Thanks for the temp info. I wonder if the motor heatsink design is any more efficient at dissipating heat than the other neu designed motors.

Probably not - heat dissapation is a function of surface area - this doesnt seem to have any more - actually looks less to me.

Just from the photos it looks like same surface area if you add the area on the sides of the pips. Assuming this is so, would there be an air circulation advantage to this design?

GD that's a nice stock truck.... go hpi.
If/when I get bored of the nitro in my XL its nice to see there is some stock parts that will make an easy swap and hold up to the power as well. (My revo tranny never really did)

All of the great feedback on this truck is making it harder for me to resist buying one, especially since Tower is running a $60 off code right now.

wow you make want to get one to..
electric Eel you have a flm and a flux right. i am doing a flm my self.
can you tell me if the flux motor clamp and all that supports it will fit.
what i would like to do is carry the drive train over from flux to the flm.

The Flux mount really won't work with the FLM. It actually hangs out past the TVP on a special lower motor plate. You don't really need it though. The stock FLM mount works great. The single speed tranny will bolt right into FLM's chassis, as will the new bulkheads.
The more I drive this truck, the more it reinforces my belief that a lower weight is the way to go for performance. Start ditching all the aluminum and stick with plastic whenever possible. Alloy looks good, but in the end it hurts performance and leads to other parts breaking. Except for Integy parts, they give you the flexibility of plastic with the looks of alloy. At least for the first crash.

ok thanks i just have to wait for hpi to put out parts for the flux. it sounds like you gave
your one a real beating and on 6s power and the drive train stayed alive thats so good.

can put up a video of your flux and flm going at it...love to see it....thanks

No joke. I just keep reminding myself I don't have room! Too many projects going.

Does anyone know if the Savage XL Chassis conversion kit will work with the Savage Flux? I figure it'd be a worthwhile upgrade for stability reasons, assuming the new battery boxes, tranny, and motor mounts match up.

Savage XL Chassis Conversion Kit

I don't think it will work. If you look closely at the pics of the flux, the motor/mount stick out the side of the tvp's and there is an open portion in the tvp's ot accomodate that. There is no such opening in the XL tvp.

Check this video on 6S lipo it not mine but is very good http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=16chv6pNnvc

and this on 4S http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=4z4Pb5EH_ZE

...Generis at GCM will have a Flux dedicated extended chassis out very soon...Wont be as long as an XL but it will certainly be something different to the loads of FLM's out there ;)

I can't imagine HPI won't have a Flux XL out eventually. Maybe that's what Patrick wants us testing that 1518 motor for? :) :) :)
Give it a year or late summer maybe. Lots of guys will beat HPI to it tho. Really if someone could just make one tvp to match the other XL that would work for conversions....
*hint* *hint* Mike? Jamie?

Can anyone with a flux maybe snap a few pics of the exploded diagram of the tranny... Or maybe scan the manual... Or maybe get me a link to the manual online, as I cannot seem to find it!

Please x2.

They don't have the manual up yet. I've been dying to take a look. The HPI manuals are the best I've seen. Love all the parts lists and 1:1 diagrams in the back.


Killed the diff in my XL today. I can't wait for the chop shops to get these up on ebay, tho the prices are going to be bad...

I just want to see if the tranny internals will fit the std SS tranny case. I will most likely buy the flm bulks for my big flm savvy. I have not run it yet, but plan to run the hpi heavy duty al cups with the steel inserts...

Is that good, or should I do something else?

I think you should stick LST diffs in it.........

HAHA. Not sure they would fit without a ton of work... At that point I might as well just sell it and buy another lst.. The lst is a better truck, IMO... Thats just me though, don't want to start a war in the savvy section!

Mine should be here tomorrow - I'll get your info ASAP.

From the pix I've seen it looks like they just have a diff shaft and gear set, but the archecture of the tranny has not changed. Ie, input shaft is one gear, and drive gear is one fixed gear, rest is same. Never know until you get a good look at it.

I have the alu diff cups in my XL. They are very beefy, but the ring gears are not as good as the Flux's. Plus they use lame 10 or 12mmx16mm bearing iirc, not the std 8x16's you see on all truggies & other 1/8th scales. Supposedly the flux's diffs have 8x16s. I can't remember if this is was for one side or both.

