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The Savage SS Thread

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R

RobH

Gone - bye bye.
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Unless you hiding under a rock, you probably know what the Savage SS is. For those rock dwellers, the Savage SS is the Savage in kit form. Aside from being a kit, other advantages include a bigger enine (.25 Nitro Star), a different "ringed" pipe, and several upgrades from stock including improved dog bones.

If you want to read all the particulars, check this out:
http://www.hpiracing.com/kits/savage_ss/savage_ss_main.htm

in a nutshell here are the differences:

SavageSS.vs.Stock.gif


Savage SS also comes with no radio

The Nitro Star S-25 just looks mean. You can tell by the specs that the power band is in the lower RPM range and hence it have more torque and acceleration off the line. They also give you an 18 tooth and a 15 tooth clutch bell so you can tune for speed or the infamous MT wheelie.

I want it. It's that simple. I have never built an RC from a kit and that will be fun. I will also have the chance to paint my first body. Also fun. You get a "wheelie engine" right out of the box and all the cool extras over the RTR. To top it off, the kit is $50 cheaper than the RTR. You have to supply your own radio, but that's no skin off my nose.

After looking at that video, I'm pumped and excited about it. That thing has some balls.

How many of you other guys out there, are itching to have this kit?

-RobH
 
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Man, quit talking about the SS!!!!!!!!!!! I had convinced myself I would forget about it and finish my Supermaxx!!!!

Now you bring it up again.

Man, too many choices...........S7 or Savage.........S7 or Savage.....
 
Originally posted by SkyMaxx
Not to kick you in the nuts or anything, but you are a few weeks late and a buck short. This information has already made the rounds.

Very informative version:
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5786

Front Page announcement:
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5774

Thanks for reminding us though.

BTW, what rock you been hiding under?
=devil
Click to expand...

my nuts hurt.

i had no idea. i don't even know how i missed the front page post. i didn't know until ImBroken said something at the bashfest. I'm pumped about it. That video just rocks. Someone said it might be a fake or something.
 
You know what, I really don't give a poop if there is another thread. Let's review the 1 month old thread and continue talking here. (Not to bash you Sky.)

Rob - I'm so torn between dumping my Maxx and getting the Savage SS, or doing a Maxx .21 conversion. I love my Maxx, but it ain't got enough power, plus, I've dumped so much time and $$ into it it's hard to let go, but if I get the SS I have to dump the Maxx. Plus, the .21 conversion would come close to the cost of the SS kit. And to top it off, I could probably get enough out of my Maxx for the SS plus a nice FM radio, and might even have left-overs for some SS upgrades. WTF is a man to do??? :wtf:
 
No bash felt on this end. Simply putting my foot squarely on Rob's nuts. I mean the self-proclaimed Google-meister of the internet, and he misses the use of the site's own search function. How could I resist?

Besides, I love to see my new truck brought up over and over again...sweeeet!
 
Hi,

What i'm doing is keepin my Savage Picco .26 and just buying some of the spurs etc that make the SS customizable because the Picco has a faster engine and with the upgrades it will make sicker then SS :OMG:

Thanks

Cyber Phreak
 
Cyberphreak, i think anyone with a picco .26 Savage is gonna wanna keep what they have. If your current Savage is upgraded past the SS, why buy one?

If you are like me, however, and you DON'T have a Monster Truck R/C, the Savage SS is a no-brainer pick. The whole Savage21 vs. T-Maxx debate only held water because a stock tmaxx is generally faster than a stock Savage21. Now, you not only have a more durable RC right of the box, you also have a faster RC out of the box. (assuming the Savage SS is going to perform like that video suggests.) I think Traxxas is going to loose a little market share over this deal. :yes:
 
If we take this site as a test bed for the MT market, TRAXXAS lost a market share when the original Savage came out. The SS will cause them to lose even more.

Just look at the stats page. The T-Maxx section of the forum was King Kong for posts; then the Savage came out and the Savage section started racing to catch up. This indicates to me that more people are interested in their Savage than their T-Maxx...in turn indicating a turn from the TRAXXAS product. I imagine other sites are experiencing a similar phenomena.
 
Darth, choices choices right? good luck on picking to keep your maxx or get an SS. If you go for the .21 conversion, you have to upgrade the drive train right?

damn sky, you wake up early.

Taking myself as an example, I too wanted a Savage before I knew about the SS. I was just hesitant, knowing I'd have to upgrade the engine, steering servo, radio and possibly the dog bones. The savage ss solves all those problems, comes in kit form and costs $50 less.

The SS is nothing shy of perfect for the experience modeler looking for an R/C in the Monster Truck class (well from what we've seen so far).

