Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
09-07-2011, 10:40 AM
#201
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
I ran it approx 30 mins each pack and there was plenty Mah left, I just don't run my lipo's down too much. The motor was very hot last night, but air temps were 95+ so I didn't run it too hard.
09-07-2011, 11:06 AM
#204
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
ORIGINAL: Foxy
Well first of all, I agree with the people saying don't be put off by the two problems we've seen yet, these can happen to any model (weak esc out of the box, and some factory moron who didn't do the pinion up properly, goes with RTR territory that), but still I'd say wait until a few people have them. I'm confident its gonna be epic, and I'd put my money where my mouth is, but you never do know until people start mashing them up. As for running on parallel 3s, not without jerry rigging the 2nd pack somewhere ugly, this truck is slightly limited when it comes to battery space. At the moment, the biggest 3s confirmed to fit is 4500, but I think I could probably get my 5000s in it without resorting to the dremel. It's fine for one batt, but 2, forget it. HAving said that, I would expect 4500mAh to give about a half hour runtime, depending on how the truck is run of course, so it depends what your needs are when you say 'long' runtimes. Half an hour is fine by me.
As for handling, it handles like a Savage from what we've seen in the vids so far, which means its a freestyle jump truck, not a track racer. It's gonna be spring, tippy and hard to control on the power, however, it'll do double backflips off ramps and standing backflips, probably even running backflips, and that's what it'll be for. As for ground clearance, I haven't seen the revo, but I expect the little savage will have more. Someone else could probably confirm or deny this.
As a first hobby grade RC I think it'll be ideal, but wait for some more feedback before dropping the dollar if you aren't prepared to possibly iron a couple of issues. You never know, it may (and should) have none. Check all the screws and diffs, plug in something juicy and light up the tires. Although I Cancelled my preorder, I'm gonna get one next month myself with confidence.
ORIGINAL: ZeroGrave
1st post for me hoping to make many more.
Hey, I'm looking into getting one of these... Well one of something anyways. This little monster has caught my eye though. I am new to hobby grade RCs but am somewhat of a research nut when it comes to things that peak my interest. I have spent the greater part of the last week looking over consumer reports reviews on all sorts of different trucks (I refuse to do cars that cant run off road, I mean whats the point you cant really bash or jump them so totally useless)) My interest for now is in smaller scale trucks/truggies. Looking for something that a to the hobby can handle has a good enough ground clearance to do some off-roading with. Small enough to hopefully run around the yard when I can't get out somewhere for it. Anyways to drill down to the bedrock of what I'm saying I had a few questions I hope you can answer after driving this around a while.
How well does it handle?
Hows it's durability. (Can I put the 3s lipo and jump it 20ft in the air without destroying the entire thing. Just some of it
)
Traxxas cars like the 1/16 E-revo vxl can run two batteries in parallel for longer run times can you do that with this truck? (Like I said I'm new I don't know if that Esc that would allow or disallow this or if it matters for parallel. I'm not looking to go nuts with the power(doing series) just get a killer run time.)
Last thing is have any suggestions or recomendations for where to start. What car (preferably in a smaller scale) would be good. I mentioned the 1/16 e-revo it seems pretty solid from everything I've looked into I'm not to sure on its ground clearance peoples say it has trouble in grass which will probably be a bit part of where I drive.
Thanks for any help you can give me. One more side note. I have no idea if there even tracks around me there isnt even a hobby around me have to go to the next city... Ironically every city around me has one just not mine.
1st post for me hoping to make many more.
Hey, I'm looking into getting one of these... Well one of something anyways. This little monster has caught my eye though. I am new to hobby grade RCs but am somewhat of a research nut when it comes to things that peak my interest. I have spent the greater part of the last week looking over consumer reports reviews on all sorts of different trucks (I refuse to do cars that cant run off road, I mean whats the point you cant really bash or jump them so totally useless)) My interest for now is in smaller scale trucks/truggies. Looking for something that a to the hobby can handle has a good enough ground clearance to do some off-roading with. Small enough to hopefully run around the yard when I can't get out somewhere for it. Anyways to drill down to the bedrock of what I'm saying I had a few questions I hope you can answer after driving this around a while.
How well does it handle?
