New HPI Savage X 4.6

[griff7373]

I got mine in the mail the other day waiting to install it.

 

[gablett]

Well while I am waiting for the pipe still and some other various parts, I decided to build a ramp. Heres the finished project. Its 2' tall and ends at a 45 degree angle.

 

[bobaloohoo]

better watch out, dont want to break something. by that i mean the ramp, you aint gonna hurt that savage!

 

[gablett]

better watch out, dont want to break something. by that i mean the ramp, you aint gonna hurt that savage!

Lol yea.

So I ordered a set of tony's screws for it too. Figured if I'm taking it this much apart to put in new motor and at 50k to diffs might as well replace all the screws I can at the same time.

 

[bobaloohoo]

its a good thing to do! i left some phillips heads in there for better access to certain points, but its more convenient with that screw set. and the 50k weight in the diffs work magic, good for all around traction

 

[gablett]

Wow now thats service. It shipped literally 3 hours after I ordered it.

 

[bobaloohoo]

order on a friday afternoon and youll be pissed lol. i always order me stuff after 6p.m. on friday's and it doesn't get delivered to my door step until the following tuesday. you lucky ass! maybe i should learn a lesson from myself lol.. that is great service though!

 

[gablett]

order on a friday afternoon and youll be pissed lol. i always order me stuff after 6p.m. on friday's and it doesn't get delivered to my door step until the following tuesday. you lucky ass! maybe i should learn a lesson from myself lol.. that is great service though!

Lol you gotta plan this stuff!

 

[Nitro Nerd]

better watch out, dont want to break something. by that i mean the ramp, you aint gonna hurt that savage!

Or not.

The ONLY time I've broken things on my Savage is when jumping it. ;-) Out of the box...these things don't like to jump. If you jump it high off that ramp...you will eventually break something (or have stuff come loose). Especially with the stock shock oil which is like 25w I believe). That makes sense for bashing so it can handle bumps, but I'd recommend minimum of 40w. Also, make sure you put washers around ALL the ball ends as they will pop 50% of the time if not done so.

I guess my point here is that the biggest weak-area in the stock Savage is it's inability to stay in tact after jumping. It's pretty easy to mitigate, however. Mainly popping rod ends/shock ends, bending shock shafts, hinge pins and strep screws.

The Savage is no where close to as durable as some guys make it out to be. The beauty in it is how easily it can be made it durable.

BTW, sweet ramp! I like your style. Jump the poop out of it, and as things bend/break just work-around it. If you would like a list of crap I did to make it 'jump-friendly' let me know and I'll pass along what's worked for me.

 

[gablett]

Or not.



The ONLY time I've broken things on my Savage is when jumping it. ;-) Out of the box...these things don't like to jump. If you jump it high off that ramp...you will eventually break something (or have stuff come loose). Especially with the stock shock oil which is like 25w I believe). That makes sense for bashing so it can handle bumps, but I'd recommend minimum of 40w. Also, make sure you put washers around ALL the ball ends as they will pop 50% of the time if not done so.



I guess my point here is that the biggest weak-area in the stock Savage is it's inability to stay in tact after jumping. It's pretty easy to mitigate, however. Mainly popping rod ends/shock ends, bending shock shafts, hinge pins and strep screws.



The Savage is no where close to as durable as some guys make it out to be. The beauty in it is how easily it can be made it durable.



BTW, sweet ramp! I like your style. Jump the poop out of it, and as things bend/break just work-around it. If you would like a list of crap I did to make it 'jump-friendly' let me know and I'll pass along what's worked for me.

Thanks man. Please pm me any pointers or list u have as I want to jump the crap out of it! Thanks for your help. 45w shock oil is being delivered tomorrow lol. I just finished putting in 50k oil in my diffs after getting all the grease out. I have a back up set of 2 hd diffs with oil. I know most things don't come out of the box bullet proof but I want to make it bullet proof.

 

[gablett]

Well its here....



Also just got done putting in 45 weight shock oil. So how do you mount this pipe with the stock mount? Is it possible?

 

[gablett]

So I figured it out and got it mounted. So just a round up of this week.

