Hi guys,
I've been wanting a savage for quite some time now and am looking at getting a Savage X after the summer (Im going to be away all summer working so its stupid to get it before), the only thing driving me away from getting one is all this talk about diff problems with the savage, I know its a tough and fun truck and thats exactly what I want, something that I will have fun bashing around and jumping.
I have a hyper 7 and go to tracks very rarely, of course I have the hyper for that, I also have a Jato and rustler which actually hold up pretty good when I take them bashing but I reeeeeally want a savage but before spending the 500$$ I need to be sure of what Im doing, Ive already got like 5 rc cars and I dont want to dish out the cash on another one because we all know what an extra rc car means, more time maintaining, more money for broken parts but of course... MOREFUN!!
I want a fun car and am prepared to spend the money if it's not going to have crazy diff problems, I will run the stock engine into the ground and then probably upgrade to a .28 Lrp. Its either get a savage or truggy or just eventually spend the money on more stuff for the hyper.What do you think? Am I worthy? LOL
Ideally I should get rid of 1 car and get the savage, but I dont know what to get rid of! I also have an Ofna CD3 which I used to really enjoy but dont even use it anymore almost so that should probably go.... decisions decisions.. what to do...
What should I expect to break on the savage? I want this car for serious bashing, big jumps, bmx track, etc

Thanks!

its not all out everytime you run youll blow a pinion, where the problems seem to lie is taking a jump and landing with the throttle or brakes on, or a good head on collision likes to take them out also. from my expierience anyways. just remember they are a flat out basher. they take alot of abuse and are probably given more abuse cause its whats expected of them but they are deffinetly not industructable by any means....

So what breaks exactly? the bevelgear in the diff case?

Generally the diff spur or pinion breaks, althuogh if you get one of the REALLY old savage 21's with the plastic diff cases, they blow internal gears sometimes. However, unless you are running a brushless or a REALLy powerfull mill, like a modded picco or something like that you shouldn't have a porblem granted you keep of the gas/brakes while landing jumps. As said above, hard crashes can take them too. Regardless, you won't be blowing them from haviong too much torque unless you have a really powerful mill or BL setup.

They will take a lot and an LRP is an excellent choice for an X. If you do a direct 40 mph crash into a solid object with the throttle wide open, you will kill the front pinion and maybe some suspension parts. They are like all non race bred machines though, they seem to cost something all the time to keep running. Normally it is just small stuff. If you are really reckless, buy a Flux differential and put it in the front. I just bought two and hope to go runone hard this weekend to see if they break. X parts are cheap Ebay is just loaded with them. Glen

You could always take the diff appart and shim it before you run it. A shimmed diff will last a lot longer than than a non shimmed.

I have actually twisted the dog bones in to with a shimmed diff instead of blowing the gears out.

Funny. I have a flux and I've blow a diff almost every time Ive ran it. If it wasent a diff the bearings blew apart. On my last outing I made sure to let go of the trigger before I landed and they still started clcking....I guess I have bad luck.

honestly you read all about people blowing because like people have said they're running really high powered motors, the gears just can't take it, tho i think with the stock/lrp setup you'll be just fine, personally i've been on the gas and or brakes for landings and i have yet to blow a pinion (may've tweaked a diff housing tho), i'm running the stock motor tho, so nothing fancy

the lug

im running a stock plant and ive blown 2. granted probably my fault but just the same. as said you most likely wont have a problem unless you screw up........

I have several Savages and only had a diff problem once. I've even hit a telephone pole at wat and no diff damage at all, alot of other damage mainly bent TVP's, but no diff damage lucky I guess. When I did have a diff problem it was my own fault.I hadreassembled the diffinto the bulkhead after changing the diff oil in the front diff, Ididn't notice the bearingon the pinion gear was not seated flush into it's recess in the bulkhead for the bearing, buttoned it up thought I was good.The bearing quickly failed, causing alot slop in the pinion gear eventually losing teeth thenthat fabulous crunching sound! Quick fix though only the bearing and pinion,and bulkhead had to be replaced. I have my original X with a reverse, and a 3spd with the new 3rd gear that I been hammering with a P3 and the only damage was that misaligned pinion bearingproblem, again lucky I guess.