Hows it's durability. (Can I put the 3s lipo and jump it 20ft in the air without destroying the entire thing. Just some of it
)Traxxas cars like the 1/16 E-revo vxl can run two batteries in parallel for longer run times can you do that with this truck? (Like I said I'm new I don't know if that Esc that would allow or disallow this or if it matters for parallel. I'm not looking to go nuts with the power(doing series) just get a killer run time.)
Last thing is have any suggestions or recomendations for where to start. What car (preferably in a smaller scale) would be good. I mentioned the 1/16 e-revo it seems pretty solid from everything I've looked into I'm not to sure on its ground clearance peoples say it has trouble in grass which will probably be a bit part of where I drive.
Thanks for any help you can give me. One more side note. I have no idea if there even tracks around me there isnt even a hobby around me have to go to the next city... Ironically every city around me has one just not mine.
As for handling, it handles like a Savage from what we've seen in the vids so far, which means its a freestyle jump truck, not a track racer. It's gonna be spring, tippy and hard to control on the power, however, it'll do double backflips off ramps and standing backflips, probably even running backflips, and that's what it'll be for. As for ground clearance, I haven't seen the revo, but I expect the little savage will have more. Someone else could probably confirm or deny this.
As a first hobby grade RC I think it'll be ideal, but wait for some more feedback before dropping the dollar if you aren't prepared to possibly iron a couple of issues. You never know, it may (and should) have none. Check all the screws and diffs, plug in something juicy and light up the tires. Although I Cancelled my preorder, I'm gonna get one next month myself with confidence.
I'm not even sure there are tracks around me but I plan on asking when I get a chance to hit up a hobby shop.
Waiting won't be an issue I had to loan my sis 1400$ so i'm broke at the moment (Trying to buy a real car to but I need entertainment!)
09-07-2011, 11:22 AM
#205
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
Depends on the battery and I can't say for sure, as I don't have the same esc and motor in any of my cars, however, when I said a half hour or more, I meant normal running, not flat out non stop. With the kind of battery mentioned above (6kmAh lipo), I wouldn't be surprised if you would get half an hour of full throttle though.
09-07-2011, 12:30 PM
#206
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
look at the manual and you will see how much work it is to take apart...Looks alot more involed then my firestorm,
09-07-2011, 01:22 PM
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
for the pinion, imagine removing an exploded gear from an old savage 25. yeah like that much work. not the greatest place for the pinion, but ok, to be fair it looks good so far 
09-07-2011, 01:52 PM
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
Listen I like wrenching , don't get me wrong but this xs really does look like a pain to work on. A pinion and spur change require removing the whole center diff from what it looks like . What a pain. Can anyone that has one confirm that this lil guy is a pain to work on ?
09-07-2011, 02:06 PM
#209
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
I just noticed when I back ordered my XS the price was $302 so I used the $50 off code, Now the price is $299 and you can only use the $40 off code as it is below $300
looks like I got lucky....
looks like I got lucky....
09-07-2011, 04:17 PM
#210
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
You know, the plastic late that covers the motor doesn't offer any venting at all, so why not drill some holes in the front to let it have airflow?
09-07-2011, 04:40 PM
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
After about 5 minutes tonight running the XS pretty hard, the pinion came loose! Time to tear it down and add some loctite.
09-08-2011, 03:22 AM
#215
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
who wants to see an unboxing ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF0BP...&feature=feedu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF0BP...&feature=feedu
09-08-2011, 04:03 AM
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
ORIGINAL: TheKennyKiller
who wants to see an unboxing ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF0BP...&feature=feedu
who wants to see an unboxing ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF0BP...&feature=feedu
09-08-2011, 06:11 AM
#217
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
Everybody should double check and locktite the pinion , my tracking says mine will be here Friday tomorrow but I prob won't be running it till Sunday as I am going to tear it down and rebuild just to make sure everything is ok , plus I wanna change my servo out to the traxxas waterproof version which has more power and swap my radio instead of the hpi one.
09-08-2011, 07:18 AM
#219
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
ORIGINAL: JUSTPASSEDU
I knew that would happen , I may just install a bigger pinion right from the start. How's the acell & top end?
I knew that would happen , I may just install a bigger pinion right from the start. How's the acell & top end?
