My First New RC: Savage Flux
 

Today I came home to find this nice brown box sitting on my doorstep!
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0042.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0043.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0044.jpg[/IMG]

Things I noticed as I unpacked it:
1) New RC smell stinks!!

2) Some assembly is required.

3) Their body clips are EXTREMELY hard to remove or put in. Have a pair of needle nose handy.

4) Radio is cheap. Give Traxxas the nod for a better feeling more solid transmitter.

5) HPI couldn't figure out how to mount the MMM either - see zip tie.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0048.jpg[/IMG]

6) Aftermarket or homemade battery trays will be easy to make and mount due to the 4 horizontally oriented and equally spaced mounts (notice my Revo history coming out here!)
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0049.jpg[/IMG]

7) On the reciever cover there are two removable plugs that you have to put in - what are these?? Seems odd to not have them molded in.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0055.jpg[/IMG]
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0056.jpg

More to come...have to go eat...

Nice... :yes:

Couple comparison shots with my 3.3 Revo conversion
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hmmm - Flux is supposedly 1/8th scale, Revo 1/10th....doesnt look any different to me...who's right?

A few misc pics:
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0051.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0050.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0052.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0053.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0054.jpg[/IMG]

Manual is nice - much better parts list and diagrams than I've seen from Traxxas. Down side is the multilingual crap. No offense meant to those who need it!

Good lot of some spare parts included.

Included tools are on the cheap side, and not all tools required for assembly/dissassembly are included (which I beleive Traxxas does provide).

After scrounging for some AA's that actually worked, I proceeded to try to program the ESC - didn't go nearly as smooth as my MMM. Not sure if that's due to the difference in 75Mhz vs my 2.4. Anyway, it took about 5 tries before I was happy with it.

Another note - these battery trays could really use some help. First, what's up with those rubber caps for the latch's? They dont fit under the tab very well, and come off too easy when you forget that they dont open the case.
Second, the doors dont open far enough - the latch's hit either the ESC, or the radio case, preventing them from opening far enough to easily put a battery it. Next, I was using a pair of 3S Zippy K's (4300). Very, Very, very tight fit. Even the wires going through the wire opening were tighter than I liked. Part of that is due to the nice braided wrap I have on them, but I'm also glad it was there due to the tightness.

Wheel nuts are extremely tight from the factory - I was going to swap off the rims/tires right off, but after rounding off the first nut, I decided I wanted to RUN the damn thing first!!! I'll tackle those rims next time.

Very nice.

Now for the Run:

Very little if any glitching at low throttle - I expected some with the 75mhz.

Wheelies, wheelies, wheelies....much more than I have experienced with my Revo (MMM/1515 2.5D). Just guestimating - at about 45, give it a blip of throttle, and its on its lid...guess I should have put the included wheelie bar on, huh?!?!

I ran it for about 10-15 minutes up and down the street. Probably achieved 100 yards or more on its lid.:oh: And it now has the road rash hole to prove it.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0059.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...h_PICT0060.jpg[/IMG]

The slipper seemed to loosen, and it was getting dark so I pulled it into the garage, spent about 7 minutes finding my needel nose (to remove those damn clips!), and took a couple pictures, and then remembered to take temps. The motor and batteries were 70 deg F, the esc 110 deg F. Ambient temp was around 45 at the time. So I think the ESC may run a little warm with the setup I was running - but I'll have to run it a little more to really know. I did not hear the fan come on at all while running it.
BTW - thank God for Spektrum, as my antenna is already shot from skidding down the asphalt on its lid!

My opinion right now is that its a decent truck, REALLY needs more length and width. It is far too fast for its handling capabilities (on 6S). I do think this will run good on 4S, so I'm in the market for a pair.
Battery trays need some serious improvement/expansion.

The compartment is the exact same part as on the Nitro Savage. The large piece is for an optional battery gauge for the receiver battery, the other piece however I couldn't fit an option for. My guess is it's for some sort of charging port. That extra servo location was for throttle control on the Nitro Savage. I've been trying to think of clever uses for it on the Flux and the best I can think of so far is for a mechanical switch for lights or something. (And that seems needlessly complex.)

Edit: I did a little checking. It is a charge adapter port. It's stock on the Savage XL. I think I'm going to see if I can use it as a programming port for the Castle link.

Truck looks good JT. Any chanve you could snap a clear pic of the exploded diagram for the tranny. I would like to see what the internals look like, and see what part numbers they list... I have a feeling my flm chassis will get one of these trannies.

Thanks!

Nice truck! I got mine in at the store this morning! Can't wait to play with it!

Yeah, I was actuallly going to scan those for you. Should be able to get to it tonight.