Besides the Losi's are prolly some weird SAE bearing, or maybe one side is SAE and the other is metric lol. I hated my losi for that. Always having to have two sets of wrenches and guessing what unit they decided to go with for any particular part.

If you want the xl tvps, for your Flux, give Kershaw Design a call or email him with what you want. It would be water jet cut, so fast turn around and very affordable. I like teh way the FLM stuff looks, but for as hard as I drive mine I would hate to ruin those parts.
By ruin I mean get dirty/scratch.

I'm currently running CEN GEN diffs front and back in my BL XL, went thru to many stockers to keep up.
http://www.rcbasher.com/savcendiffs.html
I cant wait to hear how the flux rear end gears keep up.

I'm a noob to HPI lingo - what is the tvps?

I'm dying on the vine here.....only a 100 miles away...so close and yet so far away!

Twin Vertical Plates, they're the chassis plates.

Someone already had diff problem.
http://www.savage-central.com/module...+flux&start=20

Add me to the list with a broken diff pinion. I finally did one backflip too many and heard that horrible sound. The diffs actually held up better than any other Savage diffs yet. I'll try the Cen mod on the Flux and report back.

I got mine this afternoon, and immediately switched the battery connectors over to Traxxas only to find out Traxxas plugs don't fit through the battery tray holes. (Yes, I realize I'm probably the only one who uses Traxxas plugs for everything but that's how all my batteries are now) I had to dremel it out to make it fit.

Took it out for a rip on 4S and crikey is this thing fast. Unfortunately I only had packed snow to run on (Thank you Alberta Winter) but the one time I did get traction on launch, I just flipped ass over. It's drying out now then I'm going to see how it compares to a nitro savage for parts.

I too got mine today. The thing is sick fast on 6S. I'm going to start my own thread on it, with all the pics and stuff to go with (Just because this is my first new RC!!!:intello:)

btallack how does it compare to the e-revo?

I'm also curious how it compares. I have an E-Revo and I love it, but I've always got my eyes and ears open for the next big thing. From what I've gathered, the Savage line is generally tougher than the Revo, though I've yet to break anything on my truck. The videos I've seen thus far show the truck to be a lumbering monster with a high center of gravity and a slushy suspension. Then again, the E-Revo also had a pretty spongy ride right out of the box.

I'm satisfied with the strength of the E-Revo and I acknowledge that the Flux may be stronger still, but what other advantages does the Savage hold over it?

I have a converted Revo 3.3 (MMM/1515 2.5D), and now the Flux. Keep in mind, I've run that Revo for 3 years, and only one run on the Flux up and down our street for about 15 minutes.
Revo outhandles the flux. Period. Not even a comparison.
Flux is too short/narrow as it sits out ouf the box, especially if you are going to run 6S. On 4S, it might be a better match.
I fight the Revo suspension sag all the time - I may have finally nailed it this summer.
Flux seems fairly well balanced right now - but will have to do some jumping with it to really know.

I dont feel that they are really a comparable truck though. A Flux will never handle like the Revo, thus you'd likely never race a Flux. You can bash them both, like you can any truck. And like any truck, depending on how the stars align for you, and which rock gets in your way, you can break any of them. And with ANY rig, you are going to break your drivetrain trying to do backflips.

My guess is that if the economy doesn't completely tank, there will be a better rig on the market in a year. But then, by then I will have likely spent another couple hundred upgrading and fixing this truck, having fun the whole time!

IMO the E-REVO is more of a runner or racer, the Savages are more of a fun maker or joker. Savage's significantly higher center of gravity made that difference.
Also, flat plate chassis makes every part in E-Revo much easier to access than the Savage.

The Savage is a blast and without question a better basher. It has a ridiculous amount of power and a seemlingly solid drive train. I threw it up in the air so it would land hard and knock some of the snow off. The springs didn't even bottom out. This thing is solid.

That said, my BL E-Revo is without question a better racer. It seems to have better weight distribution, handles better, and of course is lower to the ground. On a track I'd definitely expect the win to go to the E-Revo. I've got my E-Revo built for track and it hugs the corners. The Savage would flip at the same speeds.

The Savage however can certainly go places my Race-Setup E-Revo never could. Better clearance and durability means I can run it on pretty much any terrain with no issue whatsoever.

