NB's Monster savage build

[Ninetiesbeard]

Hpi savages have been a huge part of my rc adventures for many many years. My first was a savage ss back in, uhh, 2007 i think. It was blue and lots of fun. That truck ended up having an LRP 28 which was a monster engine, as well as some fairly rare extended tvps.

 

Heres Mini me enjoying my savage, 11 years old or so. I built the whole thing again several times, just cherrypicking the best parts from a used parts lot me and my dad got. It was a total hoot.

 

This was the truck that really opened my eyes to big bore nitro rc. I have many great memories of it, especially sorting out the annoying half tank lean with a mid tank mod. 

 

 

And this was the new savage when i first got it. It was £80, the engine was seized solid (lied to by the ebayer) and the truck itself was in pretty poor condition. 

 

 

Haggled these proline mulchers off of the guy for free with the truck. Also scored this savage bod off of ebay cheap. Was actually pretty nicely painted, still have this shell somewhere.

 

 

Got the truck fitted up with my trusty old k4.6 and yes, that is the original hotbodies side pipe. Lord that thing is loud, really hearing damage loud.

 

Wasted no time in hitting the woods and getting dusty, this was such a cool moment for me to be reconnected with the platform that gave so much to me when i was younger. It also burnt me several times while trying to start it; happy memories.

 

 

I really liked this bodyshell. This was the basher body, i didnt want to ruin that other nice one. Also these tyres had larger diamter, and made the truck a bit faster overall.

 

It had a great attitude when jumping, weighed hardly anything and bounced around a lot. A proper, no bs nitro monster truck exactly how my old savage was, although not as powerful. This is from 2016.

 

 

Destroyed a diff at that bash. Turned out that the previous owner had installed a bulletproof diff in the front and stock 43t in the rear! those were different ratios! Yikes.

 

 

Then i converted it to an xl style wheelbase. With this beautiful tuned exhaust and aluminium shocks. Those proline tyres were really nice too, if a bit on the heavy side. It was really starting to come together.

 

 

Then i had to paint up a new body. I love those OBS fords, the f150 is such a lovely truck. And tamiya PS-17 is a perfect colour. I miss that body, it didnt stay that way for long.

 

It made its way to a few little meetups. Just like the old savage did.

 

 

Irc tvps, proline badlands (FINALLY IN 3.8!) and a full rpm arm set were added. This would have been perfect to leave it as it was right here. I actually have all the parts to build this truck as it was right here.

 

God i love a good dodge charger. Still have this body, all painted up and never ran it. Its drilled to fit the irc +6mm tvps but again i never used those either.

 

 

Then the brushless conversion started. Irc big bore shocks added, they are so overkill its unreal.

 

 

Alza chassis plates, more fast lane parts. I converted the transmission to flux spec, and got a 1717 from an X0-1 as well. That motor is nuts. Those battery boxes were rubbish, cheap chinese knockoffs. The mgm esc was expensive, but really to this day i dont think ive used a better esc. Its flawless, and gives a very usable stable power delivery. Not sure about the mp-jet connections; i need to use both hands and get a steady footing to pull those apart.

 

 

Diff #2 bit the dust. A bulletproof one this time. My fault for not shimming it, although chinese diffs can be had for £20. Decent. The truck has enormous power. Never radar'd but id guess between 40-50mph on full tilt. It was basically the only rc i used at this point, and with good reason; it does everything i ever wanted it to. I run it on 5000mah zippy lipos, 6s and 40c but i get around 15-20 minutes out of a set. I think the mgm esc is pretty economical, or maybe i got lucky and accidently did everything correctly.

 

Excuse the play button. (stolen from instagram again) but this thing rips literally! Tearing grass from the ground like my old lrp would never have done. Its amazing how brushless motors and escs have come on since when my old truck was a thing.

 

 

Then my good friend @hamradioguy Fired up his printer and sorted me out some parts. The new servo tray, and battery boxes are excellent. We did 2 versions of the battery boxes to get the bracing more secure, as after the first run they split at the force point. But afterwards the truck has been run a good few times, and the battery boxes are rock steady. They sit closer in on the truck, and fit my zippy lipos perfectly. 3d printing is yet another amazing technology that has emerged since my first savage build, back then i think printers started at £40k and werent commercially available.