I'm not going to rush in and be a guinea pig, but as soon as I see the expected rave reviews, I'll be all over the SS.

Originally posted by SkyMaxx

Besides, I love to see my new truck brought up over and over again...sweeeet!
Click to expand...

"new truck" as in the Savage you currently own or have you too been hit with the SS bug?
 
I have the first run Savage, but will be getting an SS whenever they hit the streets.
 
I will be very happy to be a guinea pig.... I'm saving now. All I'll need is a receiver and some servos and I'm done.....yeay!!!!
 
Alrighty. I just put an SS on order at my LHS so I can be the first big kid on my block with one.

So now I'm looking for info that I haven't found in any threads yet.
Are there any NECESSARY hop-ups for the Savage? You know, things that will increase durability. The only problem I have found is with the fuel tank. The rest looks like it's mostly bling-bling stuff.
 
SkyMaxx posted this one time after yelling at me for not using the search feature.

There are numerous write-ups on the Savage. The problem is that they are in the form of threads on this site, and they address each issue seperately. I'll try and tag a few of them for you...

1. Dogbones - the "old" stock dogbones had a designe flaw that made them prone to shearing near the ends. This issue has been addressed by HPI and anyone with the flawed bones are entitled to a free upgrade to the new version. Contact HPI for the info. How do you know if you have the old ones? Look near the end of the bone shaft. You will see that it maintains diameter constant until a point near each end of the shaft, and then it takes a very sharp decrease in diameter. This step off is the shear point.

2. The fuel systems of most RCs are self leaning. There is very little you can do to counter this. There are a bunch of imaginative ideas out there that have worked, but the best one I have seen to date is to tune the engine while it has only half a tank of fuel in the tank. This will make the engine run slightly rich on a full tank, just right near the middle of the tank and slightly lean near empty. This means that performance will actually increase as the tank empties.

3. The shocks tend to be a weak point. The stock shocks are of good design, but the exposed nature of the shocks and the long shafts tend to make them open targets for bent shafts. The only solutions I am aware of are: A.) Get a upgraded set, B.) Get the New Era upper a-arm that takes T-Maxx shocks, C.) Keep a spare set of stockers in your kit as a replacement set should you need them.

4. The fuel tank/shock tower massacre. The screw on the rear tower tends to puncture the tank on really hard landings or lid down landings. The solution, as mentioned above, is to put the head of the screw holding the shocks to the tower closest to the tank with the nut being closest to the rear of the truck. You can also glue some closed cell foam to the upper back portion of the tank to provide a little impact protection.

5. The tanks primer is a point of leakage as it gets older. It can turn into an airleak that robs the engine of power and fuel down the road. You can remove the primer (several ideas on this one) or replace the tank with a primerless tank (only a couple of options here).

6. The engine is a performer if broken in properly and tuned well, but it is still underpowered. Many people upgrade the engine as one of the first performance hop ups to the Savage. The engines of choice right now appear to be the Picco .26 Outlaw and the Ofna Hyper 21 8-Port (I run the Hyper).

7. HPI addressed an issue they had internal to the tranny, but it does not hurt to verify that it is done. There is a set screw (grub screw) that has a tendancy to back out. The solution (and HPI does this for you on the latest runs of Savages) is to open the tranny and apply loctite to the screw.

From this point, the rest of the issues are owner preferences. You can upgrade the steering servo to a high torque for better performance. If you upgrade the engine, the stock HPI rims will not handle the torque and you will end up replacing them when the wheel hexes destroy the socket they rest in on the rim. There are numerous other upgrades you can make. I'll let others give you some ideas, but believe me the truck is great and the upgrades are only limited by your wallet size.
Click to expand...

the dogbone problem is gone on the SS obviously. the tranny problem is fixed on newer runs of the savage21, therefore the SS should be fixed too. steering servo problems are automatically fixed via a kit build. higher performance engine problem -- fixed w/ SS. i don't know if we're going to get new shocks, but i read the SS comes with different shock springs anyway (someone correct me if I'm wrong there). i guess that leaves the fuel tank issues.

the ss seams very solid on paper. i just need to read someone's review before i click the order button. :)
 
:naughty: Well spoke with HPI today and the SS is in the warehouse but our lhs won't see it for about 3 more weeks, by that time I won't be able to get one. Won't have any fingers left from chewing on them waiting for the ss to come out. lol:drool: :drool: :drool:
 
I wonder if tower will get it any sooner than your LHS. Their stock status still says Early Sept. :shrug:
 
Dudes, chill. It'll arrive soon enough. Besides the fall is so much better for driving, mud, more mud and even more mud, just what a decent savage needs.
 

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