It pulls pretty hard and get's to top end pretty quickly. It could definitely use a sway kit. For bashing, the power is perfect all around on 2s. For speed runs I can see where I'd want to try out a 3s.
09-08-2011, 11:49 AM
#221
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
t9, if I remember rightly, you've done a few vids in the past. We're counting on you.
09-08-2011, 11:52 AM
#222
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
ORIGINAL: Foxy
t9, if I remember rightly, you've done a few vids in the past. We're counting on you.
t9, if I remember rightly, you've done a few vids in the past. We're counting on you.
09-08-2011, 12:27 PM
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
ORIGINAL: t9dragon
Yes, I have done vids in the past.. And yes I will do some of the XS too... But it probably won't be until the weekend. Because after I pickup the XS I have to work at the second job and then after work tomorrow at the first job I have a football game to go.
ORIGINAL: Foxy
t9, if I remember rightly, you've done a few vids in the past. We're counting on you.
t9, if I remember rightly, you've done a few vids in the past. We're counting on you.
09-08-2011, 12:48 PM
#224
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RE: Official HPI Savage Flux XS thread...
Hi Folks,
It seems all of us were waiting impatiently for the release of this vehicle and now that they are trickling out, we all want to hear a review of some type.
I was fortunate enough to receive my Savage XS on 9/7/11 and had just enough daylight left after work to unbox and change out the Dean's connector to a Traxxas connector (to match my supply of batteries) and then put about 10 minutes of run time on my little Savage.
Let me first say that I love this truck but IT IS A HANDFUL! On 2S power, wheelies come at will and it is difficult to quickly accelerate this truck. Unlike an E-Revo BL Edition, which is stable enough that it can be runout at full throttle once you gain enough ground speed to not lift the front wheels. The Savy is so overpowered that even at moderate road speed, full throttle application can cause it to dart (usually to the right). I believe this is due to the torque acting on the chassis and lightening the weight on one side's tires and then the diff(s) transferring power to the other side's tire, causing an abrupt "lane change". (Perhaps all four wheels spinning at the time?) Adding to the beauty of this, the tall ride height makes it oh so easy to overcorrect and get wild, tail-happy ride. You'll have a smile on your face the whole time the impending rollover threatens to shred your beautiful new Savy's body!
On grippy grass, there is a delicate balance between over and under applying throttle as a wheelie can quickly turn into an endo when the weight comes back forward and the rear wheels rebound off the ground! Unless you can match that rhythm and get back on the throttle when the front end comes down, your Savy will be tumbling.
It is a tough truck and the combination of abundant power, wheely/endo tendencies, and rough terain can easily send the truck off in seemingly endless cartwheels. Appropriately timed throttle application often results in the Savy back on its wheels and flying towards the next mishap!!!
Acceleration on loose dirt. Not going to happen - lots of brodies and powerslides though.
My RC background includes nitro and electric, with quite a lot of wheel time on the E-Revo BL and a Castle 2,200kV/Monster ESC in an 1/8th scale truggy (Hot Bodies D8T), so brushless torque is not new to me - this little Savy kept me on my toes the entire test run!
Much like the early 90's 5.0L Mustangs, a torquey EFI powerplant combined with a very unrefined chassis makes for a wild but entirely enjoyable ride that leaves you with a smile on your face!
Other data related to this post:
- While only was able to put about 10 minutes on the Savy, I did run it hard - I did not experience gear mesh or loose pinion problems.
- Motor temp was right at 155 degree, certainly not excessive if they stay in that range.
- Battery used was a Turnigy 5,000mA, 30C, 2S (hardcase) pack. Wow 3S is gonna be really wild ride! My Turnigy 3,600mA, 30C, 3S will fit with ease, though the Turnigy 5,000mA, 30C, 3S it too big. While to "looks" like there is another battery compartment on the passenger side, it is only there for symmetry and the motor and steering servo take up that space.
- The steering servo, on initial run, appears to be marginal in torque but sufficient is speed. The Traxxas 2075 idea may be a good swap IF the Savy doesn't mount it flat on its side on the chassis as the Traxxas servos have a bulge on their sides for internal gear clearance.
- I placed the Savy XS on backorder at Tower on 8/3/11 and it shipped from the Reno warehouse on 9/2/11.
Greate site!
God Bless,
TC