How to use Hellfire Shocktowers on a Savage

[orcusomega]

i saw a bunch of messages flying around on how to use the Hellfire shock towers on a Savage, and thought that was an awesome idea - so I decided to try it out

Starting with a set of XL bulkheads, there is a section that needs to be removed to allow the flat Hellfire mount to sit flat. THIS IS IMPORTANT - if you get this wrong, the tower will not sit flat (ask me how I know LOL). The side closest shows how to cut it, compared to the far side (stock).


After both sides are done, you can bolt it up


Once you have the bulkhead modified, you need to take a little out of the Hellfire tower to clear the diff housing. I just used a rasp to take some of the material off the tower to allow the diff housing to be able to be opened and closed like normal:


This shows you how you need to keep the surface flat when cutting down the bulkhead:


...and on the other side, I will need a spacer in there to keep the bulkhead from warping under the torque of the mounting screws:


When all is said and done, you can see the difference in the two - the Hellfire tower installed on the left against the stock tower on the right:


Now, what to do about upper arms, since the Hellfire uses spherical ends on both ends of the upper arms? Well, as it turns out, you can use the upper Hellfire arms too:


The OEM Hellfire arms are longer, but they are turnbuckles, so I just cut about 1/4" off each end of the turnbuckles and used them for uppers - they are stout, really stout, and work like a charm. Here you can see them installed on the assembly with a Hellfire shock - I am waiting for a few more parts to arrive, and then I will be able to put everything together in a more final way These will be getting bulletproof diffs, and will be going on my brushless savage.



Hope this helps someone!

Bob

 

[frddyj]

Nice Mod up Bob.

I'm interested to see how you like these towers long-term caz the towers on my son's hellfire bend crazy.

In fact, if you end up loving the design, platinum r/c products makes them up in carbon fiber.

Nice write up Bob.

 

[orcusomega]

I just took my son out this morning with his brushless Hellfire and he beat the SNOT out of it - we broke a few things, but the shock towers stayed nice and straight, but I will definately keep an eye out for that.

Thanks!

Bob

 

[J1A1H]

does look good!!! thanks for the write up! I may even give it a go if i find some cheap towers...
But i have a feeling on any bad landing that i would bend them in half haha...

 

[J1A1H]

hellfire is much lighter and these towers must be ok considering the weigth of the hellfire... But the savage is another thing.... Who wants to do some testing...???? Bob...??

 

[orcusomega]

I plan on it Once the rest of the stuff gets here, I will be putting it through the paces. I am not putting these on a basher tho, but as badly as I drive, they might as well be

 

[J1A1H]

looks like you need a roll cage as you cant mount a body usinig those towers right?

nice1 bob... waiting for the result

 

[orcusomega]

no, I took off the Hellfire body mounts for the pictures, but I can use them for the body. I am going to look around for a good truggy body for it once all is said and done...

Bob

 

[kvnnets]

Great write up Bob. Keep us posted. + 1 rep.

 

[what the FLUX]

Lookin good Bob, well done mate! Yeah great write up. Multiple arm mounting positions, cool (no need for RSC, except for rear toe)
Lookin forward to see how they hold up mate. Goodluck :Xfingers:

 

[JoeGuam]

Bob you never fail. Great stuff.

 

[orcusomega]

Oh no Joe! I get no credit for this - I saw someone else did this, and just took the time to take the pics - thats all!

But thanks

Bob

 

[orcusomega]

Update #1

I had some time tonight after the munchkins went to bed to get more done on this and got my front end swapped out with the new Hellfire shock towers.

Since I sorta figured out how to get the setup together on the bench, it was time to tear into my truck to put it all together. SO I started by pulling the diff out of the Savage, and making the necessary modifications. In picture #2, you can see some upright "fins" on the XL bulkhead - I found later in the build that these wings interfere with the Hellfire body mounts - so just cut those suckers off.