As for which is a better overall vehicle, I'd be hardpressed to answer that. The E-Revo is definitely more versatile. It can be set up for better clearance, and with RPM all around it's pretty much just as durable as the Savage and doesn't seem to have the Diff problem that the Savage is notorious for. Stock, I'd say the Savage is the overall better vehicle, but with a few mods I'd say the E-Revo is just because of it's versatility. (And if you're anything like me, you can't leave anything alone. Keeping my Slash stock for stock class racing is killing me. I'm already planning a list of mods for my Flux)

I bought the Savage to be a basher and I'll leave my E-Revo for racing. Tomorrow I'm actually meeting up with a buddy who has a BL E-Revo (MMM/Losi2100Kv) so I'll let you guys know how it compares side by side. Don't expect anything too thorough however until the snow melts. We're pretty much limited to packed snow running for right now.

Thanks for the comparisons. It sounds like people believe that each truck has its purpose - Revo for racing, Savage for bashing. I wonder, however, how close you could get each truck to be close to the other in their respective strengths. Ex: LT rockers and higher GC for the Revo and stiffer, lower suspension for the Savage. My Revo is relatively stiff as I don't take it into excessively bumpy areas frequently, but when I do hit up a construction site that's been torn up by earth movers, I sometimes wish it was a little more plush to handle the giant ruts in the ground. Maybe I should get both? :neutral:

I've had two converted Revos, and now a nitro Sav XL.
Gotta say that the Revo's been on the shelf for a while w/ no plans to run it again. The Revo def out handles the Savage, but anymore I think a revo is a half assed truggy w/ a tranny. Not to be harsh, but it seems a jack of all trades/master of neither sort of truck. I have a very nice and inexpensive Ofna Hyper ST truggy for amazing handling and hi spd running, and a big burly savage to offroad with. Both are better than the Revo at what they do, and stronger IMO.

I seemed to have constant little things break w/ it. The tranny is weak, and takes 40 million screws to get apart (as do the diffs.) Now this is a nitro ver, so can't speak for the Erevo version.
Also, I hate the suspension. It is really hard to get right for a hvy BL truck. It always sags, and tends to bend the rocker posts alot, and pushrods sometimes. The shocks are actually quite small and overworked IMO, and the whole setup is needlessly complicated and hard to service. I also hate the pillow balls (tho strengthened in the Erevo) and the fact that so much needs to be changed to RPM stuff to stay durable. I hate how gimmicky and under-engineered alot of TRX stuff tends to be.

Very few things I dislike about the Savage. Overall its very ez to work on and get to things. Diffs are cake, and can use many 1/8th scale diffs as a mod. Tranny is ez to open and get to, as is really everything. Its not terribly complicated and is tough and well protected all around.

It is not adjustible at all lol. Forget about caster and camber (tho there is a adj arm kit.) You get toe, that's it. Not a whole lot of options on shock mounting with the stock towers either (tho the FLM towers are nice.) The turn radius sucks. My hyper ST can do a fig-8 in the savvy's turn circle, seriously.

The truck is for jumping, driving over stuff and general mayhem. For that, its awesome. It drives over everything my revo would have got stuck on long before. It has a real drive train, not plastic tubes. The stock shocks are ok, but BB or LST shocks are luxurious.

I don't think that's harsh. It seems pretty accurate given your other vehicles. Since this is my only truck, that works out pretty well for me. I agree that if I wanted a pure racer, I'd buy a 4wd buggy such as an 8ight-E, and the Savage may have the edge on the Revo for extreme terrain. If you've driven both, you'd know better than I do. I do wonder about the suspension travel and whether the Savage really has the upper hand. Traxxas has boasted about "more suspension travel than any monster truck" for years. If the crown now goes to the Savage, is that all that makes it a better off road truck? Ground clearance? How do the two trucks compare when the Revo is jacked up on the inner pushrod mounting points and LT rockers?

Many of the shortcomings you cite on the Revo stem from the nitro version; some of which have been improved on the E-Revo (as you already mentioned). Most drivetrain issues I've seen have been with the plastic driveshafts, not the new single speed tranny. Some say the new Summit driveshafts will be stronger still and would be a direct swap for the Revo shafts. I've also read about a few blown diffs, but nothing that leads me to believe that they're a major weak point. Then again, I'm pretty satisfied with the speed of 4s on this thing and I have a little more mechanical empathy than most. :) I can't speak of how easy it is to access the guts of the truck as I haven't broken anything yet!

