing in RC upgrades and are famous for their durable bumpers, having grown a following over the years. T-Bone Racing has a reputation for making some of the strongest bumpers in the business.
There are a total of three T-Bone Racing bumpers in the RC Patrol stable of cars and trucks.
What is the T-Bone Racing front bumper made of?
T-Bone Racing makes their bumpers from a specialized nylon. First, this special material allows the bumper to flex and bend when needed, instead of breaking. Also, the nylon material does better in colder conditions although cold weather and plastic still are not “great” things to combine. The cold air makes plastic more brittle and more prone to break, especially in bashing situations.
T-Bone Racing bumpers withstand harsh weather very well. The bumpers are much more reliable in colder weather, over stock parts.
Is this bumper an upgrade?
The T-Bone Racing bumper is an RC upgrade for sure, far superior to the stock plastic bumper of the Arrma Senton. The bumper comes with a aluminum hinge pin retainer. This retainer is much stronger than the stock retainer. The bumper brace from T-Bone is another part that beats out the factory plastic on the Arrma Senton.
How is the build quality of this bumper?
The quality of the T-Bone Racing bumper is up to par. The material is nice and thick. Although stainless hardware would be nice, the included hardware is solid enough. The two bars that attach to the bumper are a pretty thick diameter. All-in-all, the bumper feels solid yet still allowing for a bit of flex.
Why was the T-Bone Racing front bumper purchased?
The T-Bone Racing Bumper was purchased to replace the stock bumpers, after breaking three originals.
Next, Arrma cut a few corners to keep the price of the RC as low as possible. Keeping prices down required the use of cheaper plastics. Upgrading from this weaker plastic was a benefit indeed.
Let’s install the T-Bone Racing front bumper for the Arrma Senton 4×4.
We will start the installation of the bumper by first looking over the hardware. No instructions are provided with this product. So please, pay close attention to screw sizes so that you do not use the wrong screw in the wrong place.
Next, we install the T-Bone Racing front bumper on a Senton BLX and a Senton Mega. The installation is simple and requires only a few tools.
Our Arrma Typhon already had a T-Bone Racing front bumper on it, and installation was just as simple.
Step 1:
We started by taking the shorter of the two bars and attaching it to the main plate; however, you could easily attach the bottom bar first. Thankfully, the screws are provided for this step.
Next, the screws go on the inside of the bumper like the above image, not the outside.
Step 2:
For step two, we connect the longer bar to the bottom holes of the main plate.
To clarify, both top and bottom bars attach the same way.
Now, with both bars attached to the main plate, it is time to install the bumper brace to the chassis.
Step 3:
Now, we take a look at the brace before installation.
To install the brace, the old bumper must be removed.
Two holes near the top brace give access to the screws we need to remove. Next, a 2mm hex driver makes light work of this task.
With these two screws removed, we can now see how the brace will attach to the chassis, knowing the brace has recessed areas that fit snugly against the raised parts of the Arrma chassis’ screw holes.
Flipping the RC over reveals the next two screws we need to remove, and absolutely, a 2.5mm hex driver works here perfectly to remove the screws.
Notice that the screws are different styles and lengths because this fact needs to be remembered for reassembly.
With the two screws removed, we can now remove the stock bumper.
Step 4:
With the old bumper removed, we can begin to install the new T-Bone Racing Bumper.
We used the spacers provided to fit into the original holes on the bottom of the chassis.
The bumper brace goes onto the chassis over the front most spacer.
I tried the included hardware for installation, but it seemed to be too long. We used the original screws instead, and everything worked out fine.
Next, the hinge pin retainer, which came as an aluminum L-bracket cut to the right size. The bracket goes over the front screw hole in the chassis on top of the spacer.
The bumper can now be put into place.
With the bumper secured, we now connect it to the brace. The original screw goes in the front hole. Next. the supplied counter sunk screw replaces the stock rear screw.
Step 5:
Counter sunk 3mm screws hold the bumper to the brace. These screws come included in the package.
The screws go through the front of the bumper and fasten from the rear.
The Conclusion…
After tightening the nuts on the back of the screws, the job is done. Time to see how things look up front on our Senton 4×4.
The above photos show the T-Bone Racing bumper on the Senton 4×4 with and without the body.
We think it was a major improvement indeed.
We also installed one of the T-Bone Racing front bumpers on our “Monster” Senton BLX. Looks great with the Pro-Line Racing Fusion Monster body.
Now, we shall take a look at the side profile of the Senton 4×4 Mega with the T-Bone Racing front bumper.
The bumper sits just far enough out to make for flex room upon impact. This amount of space should definitely help protect the body from damage during a collision.
At the end of the day, we feel that the T-Bone Racing XV4 front bumper for the Arrma Senton BLX and 4×4 Mega is a great upgrade for your RC. We will be taking these rigs out for testing really soon in both bash scenarios and, hopefully, a bit of track time too. We then will see the true durability of these bumpers.
Well, that will wrap things up for this post. I thank all of you who took the time to read this content and visit the site. Stayed tuned for more Radio Control Patrol content.
Have fun and be safe!
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