The Complete Beginners Guide To RC's

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Fx

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You Just Bought Your HPI Savage…Now What!?



You finally got the HPI Savage you were eyeing for months now eh. Congratulations you have just done the hardest part, you have parted with a good chunk of change. There are things you should know before you even think about starting your truck. Your Savage is just like a real truck and things you know about full size trucks can be applicable on your Savage.

What You Need To Actually Run Your Truck - No BS

Kits that are marked RTR or Ready To Run are actually only assembled and rarely come with every thing you need.

What you need for the HPI Savage to get started



AA Battery’s - You will need these for your transmitter and for your battery pack. (Unless Your RC comes with a rechargeable battery pack.

Glow Starter - A glow starter is simply like a car cigarette lighter. It heats up the glow plug in your engine just like a spark plug. There are 2 types of glow starters, rechargeable ones and ones that uses regular batteries. I always recommend getting a rechargeable one because it last longer and is cheaper in the long run. A glow starter that uses regular batteries is not going to give you as much life as a rechargeable one.

Pullstart/Rotostart - You will not need to worry about this as all Savages come with a rotostart if your engine needs one. The purpose of a rotostart or a pullstart is simple, it spins the engine’s crankshaft, and in turn starts the motor.

Battery Pack - If your truck uses a rotostart you will need to get a 7.2 Volt Rechargeable Battery Pack for it. I highly recommend getting a NiMH battery pack. If you get the standard NiCad you have to charge it and fully drain it before you can charge it again. With NiMH you charge it, use it a little, and pop it back on the charger. NiMH will cost a little more but are worth it.

Chargers - You need to charge these batteries with something, and that’s what a charger is for. I will not talk about chargers because there are a million makes and models out there and they all have different features. My best advice for a charger is this, go to your Local Hobby Shop and see what they have, talk to someone and see what the best one is for you.

Fuel - Ah yes the most important thing, yet the most undervalued. Similar to chargers, there are lots of brands of fuel. I almost always recommend getting a 20% nitro content fuel. It’s pretty much idiot proof, because it gives your plenty of lubrication.


Things that are not a MUST have, but good to have



Tempgun - It helps you see if your engine is in the right temp range.

Fuel Bottle - Pretty self explanatory it’s hard to fill a 160cc tank with a monster gallon sized jug.

Fail-Safe - You will wish you bought one when you are staring down at your truck after it took off into 6 lanes of traffic. If a signal interferes with your truck it will take off, simple as that. You connect the fail safe to your throttle servo and set it to where you want it to go (Full Brake). So when a signal interferes with your truck it just stops, which is what you want.


Your Almost There!
  • You got everything you need but before you can run it here is a check list of things that need to be done.
  • Fully Charge All Battery Packs
  • Go Over Your Truck And Make Sure All The Screws Are Tight
  • Check Your Radio Equipment Make Sure All The Wires Are Connected
  • Make Sure Your Antenna Is Up


Testing 123

Alright before we go putting nitro in the tank let’s make sure our electronics work. Plug the battery pack in the radio box and install FRESH BATTERIES in your receiver. Turn on the transmitter first and then the truck. Pull the trigger back for throttle and push it forward for brake. Push the truck forward while braking to make sure it works. Next turn the wheel left and right for steering. It all works? Great let’s start it up!

Starting Your Engine

We are going to start the engine now but first you should elevate your truck so it is on a sturdy platform and its wheels are off the ground so they can spin freely. Fill your fuel bottle (I hope you got one) and then fill the tank. First we need to prime the engine, so with one finger cover the exhaust and spin the engine either with the rotostart or the pullstart. There are bubbles in the fuel line going to the engine, keep spinning the engine until there are no bubbles. Your engine is primed and ready to start! Snap the glow starter on and either spin the rotostart or pull the pullstart. If you are using a pullstart do quick short pulls. If you are using the roto start spin it for five seconds and wait for another five then spin for five more seconds until it starts.

How To Shut Off The Engine

Take your finger and plug the exhaust, simple as that.


