GS Storm Unlimited .25 or Savager .25

[Knoen]

I am a newbie to RC-cars, but I have decided to buy a Monster Truck. For the moment it stands between GS storm unlimited .25 and Savager 25. I am going to do some bashing on the countryside where I live.

The pro for the GS is that I can buy it from a store very close to me, they have all the spare parts in stock. And it is 50$ cheaper then the Savager.

If I want to buy the Savager I need to travel a lot longer to another store (and it´s difficult) and it´s is a more expensive car, and that store have no spare parts in stock.

I think that the GS is a better deal, but I am a newbie, so what do you people think ?

The problem is that I live in sweden so buy a whole car online from USA or CA is not an option.

 

[StrechM]

I have personal experience with the SUT and friends own the Savage. As far as bashing goes, if you plan do a lot of jumping or plan to torture you mt then you will want the Savage. If you plan on light bashing or want to race on a track then you will want the SUT.
Parts availability plays a big role in what I'll purchase. No fun when you break or ware out something and you have to wait days, weeks or go way out of your way to get the part(s).
The two mt's you have mentioned are very different in their designs and what they were built to accomplish.

My 2 cents.

 

[vbgagnon]

I don't have either, and I haven't seen either of them run, but if your local hobby shop has parts for the SUT then go with that one forget the savage.

 

[Knoen]

Most of the driving will be on my parent’s farm, I am planning to drive on medows, dried out tracks, gravel pits etc. I am not planning to do any very HIGH jumping. The problem with the Savager is that if I want to buy spare-parts for it I probably need to buy it abroad. Fast help and fast delivery of spare-parts is high priority.

Is the SUT so much weaker car then the Savager ? , The person who wanted to sell me the SUT. Said that the Savager durability was a bit overrated. But of course he says things like that he want to sell his product.

StrechM: How do you make the distinction between light bashing and hard bashing ?

Are the body on the SUT closer to the ground then other MT:s ?

 

[StrechM]

Knoen, Sweden, wow, I guess that it would be a long trip to the hobby shop for the Savage parts!

I would consider hard bashing to be high jumps 5' of air or greater, extreme rough or rocky terain, a lot of unmoveable obsticles or driving habbits that will result in a lot of high speed crashes.

The SUT's center of gravity is lower than the Savage or it sets lower to the ground.

There is nothing wrong with either truck, the Savage will take a severe beating with less broken parts to show for it and the SUT will win against most mt's in a race.

My Sut did do about a dozen cartwheels accross the parking lot at close to full speed and only suffered minor alignment problems. I have not jumped it more than 4-5' in the air. The wheel adapters appear to be the weakest component if your're considering bashing it hard.

I'm sure that you'll get more feedback from the members.

 

[Knoen]

Thanks for the input, I have decided to not buy the Savager, it will be to difficult to buy spare parts even if I can buy them online.

I found a new local hobby shop today where I can buy the T-MAXX or Thunder Tiger MTA. So I will probably skip the GS and go for the MTA or T-Maxx. T-Maxx seems to be very popular car and easy to get spare parts to, easier then the GS, I dunno about the MTA, But only if people think it´s a better alternative then the GS for bashing

 

[StrechM]

Out of the box I'd take the sut over the t maxx any day. Better handling and performace. I can't comment on the mta, no experience there.

 

[Knoen]

oki, The MTA is the same car as MGT, what I undestand. Thunder Tiger are the OEM for Associated.

 

[chevelleman]

My MGT is very quick and capable of absorbing quite a beating. I broke a steering knuckle after cartwheeling the truck off of a triple when it landed on the right front tire. That is the only carnage from 4-5' jumps.

 

[maxim240sx]

Man whatever you do DON'T buy the tmaxx. I have tried several MT's over the past year. Mammoth, tmaxx,savage rtr,and kyosho kanai buggy,and now a savage SS. I have to say the savage has impressed me the most. The tmaxx is very popular,but it breaks VERY easily.The last one I had a friend in a savage hit my maxx when it was standing still . The tmaxx had been upgraded with rpm upper and lower arms,bumpers. He hit me at an angle while he was in 1st gear. It broke left upper and lower arms,front bumper,and bent my new duratrax front HD skid.And he broke one new rim. The savage didn't break anything at all. I have to say the savage is the most durable MT I've come across. The sut isn't really a MT,it's more of a truggy. I have took 20+ 6ft jumps in my savage landing on both cement and grass not landing on its tires very much.The only thing I've messed up is the stock rollbar.It's just bent alittle now from landing on it's top several times.You say you want a truck that your LHS stocks parts for.Well if your truck doesn't break easy then you shouldn't worry too much about that

 

[RatzoRC]

I have The Monster GT, and had a savage at one point.
They seem just about even, in the durability department.
The MGT drives much better then the Savage in my opinion.
If I had to choose between the two, It would be the MGT. or in your case, the MTA.
As for durability, my friend drove his MGT off a 17ft roof, and only cracked his fuel tank.
Good luck with your choice, and have some fun.

 

[doesgo]

I've got a Savage and an SUT and I think StretchM said it perfectly. The SUT is a very good racer and is quite durable, and the Savage is a great basher and extremely durable.

Parts support is a big issue though, and waiting sucks. If an MGT and SUT are both available locally and are supported locally, I'd get one of those two. If you'll be bashing more than racing, and it sounds like you will be, I'd probably go with the MGT.

 

[doesgo]

This thread has pretty much died now, but I just want to add that since my last post I TQ'd and took the A main win in the Unlimited Monster Truck class at my local track with my SUT (another SUT took 2nd, Dominators finished 3rd and 4th). I'm starting to feel really, really comfortable driving this thing and I absolutely love it! My best lap time with it was actually FASTER than my fastest lap with my Storm buggy! I've also done some jumping with it recently and it's a GREAT jumper...flies nice and flat.

 

[cvec7]

If you plan on racing on more of a budget, then SUT.
If you want to do some rough bashing, wheelies, and racing on a larger budget, then get the savage.

The savage can be made a good racer but it costs more money. You'd need to race the savage:

ofna throttle linkage
Monster Pirate servo saver
Hitec 645MG for steering, and move the stock steering servo to throttle/brake duties
New pipe
Bowtie 40 series are really nice
6 volt ni-mh rx pack
HPI HD dogbones
CVD's up front.

I have all of those on my Savage SS except the cvds, along w/ a mugen 3-shoe clutch and 25RTR fuel tank, and I love the way it handles on the track. My only complaint is.......uh.....none! Plus it's a blast to bash!