What mods are you making to the direct drive? I have one too, but the plates don't seem to line up properly when I tighten down the screws on the skid plate. THe gears start to bind a bit. Are you experiencing this as well?

This is with the Kershaw DD kit? I'd E-Mail Dan and tell him this. He'll probably have you send it back to him and he'll give you a new one if yours isn't working right.

Ya, I'm working with him on it. Hes gonna send me new output shaft, new dogbone, and maybe new skid plate.

BL Savage
 

Hi, I just found this post and thought I'd share my project. I'm running on 6s power with a locked 2 speed tranny. I locked it by using my mig welder and tacked a weld on the arm to hold it in place. I'll take a pic next time its apart. This truck was a Savage SS on gas last year, but I caught the electric bug and made an BL XL conversion. I'm still running the manual fiber brakes and also steering from the hump pack. I thought it might save me some power, and I've read that it can keep the motor as much as 30 degrees cooler. So far I have'nt had any tranny problems. I'm running a 47 spur with a 15 pinion and can still do standing backflips. I wont claim it can do 60 with this pinion, but It is a lot faster than my Savage SS on gas so I'd guess Its around 45-50 mph. Id love to run the direct drive, but I dont think my packs will fit with that set up. Thats partly why I changed to an XL chassis. (to hold packs between TVP's)

tklemin: Very nice looking build! Im working on a savx conversion of my own and had considered getting the XL plates. The only thing Im wondering about yours is that if you did mount the batteries on the sides of the TVPs with some kyosho battery trays (very nice looking), you could mount them lower in the chassis (and towards the front a little for better weight distribution) and then mount the motor much lower. Overall improved center of gravity.... But if you arent too worried about that your setup is absolutely perfect. Love the XL look... youre tempting me to sell my new X plates!

Awesome! have to say that those genesis wheels match there prefectly. What's up with that other motor plate or is that a motor plate, cant really see all of it.. Planning to stick another motor there?

And welcome to the forums tklemin!

Savy build
 

Thanks for the props. I was trying to make the baddest truck Ive ever owned. The motor plate is from KD. It just has a double mount for brushed motors I guess. The weight distribution probably could be a little better, But the batts still sit pretty low in the truck, and I still have the hump pack in the box that evens out a little. That was part of the reason I used the XL chassis. I figured the the longer chassis would even out the weight of the more rear weight of the batts. I just like the look of the batts tucked in, and it might ad a little more clearance under the truck and protect the lipos also. It drives great (not to flippy). As with most 6s trucks it takes a more dialed in throttle control than with gas. It took a few charges to learn to drive again. With my gearing It will still do standing back flips, but its not to bad after half speed.

My project was halted for a while because of my overwhelming work schedule, but now when I've had few days' vacation I've managed to do quite a lot - so here's what has happened so far:

- Kershaw direct drive reversed for the sake of weight balance and to get the lipos between the TVP's
(gearbox needed quite a lot of trial & error shimming before I got it running smoothly)
- stock radio box removed and replaced with Fastlane servo plate
- broken steering servo & front diff fixed (these broke while my last bash session)

I had one KB45-10L 1800kv motor lying around, so I really wanted to give it a try and see how it runs. The kv-rating is a bit high for 6S but hey, just for the heck of it... :mdr:

Here's a few photos from yesterday - I was in a hurry to get my truck into running condition so I had to use few "temporary" solutions to get all in place (mainly the esc & receiver).
(click for big pic)
http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/P1040329_800.jpg

http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/P1040334_800.jpg

http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/P1040335_800.jpg

The KB45-10L is quite a power plant - even though there was no grip at all on snow I managed to pull over 2000 watts from it with 6S 5000mAh 15C Zippys according to Eagle Tree.

Here's some chart data:
http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-...10L_6S_001.png
(there's some glitch there with +8600W & +80V peak values :))

Gearing used was 20t pinion, 47t spur.

I measured 60°C (140°F) from the motor endbell and the ambient temperature was -1°C (30°F).
Summer temperatures may be too much for KB45, but I'm planning to use a different motor then.

The car handled pretty well - although my driving was mainly on flat surface with few minor jumps from snow bank, I'm quite pleased with the weight balance.

Only problem I had was with the pinion which wasn't hardened. It was simply ruined just with one set of 5000mAh batteries...

http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/P1040340_800.jpg

Next step will most likely be upgrading the diffs.

