adsky7

lately, i've been reading all the posts about the battle of the t-maxx vs. the savage.
I am SO confused. What do you guys ACTUALLY think. No bashing... seriously, i mean
The T-Maxx
- some say the stock is flimsy, tends to break
- are going to spend more time fixing it then driving
- its a great truck
- its crap

the Savage 25
- insane truck, great
- too pricey
- too heavy
- great handling.. great for newbies
- not as fast as t-maxx but better control.

What SHOOD i believe... im totally puzzled...

What's Goin On????

~Adsky7~

cemeb4dk

i have a savage and i love it, I was the first in a group of all my friends to have one, they all had tmaxx's and half of them have sold their tmaxx's for a savage. I'm not bashing at all, they just think the savage it much more stable and durable.

Hope this helps..

ShOzz

not sure why you would say not as fast, with the 25 it is as fast as some stock buggys

so i would scratch that one off the list.

lynx the great

My Feedback: (1)

well ---t maxx = fast honda civic

and ---savage=dodge ram


tmaxx is fast and the savage is torqie.....


tmaxx has more after market

badboy2

My Feedback: (13)

it just depends on whic truck appeals you most compare them in your hs...u will see the difference and also u can tell why does people say savage is more durable...just look at the a-arms cuz thats what people with tmaxx upgrade first to aluminum...and for savage aluminum a arms is just for looks imo...speed no question tmaxx now if u get the rtr 25 i think the tmaxx wont leave u behind that much

Tigger N. Bennie

In my opinion, it depends on what “you” want to do. Do you want to race or do you want to bash? Some will probably claim that the “new” Savage is just as fast as the T-Maxx 2.5 if not faster. Although I haven’t read any comparisons regarding the speed of the Savage 25 or SS, the HPI site does show a modest increase in horsepower over the Savage 21. Myself, if I really wanted a speedy monster truck, I’d go with a Sportmaxx since I’ve seen them blow away all the monster trucks at the local track I most frequent with minor upgrades. The magazines also tend to support the T-Maxx 2.5 and if you speak to representatives from Traxxas, they’ll probably claim that the people who have problems with the Traxxas 2.5 are few. It may also be because the T-Maxx is a popular entry level RTR monster truck. In all fairness, the Savage will probably take more abuse and it should since it is a larger scale truck. However, the first thing I usually hear from Savage owners is how they upgraded their engine because some T-Maxx out ran them. And still many T-Maxx 2.5 owners seem to upgrade their truck engines as well—then you’ll probably here how the “horsepower standards” aren’t uniform so they are not published and on and on. Yet some of the R/C magazines rate them all and when comparing old data to their scores, the hp rating seems to be pretty much on target. I’ve also seen videos comparing the T-Maxx, the Savage, and the Thunder Tiger EK4. The EK4 beat them both in speed, climbing and overall brut force. The EK4 also has a massive Pro-70BX helicopter engine in it so who needs to keep up with the Jones down-the-street. The downside is that I see very little local support of the EK4. Here is a link to an EK4 with more information and a price tag of $499.99. It just makes me wonder why 1/8 scale Savage owners compare their trucks to the 1/10 scale T-Maxx when they should be comparing their trucks with the 1/8 scale EK4.

http://www.strongsvillehobby.com/ttti.html

Razoo

My Feedback: (2)

Well said Tigger! Why do the Savage owners feel so threatened when someone wants something other than a Savage?

DFF

adsky7:

quick facts:

Savage 25
- insane truck, great
- too pricey T-Maxx RTR $399 and Savage 21 RTR $399 savage 25 RTR $429
- too heavy T-Maxx RTR 10.2 lbs and Savage RTR 11.7 lbs
- great handling.. great for newbies
- not as fast as t-maxx but better control T-Maxx RTR 40 mph, Savage 25 RTR 40 mph


Tigger:

EK-4 is a fairly good truck, but is not in the same league as Savage as far as price goes ($500 for an EK-4 witout radio while Savage 25 RTR is $429), nor is it in the same league as far as durability goes (EK-4 is hard on transmission pieces).

In the meantime, I've seen both Savage with Picco .26 and EK-4 and there is no difference in torque and accel between the two, while a .26 Savage will be much faster (2 speed against single for EK-4, high rpm for the Picco against low rpm monster torque EK-4 engine)

Mind you, I wish I could see the EK-4 version 2 with even more displacement engine, better quality transmission parts, better engine head and more alum...

Moral of the stories: The Savage CAN be compare to an EK-4 and yes, it is holding it's own against it, no doubt about it !



Razzo,

Well, Savage owner don't feel threatened at all.

