Savage X 4.6 Recommended Upgrades

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CDTY22

RC Newbie
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RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
  2. Racing
I am new to this hobby and absolutely love it. I picked up a Savage X4.6 over the summer and have the truck running well. I am primarily using the truck in large open parking lots and for small jumps (only bashing is when I crash).

That said, what are some of your recommended upgrades? So far I installed a sport tuned exhaust, wheelie bar, hump pak & fuel filter.

This site has been excellent in helping me (a relative newbie) get into the hobby. Thanks in advance!
 
The savage out of the box is a great truck i personally have a list of upgrade i found necessary.
  1. Rechargeable battery pack - Venom 1600 Hump Pack
  2. HPI racing pipe, affordable they are pretty cheap - HPI Racing Tuned Pipe.
  3. CV boots on the diff side because you want to try as much as you can to keep debris from working it way in there but I'm sure its not to much of an issue just something i like.
  4. Shock/Spring Upgrade, i noticed for me personally the big bore shocks started to sag after about 3 tanks of fuel so for now i just added jato springs to the rear shock to add some more height but i do think suspension should be considered.
With that said, its not a must to have these upgrades but they are just parts i feel are nice to have on this truck.
 
The three speed is more of a cool factor IMO, unless you are looking for top speed they are somewhat useless for everday bashing. But they do sound great!
 
Yeah, I just really like the 2 shifts. Makes it more fun, atleast for me
 
Here is the list of items I see on the Savage that can be good to upgrade or mods. I know some of these have already been mentioned but here it is.

1. Hump pack if you use dry cell batteries
2. BP diffs serviced with good silicone oil
3. Good servos! Never go wrong with better servos
4. Better throttle/brake linkage. This can be a fun modd
5. Red fiberglass brakes
6. If you want better handling and willing to sacrifice some suspension travel get the sway bar kit.
7. Lower the truck a bit from stock....help keep tires planted.
8. Better tuned pipe if you still have the plastic
9. Inspect/replace inner drive cups on the tranny and diffs for the center shafts. If it worn it can cause the shaft to break....been there did it....about three times.
 
If you do want 3 speed http://www.ebay.com/itm/HPI-Savage-...Accessories&hash=item48430bc1dc#ht_1858wt_952

I dont really find the 3 speed useful for me personally because i think the 3 speed should just be for high speed runs or just in a parking lot going back n forth. But if your on a track.. you'll almost never get out of second. I know i dont.. i made a little bashing track near my house and i rarely even hear second gear used. but if you want one... ebay has them for pretty cheap, for RC you rarely can find knock off's for RC so you can rest assure that your getting legit parts.
 
The difference with the three speed is it changes the whole gear ratio of the truck....the first gear is lower (more lowend torque) the second gear is a touch lower than normal so you shift out quicker. The third gear is higher than the second gear in the two speed. So I argue that it is a pointless upgrade for nothing but parking lot runs. More even linear gear ratios = BAD? Not in my book.
 
It may shorten the ratio in general ... but I've watched videos of 3 speeds .. they still seem to take awhile to get to 3rd.. my track is pretty short and not many straights and even if it still shifts out of first faster than stock... i still wouldnt be able to use it because i made my track where soon as you land.. your into a turn.. i know for a fact i would never get to 3rd on my truck. Plus on track... you dont really need 3 speed because theres not really many straights. the whole point for 3 speed is to have a faster top speed. witch is useless if you have a track that is short.. large jumps.. and sharp turns.. never get out of first.

Maybe if i was at another area with longer straights it would be usefull but other wise i personally dont find it useful but i guess everyone has their own areas that it would be more useful though.
 
If you had a 3 speed trust me you would figure out a way to use it on a track. Shift points can be adjusted to accomidate different track conditions.
 
It may shorten the ratio in general ... but I've watched videos of 3 speeds .. they still seem to take awhile to get to 3rd.. my track is pretty short and not many straights and even if it still shifts out of first faster than stock... i still wouldnt be able to use it because i made my track where soon as you land.. your into a turn.. i know for a fact i would never get to 3rd on my truck. Plus on track... you dont really need 3 speed because theres not really many straights. the whole point for 3 speed is to have a faster top speed. witch is useless if you have a track that is short.. large jumps.. and sharp turns.. never get out of first.

Maybe if i was at another area with longer straights it would be usefull but other wise i personally dont find it useful but i guess everyone has their own areas that it would be more useful though.

Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
the transmission will shift if it needs to. having the third gear hurts nothing. Poorly tuned engines will affect how and when it shifts. i put one on my 4.6 and it shifts into 3rd quickly. The 5.9 runs poorly for the most part so it doesn't shift well
 
If you had a 3 speed trust me you would figure out a way to use it on a track. Shift points can be adjusted to accomidate different track conditions.

