Most Important Flux Upgrades?
 

I may be picking up a used savage flux here soon, and I'm wonder what the most important upgrades to have on it? So far I've gathered:

TCS 5mm chassis
Bulletproof Diffs
Big Bore shocks?


What else? Or if the truck I get doesn't come with one, what are good upgrades to get? Also, can anybody please post up the best 2s and 3s lipos found at hobbycity that will fit? I loved my Turnigy 40cs, and I would prefer at least 30c. Thanks

You don't necessarily need a TCS chassis for it. Most are finding that just going to any of the XL length TVP's are fine (FLM, 1OffRC, etc).. I'd run it a bit before going to something massive like the TCS 5T setup.

The stock shocks are actually fine. I switched to LST shocks, and have been having problems ever since with bulkheads and diff cases. Going back to stock here soon.

If you buy a used one, make sure it has the upgraded diffs. Another thing is buy the HPI swaybar kit. Not so much for the sway bar, but it has a better system for the hinge pin retainers (stock set up uses the bumper supports, which flex in and out too much).

Another popular hop up is to get the wide stance kit (or you can buy the HPI XL kit which includes longer TVP's and the extended wheel kit).

You will either love the stock tires, or you will hate them. Depends on what you use it for. I do a lot of jumping and bashing, so I'm fine with them.

I cant say anything about the Turnigy's, but my Zippy K 3S 4200packs fit with room to spare, and my Hyperion G3 6K's have to be squeezed in. The tray's are long, so you wont have a length issue.

Do the tray mod where you reverse the trays so they open outwards towards you (just switch the right one with the left one). Add a couple strips of double sided velcro for hold downs and your set.

A couple extra bodies....your going to send it down the street on its lid a few times before you get used to the power...

Oh...and a 2.4 radio system.....a must have.

Actually TCS has a 5mm standard length Flux chassis. They also have I think a 4.6mm XL length Flux chassis too. Of course there is now the HPI XL length Flux chassis.

The stock shocks are the same thing as the HPI Big Bores, just they are plastic instead of aluminum bodies.

Either the Castle Link or the programmable card. Then, especially if under 6S, you can tone down the punch control.

Tierod eliminators on the rear. Integy makes some and Atomic RC does aswell.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXWSX9&P=7

Good point on the Castle link. I have so many, I forgot they dont come with them.
I didn't realize TCS made a XL length chassis. Whichever chassis you go with, you will need to make sure it comes with the XL rear center dogbone - or order one seperate (I think FLM is the only one that sells without the dogbone).


While nice to have (I have the Integy), not really a necessity unless you plan on putting LST shocks on.

HD Drive gear is a must!
I personally think that the rear tie rod eliminator is great! Not an immidiate mod. But you will realise how annoying the rear tie rods are if you jump often!
sway bars really help the savage as it likes to topple over.
Sway bars combined with the shock mod really transform the handling.

If your not gettinig an RSC then you should do the hub mod to increase steering.

Also its vital to change the servo saver for the HD one as the stock one is rubbish.
When you servo blows, then get a stronger one.

Then just upgrade parts as they break.

You may want to get some shock oil and diff oils

Or going 5th scale... then the rear wobbles too much and you really do need them.

Care to link to these two (the "shock mod" and the "hub mod"). And what is an RSC?

Shock Mod http://www.hpisavageforum.com/forums...ad.php?t=11272

i cant find the Hub mod just yet... but the rsc conversion is the HPI Savage suspension conversion kit. The hub mod basically increases throw of the steering by shaving specific areas of the original plastic knuckles.

I will continue to look for the hub mod write up

Ahhh - just lowering the ride height on the shock mod.

Is the suspension conversion kit the one that just lengthens the hubs by .5"? Or are you talking different arms?

this is the hpi savage suspension conversion kit.

http://www.hpiracing.co.uk/piw.php?partNo=87245

http://www.hpieurope.com/graphics/pa.../87245_01a.jpg

For bashing i prefer to do the following to improve the stock Flux handling

1. Use 1/2 offset wheel or Savage XL extended axles
2. Do the tube shock mod and use a stiffer spring with heavier oil (white spring, 45-50 centistoke oil). Put an extra spacer in the rear shock, they need to be a little stiffer than the front
3. Use a lower profile tire than stock or mount a high profile tire on the inner bead of a larger wheel
4. Tape the tires
5. Use a heavy diff fluid in the front and rear diffs (30K-100K) instead of having just the grease.

Those 5 things make a huge difference to the stock flux handling without compromising ground clearance.

