Freeze's Savage Flux "Frostbyte II" build thread
 

So I managed to freaking physically delete the whole thread!

So as a nice mod here it is again! Play nice!

Allright, so at long last, the "Frostbyte II" build has begun! This has been in the planning stages for time, right up to selling my first Savage Flux "Frostbyte" in January of this year to help afford a Baja 5T that i've been thinking about getting for the last three years. After having experienced owning and driving a Baja for awhile, I soon began to miss the simplicity, speed and just the flat out fun I had bashing my original Savage Flux. I missed being able to bounce around during crashes, fly sky high off of jumps and go screaming fast at high speed with nothing but a dust trail. About that time, I was beginning to get tired of the maintenance costs of owning a Baja, as much fun as it was. I hadn't planned it turning into such a money pit, especially for a secondary hobby.

The final nail on the coffin of my Baja ownership happened after our beloved local bash pit was gated off earlier this year. Now not only did I loose the perfect spot to run my Baja in, I had only a few other's area' I could run it in without the noise becoming an issue with neighbors. I soon began thinking about "Frostbyte" and how much fun I had bashing and zipping around with it and having to worry about noise, fuel leaks and other caveats that came with Baja ownership. I soon began to think and dream of ways I could have improved my "Frostbyte" build in many area's. I was also so proud and amazed that "Frostbyte" made into the readers rides section of four major RC publications! With that, I knew had to create a new Savage Flux build to follow up on "Frostbyte's" success, I just had to! And thus, the "Frostbyte II" project was born...

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...eginsagain.jpg


The thought eventually turned into a dream and then into a desire and eventually, an obsession. At that point I made my decision. Within the last few weeks, I parted ways with my Baja 5T, saved up money and accrued the beginning modifications and upgrades with which to start project "Frostbyte II" I was able to secure the new "updated" Savage Flux from my LHS for $605 within the last week as well. After alot of researching, forum surfing and energy drinks, I had my final design plans laid out for "Frostbyte II" I had simple goals with this build:

1. Bigger, better, stronger, faster and colder then the original
2. Improved handling at higher speeds
3. Better looks and color design layout
4. Able to withstand heavy bashing and crashes with minimal breakages and part failure
5. Maintain a balance of visual appeal with actual usability and practicality
6. Impress and please no other people other then myself
7. All upgrades and mods must have a purpose, no useless eye candy
8. Give homage to the first Frostbyte while having its own distinct look

With the design plan set, my mind made up and a good portion of the mods already ordered, it was at long last time to begin the "Frostbyte II" build!


http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown1.jpg

Part 1: The Teardown




http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown2.jpg



Allright, time to get this baby prepped up for its transformation! First to go are the stock wheels and tires which I will sell to help offset the building costs.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown3.jpg



Next are the bulkheads and arms which will also be sold. The included bulletproof diffs are an awesome in box upgrade, thanks HPI!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown4.jpg


http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown5.jpg



Now lets remove everything else that can be detached from the frame...

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown6.jpg



2.4ghz radio, bulletproof diffs and stronger steering servo but still no HD main drive gear upgrade. Owell.....

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/olddrive.jpg



The heart and soul of the Flux removed. Its pretty awesome as is, not much will change here during build.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown7.jpg



We'll call it a day, that's a good start me thinks. Sometimes to make things better, ya gotta rebuild from the ground up! Stay tuned!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../teardown8.jpg

I picked up a Thunder AC6. The manual has terrible english translation but once I got it figured out after some RC groups forum help, its not a bad little charger! For $55 from hobbypartz, I can't complain. In fact, I'm gonna pick up one more so I can charge two Lipo's at once and still come out money ahead vs buying a big, single high end charger

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...moresetuff.jpg

Buttons!!! Need more Buttons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's become recently apparent that i've either raised expectations higher then I thought I would with this build or people are just expecting certain criteria in order for this build to be a "success" or just "good enough" Everything from titanium screws all the way up to carbon fiber battery tray holders have been asked and or demanded from me on this build to satisfy peoples demands

I stated plainly in #6 goal of this build from the beginning:

Impress and please no other people other then myself

That being the case, I'm speccing this build to my liking and desires, so if you were hoping for a pimped out bling bling ride with carbon fiber screws, I suggest you lower your expectations and or look to someone elses work to praise and critic.

And that goes for anyone else who's getting hyped up about this. Yes, I plan on making this build better then my first one and im excited about it but I also have to be realistic about my goals. I want it to be better but better IN MY EYES only, no one else's. I am limited on funds for something like this, so I simply cannot and will not throw on fancy, expensive stuff willy nilly into the build just impress the crowd. Sorry, but I am NOT doing this as a popularity contest. Feel free to unsubscribe to the thread and ignore it from this point forward if your bummed out.

I do appreciate suggestions and insight but belligerent forced and rude suggestions of "Upgrade with this awezomes parts or uz a farking cheepaz noob!" or "A real man would spend this money and get this upgrade cause it rocks or this build and you totally suck" That does nothing to help me and makes me feel compelled to do less.


Thank you for the understanding.