1. Took out diffs cleaned out grease and put in 50k diff fluid front and rear.
2. Changed shock oil to 45wt
3. Installed LRP .32 engine.
4. Installed ERCM 221T end bleed pipe.
5. Installed 17t vented bell.
6. Upgraded to Futaba 3PM-X radio and matching receiver.
7. Installed HPI wheelie bar with big wheel.

Yet to do next week.
1. Change out screws to Tony's screws.
2. Install Integy aluminum throttle mix arm.
3. Install HPI87245 suspension conversion kit.

Here is the latest photos. I'm gonna try to begin and maybe even finish break in tonight on this motor. I've read its easier with this motor to get it warm and keep it warm through the whole break in. So we shall see if the weather holds.

The pipe is a gorgeous piece of metal. Very high quality and surprisingly small. Ill let ya know how much louder it is than stock, although it wont be a fair comparison as this is on the .32 and the stock pipe was on the stock motor. Super high quality stuff, takes forever to get it though. He told me a week and a half from the day he shipped it is what it would take. And he was correct to the day. Stupid international shipping. Super excited to see how it handles with the diff fluid and now I feel much more comfortable jumping big with these shocks. The stock fluid is like water.

Oh and what should I do with the old motor? It has 5-6 tanks through it. I ran OFNA after run oil through it and put the LRP covers over the intake, exhaust and fuel nipple, so its good to sit for a while, but not sure I would ever go back to it, especially I'm sure once I see the LRP power. If the LRP ever needs replaced, it will probably be a Nova anyway. Should I sell it or is it always nice to have a spare around just in case?

 

[bobaloohoo]

id cut the rear end of the cab where the cage sits on top of the motor, to where it can sit down lower on the chassis, it will look better and when you flip over it wont damage the body as much

 

[Nitro Nerd]

So I figured it out and got it mounted. So just a round up of this week.

1. Took out diffs cleaned out grease and put in 50k diff fluid front and rear.
2. Changed shock oil to 45wt
3. Installed LRP .32 engine.
4. Installed ERCM 221T end bleed pipe.
5. Installed 17t vented bell.
6. Upgraded to Futaba 3PM-X radio and matching receiver.
7. Installed HPI wheelie bar with big wheel.

Yet to do next week.
1. Change out screws to Tony's screws.
2. Install Integy aluminum throttle mix arm.
3. Install HPI87245 suspension conversion kit.

Oh and what should I do with the old motor? It has 5-6 tanks through it. I ran OFNA after run oil through it and put the LRP covers over the intake, exhaust and fuel nipple, so its good to sit for a while, but not sure I would ever go back to it, especially I'm sure once I see the LRP power. If the LRP ever needs replaced, it will probably be a Nova anyway. Should I sell it or is it always nice to have a spare around just in case?

Looks good, man. I use the 'big wheel' on my Savage whellie bar and can pretty much do anything on it. I love it.

I have a few pof Tony's screw kits (including the Savage). Let us know if you are missing some (my bag had quite a non-matching screws). Still worth it though, the mere fact it is hex.

I would suggest hanging on to that F4.6. It's just as good as that LRP you got, in my opinion. Once you put fuel through and engine it depreciates something fierce...plus it never hurts to have an extra engine laying around (I have almost two per vehicle and switch them around all the time).

Novarrossi is as good as it gets. I just got a Clocked Nova 28-5 from NitroJedi. He posted a vid of it in another thread. Damn. Also got a 9886/41001, so I'm about to get real silly with my Savage. I've got it pretty damn durable now so focused on performance improvements.

One other idea regarding jumping it...keep an eye on your engine plate/mount. The stock ones will bend from some hard landings...and that will wreak havoc. There is an HD one available, but it's pricey. I looked at Integy (not pricey)...but I have heard waaaaaaaaay too many people state that Integy is bling-bling junk. Enough for me to not even try it. My stock lasted ~4 gallons of some pretty nasty jumps so got another one but if it occurs again will shell out for the HD one.

As for your Savage....looking sweet. It's time to run that bitch. Let's see it get dirty. I don't see how you've held on this long without tearing it up. Even when I do major rebuilds, I jones so much I often put them back together and run them for a few tanks then put them back as was;-) This is also a good way to bookmark so you can reduce the variables of changes if something goes wrong.