Other base stuff for a stock Flux

• Move the ESC forward on it's plate as far as possible (avoids shock damage)
• Do zip tie mod on front bumper arms to prevent them moving aside and letting the top hinge pin out
• Get some velcro ties to secure the battery boxes
• Get BP diffs if it didn't come with them
• The drive gear will start to wear badly after about 10 runs, get the HD replacement
• The pinion needs to be loctited, put some loctite on the shaft as well. it will look like it's hardly wearing for the first 15 or so runs then it will fall to pieces rapidly. Get a decent harded one like a Novak or RC Monster
• Get bearings for the steering rack. the HPI ones are stupidly $ just get cheap ones from ebay or somewhere
• Tighten steering servo saver spring further than advised(still leave room for servo saver to work) or get the HD spring
• Rear tie rod eliminators, better steering servo and 2.4Ghz are nice to have.

Gotta completely disagree with your diff oils. Yes, use diff oils rather than grease, but 30-100k is too heavy. I'm running 15k F/10k R in my 5T conversion. I could see maybe going as high as 30k/20k, but 100k? I don't even use that in my CD for my RC8Te!

Even better than zip ties is to use the roll bar kit. It has some neato hinge pin capture parts that HPI really needs to sell seperately (and include on all Savage vehicles)!

Yes to the HD drive gear.

And tighten the slipper nut down tighter than HPI instructs, probably about a 1/4 to 1/2 again as tight. And get a couple of sets of spare slipper pads and nuts.

Bah, I used 100k in "Frostbyte" in both diffs and it ran just fine. I could practically climb walls with it.

100K is not as bad as it sounds. For offroad bashing on very loose surfaces its fantastic. Some of the hill climbs i've manged to do i initially thought would be impossible. You just need to slow down a tad more than normal to turn :smile:

The majority of diff fluid discussions i see these days ppl are using 50K front and 30K rear. I've gone with 50K front and rear on my new build but yet to try it out offroad.

I'm thinking about trying 50k in both diffs this time

Interesting. Guess it depends on what you are doing.... and how you drive.

i set up a thread just for diff oils to get a fixed answer... I put up a question up on each forum i am a member of, and never got a fixed answer...

Some like heavy oils and run 50/30 some like light oils 7/5 some like 20/10 or 20/30

But i never got a fixed answer...

That's because its impossible to have a single answer. Its a function of the surface, your tires, your personal preferences, and your powertrain set up. Most bashers don't really give a crap, and just make a half assed attempt at "setup". And unless you bash in the same spot every time, your diff tuning will vary. I'd bet 95% of us would come up with different answers given the same conditions and vehicles.

Because were bashers, not racers. :intello:

My 2cents
 

In my bashers I always used a heavier wt oil. When I rebuilt my XXL diffs last time I decided to go with 15K F&R rather than my normal 30K-F and 50K-R. I had them this week apart just to check after 2 dozen runs w/6s and the gears look great yet. I think with the heavier oils it was creating to much stress on the gear train, with the lighter oil a wheel will break loose much easier and reduces stress ??

With the torque 6S puts out on the strain on the drivetrain, yes, its logicall to assume that a thicker oil will put an even higher strain on components as it has to work against that extra viscosity and friction.

i'm a basher and have the 5t conversion from tcs on mine. i used 30/30k at a suggestion of a fellow member and it seems to be doing fine. it seems to be harder to turn, but i'm also still using stock servo, so maybe its just weak with so much weight (7.5inch tires from cen nemesis too)

back to original thread question though, my first upgrade would be the radio if you don' thave 2.4 ghz, then probably the tvps. i still have the stock non bulletproof dif's in mine and even with the weight of the conversion and huge tires they are holding up just fine. when i filled my diffs about a month ago they aren't even showing signs of use.

i have broken 3 stock A arms 2 tops 1 bottom both on front, but that was some serious abuse. i'm not sure rpm could have held up to what i did, the stock arms seem very strong. but rpm a arms wouldn't be a bad investment, they are guaranteed for life after all.

What is the shock tube mod?

Use the optional tube that comes with the kit above the big spring, and take away the little spring

This should mostly be a ride height adjustment. If you want to change the stiffness of the spring, go to a heavier one.

Interesting. The point of the dual-spring system is it acts as a dual-rate spring system so that you can run a slightly softer spring in general, but on really big jolts to the system the heavier second spring absorbs some of the energy in a more controlled manner. By swapping out the heavier spring for the plastic collar you are effectively swapping the elasticity of the spring for the elasticity of the plastic.

I bought my savage used and it came with nothing other than the truck and electronics. What do I need to buy to make the suspension work better?

The extra spacer doesn't fill a gap between the spring and the end of the shocks as the tube will have filled virtually all of that. It should actually precompress the spring a little adjusting both ride height and stiffness. There is a fairly big diff between the stock pink springs and the white springs so if you want a stiffness in between the spacers are the only way to get it.

The stock short spring actually seems to be slightly less stiff than the pink spring. You can see this if you hold them end to end and try to compress. So there is some small amount of dual rate happening. What i'm not keen on is the plastic collar that joins them. It rubs a lot on the shock body when things get dirty. What would be nice is a single dual rate spring not two separate springs. I used to run Raven dual rate springs when i had the LST shocks on and they were worked quite well.