Freeze, don't take this as ThunderbirdJunkie's typical style, but there is a difference between incite and insight.
Incite definition click here
Insight definition click here

In every case, you've typed "incite" instead of "insight". Hope this helps.

I think I speak for everyone here, we are all rooting for you and this build regardless what options you use. We all like to see lots of pictures and information as the builds progress. We are all ball breakers and enjoy a good laugh at others expense but I just dont see anyone one here "telling" you what you should or shouldn't use/hop ups on YOUR truck.
I for one look forward to see more of your posts and great pictures.

Not so much here but on other forums. Still, I wanted to speak plainly regardless.

Regardless of whether you are loved or hated, you stir interest, so a lot of people watch. You do cop a lot of flak but your good natured enough to come back for more, makes good reading :lol:

*cough* RCTech *cough*

Don't worry. People here are smarter and are more appreciative towards custom builds :intello:

Thats pretty much were its coming from

I'm starting to have second thoughts about the tire/wheel combo. I was going to reuse "Frostbyte's" combo of HPI GT-S tires with HPI dish wheels which worked very well and looked awesome IMO. However, after holding the stock Flux tires once again with my new Flux, I was reminded of how heavy they were and I noticed how my first Flux didn't seem to manuever in midflight as it did with the stock tires on it. I also seem to recall the truck wasn't as "zippy" as before.


I'm kinda stuck with what to do now. I really like the look of the GT-S tires, they grip awesome and they absorb alot of jump and crash energy. But I dunno if I want that amount of weight on the arms again, especially with the HPI axle extensions on them as I think it would result in more breakages, even with RPM arms during crashes. I don't wanna go back to knobby tires like proline's badlands because i'll just tear the crap out of them on concrete and I didn't like the look of the Proline mulchers at all.

Now i'm kinda wondering if I should just do the GT-2 tires on the dish wheel. Suggestions with pics would be greatly appreciated. I basically want to do it all with "Frostbyte II" From high speed concrete runs to climbing up dirt hills and everything in between, so I need a good all around tire that will last.

Below is what i've tried so far



Proline 3.2 Badlands with Proline VXL rims. VERY tight fit and badlands suck for concrete driving, so never again

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...rontangle2.jpg



HPI GT-S tires with Axial classic spoke rims. Great tires, POS rims. Stripped two of hubs within a few runs. Heavy tires though...

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...glemonster.jpg


Proline 3.2 Mashers with HPI Dish wheel. Hated look so much, never ran them once.


http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...lux/masher.jpg



My personal favorite. HPI white dish wheels with HPI GT-S tires. Looks awesome and grip like mofo's but damn, they were heavy

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../complete1.jpg

I also have an Savage XL and I love it. Makes it an completely different truck. Among the tires I have I have a set of those Axial 40 serie rims with some BowTies, they perform fine.

I also have Mulchers, Mashers and Badlands besides the normal truggy tires. I mainly run the Badlands since they are taped, have decent foams and I've strechted them on some JConceps Rulux Half Ups (which is a pita!). I did order myself a set of TerraPins though, should be awesome as well.

If I could make a choice now I would try the HPI TerraPins, tape them, put decent foams in, buy some RPM Revolver StableMaxx rims and glue it on. But they are black, so trying to dye them white ... well I don't think it will be an success.

In your ''previous'' topic some people were praising Losi ZombieMaxx or something. Do a little search for those, I've seen them being advized before.

EDIT: p.s. I've just received an e-mail from TCS with pre-ordering their XL chassis.

This is a good point... I'm sure you are already aware of it, but bears repeating. I personally use Gorilla Tape; bit heavier than strapping or standard duck tape, but its some really sticky stuff!

Wouldn't you "bleach" rather than "dye" in order to go from black to white? :) Although I suspect they'd just end up all spotted or gray or such rather than white.

Is that 5mm too? It seemed to be a tad overkill on the 5th scale TVPs from them, 4mm might have been prefect.

Yeah, I planned on going with gorilla tape for taping my tires now after I got to use some of my fathers. That stuff was freaking sticky.

Part 2: Shock and Diff upgrades


Until payday theres not much I can do as far as fancy stuff, but there were a few little things I could take care of while I wait for more fun funds! I decided to go ahead and tear apart the diff and see if it needed any attention as well as upgrade the shocks.



I went ahead and took out the stock drive gear and put in the HD version to avoid the mess of having the stock gear slowly be filed away which leaves a helluva mess.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/compare.jpg



I also noticed that the lower tranny shaft had a fair amount of play in it. I had a few small shims that fit right on the shaft and reduced it quit a bit. I'm also thinking of taking out all the stock gearing and putting in the machined lighter HPI gears instead since I already have the diff apart. More parts to the shopping list!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...byte2/shim.jpg



Done with what I could with the drivetrain, it was time to move onto the shocks. Seeings how i'm gonna be doing a fair amount of jumping and bashing around, I wanted to reduce the bottoming out. I decided up the stock pink springs to white and change the stock 30w oil to 40weight. The white shocks are a nice set up without being too stiff.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...shocksocks.jpg



