With an $800 budget , what would you get?

[PainKiller]

Yeah, the E-Maxx dates back to a time when servos weren't as powerful or quick as they are today.

A lot of servos I’ve been checking out say “steel gears” or “metal gears”. Does that mean some servos come with plastic gears as well? It doesn’t seem like those would last very long.

 

[332_RC]

Steel is steel. Metal means aluminum, brass or possibly titanium, if it states what metal it is. I have servos with all types of metal.
Yes, alot of servos come with plastic gears & even the horn (splined hat) are plastic. No, they don't last long.

 

[Chubaka]

A lot of servos I’ve been checking out say “steel gears” or “metal gears”. Does that mean some servos come with plastic gears as well? It doesn’t seem like those would last very long.

Plastic gears, aluminum gears, steel gears and titanium gears can be found in servos.

On my trx 2wd they can last. Cart wheels and front impacts to the wheels would do the trick usually. This is one reason they have servo savers.

 

[CertifiedMike]

There are also brass and plastic shafts and bushings vs ball bearings inside servos that will effect longevity and durability.
I don't see ppl talking about that as much as the gears though.
My experience with servos is all on the "old" side.
I only ran Futaba which is as good a brand as I think a person could get back then.
In all my time running plastic geared servos with kimbroug style servo savers from 1985, I think I have stripped 1 set of gears.
Thats in Hornets and Frogs and Optima, Mid, Blackfoot... and with a lot of "noob" crashing and such.
That said, I've purchased a few used r/c's with stripped servo gears.
I just bought a Mid with a stripped aristocraft servo and the Mid runs a factory servo saver.
Its possible that this servo was pulled from something else and installed. (I feel like this car wasn't a great buy, lots of broken parts)
My point is, a servo saver won't always save your servos.
I'm not promoting plastic gears for r/c bashing but they are prob lighter than a metal gear servo and would likely function well for aircraft.
The new servo I just bought is metal geared. It seems like the smart choice for me anyway. I like that I can buy parts for it if I need to. Its not a throw away. I can't wait to try it out!
I think even the on-road racers mostly stay metal gears.
I'm wondering if the metal gears vs plastic are any faster or slower? Weight vs precision and all that.
Waterproofing vs splashproof is another servo"trick" to watch for.

 

[RustyUs]

yeah you got a good setup in the mt10, can’t really compare that to the rtr servos.

Only one or two models that I can think of that run 2 steering servos, but I haven’t been in this very long lol, others would know more. Pretty sure it’s not all that common

Losi once did a two servo setup for their monster truck steering...

 

[RustyUs]

Servos
Electronics section search... https://www.rctalk.com/forum/search...1&c[nodes][0]=143&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

Not all servos are created equal. The circuit boards, seals, motors, metal, and composites used in making a servo can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. There are usually different tiers of servos within a brand to offer the end user and their budget.

When a servo is said to be "metal geared" it is not always all the gears that are metal. Sometimes a person has to dig deeper into the specs to find things out.

In today's world, I won't even think about putting a servo into a shopping cart unless I can find replacement gearsets for the servo. That's not to say the manufacturer doesn't have faith in their servos, to me it means the opposite. Gears wear out. Having an option to replace a gearset is a must for me. I'd rather do that than keep buying disposable low budget servos. Of course, one's budget may not be like another's budget.

So many servos out on the market today. Torque and speed specs to keep a person busy for hours as they shop. Coreless; brushless; titanium; high voltage; programable.... blah, blah, blah.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Servos
Electronics section search... https://www.rctalk.com/forum/search...1&c[nodes][0]=143&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

Not all servos are created equal. The circuit boards, seals, motors, metal, and composites used in making a servo can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. There are usually different tiers of servos within a brand to offer the end user and their budget.

When a servo is said to be "metal geared" it is not always all the gears that are metal. Sometimes a person has to dig deeper into the specs to find things out.

In today's world, I won't even think about putting a servo into a shopping cart unless I can find replacement gearsets for the servo. That's not to say the manufacturer doesn't have faith in their servos, to me it means the opposite. Gears wear out. Having an option to replace a gearset is a must for me. I'd rather do that than keep buying disposable low budget servos. Of course, one's budget may not be like another's budget.

So many servos out on the market today. Torque and speed specs to keep a person busy for hours as they shop. Coreless; brushless; titanium; high voltage; programable.... blah, blah, blah.

Funny and true!
I feel like a servo is a servicable component now.
Its gone from "throw away" to a "buy once, cry once" investment that can be moved from car to car like an esc or motor might get swapped from time to time.
Servos are complex if you take the time to dig!

 

[PainKiller]

This is all good servo info to know. Noob time : what exactly is a servo saver?

 

[RustyUs]

There are also brass and plastic shafts and bushings vs ball bearings inside servos that will effect longevity and durability.
I don't see ppl talking about that as much as the gears though.
My experience with servos is all on the "old" side.
I only ran Futaba which is as good a brand as I think a person could get back then.
In all my time running plastic geared servos with kimbroug style servo savers from 1985, I think I have stripped 1 set of gears.
Thats in Hornets and Frogs and Optima, Mid, Blackfoot... and with a lot of "noob" crashing and such.
That said, I've purchased a few used r/c's with stripped servo gears.
I just bought a Mid with a stripped aristocraft servo and the Mid runs a factory servo saver.
Its possible that this servo was pulled from something else and installed. (I feel like this car wasn't a great buy, lots of broken parts)
My point is, a servo saver won't always save your servos.
I'm not promoting plastic gears for r/c bashing but they are prob lighter than a metal gear servo and would likely function well for aircraft.
The new servo I just bought is metal geared. It seems like the smart choice for me anyway. I like that I can buy parts for it if I need to. Its not a throw away. I can't wait to try it out!
I think even the on-road racers mostly stay metal gears.
I'm wondering if the metal gears vs plastic are any faster or slower? Weight vs precision and all that.
Waterproofing vs splashproof is another servo"trick" to watch for.

