HerrSavage

Well, somebody actually bought the X yesterday - so, for a €200 loss, it's off my hands...

Thank god.

But I don't want to talk about that - really.. This is not intended as a flame thing AT ALL..

Basically, after yesterday out with my 25, in which I launched if off a(yes, quite small, but still..) ramp at WOT yesterday 125+ times(was surprised when I added it all up - but I've over 60 pics, 10 vids, and then there were 3-4 tanks when the memory on my phone was full - shame too, cuz we had crowd at that point.. I even orchestrated some jumps over these big on-road truck things as they drove under.. Timing was kind of tough..), and the only thing that broke was the antenna cable(and yeah OK, the body's not exactly pretty anymore..), well, it REALLY made me think about what a Savage is all about - FOR ME - and by extension, what I want to get next...

I mean no offense to racers, but I am so sick of hearing people talk about how their Savage can "beat" whatever other truck.. Sorry, but for me the racing meaning of "beat" has nothing to do with Savages... FOR ME, Savages are about bashing, and the essence of bashing is AIR.. I just want more and more of it.. When I was a teenager and into skating, Tony Magnussen, Steve Cabellero, and all those guys who just went HARD AND FAST AND AGGRESSIVE AND HIGH were always my favorites, over the technically nifty lip-trick guys...

I'm not at all saying I've done anything even approaching beaverstick, redneckbashers, slapmafro, or whatever... (but that's what I aspire to..)

So anyway, this is what I'm actually thinking of getting with the money from the X:

A new Savage 25..

No, don't laugh. It's the toughest basher you can get.. I was thinking of getting a Mach 26 + HPI alu tuned pipe and 3-speed for it, and THAT'S IT.. I don't need bragging rights about engine-size or whatever. What I need is a reliable truck that I can have fun with in the park - even a fraction of the fun I had yesterday...

So anyway, I've gotten kind of lost in what this thread was supposed to be about... On the one hand I'm just still riding high from a FANTASTIC session yesterday, on the other I think I'm starting to see how counterintuitive - but for bashing IMO CORRECT - my position is.. I lost a lot of money selling my X - IN ORDER TO BUY ITS PREDECESSOR.. That's only dumb based on shallow suppositions and blind faith that newer means better. Also, I'm starting to see that bigger doesn't mean better either..

So I don't know - I guess everybody wants a Savage for different reasons.. Bashing, bragging rights, some even for racing, shelf queen.. Takes all types I guess.. After yesterday I think I'm starting to see what's important, and what's not.. And occasionally - lesson learned - I think when thinking about what to get, you have to pierce behind surface assumptions, and sometimes do what superficially doesn't seem to make sense..

Don't you just love that sound??:

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...=Rrrgghhhh.flv

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...erDistance.flv

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ent=Crash2.flv

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...rent=Crash.flv

HerrSavage

Here's some pics trying to jump over these big rig things..(which, BTW, are pretty dang fast...) Guys must've thought I was nuts - some foreigner lunatic-Savage-driver asking if they'd drive by while I nailed this little ramp at WOT and flew over them... Pretty risky on their part I guess.. Can you imagine if I'd missed the ramp and blindsided one of those things at WOT.. Would've been an explosion..

(and driving out the other side, a four-wheel ball of fire, still truckin'... - THE SAV.. )

HerrSavage

Would this be a direct drop-in?? It's basically a Mach 26 taken directly out of an LST1 I think...

http://cgi.ebay.de/GRAUPNER-Mach-26-...QQcmdZViewItem

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

the Mach 26 is a GREAT engine. the only problem is you'll need a smaller backplate for an XTM .247 so you can run the gearing that NEEDS to be run with that engine to keep the front wheels from going BEHIND the rear wheels on a WOT launch. 17/47 gearing would do the trick. With the XTM backplate, you can run the rotostart too.

Also, sicne the engines are so similar in power, you might actually want to get an SH .25 Pro or the GS 25 or whatever the equivelent would be there, and they both come with the smaller rotostart compatible backplate.

Just make SURE to go through your diffs and shim them before you EVER fire the truck up, because you WILL shred them. the 3 speed works VERY well with that engine and gearing too.

BTW, the engine in your ebay link won't work with your truck unless you swap over to a pullstart...the spin start is inaccessable

HerrSavage

Yeah, the engine in the link is for one with a pullstart.. It says it came directly out of an LST1 - but "Seilzug" means pullstart in German.. Why it has one I don't know...

But is the Mach 26 THAT powerful that it'll shred diffs?? I was thinking along the lines of a slight increase in power over a stock 25 - not something massive and drivetrain-destroying.. As a matter of fact, I had been planning on running the X with just the 3-speed, polished pipe, and lighter Dirt Bonz but with the stock F4.1 engine.. I think that combo would give me a nice boost in power - and if not, if I decide to get stupid, I've always got a spanking new Axial 28 sitting there...

As for the Mach, I've just heard there are different kinds(Ofna, Dynamite..) - and want to be sure this ist he one I want.. That price - in Germany - is good... And it is the Dynamite one taken right out of an LST1 - just with a pull-start for some reason.. I'd normally prefer a RS, but not in this case if I'd have to order the XTM backplate from the States..(though I COULD get one when I'm home in October...)

Was just talking to a German guy in another forum, and mentioned I might consider an X SS if it were going for a sane price, and he reckons it won't be, cuz it's new and everybody'll know it's fixed the X "issues".. He reckons it'll cost €600 + .. If there are deals at this big hobby fair next weekend like last year, I can get TWO RTR 25's for that.. For ME anyway, better two slow but running trucks than one suped-up broken down one..