Up And Running

It is running up on blocks now and your wondering “What do I do now”. Time to break it in. Grab your truck by the roll bar and set it on the ground, it may roll a little. If it wants to run away check the end of this tutorial to see how to fix this. How to properly break-in and engine is debated but I am explaining how to break in your engine the “Idiot Proof Way”. This break-in method has you go through 8 tanks of fuel.

Tanks 1-2 – Let your truck idle for these two tanks, meaning no throttle just let is sit and burn through 2 tanks.

Tanks 3-4 – Drive around in figure eights and loops at ¼ throttle for 2 more tanks.

Tanks 5-6 - Drive around in figure eights and loops at ½ throttle for 2 more tanks.

Tanks 7-8 - Full throttle baby! Gun it, vary the rpms back and forth. Your engine is now ready to run at full speed.


Note: This break-in method is for the stock HPI engines that come with your savage. If you are running an after market engine then ask around on the forum for the best break-in info.

HPI Savage Tuning



I am only going to briefly touch upon tuning because I could make an entirely different tutorial on it. Most likely you have 3 needles on your engine, a High Speed Needle, a Low Speed Needle, and an Idle Needle. Refer to your manual as to where each needle is.

High Speed Needle regulates how much fuel gets to the engine at high speeds.

Low Speed Needle regulates how much fuel gets to the engine at low speeds.

Idle Needle regulates how much fuel gets to the engine when there is no throttle a.k.a. neutral.

When you break it down like that it isn’t so overwhelming. You tune your truck by turning the needles. Turning a needle clockwise is known as Leaning It Out (Less Fuel). Turning a needle counter-clockwise is known as Richening It or Fattening It (More Fuel). Here are the basics.

If your truck shuts off when you apply the brakes- Lean the idle needle out 1/8 of a turn. If it still stalls do another 1/8 turn and so on.

If your trucks rolls on the ground without you touching the throttle- Richen the idle 1/8 of a turn until it stays put on the ground.

My truck won’t hit second gear- Lean the high speed needle out 1/8 of a turn and so on.

You should only have to touch the idle now and again but not much. I don’t recommend touching the low end until you are very familiar with tuning. The high speed needle will be the needle that you will spend the most time with. If you lean the high speed needle out you will notice a performance gain. DO NOT LEAN THE HIGH SPEED NEEDLE OUT TOO MUCH! How much is too much? 6 full turns is too much. When you accelerate you should see a thick stream of smoke coming from the exhaust, if you are not seeing smoke it is too lean. Immediately richen the engine. While your truck is at an idle you should be able to feel a "mist" of exhaust. When tuning it is important to take it slow and go in 1/8 increments. Tuning should be easier if you just remember what each needle does. The best way to get better at tuning is to practice over and over. The hardest part for me was learning to tune an engine, it just takes practice.



I hope this tutorial helped. You can’t really cover everything in one tutorial and the best way to learn is going out there and practicing, not just with tuning but with everything RC. It is a great hobby if you are patient and stick with it. Good luck, and always remember to have fun, it’s a hobby after all.


Credits-

-Hop for having an awesome site
-All the moderators at HPISF for being awesome
-All the HPISF members for contributing to the site
-Microsoft Word For Inventing Spell Check!
 
you should add to tuning the high speed needle, that if you stop seeing alot of blue smoke throught the whole throttle range or none at all then you should stop and richen the hsn. if you see no blue smoke at all you are running way too lean and will damage you engine
 
you should add to tuning the high speed needle, that if you stop seeing alot of blue smoke throught the whole throttle range or none at all then you should stop and richen the hsn. if you see no blue smoke at all you are running way too lean and will damage you engine

I did add that poly good idea.
 
Poly - Here is what FX wrote is repsects to what you just said:

Tuning

I am only going to briefly touch upon tuning because I could make an entirely different tutorial on it. Most likely you have 3 needles on your engine, a High Speed Needle, a Low Speed Needle, and an Idle Needle. Refer to your manual as to where each needle is.

High Speed Needle regulates how much fuel gets to the engine at high speeds.

Low Speed Needle regulates how much fuel gets to the engine at low speeds.

Idle Needle regulates how much fuel gets to the engine when there is no throttle a.k.a. neutral.

