Suspension advice

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tractorman

tractorman

Active Member
Messages
57
First off I would like to say I'm a first time Savage owner and I LOVE IT!!! But I had my first major break yesterday. I broke the upper and lower a-arms as well as the block on the skid plate that holds the lower a-arm pin in place. Tree - 1, Savage - 0. I was looking at replacing the a-arms with stock ones but going with an Integy Alum. skid plate. Now my question is this a bad idea mixing stock with after market or should I just go with a stock skid plate as well?
 
not a fan of integy (cheap aluminum IMO) so i'd just get stock parts replacements. they're cheaper and are probably the strongest out there.
 
Tractorman,

The strength of aluminum and plastic is not the factor. Its flexability, and plastic has no compatition here. If you useing the truck, stick with plastic parts.
If you building a shelf queen, go all aluminum.
 
hey bud go with the rpm a-arms and stuff!! there lighter then the stock ones and are guaranteed for life not to break!! and they flex instead of breaking!! the alum does looks nice but adds alot of weight and the alum ones don't stay looking nice and pretty very long anyway from rocks and stuff!!
 
i would go with stock or rpm stuff as they flex. it is not a problem mixing stock with aftermarket. alum. is good for some things like the chassis as you don't whant that to flex ( if it did your gears would mash us in seconds) glad you like the savage I'm sure you will have lots of fun and very little problems. the only problem is that when you buy one part you have to get another 20 with it. its like an addiction. lol
hope this helps
4x4
 
IMO i whould stay with the plastic for the a arms alum parts are good for somethings like 4+4 said glad to here u like the savage welcome to hpisf
 
Stick to stock plactic, they flex which is what you need when your hitting a tree. If your arms don't flex because they're aluminum they will either bend, snap, or break something else. Like your bulkheads or your hinge pins, stuff like that. Plastic is the way to go.
 
Hey great advice guys!! Thanks for your help, I have a set of RPM A-Arms waiting for me at my LHS, and they are cheaper than the stock ones and seem to be more durable. But what about the skid plate should I stick with plastic for that too or can the skid plate be alum. and the a-arms be plastic?
 
alum. also looks realy bad when it gets scrached but plastic doesnt look that bad.
4x4
 
tractorman said:
Hey great advice guys!! Thanks for your help, I have a set of RPM A-Arms waiting for me at my LHS, and they are cheaper than the stock ones and seem to be more durable. But what about the skid plate should I stick with plastic for that too or can the skid plate be alum. and the a-arms be plastic?
Click to expand...

rpm makes a center skid plate to i have one on mine!! same guarantee!!!! wont break or they replace it!! and it doesnt add much weight!!! why i like it is it supports your chassis plates because of the way you install the skid plate!! it has 2 bars that wedge between the chassis plates (which helps stop them from flexing) and the skid plate is screwed into both bars!!!

check out nitronutzz on ebay he has the rpm center skid plates if your lhs doesnt have them, and rob's a awsome guy to deal with and likely cheaper then your lhs!!!
 
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I believe he was talking about the front or rear skid plates not the center. But, having a center skid is also a great idea. Like you said, extra TVP bracing and also added protection for the brakes and reverse if you have it. As far as for the front or rear skid, I don't think it will make that much of a diffence as far as flex wise, but I could be wrong. It may or will add a little more weight to the truck but will also give you a little bit more protection in that area. For example, if you decide to sneak onto a construction site to run your truck and it just so happens that you take a jump and end up landing on a piece of conduit that's smashed on one end (looks like a point with sharp edges), a piece of rebar that's been cut at an angle (1/2 in. diameter or bigger), or a piece of metal duct work (which I know about cuz that's my job). And out of the whole area of the truck that you can hit it with is the hump under the ring gear on your diff. Even though the plastic is decently thick, any of those three projections will slice right through your plastic skid. Just some in put for you to think about.
 
I would stay away from the aluminum. I had a set of Integy adjustable upper A-arms in the front. Then one day I was out with a friend. He was just completeing a full speed drift under the bleachers, when the front left wheel hit the leg on the way out. Bent the upper a-arm, which in turn scraped my bulk head, hing pins, upper and lower front hinge pin braces, lower a-arm. Bent both shock shafts into the shape S, shock tower. If it had been with stock a-rms, the only things broken would have been the upper and lower A-arms. Plus the Integy arms would come loose all the time, and the screws which hold them together strip easily. Peace.

:duh:
 
Not trying to mean and nasty but, he said he isn't going to use alum. upper and lower arms. He is going to stick with either stock or RPM arms. He's mainly asking about useing an alum. skid plate. That's what he's asking everybody's opinion on.
 
xtremsavage said:
I believe he was talking about the front or rear skid plates not the center. But, having a center skid is also a great idea. Like you said, extra TVP bracing and also added protection for the brakes and reverse if you have it. As far as for the front or rear skid, I don't think it will make that much of a diffence as far as flex wise, but I could be wrong. It may or will add a little more weight to the truck but will also give you a little bit more protection in that area. For example, if you decide to sneak onto a construction site to run your truck and it just so happens that you take a jump and end up landing on a piece of conduit that's smashed on one end (looks like a point with sharp edges), a piece of rebar that's been cut at an angle (1/2 in. diameter or bigger), or a piece of metal duct work (which I know about cuz that's my job). And out of the whole area of the truck that you can hit it with is the hump under the ring gear on your diff. Even though the plastic is decently thick, any of those three projections will slice right through your plastic skid. Just some in put for you to think about.
Click to expand...

oops.... maybe he was now I'm not sure lol anyway as u said center skid plates are a good idea to help prevent chassis flex and prevent any damage to the brake disks and what ever, as was said in last post!!! !!! sorry buddy if thats not what skid plate u were asking about!!!
 
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Thanks for all your help everyone!! Yes originally I was asking about the front and rear skid plates, but now having seen the damage that a bad landing can have on the brakes (didn't quite complete the backflip) and hearing your advice I think I will be purchasing an RPM centre skid plate. I have replaced all but one set of a-arms (other ones were back ordered) with RPM arms and so far seem to be real good. Way stronger and beefier than stock. Thanks again for the help.
 
Well it's a little late seeing that you got the RPM ones but the original Savage A-arms are beefier than the X a little heavier as well but cheap.I run those in the front of my Savage X and they do hold up better than the X ones imo,Dave
 
Like most said, if you are going to use the truck, stick with plastic. stock arms on the savage are some of the strongest arms out there. Usually if you break an arm on a savage, you have hit something hard enough that something is going to break anyway. my 2cents
 
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