Looks good! So the direct drive did ok? Might be time for some meatier tires :yes:

Yes, direct drive does perform well. I'm waiting for the snow to melt for some serious traction... :intello:

...Janezki...Agrre with you on the direct drive / center diff...MUCH better feel...

...how do you like those tires? How do THEY like the power you are ruinning through them? Do they balloon much?

Stock tires are decent, even though they balloon like crazy with full throttle. :lol:
I haven't been able to run my truck on grippy surface at all, hopefully the snow melts in about months time.
I was considering ProLine Badlands, but they are so "small" - I wish there was an easy way to put Baja wheels & tyres on Savage.

If you want bigger next best thing to baja size is LST tires what I use and love em, do very well on all surfaces.

Noted - I'm open to suggestions on wheel & tyre combos, preferrably with 17mm hex. Offroad thread ofcourse, this truck is not meant for pavement use. :mdr:

nice savy.
 

Nice build Janezki. I like the changes made over the first version. What is the drive shaft set up using the direct drive in reverse? Did you have to use a different length turnbuckle on the steering bellcrank with tha FLM servo plate? I noticed that you were using the left servo slot. I'm thinking of doing a setup like yours with a nice electrics box.

I like the stock tires on my Muggy. They are kinda like a 40 series crimefighter but a harder compound for better life. Not the best traction ever but they do pretty well. You'll need 17mm wheels for it though, the stock Muggy wheels use a 20mm hex. Not bad tires, not sure how they compare to the LST tires.

I bought a new set of maximizer 17mm beadlocks and new lst meats for them, wont be disappointed been using the lst tires since it came out and use them on my clodbuster.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/e6c05d84.jpg

tklemin: Thanks! Sharp eye you got there - servo placement was determined by the motor, with XL-sized motor I couldn't fit the servo on it's original place. Also had to make longer "turnbuckle" from parts that I had available (....ssshh Traxxas...).
With that KB45 I don't have the problem because the can is a tad shorter, but didn't bother to change servo position back to it's orginal place.
I received two different lenght dogbones with Kershaw, both of them used with reversed setup. Also had to make new flat spot to the "main axle" for output gear because of changed position of transmission.

Unsullied_Spy: Thanks for the suggestion.

Savage03: That looks nice! Aftermarket beadlock rings?

No their made by maximizer, they give you 2 different designs as well and few colors choices. The rims come in 1/2 offset and 0 offset also.

...Janezki the new Savage 5T will have alloy adaptors that will fit the XL axles AND have a 24mm hex so you can use the Baja rims and tires..Those puppies are TOO heavy IMO though...More damage than giggles i reckon...

...FYI Savage 5T is only slated for release here in Japan...

Oh, only in Japan!? Well maybe I'll have to order those adapters from there then.
I'd very much like to put these ProLine Badlands on my Savage. Stock XL tires are pretty heavy too, so I think it shouldn't be too big of a problem.

i have a baja 5b clone and the tires are MUCH MUCH heavier than any 1/8 scale tire. they weight about 2-3 times more than the savage xl tires. they would make your diffs shred within minutes. i think the GST would stand it better. still though, you would burn through dogbones really fast. an on-power landing would be devastating to the entire drivetrain. besides, all the baja tires i've seen are in the 6 inch diameter range. the terrapins are still taller yet lighter than baja tires. those terrapins are perfect for what you are doing if you don't mind the ballooning. GST tires might be your best bet if you want bigger, badder tires.

Recent updates: 49t plastic spur, E-Maxx receiver box and a stand for the esc.

http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/IMG_0004_800.jpg

http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/IMG_0008_800.jpg

http://janezki.pp.fi/grfx/savage_xl-e/IMG_0017_800.jpg

Had a little test drive and the plastic spur seemed to hold up pretty well compared to steel pinion against hardened steel spur.

So cool, love it! Out of curiosity, how well balanced were the tires from the factory?

Why a plastic spurgear?????

I stripped mine in a second, nothing left of it....

Greetz,
Joram

Need to learn how to set the mesh properly ;) Been running one of these since the XL came out with plastic gears no worries. The problem is the driveshafts, theyre so stiff they have no torsional give whatsoever, you'll end up stripping diff pinions. Put the old driveshafts back in and the problem goes away :p

...im running a Kyosho 46 plastic spur and it goes great...nice and quiet (comparatively) too...

I meshed them correctly...

How do you mesh them? With a piece of paper?