With the tower in, its necessary to modify the lower control arms slightly to make room for the larger ends on the Hellfire shocks. To do this, remove the forward most shock mounting tab:


After clearancing the lower mounts, you can reinstall the diff housing, and attach the upper control arms from the Hellfire into the Savage as the upper control arms (remember to cut 1/4" from each end of the turnbuckles on each upper arm before installing them or they will be too long). The rest is pretty much self-explanitory. The cool thing is that my Blue Groove sway bar links still fit too


So here's what they look like all put back together - I need to swap out the oil for something better, but you can get a good idea of how it all goes together, and how much of a reduction in height you get. Not to mention you can probably get a Hellfire roller cheaper than if you went and sourced the parts individually


I'll be beating the snot out of this setup in a few days when I get the rear taken care of as well!

Bob

 

[xll-SavageX-llx]

Bob any chance of getting bigger pictures ??
my CPU doesn't like PB and it takes 15 minutes to load one photo ..

thanks ..

 

[J1A1H]

I really like the idea of using this shocktower... I just know they wouldnt be strong enough to handle some bad landings...

BUT... if one was running a cage which utilised the tvps for mounting rather than the shock towers, then all would be good!

I'm going to look into making my own delrin/nylon foll cage as i just don't trust a metal cage at all.

 

[orcusomega]

I have been looking online, and I found some HD Hellfire shocktowers that look beefy as HELL - but are a bit pricey... to the point it would be better to get a set of PRC towers instead That said, however, they are out there and I am going to keep an eye out for them...

More details to come!

Bob

 

[Combuster]

just keep an eye out i have seen some of the hf hd towers go cheap on ebay.

 

[orcusomega]

I will do that - thanks!

Bob

 

[MikeK1981]

Good info Bob, the PRC ones would be the way to go!

 

[orcusomega]

Yeah PRC are the best route to go since they are MADE for the Savage towers, but for me the fun is in making things work that aren't supposed to

I just got a pile of goodies from Badazz_Savage, so I will be doing a write up on how to use the Jammin X2 arms on a Savage as well

Bob

 

[J1A1H]

nice1 bob! but am i right in saying that you cannot use the RSC with the Jammin arms? but you can use the jammin knuckles anyway which behave just like the RSC... Correct?

 

[frddyj]

bump for update on this bob

 

[orcusomega]

nice1 bob! but am i right in saying that you cannot use the RSC with the Jammin arms? but you can use the jammin knuckles anyway which behave just like the RSC... Correct?

I am working on something evil in CAD - I am taking the Savage arms and merging them with the Hellfire arms to have the Savage mounts at the bulkhead, but the Hellfire outers mounted on the ends with the appropriate length to be able to use the correct dogbones, etc. The general idea is to have the only "custom" piece be the lower arms, which I am talking to a buddy of mine to have machined for me. Ought to be an interesting project

I like the added width of the wider arms, and the stability, but I am not crazy about using the Hellfire parts - if I can get my hands on a cheap set of D8T outers and control arms, I would rather go that route - but I have a ton of HF stuff sitting around, so I might as well work with what I already have...

Hope to have these done in a few weeks, but they are not a real high priority yet - I am in the middle of finishing my basement, so my workshop is basically all in boxes right now

Bob

 

[orcusomega]

Just wanted to post a quick update:

1) The standard Hellfire shocks have been performing well - I managed to bend one of them, but only after landing in its roof from about 8ft in the air - twice. So far so good, but I am sure there has to be a better way I am thinking about making a new front mount but will have to see how that goes.

2) Here is an EARLY mockup of the Savage arm

This particular one is for a Jammin arm, and was more a proof of concept more than anything else. I am working on a new set that will have more hols for shock mounts, sway bars, etc, I just don't have an image handy at the moment..

Bob

 

[frddyj]

pretty cool.

 

[orcusomega]

So I was able to pick up an HD Hellfire mount, and put it into CAD - this is obviously another rough mock up of the OEM one, but I am going to use it to make the changes I did on the OEM SD mount and modify the whole shootin match to be able to support a Savage. Why? Um, I'm not entirely sure other than I REALLY like the stance of my Savage with the HF towers - it handles a thousand times better, takes jumps a lot smoother, and well, is just different

Anyone interested in trying one out if I end up making a few?

 

[chad]

Hey I'm new to this forum but I been into the hobby since September. . I bought a set of hellfire shock towers mounts and hellfire shocks . I'm trYing to find pics on how you guys installed them my I already did the ofna 250cc mid tank suspension conversion.. this is the last piece to my puzzle please help