Cheap servo upgrade for some Hobby Plus 1/18 crawlers?

[desmobob]

I have a new T-Hunter V3 and am enjoying it. I added some brass portal covers and that really helped it feel much more planted. I also checked and filled the shocks, which were very nearly empty out of the box. I have some Hobby Plus black steelie bead lock wheels with brass rings en route.

The only thing I think I'd like to add is a stronger servo. And I don't want to spend much. I was curious as to the actual torque rating of the stock servo. In the Hobby Plus parts lists, I've seen two servos listed as a part for the T-Hunter; one is listed as 1kg torque and the other as 1.5kg.

The servo in my T-Hunter V3 is not labeled. How do I know which one it is? I contacted Hobby Plus and they said if the servo on my truck has a plastic spline, it's the 1kg version. If it has a metal spline, it's the 1.5kg model. It turns out that my T-Hunter has the 1kg version. So, it seems that for $11.89 (on sale this week) I could get 50% more servo torque, at least according to their published specs. Or, I could spend considerably more to get an aftermarket servo with a LOT more (more than necessary?) torque.

I have the Hobby Plus 1.5kg version on the way and will report back when it arrives and I get to compare it to the one on my truck out of the box.

 

[desmobob]

I hope Santa was good to all you folks!

I dug through my dusty boxes of R/C stuff and found a nice little Henge MD 9 3 3 metal gear digital servo with 1.8kg torque at 4.8Vand 2kg at 6V. The HobbyPlus servo I ordered still has not arrived (scheduled for deliver later today) so I installed the Henge. It is very noticeably stronger than the 1kg servo that came with the T-Hunter. Speed seems to be about the same.

The only tiny issue was that the T-Hunter's black servo horn didn't fit the new servo so I had to use a white one that came with it. It's not too noticeable. I'll hit it with a black Sharpie to make it even less conspicuous.