Greetz
Joram

meshing with paper is not ideal, it gives a basic start though. You want to set it as close as possible without binding. Easy way to do this, is to move it close, and then see if the spur can still move a little back and forth before actually turning the pinion. It should be a very small amount of play. Paper mesh is too far apart, a little less is better. Another way is to keep moving it closer a TINY bit at a time until it starts binding, and then move out a tiny bit until it stops binding.

Another thing, Janezki is using budget hardware (from what I see in the pics), and you (Joram) are using a beastly top-of-the-line system that probably puts out a whole lot more torque. Yours might still strip the plastic spur, but I doubt it. Nylon is stronger than most people realize. For gears, they can be almost as strong as hardened steel because they give a little. However, if there is a lot of heat, they melt, which can be a problem in high heat applications.

I use a steel spur, but that is for a totally different reason. The plastic one is thicker, and it interferes with the chassis b/c of the way I have the tranny mounted up, the steel one is thinner, so it clears the chassis.

My Savöx motor has very much power.

I gave full power and the spurgear was totally stripped. Monday my GPM steel spurgear arrives, that's because my hot-Racing one is badly damaged cause of loosecoming spurs... Need some red locktite:intello:

I also have a GPM Delrin spurgear, i want to look how that one is holding the BL power.

Greetz,
Joram

If you mesh it right, the delrin should work fine. I'm surprised the other stock plastic stripped though.

They were in pretty decent balance - right until the glue gave up with full throttle and let snow (which then melted) inside. :oops:

I found that sometimes transmissions and spurs dont spin perfectly round.(due to wear and high power) Always turn the spur a few times after setting to make sure there isn't a tight spot. I also like to try to break in the pinion on the bench at a low speed to check the wear pattern. Its easy to not be square to the pinion using all the different/custom motor mounting plates. If you run a standard savage tranny, it can easily not be spinning perfectly round. Spin the spur by itself to check if its spinning in a wierd warped orbit. I have set a pinion once and didnt realize the tranny was having an issue and toasted a pinion from high heat. I dont use plastic spurs because I think at 25 volts, its just waiting for something to loosen or its one hard slam away from melting. I think its also a lot easier to hear a problem with metal on metal after a hard bash. I'm not knocking plastic, I use them on other vehicles. Just not my savage.(except for inside tranny) Like the stock market claims "Past performance is not an indication of future results." IMO

Short clip from weekend is available at Youtube.
(might want to try the HD-version of the video)

There's really no grip at all with those stock tires on icy snow, hopefully within a months time we'll get rid of that white stuff...

The old MGM controller has this nice feature of loosing the brakes when it get's warm - hence few blasts to the bushes. Monster is on it's way...

The parts for my new brushless savage have been slowly rollin in over the past little while, Its ready to run now but I decided to order the integy LST shocks, rear bearing carriers, FLM LST shock conversion (of course) and bearing to get rid on the bushings in the steering crank. Its got a savage flux single speed tranny and the mamba 2200, aluminum a arms, diff cases, shock towers, and the fastlane machine savage brushless conversion. I decided to start with a spur/pinion of 47/20. I think its going to be bulletproof, as soon as cheapbatterypacks.com has elite 22.2v H.O. 5000mah battery packs back in stock I am going to find out.

[IMG]C:\Users\Wes\Desktop\savage\IMG_4091.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]C:\Users\Wes\Desktop\savage\IMG_4109.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]C:\Users\Wes\Desktop\savage\IMG_4113.jpg[/IMG]

LOL, You need to upload the pics or something beforeyou can make a link from them. That code would only work if everyone had the pics in a folder called savage on the desktop. Upload them at photobucket or imageshack, or just click manag attachments when you make a post. It won't be available for a quick reply, but if you click the actual reply button, you will get the option.

yeah, that wasnt my intention, just ran out of time to fix it before I went out.


http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/u...2/IMG_4094.jpg

http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/u...2/IMG_4112.jpg

http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/u...2/IMG_4109.jpg

Hope I got it figured out this time,

janeski, does the KB45 motor you are using have the same mounting dimentions as a feigao motor? is the motor screw spacing the same as a feigao? i am thinking about using the KB45 10L in my savage conversion.

No it's the next one up. I was also looking into using it in my revo. The new e-revo engine mount has holes for those bigger motors though, but then there is the issue with the 6mm shaft.

would that motor fit the kershaw designs motor mount for the savage?