Don't want to start a flame war, but I see more and more Savage at my track, more and more ppl buying Savage, discussing Savage... and more and more T-Maxx owner switching to Savage.

HPI did a great job at improving their already good truck to fix all the problems and grippes Savage owner could have had with their first version .21 RTR (i.e. rims, tanks, spur gear, ../..) while listening to customer that wanted more speed ( .25 engine) and a kit without radio like Savage SS.

In the meantime, I don't see Traxxas trying to correct the problems most T-Maxx have i.e. blowing sock caps for example or even all the tuning problem related to the TRX2.5

As a matter of fact, the TRX is the most difficult to tune engine, result could be from awesome to sub-par and I see a lot of experienced user not be able to keep this bugger running (I even tried to work on it but to no end).
Traxxas didn't do anything to try to get a better version nor did they released anything new.

To me, it means lacks of support and that is the main reason why Traxxas is losing ground in the Monster Truck market.

So, in the light of this, who is threatening the others LoL

Sorry for the long post

DFF

Razoo

My Feedback: (2)

Dff heres what I mean, it seems like whenever someone has a question about any other truck than a Savage the response is always "That truck sucks, get a Savage" I just can't understand the mentality of these responses. There are other trucks out there besides Savages that owners are very happy with with so why put them down? I have a Sportmax with the 2.5 and I've never broke anything nor have I ever had a problem with the engine, I also have a Terra Crusher that I wouldn't ever get rid of. I looked at the Savage, I've seen it run at my local track and I decided not to get one. I don't put people down that have one. To me this is just a hobby to have fun, some people seem to want to take it a little more seriously that that. I just wish that these guys would understand that not everyone likes or wants a Savage!

sledmanass

My Feedback: (2)

get the tmaxx all the way, it dont break if you know how to drive it.

TheMachine

Razoo - Take it from someone who has owned a T-Max for many years in various forms(.15-.247) and now owns a Savage. I do agree that the .21BB is a little on the underpowered side, but It is a solid mill, well behaved. As for a Savage with a .25 in it(or some other 2.5hp + engine)...whoa ! what more could you want ! I`ve put close to 3 gallons thru the Savage and the only thing I broke was an engine mount(upside-down, backwards landing from 12-14feet up on a BMX track), in stock form I can say from experience that what I have put my Savage thru would have resulted in me spending a lot of time and money fixing my T-Max. IMO The Savage has much better suspension and Durability, it drives and handles great !...way better than a stock T..way better !

NOW, the only reason I bring this up is to HELP someone out... I`m not doing this just cause I want to be an arse and start an argument !, I genuinely want to give advice and help someone make the best choice, I own both trucks AND have driven both extensively and hard over many gallons and I KNOW what will cost you less to keep running and result in more drive time and fun.

If you do not OWN both trucks, I think you should not comment ,,, you don`t know what your talking about(sorry but its true) ! Yes the T-Max is lightweight and nibble...but it breaks easy when hitting things and ALSO when driven hard the driveline will break/wear out easy. The Savage with a .25 is just as fast...maybe a little less nibble because of its weight, but just as fast and way torquier, it will climb better and handle the rough terrain with ease...the suspension is way better and when it comes down to powering your way out/over/thru things the savage IS the winner...and it does it without being put under maximum stress(which adds to its life span).

Aside from all that !, the most mind boggling point is that you will need to spend the purchase price(AND MORE) of a Savage25RTR in upgrades/fixes to make your T-MAx as durable and feature packed as a Savage ! FACT !.....and yeah yeah yeah you only fix it when it breaks... but you will have no choice in the matter if you drive your truck hard. In for a penny in for a pound….throwing good money after bad.

If you don`t own both trucks you can not give advice on which is better .(period)
If your happy with what you have got , good for you, Great, have fun.

And that’s all I have to say about that

TM

badboy2

My Feedback: (13)

as a savage owner i am not threatened at all if they recommend other truck, cuz i have owned a terra crusher and my bro have a tmaxx ....so i have a little idea on thse trucks weaknesses ....maybe savgae owners just dont want you to regret your purchase of a different truck,we just want to share the enjoyment and satisfaction we get from the savage..if they dont want the savage i dont care its their choice...as a savage owner i only care to people askin which one to buy..

Tigger N. Bennie

Not even in the same "1/8th scale" league? I guess that excludes comparing the Savage 25 with the Savage SS as well since the Savage SS needs servos, a receiver, and a radio not to mention the engine upgrade as well according to some people. In my opinion, HPI ought to just make it a "real kit" and that is a kit without an engine. You must also feel the same way since you chose to compare a "modified" Savage with an EK-4. Meanwhile, I'll just continue to read the comparisons between the "1/8" and "1/10" scale trucks. I just wonder how many individuals will compare their Savage with the mini-monster trucks. And the price of the Savage SS as tested by Nov 03 Xtreme RC Cars at page 83, $875.00 USD ($395.00 for the kit alone).

ducati74868

Ive got both...