The turning radius of the Savage concerns me, just as it did on the Revo before I installed the new steering stop and longer servo horns, included optional part. Then again, if I were to compare it to a truggy it may feel wide as well.

I've only blown one diff, and that was from power launching it on pavement after I did my 2nd revo as a 3.3 (testing out wheeling, trying to stop it.) Otherwise diffs were ok, but I don't abuse my stuff FWIW.

The big thing I hated about the diffs was that they tended to leak and you about need epoxy to get any diff action out of them due to the 4 spider design. Where I have 5K oil in my 1/8 diffs, you need 30-50K in the Revo diffs to get the same action. For the C diff kit you need 500000 wt oil. At that point its not even oil, its sticky putty. Filling a diff w/ it sucks. Even at that it diff'd out badly. Then its major surgery to remove the diff. 1st time you do this and you'll know what I mean.

I just popped out the diff in my Savvy and it takes 3 mins. 6 ez to get to M4 screws and the front of the diff case just pops out. Don't have to touch hingepins or shocks at all. Same as an 'uggy basically. Then its normal wt oils to fill it and proper gaskets instead of those crappy rubber rings TRX has on theirs that tear way too ez and then can only get in a $5 parts pack w/ a new diff cup.

As far as suspension goes, part of it is that the Sav is just so much bigger (esp the XL I have.) Its taller and wider, and easily fits 40 series tires on it. You can run it higher and its not as dramatically tippy as lifting the Revo all the way up. Revo handles great on the middle or lower position, but not so great on the highest.
But also its also the difficulty of swapping around all that stuff to change the handling. You can put other rockers on (like LTs) but then you have to change the pushrods (and all that disassembly) and if you change the height you are supposed to change all the ball joints around for the bumpsteer. Ok, get out the manual, look up the setting, ok, tall hollow ball...where did I put it?.. pop it out the middle ball I had in there, save it..., put in the new one... rescrew everything back together.. oh don't forget the springs, take apart the shocks now... ad infinitum.

I changed around the ride height and the rockers once in 3yrs I had the Revos it was such a PITA. Screw it, just left the P2s and middle pushrod and kicked off the ruts I got stuck on. With a normal shock setup, you just move one maybe two screws to adj ride height and progressiveness.

Now I'm not trying to start a Revo vs Sav thread, or Revo sucks thread or whatever. Its still quite a good truck, and is a good all around truck that is a million times more durable than the Emaxxes (esp 1st additions.) I just got pissed at it for enough little things over the years that it just annoys me now. That and the half-assed chintzy TRX engineering. And all the nickel and diming TRX manages to engineer into them. (Death by a million little upgrades and option parts.)

However, if someone were looking to get a truck to go bash around the yard and never race with or try to set spd records with, I would highly rec the Sav over the Revo. None of this is aimed at you btw beatle, just an opinion on a general comment.

I can honestly say that Traxxas has greatly improved on that in the last couple years. The entire electric line has all metal gears and waterproof parts now (except for the brushless ESCs) and mostly all of their RCs now have metric hex head screws. Ball bearings are also mostly standard. This is a far cry from the plastic bushings, plastic gears, and philips screws that stripped all too easily of just a couple years ago. Their plastic however still is the same lousy compound it's always been.

Traxxas has been very innovative lately with their waterproof electrics and the strangely simple yet fun Slash.

I'm no fanboy of any particular brand. If you look at my signature you'll see I have RCs of quite a few different brands. All have a certain appeal.

I definitely agree with the previous comment that the Revo is a jack of all trades, master of none, but for those that don't have multiple RCs as I do, that's perfect. It's very versatile and can adapt to many situations. The Savage however makes a great basher.

The bottom line is no one RC is the best at everything. No brand makes every RC perfect every time. The best thing to do is run what you're happy with. For those trying to decide between the E-Revo BL and the Savage Flux, I'd recommend they try for themselves first if they can. If you can't find anyone that has one that will let you try it out, the Revo 3.3 or Savage X is also reasonably comparable if you can get your hands on one, at least as far as handling is concerned.

I disagree. I have watched my savage keep up with buggies on my local track, sadly I wasn't driving. They can be very fast. Extended chassis helps handle the power though.

I think that's more of a testament to driving skill than the vehicle.

The Savage should be compared more to the E-Maxx than the Revo.