How do I slow down a Savage and Make more reliable ?

[mw24hr]

Hi there, I have recently bought my son a HPI Savage X 4.6 ( which member HPISF Ghost ) has informed me may actually be a 4.1. Going to investigate that further. I am not bothered about top speed as this is for my 9 year old son. He is going to be driving it on a big rugby field so on grass. I haven`t yet had it out as I need to get it to stay running but am I able to restrict it down at all ? Or change the mixture so its getting more lubrication to give reliability rather than performance ? Then as we learn more about the hobby and he gets better at controlling it then tune it up abit ? Will it harm the engine doing that ?

Also he has asked about having bigger wheels on it, what types would I needs without causing any problems to the car ? Finally the guy I bought it off said it had reverse, but the radio gear is only 2 channel. Is this possible ?

 

[X]

Sadly we don't have the same "learning" mode that alot of electrics do. There are two mechanical things I can think of to limit it. You can tune it rich. I would not over do this though as it can cause troubles in itself. Another possibility is to change the gearing. If you would like to limit his low end then gear for a smaller gear ratio with the spur and clutch bell. Note that this will also raise the top end speed. If you would like to limit the top end speed, then gear a higher ratio. Note that this will give alot more punch off the line, lots of wheelies.

If that fails and you need more limitation, you can use the remote's controls to limit throw (endpoints) on the throttle/ brake servo. This is likely your best bang for buck limiter.

 

[mw24hr]

I like the sound of doing it on the transmitter and leaving it a bit rich aswell, so would I use the trim nobs to restrict the amount of throttle ? Also is there any other way of identifying it other than looking at the engine or it it purely just the engine that it different ?

 

[olds97_lss]

Take some body off photo's of it and post it up here as attachments, or load them somewhere and put the links here for us to see. Just do your best on taking clear photo's of the engine area, bottom of the chassis, side shot and a top shot then we can help you figure out what you have.

I don't know the factory radio, or if you have the factory radio. Might be a good idea to post info about your transmitter, like the brand/model# you can find on the device itself. Then we can more easily help you with that too for adjustments.

 

[NiteRida]

On the radio handle simply wrap something around it where it limits the amount of throttle pull. I did this way back when my son was younger. I used some fuel tubing. Simple and effective. Easy to remove.

 

[Rolex]

You mentioned that it was a 2 channel radio but is it a computerized one? That's what you'd need to be able to adjust the end points to limit his top end on the throttle. It's very important to tune these well, so running rich is not something I'd recommend. As he gets better you can raise the end point settings accordingly. Gearing is the other option as was mentioned, but if kids can do wheelies, that's all he'll do till he blows out the diffs. With the computer radio you also have the option of slowing the throttle response through the exponential settings for easier starts.