 

 

Then i managed to find some turbo rare hotbodies super-tec aluminum hubs, coupled with some gpm aluminium hubs the whole setup becomes much more rigid. I managed to find the legitimate truggy style 17mm hexes for the truck as well but they took around 6 months. £10 delivered from ebay! what a score. I also added some fast lane aluminium arms, at this point the truck gets used for fast cruising/field wheelie machine so im really not worried about the potential for bending stuff. Although its seen some cartwheels and roll overs but still seems rigid and true.

 

 

Then my friend Dylan from the US put the feelers out for some fast lane aluminium diff cases. These are (or were) rare as hens teeth. They were expensive and he wasted no time getting them to me. It took 6 months to find these, you may remember my searches on here. The savage facebook group actually got together and went to fast lane with a 100 strong orderbook to persuade them to re-machine a run of these diff cases. I believe the photos of my truck on there with these were a strong factor in that, ive been offered a fair amount of cash to sell them too 😁
 

 

Integy (ugh) rear hubs added. This is another rare part, getting a nice set of these. They seem to come with the hotbodies suspension conversion kit which is again super rare to see. Also i suspect they will get hammered so i wouldnt want a nice set on there. Its feeling pretty complete at this point. The diff cases are installed with @hamradioguy again coming to the rescue by literally ransacking his working hotbodies lightning for diffs, as the fast lane cases have a hybrid geometry to work with 1/8th buggy diffs. These were designed before the bulletproof diffs were a thing, i think around 10 years ago actually. When people started building super tough brushless savages. I also installed an alza centre diff kit, which mounts the motor in the middle and adds a centre diff to the truck; helping keep the front end down a bit as this thing was just a wheelie machine at this point. It also completes the look, and allows more room around the motor for cooling.

 

Now we come to the present day, (well, 2019) When the truck had its last proper outing. It ran well but crazy fast because it is overgeared. The diameter of the motor doesnt allow for a smaller pinion due to everything touching everything else down there, so this is how itll stay for now. Theres no cogging, its just a lot faster than it was because of the hotbodies diffs having a different ratio. It popped a driveshaft out once under acceleration while turning left which allowed the driveshaft to ruin the cup and polish itself smooth. Thats all it took for it to then pop out and click on every single left turn made from then. I thought about lengthening the stock driveshafts but instead bought some chinesium cvds to do that with. After consulting @Candyman about a sleeve we came to the conclusion that a different driveshaft with slightly more length from a different manufacturer would be a better solution. So i got some arrma driveshafts from @Kukynas which should be a fair amount longer and still work. It does mean that ill have to convert the diff output cups to the smaller ball end as used on the savage 21, but the stock cups that come with the hotbodies diffs will work with that. Itll be an interesting frankenstein driveshaft combo but if it works it will solve the issue. The steering slop is another issue that needs solving. Also my zippies are starting to get a slight puff on, probably due to me over-discharging them a couple of times. Oops. So thats it for now, ill update the thread as and when, but what with the pandemic affecting the postal service it looks like it will be a fair while. Until then i can file out the wheel arches on the russian unbreakable bodyshell and get the truck prepared for running otherwise.

Thanks for reading-

NB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bajadre]

Awesome savage history that matey always said u dont RC til you've owned a savvy :)

[hamradioguy]

Ohhh forgot about the diffs, expect some haggling over that baja stuff 👍

[Tug]

Good read. 

 

I actually had a Hot Bodies version many years ago, but sold it before doing any upgrades. 

 

Then when I got my Super 5sc Flux, I started buying spares to keep in stock. One day I looked at the pile of spares and figured I only needed a chassis and some other bits and I could build a whole Savvy, so I did. 

 

I went with the Alza buggy version, looks stunning without a shell. However, I always run it with a very beat up Charger shell. 

 

Set-up is an MGM ESC, 1717 clone, Alza CD and uBEC. 

 

No RPM bits yet, but does have the Integy Deletes, which are a must. 

