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guinnessdublin

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1,046
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England
My Savage 21 truck (heavily modded) was last used agood 14 yrs ago, after sorting out corroded electrics,replace battery hump & blown servos even using existing glow plug the beast jumped into life eventually. Invested in an engine head warmer & had to turn down idle screw but had a tank of fuel blasting round the garden with a Huge grin on my face! ????
 
Hi, when you say Rip front wheels of the ground what are you meaning should it do wheelies on acceleration ?
 
Yes sir that’s what I was meaning cuz mine doesn’t and it will not shift ethier the tune couldn’t get any better and only have about 8-10 tanks threw it, it was a guys shelf queen any help would be greatly appreciated
 
When you pull away do you need to build up revs before it will move, if so I would look at clutch shoes first?
 
Not that I can remember I will pay more attention to that but I have tried to adjust shift points and still nothing I am thinking of tearin into trans to give a cleaning to it cuz in the shifts adjust holes I see what looks to be like old grease that has turned brown n sticky but I am taking it as yours will pull wheelies????
 
Has that savage even seen any action, going by look & age looks like it’s been sat on shelf being looked at most of its life! Lol ?
 
Only action it has seen was break motor in and me tryin to fig trans shift out also pull string broke on me so had to fix that tbh this beast has been a nightmare that’s y I was askin if yours will pull wheelies I am gonna take my motor apart seal her all up check clutches out and clean trans out the guy I got it off of said he started it up once or twice and sat it on the shelf so yes sir she was a shelf queen hopefully she will see some action this spring/summer any tips for the ol’ girl would be helpful buddy
 
Similar story with my Savage, except that around 2003, I used to race the thing and rag the tits off it! Here's a link to the restore.

Savage SS Rebuild

Full photo journal on the above link.
 
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Not really clear on the wheelie question should it pull wheelies easily or do I have something messed up

With the right tune, on a healthy clutch, on sensible gearing (15/49 - 16/49) and normal (not massive) tyres - any .25 + Savage should wheelie on a high traction surface. Note the wheelie bar on mine.

If yours doesn't - check the above.
 
It’s all stock so whatever it came with from stock is what is on it I am fairly new the hobby I know what s gear is but c/b is ?????? I am guessing clutch and I don’t know what other is lol...it’s a Awsome truck I just want it to pull wheelies like my octane and nitro monster king
 
It’s all stock so whatever it came with from stock is what is on it I am fairly new the hobby I know what s gear is but c/b is ?????? I am guessing clutch and I don’t know what other is lol...it’s a Awsome truck I just want it to pull wheelies like my octane and nitro monster king

Your clutch bell has teeth on it and turns the spur gear. Try a clutchbell with 15 teeth on it and a spur with 49 teeth. If in doubt, count the teeth.

Wheelies are not always possible if traction isn't great or if your engine isn't tuned right etc etc. Have a look at the clutch and see if all is well. A slipping clutch won't help. Also, make sure your slipper clutch is tightened up and backed off 1/4 of a turn.

Most Savagers have to take measures to reduce wheelies, so keep that in mind! :)
 
A Savage 21 will not generally pull wheelies, unless it's under perfect conditions.

The later engines were much more powerful.

I just broke mine out of the basement after 5 years, it does feel good, but man, I'm remembering how expensive it was quickly lol.
 
Agreed. The .21 is pretty weak compared to any of the later Savages, and especially the aftermarket engines. A cheap $100 Mach .26 will donkey stomp all of the HPI engines. The 4.6 and 5.9 XL engines run OK, and will wheelie if fresh and tuned well, but are unspectacular for their size.
 
Nova Rossi .28 Legend, Piccos, Machs and LRPs etc will all produce more torque and Rev higher (especially the Nova Rossi in that department which will out-rev them all). My stock Nitro Star .25 had a difficult beginning (it was rusty and full of swarf!) but went on to be a terrific little engine that had not 1, but 2 porting jobs and ran through about 15 gallons of fuel. It was outstanding for a stock motor and good on fuel consumption. I raced it for 2 seasons and it embarrassed quite a few Italian engines running 17/49 gearing on the majority of our large outdoor tracks with the ribbed pipe.

Off the track, the aftermarket engines can pull appreciably taller gearing (19/47) and still accelerate rapidly and pull ridiculous wheelies - none of which is helpful on a track, but loads of fun for bashing!!
 
Your clutch bell has teeth on it and turns the spur gear. Try a clutchbell with 15 teeth on it and a spur with 49 teeth. If in doubt, count the teeth.

Wheelies are not always possible if traction isn't great or if your engine isn't tuned right etc etc. Have a look at the clutch and see if all is well. A slipping clutch won't help. Also, make sure your slipper clutch is tightened up and backed off 1/4 of a turn.

Most Savagers have to take measures to reduce wheelies, so keep that in mind! :)
I will def give it a try and check all that out I am gonna take motor out and seal her all up and put carb back to stock and retune her I want he to crank wheelies like my octane and the other trucks I see on YouTube I also am gonna try and find a brand new X 4.6 or one almost new seen a couple just waiting on taxes to come back
 
wow you guys are lucky, if I put the savage onto the kitchen bench I would have my head ripped off by the Mrs! ??

As mentioned above, the newer model savages had muuuuch more powerful (not to mention more efficient) engine compared to the savage 21. Mine, with stock motor and gearing, would wheelie on very rare occasions. But the Savage 4.6 would do it allll the time!

If you want to wheelie, get a newer engine ?
LRP ftw!
 
My Mrs. don’t say to much about me doin work on my rigs in kitchen or I would be gettin new rigs and a new Mrs. lol not really but sounded good lol...I have thought about getting a newer engine but have read that my f/r diffs will not hold up would like to put a 4.6 in it to rip wheelies like I have seen many of em do on YouTube
 
My Mrs. don’t say to much about me doin work on my rigs in kitchen or I would be gettin new rigs and a new Mrs. lol not really but sounded good lol...I have thought about getting a newer engine but have read that my f/r diffs will not hold up would like to put a 4.6 in it to rip wheelies like I have seen many of em do on YouTube
Yea you'll definitely need to upgrade the diffs before you think about upgrading the powertrain. The original ones will not have a good time ?
 
Done the 4 spider diff mod 14 yrs back & raced nearly every weekend through summer with a Picco .26 in my savage 21 & never had any issues with them! ??
 
From memory (15 yrs ago) got the HPI one X 2 with the two cross splines & four small gears,as said filled up with diff oil & never had a problem since!
Does the lower teeth HPI set they later brought out help with quicker acceleration & pulling wheelies?
 
Does anyone know why HPI brought out the smaller teeth count for the diff?
In theory fewer teeth wear less quickly and are stronger due to tooth design/size. Went from 43/13 to 29/9 if i remember when bullet proof diffs released. Sintered metal gears and then machined gears for Flux. Always best to shim diffs to remove play and regularly check screws are not backing out on bevel gear.
 
So doesn’t help with acceleration or pulling wheelies then?
Nope, about same ratio. Clutch bell/spur ratio, engine torque, grip, suspension are important for wheelies. Never had a 21 engine in a savage but don't think they tend to make it wheelie, had a 25 engine and that generally didnt. The F4.6 does and most decent 28 engines. The 21 doesnt have as much low down torque to move the heavier savage compared to a 1/8 buggy, which is a common engine size for that category. Probably why they stopped using the 21 as well as other makes coming out with larger capacity engines. Wheelies can soon get boring if they cant be controlled and the hpi wheelie bar is not that effective and soon breaks.
 

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