Yeah you could.... but why ? I mean shortening it enough you wouldnt have a much better top speed than second.. not to mention every shift does have a drop in RPM. I mean if you have a 3 speed.. and shorten the shift its not going to increase performance... your just gonna have more shifting..

Like i said before thats what i personally feel/believe. I dont believe you would gain much performance besides a higher top speed. other wise if you get 3 speed and shorten it.. then your probably not getting much of a difference compared to stock.


the transmission will shift if it needs to. having the third gear hurts nothing. Poorly tuned engines will affect how and when it shifts. i put one on my 4.6 and it shifts into 3rd quickly. The 5.9 runs poorly for the most part so it doesn't shift well


Yes thats true but my whole point is... if your on a short track thats just got jumps right out of turns and turns right after though's. you dont have enough room to shift into second.. i was stating for me i wouldnt use it much.. i would maybe use such upgrade for taking it to the park and driving around on the open field.. but for now.. i like my 2 speed.

heres one example [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cnLwsV6cTU"]HPI Savage X 4.6 with 3 speed transmission upgrade - YouTube[/ame] it doesn't effect take off and i know you can shorten it more than this but your not gonna make it tooo much shorter than that.. and my track doesn't even have nearly a straight away close to that length. i would say my track the longest straight would be 20 ft long at most. and in the middle of it is a pretty large jump. i just dont need that much speed.
 
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Sounds like you have 1/10 scale track. The tracks that I ran on we could even do 1/5 scale with no issues. So for you, I guess it would not do any good. I think it is hard to make a general assumption based only on the use of a single track. Typically on my track in Okinawa I would hit third on our straight most of the time. I would walk off and leave a 2 speed....every time. But then again I also was using a ECRM modded Picco P3.28 as well. Combined with those two I had the fastest Savage on the island that I had ever ran against. So for a very small track sure ok fine....but...if you have room to let it breath....you can't beat it.
 
Well if you never get out of first on your track then what good is it to have a 2 speed? I use my truck for a lot more than just open fields and parking lots. I have jumping contests with my friends and neighbors to see who can go higher and farther than each other. That third gear really comes in handy for that. I can clear my Jeep Cherokee lengthwise with room to spare. Having the 3 speed is like having a four wheel drive. You may not always need it but it's nice to know you have it when you do.
 
Sounds like you have 1/10 scale track. The tracks that I ran on we could even do 1/5 scale with no issues. So for you, I guess it would not do any good. I think it is hard to make a general assumption based only on the use of a single track. Typically on my track in Okinawa I would hit third on our straight most of the time. I would walk off and leave a 2 speed....every time. But then again I also was using a ECRM modded Picco P3.28 as well. Combined with those two I had the fastest Savage on the island that I had ever ran against. So for a very small track sure ok fine....but...if you have room to let it breath....you can't beat it.

I understand but I'm not trying to say there are ultimately useless. just saying not really for me. I dont have any other rc tracks near me that are like legit tracks for over 80 miles.. so we had to find a patch of dirt and just shape and groom it to our liking and dont have too much room so i have to work with what I've got.

Well if you never get out of first on your track then what good is it to have a 2 speed? I use my truck for a lot more than just open fields and parking lots. I have jumping contests with my friends and neighbors to see who can go higher and farther than each other. That third gear really comes in handy for that. I can clear my Jeep Cherokee lengthwise with room to spare. Having the 3 speed is like having a four wheel drive. You may not always need it but it's nice to know you have it when you do.

yeah 3 speed for that stuff is great cuz you need that extra speed for long distance jumps etc. and i just dont feel like pulling my tranny out to put a 1 speed in.. i have a few diff pieces to the track.. i have a large hill climb the short track and a second configuration you can drive. the only place i get to second gear on is the hill climb ( crazy as that sounds ) but yeah abotu halfway up it shifts into second and its pretty fun.. but yeah I'm not really trying to say 3 speed is useless for everyone.. it may have sounded like that but I'm just trying to saw for me.. since the only place i really have is down the street and it a small piece of land to drive on i dont have anywhere else. so i can only drive on my small underscaled track for this truck but to me its better than nothing. If i was on a larger scale track that hard larger straights then i would say sure why not. but really... i just like my 2 speed. on the hill climb its cool hearing it shift into second and sometimes ill just take it off the track and drive on the street. but yeah i might make a video of the track. its just some little bmxer kids ruined it while i was gone.. so its alittle messed up
 
there are SO many mods, but my recomendation: Tie-rod eliminating rear hub assemblies (hold the bearings)

Screenshot 2023-12-07 054808.png
 
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