When you break it down like that it isn’t so overwhelming. You tune your truck by turning the needles. Turning a needle clockwise is known as Leaning It Out (Less Fuel). Turning a needle counter-clockwise is known as Richening It or Fattening It (More Fuel). Here are the basics.

If you truck shuts off when you apply the brakes- Lean the idle needle out 1/8 of a turn. If it still stalls do another 1/8 turn and so on.

If you trucks rolls on the ground without you touching the throttle- Richen the idle 1/8 of a turn until it stays put on the ground.

My truck won’t hit second gear- Lean the high speed needle out 1/8 of a turn and so on.

You should only have to touch the idle now and again but not much. I don’t recommend touching the low end until you are very familiar with tuning. The high speed needle will be the needle that you will spend the most time with. If you lean the high speed needle out you will notice a performance gain. DO NOT LEAN THE HIGH SPEED NEEDLE OUT TOO MUCH! How much is too much? 6 full turns is too much. When you accelerate you should see blue smoke come from the exhaust, if you are not seeing smoke it is too lean. Immediately richen the engine. While your truck is at an idle you should beable to feel a "mist" of exhaust. When tuning it is important to take it slow and go in 1/8 increments. Tuning should be easier if you just remember what each needle does. The best way to get better at tuning is to practice over and over. The hardest part for me was learning to tune an engine, it just takes practice.


Question is did everyone read it or just skim thru it?

FX you stood to the plate and swung. Awesome work we Appreciate all that it takes to write this up. I will now stick it.

Hop
 
]-[0pa]0ng;16945 said:
Poly - Here is what FX wrote is repsects to what you just said:




Question is did everyone read it or just skim thru it?

FX you stood to the plate and swung. Awesome work we Appreciate all that it takes to write this up. I will now stick it.

Hop

wasnt in there when i read it before, notice that it is now though.
 
Thanks for all the nice comments fellas. Thanks for making it a sticky hop.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hey FX... Looks great Paul.
If you believe in placing the pistion at BTC at the cool down, You can edit that in.

Good job!
 
thanx guys this and doobie newbie links have been a life saver to me starting and using my savage ive hjad my slip ups and this site has always helped me get back on all 4's (4 wheels)

thanx Heaps Rex_hvn
 
Boy I Sure Wished I Had Of Known About This Forum When I First Got My X Would Have Saved Alot Of Stress! Lol But Good Work On All The Advice For Newcomers To This Hobby I Know For A Fact It Would Have Helped Me In The Begining And I Still Find Advice That Helps Me So Two Thumbs Up Guys! But I Had Fun "tinkering" And Figuring Things Out On My Own So I Cant Complain!:10:
 
i have been in rc for about 2 years but this still helped thanks man :resp:
 
Very good information I'm sure I'll be looking back to this information when it comes time to tune I think that will be my weakest link! Thanks for the write up take care
 
Just got a brand new k4.6 with my brand new Savage, and on mine, the low speed needle is not quite flush with the case as the manual says it should be from the factory. The bevel of the screw sticks out slightly beyond flush, maybe by .5mm. Should I be worried about this or do you think they have adjusted the factory settings a bit? so far I have just started the break in and the idle seems about right for a brand new engine.
 
Like I said earlier, if you read and follow the directions in this thread you should have good luck with breakin and running you new rig.....

The needle settings are set for generic setup and should be adequate for starting and breakin, but you will most likely have to tune the needles slightly after initial start to keep it running... remember always adjust in 1 hour increments and if you get it out of tune go back to factory settings to start over again....
 
Yes thanks, but I trust the break in procedure in the manual more than i trust these here notes. Also note mine is a kit, not the RTR. sounds like its probably okay that my LSN is slightly not flush as the manual says it should be though. I habe tuned nitro engines before and normally stay away from everything but the HSN
 
Yes thanks, but I trust the break in procedure in the manual more than i trust these here notes. Also note mine is a kit, not the RTR. sounds like its probably okay that my LSN is slightly not flush as the manual says it should be though. I habe tuned nitro engines before and normally stay away from everything but the HSN

You will mostly ignore the LSN and MSN for break-in. Aside from perhaps slight tuning just to keep it running (LSN, not MSN). Most people epoxy the MSN in the factory setting and ignore it completely. Tuning one nitro engine is pretty much like tuning any other.
 