Sweet, many thanks!

http://www.hpiracing.com/products/en/102246/

MACHINED SUPER HEAVY DUTY BEVEL GEAR 43T/13T SET
Use your arrow keys to move through the images. This Machined Super Heavy Duty Bevel Gear Set is an official HPI replacement part for the diffs on the Savage Flux HP. It's designed to handle the extreme torque and horsepower of the Flux brushless system. This set is also a popular upgrade for Savage X trucks using high horsepower engines. Includes a machined hardened steel 43T and 13T gear, washers, grease, thread lock, gasket and screws.



http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/pa...02246_002m.jpg

http://www.hpiracing.com/products/en/102272/

COMPOSITE GEAR BOX/BULKHEAD SET
Use your arrow keys to move through the images. This Composite Gear Box/Bulkhead Set is an official HPI replacement part for the Savage Flux HP truck. It's molded from stiff composite material for extra strength that helps hold the differential firmly in place, perfect for high horsepower applications. This set is also a popular high performance upgrade for Savage X trucks. Includes the molded gear box/bulkhead parts tree and mounting screws.



http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/pa...02272_002m.jpg

HMMM, I may give the hardened gears a try, but I think I will skip the HD bulks and go with something flm. And since flex usually kills gears (when they are shimmed correctly) the al bulks may not require me to use the machined gears.

Does anyone here have experience with the flm savage bulks? Only flm bulks I have used were the hybrid bulks for maxx trucks, and they left a little to be desired...

I haven't used the bulks, but I do know that they are not EZ access diff style. Something to consider if you plan to get into your diffs often, you will have some major dissembly.

As said, it reuses the RX box from the nitro version, adn there are plugs, switches and servos that get deleted that need plugs.

Zip ties on the body clips are a must. Great for finding them if you drop them in the grass/dirt too. The upside is I never lose body clips on my savvy. Zip ties sometimes get ripped off, but clips stay on...

Sorry to hear about the batt boxes sucking, but if the mounts are good that is all that matters. I can make good trays, but mounting something on the TVPs would be a pain.

lol @ the zip tie for the ESC. Why CC didn't mold a screw mount into the cases like even the EVX1 had back in the day is beyond me. The esc is the last thing I want bouncing around, servo tape eventually gets weak and usually just rips off the sticker they have on bottom of the esc case anyway. Can't remember how many times I've retaped my MM.

It sounds like crazy power. I know even ~40mph out of my midpowered nitro XL is plenty for the stock chassis. Can't imagine the 1Y on 6S in a stock savage....
I'm surprized they didn't go w/ the ext XL size off the batt, but I'm sure they will release a BL one soon enough (soon after the sales slow down a bit.) They basically have all the parts for it already.

You def want a 8mm socket for the wheel nuts. They have teeth in the back of the flair that dig into the wheel and really hold it. Nice for not loosening up, but can be a trick to take off.

I think the body clips are the item that bugs me the most!:lol: I tried using one finger to push one out, and jammed it up under my finger nail....ouch!

Even Traxxas figured out a custom mounting clip for the MMM, HPI had plenty of time to see it and make their own version.....

Ok, as promised, here are some scans of the manual. I had to shrink them a little to fit within the attachment guidlines (less than 1MB).

on edit - I'll send these to my photobucket and upload them that way.

You need to attach them as pics, not thumbnails.

And here are the rest:

Will attach as image in later post....

I tried to do them as attachments, not thumbs...not sure why it came out that way. I'll try again.

Weird. Maybe try a sample post with just a single pic and see how that works?

For now, here is the link to the photobucket site with them. Be sure click on Full Image to be able to see them.http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/g...Savage%20Flux/

Thanks JT. I will do some comparisons with the SS kit manual. If I am not back in 10mins, wait longer!

Hey Linc. I have the FLM hybrid bulks on my flm savage. Lets start with my diff setup

-Flm bulks
-Maximizer 7075 diff cups
-savage xl outdrives, and shafts.

First thing I noticed was the two halves of the cases would not close completely. After further inspection, I measured the stock plastic diff cups and the maximizers and there were no differences. It seems on my hybrids that the bearings were not countersunk far enough, .007" to be exact. My remedy was to machine the outer bearing race .0175" on each side of the bearing. After doing this to both diff cup bearings it fit like a charm. Make sure you give both bearings a thorough cleaning and lube after.

My next obstacle was using the savage xl outdrives. They will not fit through the bulks, so I assembled each side seperately with the bulks, then I noticed I needed a small access hole in the side of the bulk to screw the ring gear to the diff cup. I'm not going to lie, this was a bitch!!!!!!!!!!! After all that work I got them put together. If all there bulks are like this I would not recommend you buy them. Sorry for the hijack! Hope this helps.

Mike

Thanks Mike, great info! If only all of my questions could be answered so throughly...

Anyways, would you say the savage xl outdrives are a required mod over the ss kit parts? I am guessing they are significantly stronger, and I do plan to run larger wheels and tires on this truck. Most likely the big cen chevrons off the gst.