BTW, on a side-note, the guy is the same guy with the Nova 28 Savy.. He's gonna be racing at this event-thing, and he said the reason he wasn't really moving well when we "raced" was clutch-shoe problems....

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

the Mach 26 is a VERY ballsy engine. not drivetrain destroying, but it will cause excess wear on parts. It's got a bit more power than the K4.6 does...and it's a whole lot better, longer lsating engine in general. it's almost the PERFECT engine for a Savage, IMO.

The Ofna/Hyper Mach is TOTALLY different than the Dynamite Mach...the Dynamite Mach is made by SH. it's the one you should get...Hyper engines have junk carbs, and that automatically adds $50 to the price of the engine trying to get them to run right. the Dynamite/SH engines are practically perfect ouf of the box and require nothing but a good heat cycle breakin and then a good hard thrashing. Just keep it between 220 and 300 degrees F

HerrSavage

STRONGER than a K4.6?? That's cause for concern - because, despite everything you read on American forums(EVERYBODY I talk to in Germany says a Savage SS can't even handle the K4.6..)

Plus, the Axial is supposed to be slightly stronger than the K4.6 too..

Hmmm...

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

IIRC the Axial .28 is the SAME engine as the K4.6. the Savage (X or 4-gear .25 or otherwise) can handle a Mach .26 just fine in stock form, as long as you take the precautions of upgrading the clutch/air filter/exhaust, and shimming the diffs. I ran a Mach .427 in my Savage for about a gallon and a half (not including initial breakin) and had no problems aside from the fragged diff from bashing with the Moabs.

HerrSavage

OK... I DO want a bit more speed and power - but I want USEABLE power, and to get at least a gallon and a half out of the truck without major wear-and-tear upgrades being required.. Speaking VERY roughly and imprecisely(probably so much so to be unrealistic..), if I got a year and four gallons out of a bone stock 25, if my next Sav has %25 more speed and power, I'd like to hope to get two gallons and maybe 4-6 months with the same kind of treatment til major upgrades are needed...

I like everything I've heard about the Mach 26, and that, combined with a tuned pipe and 3-speed, should be about what I'm after..

ps The Axial IS more or less identical to the K4.6, but they tweaked it to make it more powerful.. On Nitrodyne's website I think it is they have a comparo-dyno test, and the Axial puts out more power.. I think(don't quote me on this..) the guy who did the K4.6 for HPI is the guy who started Axial.. Something like that..

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Do what I told you to do, and the Mach 26 will make you crap your pants

HerrSavage

Cool..

Coxwaan

is there a link anywhere about shimming diffs? i dont really know what you mean by this. im having a slight problem with my savage x, after a tank or two of fuel, its like somethingis slipping, cos i rev it to pull away, and sometimes it will, sometimes it ill just rev and not move. first happened when i stripped a spur, but i replaced the spur, after a tank or two it stil does it, but the spur is in perfect condition.
only other thing i can think of, is the clutch shoes not biting, but i have had this problem with the stock plastic ones and also some hon nor alu ones...

all this talk of shimming diffs is making me wonder, cos i suppose this could have something to do with it.

JayC1968

My Feedback: (3)

Why not go with the Mach .28... the XTM 247 backplate fits that too and gives a little more grunt... I run the Mach .28 with the 247 backplate in my XTM Buggy and the thing is sick with power.

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Jay, I need to grind some off my .247 backplate so I can use it in my SH 28 P3...i figured it'd be the same for the mach28 and others

DaveG55

For the record you can use the Roto Start backplate with the Mach .26 engine. You do have to drill and tap new mounting holes into the Mach backplate. Use a drillpress and take some really careful measurements and it's not a bad mod.
It's hard to keep the Savage right side up with the Mach.26.

HerrSavage

Well.., the Mach 26 sounds like more of a beast than I thought.. I was really only considering it (in my situation, given that I already have a brand new Axial 28..)because I thought it might be less hard on the drivetrain than the Axial 28.. Both I've heard are pretty much "set and forget", or as close as you can get to that..

I still like everything I've heard about them, and if I could do it over I'd get it instead of the Axial.. Thing is though, I've got an Axial just sitting there - Muggen shoes, vented 18T CB, even a Savage engine brace.. - all assembled and ready to go.. Just needs the header and pipe and in it can go.. (oh yeah, and a GP..)

Also, for some strange reason, the Mach 26 out of an LST is VERY reasonably priced - for Germany... €120, when an LRP Spec 3 costs €220..

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Actually, what I did was use the backplate from an XTM .247. Whole lot less hack (worth the $20 for the OWB and backplate), and you can throw the stock crap back on there when you sell the engine to upgrade to a new one

JayC1968

My Feedback: (3)

Yep... I had to take a little of the inner part of the XTM backplate to be certain would not rub the conrod with heat expansion for the mach.. I just ground it down on a bench grinder and then smoothed it up with a palm sander. I only had to take about 1/16" off it...

evo-racer

i was on a jump yesterday with my rush evo and i was wondering dose anybody know the bestn way to have my shocks hard or soft ???
thanks

JayC1968

My Feedback: (3)

Rule of thumb is the harder the shock is to compress the greater chance od blowing a cap or bending a shaft...
That is a question that you will have to experiment with because only you know how high you're going and what it's doing when it lands.

HerrSavage

Really depends on the truck.. For my Savage, I have 35wt silicone shock oil in it, and it's perfect for jumping IMO.. On my HB Lightning GT though, I have 60wt in now, and it's still softish - but for this truck about right.. Just need the hard springs and it should be set right for jumping..

(I like jumping..)