I use my T-Maxx to race and I made it look real real pretty with all the aftermarket parts that I put on it once I started breaking stuff after I had for about 6 months.

I use my savage for bashing.. It is a strong truck. I do not hesitate one bit to put it 8-10 feet in the air.. I know it can take the punishment...

I am looking at buying an EK-4, so I cant speak for that since I dont have one yet, but here lies another question.... How we these trucks compare to the XTM Mammoth?

ducati74868

Keep in mind that my T-Maxx was the first truck I ever owned and I would put it 8-10 feet in the air just like I do with the Savage now! It was a good reliable truck!!!!

Tigger N. Bennie

Here is a photo of a mini-monster truck I took the other day. Sorry guys, I have no specifics other than a possible December release and it is no where the size of a 1/10 or a 1/8 scale but if anyone wants to compare their larger scale trucks to the mini-monster (or even the Losi Mini-T), have fun.

[Removed]

crzy-svg-usr

ok heres how it goes i owned both a maxx and a savage at the same time i started driving the maxx first cuz the top speed appealed ot me more but man was i wrong broke it in did sum high speed passes thoguth the truck was great and i loved it drove ti everyday then i got brave and stated to jump it (i am not new to rc and i am a good driver) it lasted for a little whiel then started to get weak and break almost everytank sold the pos and started driving the savage a lot doign crazy stuff with it and the only hing i broke so far was a stock dogbone on the first version fo the savage which came wiht slimsy dogbones but hpi gives heavy duty dogbones now and they hold up to .26 power the savage is awesome i would recomend it heres a pic of it after a dya at the races finished first place against 5 other modifyed and stock maxxes shows the savage is a better truck handles much better greta for bashing and racing because its secret weapon is its suspension and distributed weight so its level off the jumps int he races i wasnt scared ot take a big jump cuz i had no fear it would break as with the maxxes just rolled over the jumps i took em WOT and flew crashed lots and still won forst place!

Tigger N. Bennie

Well crzy-svg-usr it's too bad you don't live here because you could do some more off-road track comparison at one of the local tracks. Did you just compare racing some "modified" .26 power in that 1/8 scale truck of yours to some 1/10 scale "stock" T-Maxxes and some "modified" T-Maxxes for a total of five T-Maxxes? What stats. If you were any kind of driver at all, I'd hope you'd beat some stock 1/10 scale with a small case engine in it. Perhaps, you could run it against some 1/8 scale buggy with a little .21 in it on the off road track. Do I hear that's not the same thing? Well at least it would be a comparison between two 1/8 scale nitro vehicles.

ShOzz

tigger that was a lame attempt at being a smart ass, leave it alone, just leave it alone.... lol

why do they even call the tmaxx 10th scale, if you put the two trucks side by side they are 95% the same freegin size.

Razoo

My Feedback: (2)

The machine- you missed the point! I don't need to have every truck made, just to give an opinion. I'm basing my experiences on the trucks that I do own. If you read my posts I do not give any opinions on the Savage, just on the trucks that I do have (sportmaxx and TC). When someone wants advice on choosing between 2 trucks and I happen to own one I feel I'm qualified to give it on the one that I do own and I make it perfectly clear thats what I'm doing. And I will continue to do so. I'm not a brand loyalist, I just calls them like I sees them.

TheMachine

OK Sorry Razoo...I may have taken it the wrong way, and been responding to comments other than yours ! [&:] peace !

Tigger - The T-max and the Savage are the trucks of choice..thats what people want to choose between so people respond with the differences...comparisons are really that unfair are they !?? a .21 T-Max could certainly be considered a full 1/8th scale truck ! IMO its perfectly fair to compare a bashers choice of MT...after all MT`s are a wierd freak`n size to begin with !!.. they all have the same purpose...and its not really, nor never was intented/designed to race !...but a buggy !, well that is a different story(yeah yeah sacasim)