Ok, viewed JT's pics and the SS kit manual. Here are following parts required to convert the ss tranny into the flux single speed.

100905 this will be fun to find for a few weeks
Z245 e-clips
Z260 cross pin
86972 shim/washer

You will need one of each.

Simple huh...

The spurs are different, but I am sure the correct ratio can be done with either the 47-49-52t spurs.

I also have the cen gst 7.7 rims and tires. I don't have enough experience with the savage xl parts yet, as my conversion still isn't done. (Waiting on the RX8 reviews) So I can't say one way or another. I'd say run what you have and break it before you upgrade. I needed new diff cups so I figured it would be a good time.

Mike

It looks like all part#'s that are numbered 100000+ are new to the flux, all other numbers like 86000 are previous savage parts. Really it looks like two parts are new to the tranny, basically the idler and shaft (not counting the spur)

Also noticed they kept the frakin 10x16mm bearing on the diff cup! Only one is a 8x16mm :(

With that wicked huge pinion, & silly bearing it looks like the Cen diff mod is still a good way to go. The 2.89 drive will allow a smaller pinion to be run too.

Has Brian updated his gear calc proggy for the new tranny? lol

I looked at the calc a week ago, and the info wasnt in there yet - didnt expect it to be though.

Could do although it's right to mention that the spur on the Flux is Metal, not placcy

So next update - the wheelie bar is completely ineffective. Its very hard to prevent a wheelie when the damn thing literally launches itself off the ground. Even at about 30mph......

Recommend any GOOD 2S lipo's? (By that I mean no Zippy's or Rhinos or Maxcramps). I'm leaning towards the Neu 5100's.

As far as some good 2s lipos go ive had great success with my PQ 5000mAH 2s 30c hardcase, but those neus will be nice im sure

Enerland 30c's hardcase

Can't do a hard case due to the enclosed battery case on the Flux. All the hardcase's I've seen have the plugs come out what I will call the top of the battery.

You can make the hard case work. I use a hard case that's 45mm tall (2s 5000mah). The battery box is long enough that you can set the battery back a little which will give enough room to route the wires. I think the design on the battery box could have been better though. I dremeled mine a bit but it's not necessary to fit the hard case.

I'm sure I could make it work, but if you had the choice, would you choose that style again for this truck?

...thats intersting to know about the battery boxes..I was going to grab some butI dont think I will bother now...Sounds like I can make something just as crappy :D

Yea, the Battery boxes (Like the 27am radio) are nasty pieces of work.

I have a set of Kershaw boxes along with a direct drive enroute from Dan. Although I have heard that those boxes also could be better, I may end up using them instead.

I didn't buy the hard cases for this vehicle I already had them on hand. I think I made it seem difficult but hard case should fit without too much trouble. If you keep the height to about 45mm max then you'll have enough room to route the wires for the ones that connect to the top of the case. This is what I have http://rcbuy.vstore.ca/product_info....cName/74v-lipo.


Overall I think batts with wiring that's flush to the top such as neu, polyquest (and mike's brand looks flush too) may work better for wire routing.http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail.php?prod=neu25c4s5000car

My first hop up ! I ajust the shock position for lower the CG and better handling
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ageflux002.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ageflux001.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ageflux003.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ageflux004.jpg

I finally got a chance to get out and run a full pack through it today. We went to a local school ground, with a dirt soccer field, and took the two 10-eighty launch ramps.
I ran it on my 3S Zippy 4900's, got about 1/2 hour or more of general bashing time in. I did not take my temp gun, but everything felt cool the few times I stopped and checked it (fan on the MMM never came on).
About all I can say is that this truck is impressively tough. I was getting about 50 feet on each jump, and managed to land only about 50% of them. (hitting the ramp at what I would guess to be 30-35mph). It landed on it side, on the back bumper, on a wheel, on the front bumper. Several times I did cart wheels for about 100 feet. Once I managed to hit the ramp at about 45-50, it did two back flips in the air, and landed on the back bumper. To sum it up, I literally tried to beat the crap out of it. Not a single broken piece - body is a little rough, but not torn or tattered (and didnt punch a post through the body either, as is so common with traxxas vehicles for some reason).
My brother in law is still having issues with his emaxx, but managed to jump it twice and broke his rear shock mount, so we called it a night early, and I didnt get a chance to run my new PQ 2S 6000's.

I am extremely impressed with this rig as a basher, and very happy with my decision to buy it. My Revo would have exploded on several of the hit this thing took today.
Different wheels will be a big plus - I noticed similarities in the handling between this and when I put badlands on my Revo - wheelies tended to go soft towards one side or the other, and they really balloon. But I also wonder if having the soft wheels helps dampen some of the hard hits.
If your on the fence about this as a basher, get one now!