You will mostly ignore the LSN and MSN for break-in. Aside from perhaps slight tuning just to keep it running (LSN, not MSN). Most people epoxy the MSN in the factory setting and ignore it completely. Tuning one nitro engine is pretty much like tuning any other.

I'm continuing to have major pain trying to get this engine to start. Blisters on trigger finger of both hands. I am starting to wonder if something is wrong with my carb. I decided to try to adjust the HSN to be slightly richer, but it didn't seem to move up or down as I turned it. Per the manual it should be lining up with a "groove" in the brass part below it. Not only do I not see a groove, my needle seems to have no inner or outer stop. It just spins and spins when I turn it clockwise and does not appear to go up or down to cover or reveal a groove. For all I know I ran the first tank on some messed up setting that wasn't factory.
 
Perhaps the black adjusting sleeve is slipping, this is common to have happen on these carburetors, have you tried adjusting with a small slotted screwdriver by inserting into the needle and turning slightly leaner, I doubt it needs to be richer from the factory settings....
 
Perhaps the black adjusting sleeve is slipping, this is common to have happen on these carburetors, have you tried adjusting with a small slotted screwdriver by inserting into the needle and turning slightly leaner, I doubt it needs to be richer from the factory settings....

When I adjust the needle, I'm supposed to be turning the black outer sleeve though right? I thought the slotted top was just for dissassembly. I loosened that and the entire assembly came off including sleeve and separated from the brass part that has the fuel nipple below. I tried unscrewing the slotted screw a little more to see if that would let me inspect the needle itself but it is very stiff and doesn't seem to want to unscrew more than 1/4 turn from where it moved to when it let go of the engine and came out with the sleeve.
 
Possibly if you post a couple clear pics of the carb it may help... but yes usually adjust using the black sleeve, but turning with a screwdriver is sometimes needed.....


http://www.dollarhobbyz.com/product...WmLB5HLi40yPwdkUivG2hBqi7B2Jr9g1LIaAieX8P8HAQ

That brass sleeve unit where the fuel barb is should stay tight.... see the flats??? use a 7 mm wrench to tighten that down a bit so the needle will move without the whole barrel coming off.......
 
Thankyou for your help again. I see now the plastic part just wasn't actually rotating the needle at all. The part with the flat head screw slot is the actual needle. I unscrewed it slightly and now I do see that very faint line that I should be lined up with. So now it's lined up again. Still don't know why the engine won't start though! I put a tiny bit of threadlock on the bottom part, hopefully not over tightened when I put it back. I guess I need to check the glow plug again.
 
Thankyou for your help again. I see now the plastic part just wasn't actually rotating the needle at all. The part with the flat head screw slot is the actual needle. I unscrewed it slightly and now I do see that very faint line that I should be lined up with. So now it's lined up again. Still don't know why the engine won't start though! I put a tiny bit of threadlock on the bottom part, hopefully not over tightened when I put it back. I guess I need to check the glow plug again.


Well unfortunately some of the nitro engines can be quite a pain to get right, keep at it, make small high speed needle adjustments as I described above and soon it will be running correctly......

When my son got his Savage years ago, the engine was so out of whack we just took the whole truck down and put it back together with threadlock which was missing from any screw in the truck.....
I tore down the engine and sealed it up using the orange rtv and once we ran it again it was like a completely different truck......
 
I hope that my carb was loose and that's why it came off so easily, I was still seeing some bubbles in the fuel line before I took it off, hope they are gone now and maybe I can get some starting action.
 
Yeah this is still a major headache. I don't get why it started a couple times initially and even ran for a tank and now I can't even get so much as a cough. I shouldn't have to seal a brand new engine unless its built wrong. I've never had to do that for any of my airplane 2 cycle or 4 cycle engines. I really don't want to entirely disassemble it, but I am convinced there is a leak because I'm seeing lots and lots of air bubbles in the fuel line when I try to start after priming.
 

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