 

[WoodiE]

Good looking Savage @gablett but it really needs some RCNT decals on it.

Send me a PM with your address and I'll be happy to get some sent your way!

 

[gablett]

Got the break in tanks through it. Couldn't get it warm. Even with a wool sock on the head it only once got near 190. Every other time was 125 to 150. That's a huge difference from the 4.6. It ran super hot. I think this ercm pipe runs cooler. I'm still leaning it out at this point after break in. Got 2 tanks thru it and holy momma this thing is insane. I went up a tooth on the vented bell and I cannot keep the front end down. It blows right over when it shifts to second. And it's still so rich it stalls sometimes when I get on it. Can't wait to see what this thing is capable of. Let's just say it's plenty dirty now! This 32 makes insane power with this pipe and I have a ways to go tuning. Even with the big tires i have no acceleration problems. On the ercm this thing sounds amazing. It's not as ear bleeding loud as I was afraid it would be. Just sounds like a monster truck. Definitely worth it!

 

[bobaloohoo]

Gablet, i ordered my LRP ZR.32... and i did it on a friday, ill never learn my lesson! damnit lol, but hey I'm gonna get with ERCM tomorrow and get a pipe and send my motor to them, you've talked me into it!

 

[hulkmaxx]

Got to love the power of those .32 LRP's, really nice power output for the price! That is a really nice savage man! I hope to do a tear down on my X soon to do a build. So I will be asking some questions.

 

[gablett]

Gablet, i ordered my LRP ZR.32... and i did it on a friday, ill never learn my lesson! damnit lol, but hey I'm gonna get with ERCM tomorrow and get a pipe and send my motor to them, you've talked me into it!

Lol you will never learn! I am really tempted to get another .32 and send it to ercm. Or I might just go crazy and get a clocked nova. You can never have to many engines. I'll wait to see your results before I decide. You will not regret it. Even slobbering rich it's a huge handful.

Got to love the power of those .32 LRP's, really nice power output for the price! That is a really nice savage man! I hope to do a tear down on my X soon to do a build. So I will be asking some questions.

It's crazy man. Thanks. I'm really doing a lot of research on weak points and trying to make this thing fast and bulletproof. I'm not an expert by any means but have learned a lot from research and tinkering so far. So I'm happy to help any way I can.

So I'm gonna take it out and tune it good and jump the crap out of it tonight. So driving report tomorrow.

 

[Nitro Nerd]

I am really tempted to get another .32 and send it to ercm. Or I might just go crazy and get a clocked nova.

Okay, so we all know an engine is only as good as its tune. I'll put a spot on tuned Traxxas 3.3 against a poorly tuned modded LRP .32 or even Nova any day of the week. I doubt anyone disagrees with that,

I think I'm up to 13-15 engines now and only in the past 8-12 months did I become consistent with my tuning...and am still no where near where I want to be but feel I'm headed in the right direction. It all begins and ends with tuning skills. You have to be consistent with your tuning. I waited a long time until I got my first clocked engine...,for the simple fact I wanted to truly be able to compare it against stock. In a few weeks I'll be getting my third one. I see guys all the time upgrade engines because they just don't know how to tune and think a new engine will magically solve their problems. That is not how is works and every engine service owner will tell you that.

So with race tuning being the great equalizer, here is what I've learned: to really compare well-tuned engines, you have to put them head to head. There is no if, ands, or buts about it. Everyone looks good driving in their backyard, but if you really want to see how bad-ass your engine is...take it to track and go heads up against other engines. You race, so I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but for others...I'm telling you that is the ONLY way to compare.

CRE engines a out of this world. There is a reason it seems like 1/2 the guys at every track run them..,.they have compared and clearly see what's dominant. Frankly I don't think I'll ever get a stock one again. You guys don't have to take my word...research on your own (but those who know me realize I always call it like I see it). I'm not here to compare modification services or anything like that. Just telling you what I have seen and compared. Those Clocked engines are as good as I have EVER seen. ;-)