New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
05-01-2003, 03:53 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
I just ordered my first nitro tonight. Went for the Savage. Looking for any advice that will assist me with break-in, maintenance, parts selection etc. that will increase the ease and enjoyment of my new scale vehicle. Seeking the kind of advice that come only from several hours behind the radio, of which i have not. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated
05-01-2003, 04:21 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
Just Follow the directions for break in that come with kit and you should be fine.Hope you enjoy it has much as I do!!
05-01-2003, 04:28 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
I read alot about loosening screws in the tranny/clutch effecting shifting. Is this still an issue with the savages on the shelf currently or with earlier runs only?
05-01-2003, 04:34 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
The screws on the chassis plate did work them selves loose on mine.I have one of the first runs of the savage but they may have fixed it by now just make sure and if there not secure put some blue lock-tite on them and they will be fine.Also the second group of savages have a one-way bearing in the tranny and some people are having problems with them slipping after a few tanks of gas just take the tranny apart if this happens and clean the bearing with some nitro blast and put it back together.The truck comes with a complete instruction manual that explains how to take the whole truck apart and put it back together so don't loose it.
05-01-2003, 04:52 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
so is it just dirt that causes the slipping? If so would adding a center skid plate b4 breakin reduce the possibility of this happening?
05-01-2003, 05:02 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
Im not sure what is causing the problem I just know it happens to some of them and thats how they fixed it and it never happened again.My Savage doesn't have the bearing in it so i've never experienced this first hand.
05-01-2003, 05:48 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
Probably leave it stock for a while til i ge tthe hang of it. First hop up will most likely be durablilty hop ups..skid plates, better bumpers etc.. Any reccomendations along that line
05-01-2003, 05:57 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
The stoc skid plates and bumpers seem to work fine My truck has taken a pounding and they are still in tact and barely show signs of wear.You might want to look into a stronger steering servo or more speed after you get the hang of the truck.The stock Savage goes about 35 MPH witch is pretty good for such a heavy MT but not fast enough to keep up with the T-Maxx.So you might want to look into an OFNA Hyper21 8port or a new picco .26 or the XTM 24.7.These motors drop right in and produce lots of power and a good high torque steering servo makes an already excelent handling truck even better.I use the Hitec 945 for steering but allot of guys are happy with 645.
05-01-2003, 06:00 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
But when i make the engine jump wont i have to do the clutch, drive shafts and brakes...am i forgetting something else
05-01-2003, 06:13 AM
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New to Nitro - HPI MT in the mail - seek experienced advice
I don't have a center plat and haven't had any problems.You will need to upgrade the clutches and the drivetrane but the stock break is fine for stopping power.I forgot to add this to the first list of problems.The brake hub is known for stripping out so you might want to upgrade that to the GPM alloy one.The Savage is very nice in stock form and I think you will be happy with it for a while before you want to upgrade the powerplant and drivetrain.I upgraded mine because I caught the R/C itch and couldn't help myself.I think I had more fun with the Savage before I started putting more $$ into it because now I'm worried about breaking these expensive parts when before I just didn't care because anything that broke could be fixed relitively cheap compared to now.
