Savage Weak Points

[dgetson]

I was just wondering if I could get some experienced advice on some of the weak points on the savage and how to fix them or prevent them from happening? I just bought a brand new Savage X 4.6 and I want to keep it in good working condition as long as possible.

Thanks.

 

[redneck]

i found that the steering servo stinks and get smaller tires to do whellies and the 1/2 tank lean issue run a hpi high perfomace pipe lowder i run then silver ribbed one

 

[Mickey]

grab a spare spur gear and a couple of dogbones and you should be good to go barring any unforseen mishaps

 

[concreat]

savages have weak points?!? i thought traxxas patented those words?

 

[frddyj]

i found that the steering servo stinks and

tru dat, upgrade your servo when you can to something with metal gears & as much torque & speed as your budget will allow (use 200oz/.15 as a reference) and use your present steer servo in throttle servo location.

grab a spare spur gear and a couple of dogbones and you should be good to go barring any unforseen mishaps

Great advice right here ^^^ Dogbones were first thing i trashed.

my contribution to your thread is diffs. your gonna want to shim then after you run for a 1/2 to 1 gallon. Distrait did a great job explaining why this needs to be done & how to do it. you can also hit him up for the correct shims to use for a ridiculously low price
https://www.hpisavageforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9865

 

[hockeyizlife94]

them doggiebones like to crack with an upgraded mill...
spurs as usual.
my steering went out pretty quick..

 

[jcam54]

Zip tie your front/rear bumper supports together....it will help keep the hinge pins in place and not pull out.

Bearing mod to the steering posts...smother action

More will come to me I will post more later.

 

[redneck]

oh ya i forgot change your front style dog bone to the back style the stupid pins keep droping

 

[frddyj]

oh ya i forgot change your front style dog bone to the back style the stupid pins keep droping

red, what you mean by this?


Air Filter- not really a weak point, but make sure you keep it clean, oiled & always use a zip-tie so it doesnt fall off. very important.

 

[SwampDawg]

things have changed alot since my Savage but here is the list i know of:

servos are weak
plastic uprights break fairly easy
half-tank lean
fiberglass/plastic hex suck
Plastic diff cups suck
dogbones twist
composite exhaust explodes
roll bar was weak until you braced it using the alloy bulkhead mount mid-point
engine was vulnerable to a bad hit in a rollover

 

[Shaun]

just to stick up for HPI a bit, most trucks i've seen have weak points as there always trying to make things cheaper so more people buy them so most have some weaker parts, i do agree HPI should have installed stronger steering servo's especially with the huge tires they throw on stock.. one other thing i would suggest getting is a center skid plate, rpm makes a super tuff one thats light as well and it helps alot to protect your drivetrain and brake disks and also helps to support the T.V.P'S to help them from "flexing" and throwing off your gear mesh!!

 

[AllanQ]

Doesn't hurt to get a set of upper and lower suspension arms. U can get them cheap on eBay. You will most certainly have to upgrade your wallet, cause you will go through some green backs on all the mode you will eventually want to do. Good luck and happy bashing.

 

[redneck]

i mean the front style drive shafts i hate love using the back style the front style have a cvd joint and the back has a dog bone much stronger

 

[AllanQ]

i mean the front style drive shafts i hate love using the back style the front style have a cvd joint and the back has a dog bone much stronger

Still confused here. But then I am easily confused. LOL

 

[redneck]

take the front left rive shaft off the truck then pull your back one out look at them and you will see the diffrance

 

[AllanQ]

Don't know about the older models, but they all come with dogbones, front and rear. They are also interchangeable. CVD's are an aftermarket item.

 

[redneck]

i found that the bach dog bones are stonger

 

[AllanQ]

I think its just the way the truck lands. All my snapped bones were from the front and probably due to landngs and the fact the bone rides In the cup more because of the front wheels turning. But the bones are the same. Sorry bud, didnt mean to jack the thread, back to the topic discussion.

 

[dgetson]

Does anyone know of a thread that shows you how to support the roll bar by using the allow bulkhead mount?

 

[frddyj]

Get a Failsafe!

 

[f1n3sse]

shim those diffs!

 

[dgetson]

So far I have had my truck for about a month now and I have had to replace a Diff bearing (left bearing), 1 uppper control arm (front), 2 lower control arms (front), and one rear dogbone. I also clipped a railroad tie going pretty fast with the left front tire and I broke a gear in my steering servo.

Are most of the things mentioned above things that break normally? I have been bashing my truck pretty good so I just figured these were normal wear and tear things.

My truck also doesn't turn quite as well as it did before. Would a new servo fix this?

 

[frddyj]

Are most of the things mentioned above things that break normally? I have been bashing my truck pretty good so I just figured these were normal wear and tear things.

yep, thats bashing, sounds like your havin fun. you can take comfort knowing that if you bashed another brand of r/c besides a savage, youd prob have a lot more carnage.

My truck also doesn't turn quite as well as it did before. Would a new servo fix this?

did you replace the servo that you broke the gears in?

 

[dgetson]

I just replaced the gear inside the servo that got broken. So far it has worked just fine it just doesn't turn quite as sharp as it did when I first bought it. I was thinking of upgrading to a metal gear servo.

Yes, I am having lots of fun with my Savage. I am new to the RC world so the savage is my first rc truck. I have been launghing it off some pretty high jumps so I expected things to break. I just figured that if your not willing to spend money then this hobby is not for you. I'm probably going to get a few upgrades soon as well. Thinking about getting the HPI polished pipe and some new tires and rims. I also just started using 25% nitro fuel and the savage seems to run way better than it did on the 20% fuel.

Thanks again for all of your input.