Londoner
c0ckney geezer!!
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- 973
- Location
- London, UK
Ok, so i when i upgraded my steering servo from a Hitec HS-645MG to a Savox SC1256TG 20kg bad boy i soon found that my servo saver was opening halfway through the travel of the steering under the power and speed of the new servo and the only way i could prevent this was to wind the servo saver adjuster all the way up pretty much locking the saver, defeating the purpose of the servo saver.
The common solution i found for this problem is to use the servo saver spring found in the Ofna monster pirate truck i believe, but to get this spring you need to purchase the whole servo saver assembly plus id need to order from the USA as they arent available in the UK, so i nearly hit the buy it now on a monster pirate servo saver on eBay US when i stumbled across a link to the new HPI savage heavy duty servo saver spring, part#102522, ordered one from my usual UK online hobby shop, had to wait for the first stocks to arrive but today its here and this is my little write up on it.
I paid £3.78 GBP for the part and shipping was menial for such a small part.
Here is the new heavy duty spring next to the standard stock spring, note the fewer coils and thicker guage steel.
On to installation.
Installation of this part was a breeze, and took just 10mins.
Here is how i fitted it.
First i removed all screws that hold the plastic skidplate to the lower bulkhead plate, then removed all the screws that hold the alloy lower plate to the bulkhead and lower front chassis cross member, then pull back the skid and plate to expose the lower parts of the steering posts and the servo saver adjusting nut.
You can see i had the adjusting nut pretty much wound up all the way.
Then simply remove the adjusting nut/collar from the post, then the plastic spacer, remove the old spring and replace with the new spring, spacer back on, applied a dab of blue threadlock to the threads on the steering post then put the adjusting nut on.
As soon as id put the adjusting nut on one or two threads i could feel the extra tension from the heavy duty spring, i wound it up till the adjusting nut was two or three threads past the end of the bottom of the steering post.
Then just put the bulkhead plate and skid back down, all screws back in, threadlocking metal to metal screws and the jobs done, i now have a tight servo saver, but the servo saver is still there to do what it needs to and not locked out.
Testing.
Immediately upon testing my steering on a carpet doormat, i had full lock-lock steering even with my big Joe 40 series tyres at a standstill without the servo saver opening and at good speed, at last the steering power and speed iv wanted!
I havnt had a chance to run the truck with the new spring yet as I'm waiting on other parts to arrive for my overhaul but i can only assume this will improve the responsiveness and control of my steering alot, as previously in high speed turns my servo saver would open in the turn not allowing full control over the truck at speed so now I'm expecting a much more direct feel to the steering, and of course i will report back whether this is the case or not.
Marks out of 10 ratings.
Price: 9/10 at just under £4 I'm not complaining but some may say its over the top for just a spring, so for that reason it gets a 9.
Quality: 10/10 Its chromed, has a real nice shiny polished blingy finish, is made from a slightly thicker guage sprung steel, cant really find a fault with it so it gets a 10.
Installation: 10/10 No mods required and fitted in 10mins, could easily be fitted by someone that has never worked on a savvy, so it gets a 10 here.
Function: 10/10: Seems to do what it says on the tin, solved my problem, havnt had a chance to run it yet but for now gets a 10.
Look: 10/10 As said it has a nice chrome finish and looks better than the black spring, and if you were going for the all metal look this is the spring to get, asthetically an improvement over the stock spring, so 10 again.
Overall this part gets a 9.8 from me and id recommended it to anybody using high torque and speed servos.
The common solution i found for this problem is to use the servo saver spring found in the Ofna monster pirate truck i believe, but to get this spring you need to purchase the whole servo saver assembly plus id need to order from the USA as they arent available in the UK, so i nearly hit the buy it now on a monster pirate servo saver on eBay US when i stumbled across a link to the new HPI savage heavy duty servo saver spring, part#102522, ordered one from my usual UK online hobby shop, had to wait for the first stocks to arrive but today its here and this is my little write up on it.
I paid £3.78 GBP for the part and shipping was menial for such a small part.
Here is the new heavy duty spring next to the standard stock spring, note the fewer coils and thicker guage steel.
On to installation.
Installation of this part was a breeze, and took just 10mins.
Here is how i fitted it.
First i removed all screws that hold the plastic skidplate to the lower bulkhead plate, then removed all the screws that hold the alloy lower plate to the bulkhead and lower front chassis cross member, then pull back the skid and plate to expose the lower parts of the steering posts and the servo saver adjusting nut.
You can see i had the adjusting nut pretty much wound up all the way.
Then simply remove the adjusting nut/collar from the post, then the plastic spacer, remove the old spring and replace with the new spring, spacer back on, applied a dab of blue threadlock to the threads on the steering post then put the adjusting nut on.
As soon as id put the adjusting nut on one or two threads i could feel the extra tension from the heavy duty spring, i wound it up till the adjusting nut was two or three threads past the end of the bottom of the steering post.
Then just put the bulkhead plate and skid back down, all screws back in, threadlocking metal to metal screws and the jobs done, i now have a tight servo saver, but the servo saver is still there to do what it needs to and not locked out.
Testing.
Immediately upon testing my steering on a carpet doormat, i had full lock-lock steering even with my big Joe 40 series tyres at a standstill without the servo saver opening and at good speed, at last the steering power and speed iv wanted!
I havnt had a chance to run the truck with the new spring yet as I'm waiting on other parts to arrive for my overhaul but i can only assume this will improve the responsiveness and control of my steering alot, as previously in high speed turns my servo saver would open in the turn not allowing full control over the truck at speed so now I'm expecting a much more direct feel to the steering, and of course i will report back whether this is the case or not.
Marks out of 10 ratings.
Price: 9/10 at just under £4 I'm not complaining but some may say its over the top for just a spring, so for that reason it gets a 9.
Quality: 10/10 Its chromed, has a real nice shiny polished blingy finish, is made from a slightly thicker guage sprung steel, cant really find a fault with it so it gets a 10.
Installation: 10/10 No mods required and fitted in 10mins, could easily be fitted by someone that has never worked on a savvy, so it gets a 10 here.
Function: 10/10: Seems to do what it says on the tin, solved my problem, havnt had a chance to run it yet but for now gets a 10.
Look: 10/10 As said it has a nice chrome finish and looks better than the black spring, and if you were going for the all metal look this is the spring to get, asthetically an improvement over the stock spring, so 10 again.
Overall this part gets a 9.8 from me and id recommended it to anybody using high torque and speed servos.
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