 

Only running four shocks at the mo, but might go up to eight. 

[Ninetiesbeard]

I bet that moves some, i love those buggy style alzas. Dejan makes very good stuff. Four shocks is fine but 8 is a lot better for the heavier versions i find

[Tug]

Yeah, it's fairly quick, but to be honest I think it's geared very low, on a recent street run (below) temps were icy cool. However, I like it that way, it's under control, tops out mid forties at a guess. 

 

 

 

[Ninetiesbeard]

Nice setup! Yeah everything on my end stays  dead cool as well, i think its that esc. That thing hauls ass man

[Kpowell911]

God I miss my Savage Flux's.... Had the original .21 in 2003ish? as my first ever Nitro, upgraded to a .25 when that came out but Nitro wasn't really for me. I thought my dreams had come true when HPI released the HPI E-Savage, but that was a disappointing money pit. The Flux then came out officially and I had to have one, but I thought converting a used .21 Nitro would be the best idea.... that cost me probably 3 times the price of a Savage Flux HP by the time it was running. Over the years I had 2x genuine Flux HP's, then two Alphastar 4S versions, which if we are honest are the best possible Savage Flux in terms of usability, and were a bargain compared to the HP. My 7th Savage was then a TCS 1/5th Conversion with 1/5th Baja Wheels. I sold everything when the Xmaxx came out, which was the right decision, but Savage's do have such a soft spot in my heart.

 

Sorry for the thread hijack, I nearly ended up posting some pics! But back to yours

Edited April 29, 2020 by Guns

[Ninetiesbeard]

Haha go for it mate all content is good content  Yeah they are special for sure, once my baja is done the savage will probably only come out occasionally 

[Daddyroo]

Reading that made me realise how much I miss a good savage. Had nearly every nitro version over the years, always modding and tinkering. Toyed with going brushless but for me then a savage had to be nitro - nothing better than that noise and smell - wish I'd kept my XL now😔

Loving the brushless charger with the irc big bores, always wanted a set of those. 

 

[Ninetiesbeard]

Yeah those shocks are awesome, i think for big air landings theres nothing better because of the volume. Although theyre a bit stiff but thats just the sealing elements i think

[Ninetiesbeard]

Okay, time for an update on this one too! So the arrma kraton driveshafts didnt fit as they were too long. Back to the drawing board, but msuk came to the rescue. Whoever on here suggested LST driveshafts, (possibly you @Kukynas) wins some serious cool points as they actually work. I used the stub axle of the chinese flux cvd from ebay, and the shafts from an original LST to create my frankenshafts. I had to redesign the barrels in those, as the pin diameters were different and neither barrel fit correctly. After all that, i cut the savage xl axles spacers in half, spaced the axles out properly and its been mint ever since. All four corners rock their new shafts, the truck has been bashing twice since then and had no issues. 

Now i am onto a different game; making my own wheels. Ive wanted large tyres on the truck forever, and it just so happens that DMS racing (effectively down the road from me) had some old IMEX blazer 44 series tyres. I picked up two sets and got prototyping, as they are much larger than 40 series tyres. I believe 4.4 inches wide lol. I got quite far, designing and redesigning the wheel several times a long the way, with a lot of help from @hamradioguy we even printed a prototype. The design has changed a lot since then, but the core geometry has stayed the same. 

 

The redesign followed a few suggestions from my friend, to make life for printing more efficient and to make the design stronger. Its actually a five piece design, with the wheel barrel being two pieces, the hex plate/centre being one, and two beadlocks. I also had a change of heart about the look, modifying it to give an old school kyosho vibe with the slotted wheels. This has been designed for use with threaded inserts, as the original prototype just cracked the print material after tapping. Its been so long since i did any work on this (4 months) that i cant really remember where i was at, although the screenshots shown are the most recent iteration.

Now we come to cost. My friend here is fairly certain that the wheels wont last on the savage, being as it is so heavy and the tyres are so heavy. He is probably correct, so i believe the best course of action is to print a prototype to check that it works and then either get them printed in some sort of nylon or get them machined out of delrin. I can export the STL, so its no worries. If i remember correctly, theres well over 10 hours of solid printing in one wheel, which makes for a very very long cycle with a lot of filament. The inserts for threading are also very expensive, so the whole set will probably end up costing a fair whack when done. Although i am really really excited to get moving with that.


