4.6_SS_envy

Other than the obvious, what are the pros and cons of a 3 spd tranny in a .25 SS?
Thanks

azzman

Cant see any cons myself...

DaveG55

How much difference does a 3 speed really make?
Are we talikng "yeah, I think it's faster" or "Oh my God, where'd it go" faster??
I've put a Mach .26 on my 25SS and it's pretty darn fast now. Is it worth the $50 or so to upgrade to the 3 speed?

amec

It is said to give 10% more bottom end and 10% more top end. So more acceleration and more speed. I havnt had any reliability issues with mine as yet.
Plus it sounds cool having that extra gear change from 2nd to 3rd

PSG-1

Dave i've got a mach .26 in my savage with a 3 speed tranny... it was worth every penny. That thing screams and it's almost scary to drive it's that fast.

DaveG55

Did you have the 2 speed in it before with the same engine? I'm trying to decide if it really is a signifigant difference and would love to hear from someone, or several someones, that have used both in the same truck/engine combo. I'm not sure that 10% on each end is worth it.

PSG-1

Oh yeah sorry man i forgot to say that I had it with a 2 speed tranny in it before i got the 3 speed. It's worth it... my mach is alot faster with the 3 speed than it was with the 2 speed. It's alot faster off the line and it just lengthens out the power and you get going alot faster in the end. It's a very very noticable difference.

MBX5T Maniac

My Feedback: (-1)

plus of 3speed:

hearing the Savage shifting twice

DaveG55

PSG-1, thanks, that and your response about the LST is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Did you replace the entire tranny or did you do the upgrade to the 2 speed?

PSG-1

Well I had stripped out the holes on my two speed tranny where my brakes go... the two holes where the screws go in so i needed a new case as well... so i just said screw it and got the whole thing. And if you think about it I now have an extra set of gears in my old tranny if something ever happened to my new tranny.

4.6_SS_envy

Thanks all for the input. Mrs Clause will need some "lovin" so I can get the new tranny.

zavzilla

hi well ive just taken my 3 speed out of my 25 rtr sav as it keeps eating spur gears and fed up trying to set it up. so ive got a 3 speed trany for sale at 20 posted

SAV46VET

Hey gang.. I should be getting my 3sp this week. Is adjusting the shift point's easy?

PSG-1

You adjust it exactly like a 2 speed tranny. It shows in the instructions.

colindecon

does the reverse affect it? the 3 speed i mean? slower?

Baroncowboy

My Feedback: (1)

Any time you run a reverse module,it will adversly affect the performance a little regardless of how many gears there are to change...Your adding extra weight for one,and its gonna drag the engine down just a bitt due to the extra friction of a new gear added to the drive train...If you bash alot then in my opinion,who really cares that much anyhow...Its just cool to be able to back up when you get stuck...Now if you plan to race it seriously,then just like all the pro's do,in any type of RC,
"Ditch the reverse".....

And about the spur gear stripping thing...I laugh at anyone who is rediculous enough to buy all those high dollar upgrades,bigger engines,and alloy parts,and somehow forget to buy a better spur gear setup...I dont know what it is about not wanting to run metal spur gears anyhow...I mean who cares if Joe Blow race winner was running a plastic gear...What people seem to forget is that "Joe Blow's"race truck is prolly about a pound or two lighter than a stock savage,not to menchen he prolly ran a delrin plastic spur gear,which is alot strogger than stock plastic to begin with.... And if you are afraid of tearing out your drive train due to metal gears,then save your self the trouble and install 4 spider gears and alloy diff cups like everyone who owns a savage should anyhow...Also dont forget,you should be running atleast 5000wt. oil in the rear diff,and 7000wt. in the front...This will help make your tranny last longer and you'll benifit from better over all traction and steering....Sooner or later somethings gotta give no matter what you do,but if you beef up the diffs and go with a metal spur,it'll take a long time before anything gos south...

EG1

I have had plastic spur gears last for a very long time. The only time I stripped one was when I landed bad and the engine moved.

I like the insurance of the plastic spur being the weak link in the tranny, they are cheap and plenty tough enough. Less rotating mass too, if your a racer.

I'm sure plenty of people have had good luck w/ steel combos's, but don't trash plastic spurs because they work great.

SL65

Hi

I got a Savage SS and i done the 3 speed transmisson it maked a bit of a diference

crop

I can see more inhancement in low end than in high speed.

David236

I disagree on the above comments on the reverse module.....I put one in mine and I love it I did not notice any visible drop in performance after I installed it and it is really cool to be able to shift into reverse when you need it.....I do agree with his comments however on the steel spur gear I have used one for a while now and have had no problems and I can't see how it could do any harm to the tranny....

David236

The slipper should be the weak link not the gear. The gear is a victim of a poor slipper clutch design. The problem with the slipper is the fact that the tension from the spring is focused on the bushing in the center of the gear. So what happens is as heat around the engine and clutch bell soften the plastic a little the spring forces the bushing into the gear which loosens the slipper and melts the gear. If HPI would have used a dual disc slipper with plates on both sides that distributed the tension over the surface of the gear it would solve this problem. A design like the RC10GT uses or the RC10T4 just a little heavier duty. I'm surprised none of the aftermarket companies have not tried to sell a dual disc slipper conversion for the Savage..