Cen diffs are the answer. THey may cost 2 to 3 times as much, but they will last 10 times longer at least. (I haven't blown mine yet, and Iblew hpi diffs left and right after my BL conversion)

cen diffs.....nemesis or genesis, which ones fit into a savage X?
is it best to get front and rear or is one far more likely to blow out than the other with a powerful engine?

I've never had any problems with my diffs...

Coming up on 11 gallons on my Savage, 2.5 being with the stock engine and the rest with an STS .30. 65% has been with street driving but when Igo offroad, well Itrash my truck. So far Ijust had my first diff failure from a front tire with a lot of water in it causing the whole truck to wobble. Imo I've had excellent luck with shimmed diffs, and of course I've landed on the throttle a lot of the time (not at WOT, thats just asking for it). Idunno, I've had exceptional luck Iguess. Inow have an XL setup in the front so it should be even better.

You only need to be worried about failures for the most part if running a BL setup or a balls to the walls modded engine.

Don't worry, you can still do this and your diffs will survive...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7r7z...e=channel_page

savage x ss,

Never had any problems with my diffs after 2 gallons therestill like new,

first gallon with stock k4.6 enginesecond gallon with lrp30 fitted,

I hope not to break one for a long time,

but as somebody already said parts are cheap and ebay is full of them.

thats great advice right there. ive snapped & twisted bonz with modded mill with no damage to stock (shimmed) X diffs.

but recently hit the brakes hard & swerve on asphalt into a plastic trash barrel (avoid hitting my kid) and snap the Cen Bevel gear teeth.

HPI pinion/bevel is a better design imo caz the teeth are shorter than the Cen teeth.

i guess it is time that i learn how to shim a differential...off to youtube i go.

I blew the stock diff in my Savage .25 doing donuts on pavement, no problems after switching to the aluminum diff case and "X" diff gears. I also believe shimming diff gears and ring and pinions are key to a long lasting diff. My son took outthe diff on his E-Savage by landing a jump full throttle, the most common way of trashing gears in my experience.

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 16px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; background-position: initial initial; ">I have a six year old Savage with a .26 Wasp in it. The only diff I've had to replace blew apart because I had dual disk brakes set up WAY too strong. I was doing front flips without a ramp. Slamming full brakes repeatedly chewed up a few of the teeth. After I fixed it I found out about the 4 gear mod &amp; still have the parts in a drawer. If the diffs are your only hangup then I'd say go ahead &amp; get a Savage. You won't regret it!</div></span>

With Savages it's not just the diffs, but the low quality of the entire drivetrain.  The cups, the bones, etc..  I've given up on Savages, because I don't want to replace all the cups every 2-3 gallons.  The diff issues, as mentioned, also have to do with driving.  Don't land at WOT from jumps,etc..

This is from three gallons(I think.., mighta' been five, but still, unacceptable..) with mere Axial 28's..:

The cen nemesis, genesis, and matrix all use the same diffs. Here is a guide to installing: http://www.rcbasher.com/savcendiffs.html

You cannot replace just the fornt or rear, you have to to both. THis is becasue the cen diffs have a differnt ratio from the stock ones, so your wheels will be going at differnt speeds if you don't replace the front and back at the same time.

Herrsavage:
You realize you can use the cups from ANY vehicle with a 6mm shaft (tranny output) or 8mm shaft (diff input), so quality of the cups is a moot point. You can buy the cups from another vehicle, as they all use the same standard dogbones.

I wonder if you can use Mugen outdrives and cups ?

i dont know, maybe its just me but if you run metal to metal then add in dirt i dont care what grade of metal it is it will wear our with out a problem. i know grease and oil attracts dirt and keeps it there but thats what maintenence is for......

Go with the CEN Genesis diff mod, you,ll not be disapointed

i know what your saying, but the metal quality used by mugen is much bteer then that used by HPI, so even with metal on metal contact the mugen parts will last much longer....