The truck also got a russian unbreakable bodyshell since the last time you saw it, but i dont really like it. I much prefer my old green body so i may buy and paint up another one. 

The imex blazer 44 tyre

 

Comparison to 40 series mulchers

 

 

The designed wheel laid bare, Really big fan of this, probably over 100 hours in that design by now.

 

 

 

Still looking pretty, Thanks for reading! Will update as and when i have things to show.

 

 

 

[Ninetiesbeard]

Hey dudes, its been a long time. The wheels were indeed printed, and look great. Ive got a few snaps, not actually used them yet though as ive been running other vehicles; you know how that goes. The truck is very wide now, and also quite heavy. I want to put it on a bit of a diet, and also want to go back to 4s batteries. It is far too violent for my liking on 6s, plus all of my 3s packs are puffed junk now. Im after a little more run time, so fairly soon after rebuilding to accept a single 4s pack, i will be going lipo shopping again which i hate. Thanks for reading, NB.

 

[Kpowell911]

WOW!!

 

How do 3D printed wheels stand up to bashing though?

[Ninetiesbeard]

Thanks man 🙂 Well with pla, probably not very well. It will likely delaminate/split if hit too hard. Its a heavy truck too, so it will be interesting to see. I am doing one last rebuild, and will then test the truck on 4s to see what they can handle. I will report back with specific details after the fact, and will post them here

[Nitroholic]

3d printed rims might hold up OK if you stay off the jumps. They are strong in the right dierction for the actual rim. The bit I would worrk about though, is the wheel hex area. Whether it sill stay on the wheel! Could see it shear off where the hex joins the main wheel disc if there is not enough support.  I'd say they would be stronger with a solid dish and plenty of ribbed support in the back.

 

Only way to find out though is to drive the beast!

 

Love the IMEX tyres though

[Ninetiesbeard]

7 minutes ago, Nitroholic said:

3d printed rims might hold up OK if you stay off the jumps. They are strong in the right dierction for the actual rim. The bit I would worrk about though, is the wheel hex area. Whether it sill stay on the wheel! Could see it shear off where the hex joins the main wheel disc if there is not enough support.  I'd say they would be stronger with a solid dish and plenty of ribbed support in the back.

 

Only way to find out though is to drive the beast!

 

Love the IMEX tyres though

 

Haha thanks man. True enough thats the part i think will fail too. The design of those specific hex adaptors means i dont get much actual hex depth, so it may even strip them at that point. Theres some support there, and it feels rigid in hand, but only time will tell

[leongordon234]

Had a good read through this, some amazing work gone into sourcing parts etc 

Really like the big wheels and tyres combo 

Would be interesting to see progress on the wheels 

[Ninetiesbeard]

21 hours ago, leongordon234 said:

Had a good read through this, some amazing work gone into sourcing parts etc 

Really like the big wheels and tyres combo 

Would be interesting to see progress on the wheels 

Thanks man 🙂

 

Its getting rebuilt at the moment, going to paint up a new body and add a bunch of carbon fibre parts to front motor it. Should be done sometime early next year, it is financially crippling lol

[Ninetiesbeard]

And we are back with yet another wave of changes and upgrades. In use the truck as it was had a ton of power whenever you needed it, but it was far too much for me. The truck had also become very heavy and less of what i wanted it to be. I want it to behave as a fast cruising type of truck, i dont need huge air or massive wheelies or stunts or anything, just something to enjoy in the local parks on sunny afternoons. With this is mind i grabbed a few other parts and made a few changes. Youll  have to excuse the badly formatted photos, its all via mobile.

