Sean VanDalen
The story
Sean wrote up how the Mono Brake came to be. Jump to a chapter.
One brake.No bias to chase.
S&S Nitro Mono Brake
Get the same braking feel on your nitro buggy or truggy that you get from electric. Unbolt the stock brakes and bolt this on. Some assembly: the rotor and fan bolt to the center diff cup.
$185Replacement pads, rotor and fan sold separately.
Bought one? Ask to join the S&S Mono Brake Facebook group with your order number.
01 · Why a Mono Brake?
“At 51, with 35 years of racing behind me, I still struggled to set and keep consistent brake bias.”— Sean VanDalen
So Sean challenged his son Seth to design one brake mounted to the front of the diff cup, like a drive gear. Seth brought it to life.
02 · Twin-disc vs. Mono Brake
| Topic | Twin-disc | Mono Brake |
|---|---|---|
| Hard braking | Front tires can lock up and skid, unsettling the chassis. | Front tires keep rolling, almost like ABS, so you can steer to the apex. |
| Corner entry | Diffs fall out of sync and the car hesitates to turn. | Diffs stay in sync; braking force carries to the rear and helps rotation. |
| Heat | Small rotors need more force and push heat into the diff fluid. | Larger rotor needs less force; floating mount on the plastic cup insulates the fluid. |
| Servo | More load on the servo to stop the car. | Less force needed, less servo fatigue. |
| Brake bias | Re-set it as pads wear in. | One brake. Nothing to balance. |
03 · What testing showed
30°F
Cooler, up to
With the integrated Yeti RC fan
130°F
Truck, down from 160
Measured in testing
100°F
Buggy, down from 130
Measured in testing
428°F
Material softening point
PLA and PETG soften near 185°F
04 · Material matters
Built to take the heat
PLA and PETG are great for prototyping, but they soften around 185°F, right where rotor temperatures landed in testing.
With Yeti RC, S&S sourced an industrial-grade material that softens at 428°F with a 381°F heat deflection rating, well above anything an RC car reaches.
05 · Cornering & stability
No more stalls on entry
Lock or skid the tires on corner entry and the diffs have to catch up to each other. Sean calls that a stall: the car hesitates, then pushes or snaps.
The Mono Brake keeps front-to-rear communication under braking, so the car stays settled and flows through the turn.
06 · Cooling
Cooler diff, longer oil life
The integrated fan, developed by Yeti RC, dropped temps up to 30°F. The cooling spreads to the servo, clutch, fuel tank and diff.
The floating mount on the plastic diff cup insulates the fluid from heat, and the larger rotor needs less force to stop.
Is it for everyone?
“Probably not, and that’s fine. But for me? This has been a game changer.”— Sean VanDalen
For drivers who want a more forgiving, predictable feel into corners, it removes variables that get in the way of repeatable laps.
In development: Mugen · Team Associated · XRay · SWORKz