TM

Rex2342

What really sets the T-Maxx and Savage apart is the most obvious thing.The Scale! The Maxx is undoubtably a 1/10 no matter what you do to it.The main indication being the suspension components and the weight.Sure you can swap a .21 in it but the suspension parts are still small and britle and the driveline is weak.The Savage is a heavy SOB because of it's HD suspension parts and pretty much HD everything else.It was designed to take punishment and thats what it does.If you look at all the other 1/8 MT's you'll notice the same things,HD a-arms,HD shock towers,HD driveline,and Big block power!I think thats the main reason the Maxx seems so brittle when compared to other 1/8 scale trucks.My freind has a Maxx and it doesn't take near as much punishment as my Savage but remeber its a 1/10 so comparing them isn't fair to either truck.The Maxx is light and fast while the Savage is heavy and durable.Speed shouldn't really even be a determining factor when choosing a truck.People buy trucks to beat the crap out of and 1/8 scale is simply more durable than 1/10.Any truck can be made to be bomb proof but the cost of doing it to a 1/10 and a 1/8 is going to be different.It will take more cash to make a 1/10 indestructable than it's going to take to make a 1/8 indestructable.

Tigger N. Bennie

TM,

If you noticed in my very first post, I mentioned that it depended on whether one wants to race or bash. Nov 03 Xtreme RC Cars at page 83 rated the Savage SS with a top speed of 33.2 mph with the new HPI S-25 engine. The T-Maxx is simply rated a faster stock RTR monster truck, but as most readers should know the stock T-Maxx has a small case engine (2.5 means 25cc/.15 and not .25 large block engine size) and the stock T-Maxx parts aren’t as heavy as the Savage. Consequently, if someone is going to drive the T-Maxx like a speed demon (which I know I did) and do 360s (like I did), parts are going to break.

Have you ever read the ROAR rules? Page 31 of 69, section 6-4: “Maximum fuel system capacities are 75cc for .12, 80cc for .15 engines, and 125cc for .21 engines.” Section 6-31 at page 33 also lists the engine dimensions and requirements for ROAR legal engines. The section lists the following classes: .12, .12 Open, .15, .15 Open, and .21 Open. Then again, many people probably don’t care about ROAR because I’ve read many posts regarding 4-strokes, supercharging, turbocharging and so on which are illegal under section 6-8. However, that should be something to consider if someone wants to race legally. http://www.roarracing.com/rules/pdfs/2003rules.pdf

When racing here there is usually a stock/small engine T-Maxx class. However, if not enough people race a stock T-Maxx/small engine T-Maxx class, they usually get tossed into the open monster truck class which includes the large block engine Savages, converted T-Maxxes and a few others.

It seems to me that the major reason people compare the T-Maxx and Savage is because of marketing and local availability. If I recall correctly, even one of the major R/C magazines suggested purchasing one of each because they preferred some characteristics of one truck over the other (or was that just between the E-Maxx and T-Maxx since most preferred the T-Maxx overall). I am no different but I decided to get a 1/8 scale buggy instead of another monster truck. And if I knew what I know now, I would have probably skipped the monster trucks all together and went with a 1/8 scale buggy (or even skipped that and purchased an FG F-1 since there is a large scale track near here). If I still had to choose a monster truck, I’d probably go with the Savage SS based on local parts availability and sell that HPI S-25 engine before I even put the kit together. To me it is more like comparing apples and oranges—I guess I could also compare my ¼ scale to my 1/5 scale, but I wouldn’t have been able to race the 1/5 scale at the ¼ Supernationals which finished up yesterday. And soon I am heading out to watch the 1/8 scale on-road races. It seems like everybody is racing something this weekend—yesterday there was a run, a cycling race, a soap box derby race, ¼ scale races, and the 1/8 on roads.

Adsky7,

Good luck and have fun with whichever vehicle you chose for whatever reason.

j-maxx

heres how it is in my opinion since ive drvien both t-maxx= handling less durable more speed engine not so good as savage on tunning m ore aftermarket support
savage=more durable a bitt slower than the t-maxx has problems with one ways(my friend split a one-way bearing 1 in half friday)engine more torquey

ThermalRD

This is really sad, really really sad. I cant believe that adults would respond in the manner im reading in some of these posts. Both trucks are awesome. I've owned both for many years, the original maxx, the 2.5 maxx, and an extremely hopped up savage, along with maintaining my buddies trucks, one of which was a super maxx. Both trucks are capable of a good days bashing, and both are capable of a good race as well. If i had to put it on a scale, id say that when they are both hopped up, the maxx would make the better racer. On the same note, with both hopped up, id say the savage would be a tad better basher. But honestly guys, this is supposed to be a fun hobby, not a war. There are certain areas where i dislike both trucks. The savage weighs alot more than a maxx. While the savage has a better drive train. But to answer your question, if i were you, id go buy the Savage RTR 25. It has many nice features. Like i said, its a little on the heavy side, but its real durable, and you can take it to the track and do real well. Doesnt matter what you have, you still gotta learn how to drive it before you can win with it.

Matt