 

This is how the truck currently sits. Those tvps are custom cut with files i modified from a member of the hpi savage central facebook group. They are 4mm, light and strong. I also had him cut me a set of hingepin braces in 4mm, and a battery tray too which was entirely my design. I also designed a new servo mount which tucks the servo right in behind the front shock tower and braces the servo saver; pretty proud of that one . The truck will be converted to 4s only, using single batteries with the same mgm controller but a traxxas 540xl motor this time. It has a much higher kv, so should still shift reasonably with the lightened truck. Unfortunately i didnt get a chance to weigh the truck before i tore it apart but from carrying it around i can tell it is signifcantly lighter than it was already. These tvps flip the alza centre diff 180 to use a front motor configuation and leave room for a battery between the frame rails which means i will have to make/buy different centre driveshafts. This is probably the most abitious ive been with the truck, its stayed like this for months now and i really need to finish it off.

 

The reefs servo will without a doubt be powerful enough for this truck, the linkage has almost zero resistance as it is fully ballraced. There is also enough room for the motor cooler traxxas have for this can, which i believe i will likely need.

 

 

 

I went to a set of dace engineering hex adaptors instead of the IRC ones because i dont like the fitment method of those. These are a much stronger setup.

 

 

My 4s gens ace packs fit well in that space. I need to machine some battery standoff posts. The tray has provision for adjustment forward, backward, left and right with slotted holes underneath. There is plenty of room for battery cooling too.
I also switched out my IRC shocks for the traxxas maxx shocks you see here. They are smoother and handle the lighter truck better. They also weigh about a third of the IRC shocks because of the difference in oil volume.

 

 

 

I weighed the tvps against the 5mm alza ones i was using, the carbon weighs half as much. I am going to fabricate a 7075 aluminium skidplate for the underneath of the truck because im worried about stones causing the carbon to delaminate. I probably need to epoxy the cut edges to help with that too.

 

And this is a better look at the battery tray. Those two straps and my standoffs will hold the battery firmly. Im excited to finish this truck, i also have a brand new ford f150 bodyshell ready to paint up for it when the weather isnt so bad. There is much to do, a few things to 3d print and fabricate but its getting there. I probably need to stop modifying this truck and drive it more. Id say it is my favourite rc.

Thanks for reading, NB.

 

 

[Kpowell911]

You simply dont see builds like this anymore, this is stunning!

 

That said, I'm not sure how the 540XL will be? its only a 3670 motor?

[Ninetiesbeard]

1 minute ago, Kpowell911 said:

You simply dont see builds like this anymore, this is stunning!

 

That said, I'm not sure how the 540XL will be? its only a 3670 motor?

 

 

Thanks man that means a lot 🙂 It is a baby motor. My thinking is that if it moves a traxxas maxx around like it does, it will probably be fine for this truck. Again im not too sure. I may end up going for a 2200kv castle unit if this turns out to be pants. It was expensive too considering how big it is

[leongordon234]

Love the updates been following for a while 

The wheels looks great, imagine them built in alloy 😂

 

Nice idea switching to the maxx shocks not seen that done before

 

Are thos extended arms or just normal size? 

 

What are you going to do with your irc shocks you took off? 🤔🧐 Been contemplating upgrading my xl for a long time 

[DannyP]

Just came across this thread and read through all of it.

 

Some serious amount of work has gone into this. Fair play, it looks incredible!

[Ninetiesbeard]

On 26/06/2022 at 15:32, leongordon234 said:

Love the updates been following for a while 

The wheels looks great, imagine them built in alloy 😂

 

Nice idea switching to the maxx shocks not seen that done before

 

Are thos extended arms or just normal size? 

 

What are you going to do with your irc shocks you took off? 🤔🧐 Been contemplating upgrading my xl for a long time 

Sorry for the six month late reply!

Those are maxx shocks yes, and they feel good. Still havent run the truck yet, although i have everything to complete it. I sold the irc shocks on ebay dead cheap, i wish i had seen this beforehand! I have the cad files of the wheels, which can easily be sent to a cnc firm to be cut. Since these posts i also co own a lathe/milling machine with a buddy so we could also turn out a set of billet ones ourselves 🙂 although they would probably be very heavy. Im considering machining the inner plates from aluminium and leaving the barrels printed. The arms are extended and made by fast lane machine, same as the diff cases and shock towers. Hopefully ill have an update soon when i stick the thing together and test it. Its been a busy time, we will see what happens