Back in the day. LOL. You're certified so I'm sure you remember servo(s) coming with/inside transmitter box.

This is all good servo info to know. Noob time : what exactly is a servo saver?

Can be servo mounted type or built into the steering bellcranks to help absorb impacts.

https://www.rcdriver.com/install-servos-properly/
From Team Associated Rival MT10 manual:

Search results for query: rival mt10 servo saver

 

[CertifiedMike]

I tried to find a good video but I can only find one of a kid saying that an impact will destroy your saver but save your servo.
perhaps this is correct if you drop your r/c from a 747 at altitude or impact is at triple digit speeds.
I think I've broken 1 servo saver in my entire life.
Its not supposed to break any more than the servo is supposed to break.
The kid used the wrong size servo saver and broke it IMO and THIS IS MISINFORMATION.

@RustyUs
Indeed many of my twin stick Futaba's were boxed with the receiver, 2 servos and a bunch of servo arms, mounts etc.
Futaba was great back then!
I still hear good things today but they got expensive!

 

[KnowAir]

i have a box of 2 stick Futaba and Attack radios and a Magnum jr.
Dunno if any would fire up still.
I have had inexpensive and expensive gear. It doesn't HAVE to be expensive to be good!
Sounds like you found some winners!

Arrma uses plastic balls. Mine loosened up in minutes.
The entire suspension is floppy in my Granite 3s. At speed the Granite isn't great at turning. Dirt or pavement. Its just not responsive. I think its worse than my Granite with 2s and 2wd.
I don't know about Arrmas bigger stuff. Ppl seem to like it.

Yessir, love the FlySky stuff. Cheap and actually quite good I feel.
As to the "slop", I'm being critical for sure. Arrma 6s line is stout. IMO anyway. Well, aside from the "cheese balls" used at the shock and sway bar pivots.
Never owned an Arrma 1/10.
I do have several TRX 1/10, pretty good overall. The Hoss has weak rear plastic bulkhead, haven't broken one, but boy those holes the pivot pins sit in sure get loose, and fast. LOL.

 

[KnowAir]

Traxxas liked the dual servo concept, both my E-Maxx and Summit came that way.

I have an Erevo 2.0. I'd say the only way the 2075 is up to task is by using 2 of them, LOL. It works okay.

 

[PainKiller]

Is it safe to say that in almost all RTR’s , the servo should be the first thing to get upgraded?

 

[KnowAir]

I don't think there's anyone here who endorses Spektrum servos, at least for surface. RTR stuff is the stuff you break when you upgrade... not really on my radar honestly. I've looked at a few. Enough to see the prices aren't good and the reviews aren't any better.
I only own one "good" servo.
I have a Reef's raw 500 which would prob be awesome in your M-T but I have yet to even plug it in. Not much to say about it other than its puuuuurdy!!!
Reefs specs are awesome and have a great rep.

I think the only good thing about the rtr Spektrum servos is speed. They're fairly quick, otherwise, meh. They do make some good servis, but way overpriced acrossed the line. I'm runningthe stock S905 in a K8. On 8.4v it's pretty good, fast. I'm also running tires that are much smaller and lighter than stock though, so that helps.

 

[KnowAir]

Is it safe to say that in almost all RTR’s , the servo should be the first thing to get upgraded?

If money is not an issue, I'd say yes. I run till failure or frustration overwhelms me, LOL.

 

[Doom!]

Is it safe to say that in almost all RTR’s , the servo should be the first thing to get upgraded?

I think it depends on your driving style. I tend to use them until they die unless they are noticeably under powered.

 

[KnowAir]

Arrma has upped their game as of late with the EXB models, most are reporting good results with the new servos in the EXB's. Jenny's has the S665 25kg for around $25. Not a bad deal, if I were buying something else there I'd grab the S665, but only if I were already paying shipping for other parts.

 

[PainKiller]

How can you guys tell just by the specs if a servo is decent or garbage? What should I look for? How about this one that comes on the Sworkz Apollo RTR 1/8 scale buggy? Servo info is right above the buggy images.

 

[RustyUs]

Is it safe to say that in almost all RTR’s , the servo should be the first thing to get upgraded?

If you were to take a poll...

I'd almost bet the servo is atop of "the first to go list" on the RTR electronics side of things... all brands. RTR servos, and radios add up to little value at the end of the day IMO. Sure, some are better than others, but keeping a RTR prices low/comparable to other platforms in the same class is the name of the game.

 

[PainKiller]

If you were to take a poll...
View attachment 208198
I'd almost bet the servo is atop of "the first to go list" on the RTR electronics side of things... all brands. RTR servos, and radios add up to little value at the end of the day IMO. Sure, some are better than others, but keeping a RTR prices low/comparable to other platforms in the same class is the name of the game.

That’s understandable. I’d like a new/better radio for my MT10.