Because ABSOLUTELY HATE shock maintenance and repairs, i've been installing shock socks since day one on all my cars to help prolong shock seal life and keep dirt out of the oil. Once again, Bad Horsie had just what I needed for the right price. I decided on silver instead of my usual blue this time. For $9 shipped, these suckers are hard to beat. The only bad thing with them is they can be a royal PITA to get onto the springs as its a matter of patience and gentle moving and sliding them on without hooking or tearing them

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/covered.jpg



30w oil isn't bad, but I wanted something a bit thicker to help reduce the bottoming out on large jumps, so its gotta go

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/empty.jpg



After owning a baja 5T and dealing with its HUGE shocks and messes, going back to small shocks like these are a breeze in comparison!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...tbyte2/dry.jpg



Putting in some nice, blood red 40weight Team Losi shock oil. I'd put in HPI but my LHS only carries this brand, so whatever....

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/redblood.jpg




Team Associated's Green slime is great stuff. It helps lubricate shock seals and shafts, reduces wear and prevents oil leaks. What more could you want? I highly recommend it on any and every shock.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...te2/greeny.jpg



With that said, its just a simple matter of sliding everything back onto the shocks and were done here!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...shocksdone.jpg

Next on the agenda was to take apart the bulletproof diffs, clean out the light, stock oil and put in some fresh 50k to help reduce wheel unloading and keep the power to the ground. Unfortunantely, I ran into a problem with the first diff. One of the screw heads immediately broke off when I tried to unscrew it. Crap...... the rest of them were loctited so hard I had to use all my strength to both push in the screwdriver and twist at the same time to get them removed. Whata pain, someone in China put on WAAAY to much loctite at the HPI factory, Grr.......

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/snap1.jpg


Luckily, the other diff wasn't as bad and I managed to take it apart with no issue. But again, my luck wasn't with me today as both diffs bevel seals completely ripped apart when I remove the bevel gears making them unusable. Luckily the seals arn't very expensive but I am left with one diff case with a broken screw inside it. I've sent HPI an email to see if they can help me out with this. Worst case, i'll just have to go buy another one at the LHS.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/snap2.jpg



With that, there was nothing more I could do until I get my lovely paycheck and order some more parts and wait and see if HPI can help me out. Stay tuned for Part 3!

Hey chill guys. I like the thread so faar:) keep on going:). It´s intresting for me who is a newbi on the savy platform since I will try to get one soon and it is more "learning" to see someone dealing with "factory" parts instead of 90% custom made parts.. So keep on going man:)

You can call me a NOOB to because I had exactly the same issue taking mine apart and ended up using a dremel...

And you guys acted like it was my fault when I had that happen on mine last year......:na:
If your going to rebuild factory HPI diffs, you better have at least one new cup available....

No idea why HPI likes to mix hex and phillip headed screws in kits. Go all hex, damnit (and Losi/Horizon, just go metric, ok?!).

I didn't ever break one, but I knew you had to be very careful anytime there are phillips head screws into alu. I was worried I was going to strip the head tho. I always put mine in a vice and put a lot of weight down on it and try not to wrench it too hard. Have to be sure to have the right bit also.

The CEN diffs I got were actually worse. I think they used red locktite on some of their screws for a while. I'd take a soldering iron to those first (you can do this w/ the HPIs also.) Even at that, it still a war of whether I was going to break my tool or the screw loose first, as you can only get the screw so hot. Basically I held a constant and strong TQ on the head and just waited for the thread to break loose. Try to force too much and the head would strip. Some of my hex tools are permanantly twisted from those suckers.
They like to mix heads between + and hex on the diffs too. Craptastico.

That's a pity ... I was curious to see how FBII would look like ... and learn from your findings.

Naah come on man, keep on going! I really liked this thread.

???? Wha? Where?

Ditto that.....

I think he meant elsewhere... this was essentially posted at here, RCU, Savage-Central, RC-Tech and maybe some others. Things definetly took a turn south over at S-C.

It was here too - I've had to delete A LOT of posts and actually recreate this thread once already!

Dear Mr. Freeze,

It is ultimately your decision, what you do with what is yours. You can choose to share or not. That's up to you.

Obviously, I don't know what was said on every forum you posted your project to. But IMO, that was a mistake. By posting to so many forums, you get trollers and lurkers following you around, from forum to forum, saying things to get under your skin.

Speaking for myself, I was excited for you, when I seen the original Freezebyte make the magazines. I hope this build does also.

I've been following this thread since you created it, and was excited to see this project to completion.

RC-Monster is a collection of some great people, and some great minds. IMO, HERE could be the only place where you find a decent maturity level.

We have some great mods that look after things. But, the first thing you should do, is IGNORE the negative comments and the people who are jealous of your original build that made the magazines.

Word of Advice:

Greatness was never achieved without facing both negative and constructive criticism.

Has anyone GOOGLED the title of this thread?

EDIT;I am not to offend anyone. No harm intended by this post

Interesting to say the least.

I read we here on RCM were accused of bashing his build ? (Not by Freezy)

I don't see Freeze calling RCM out but yes he was unnecessarily bashed here and on RCTech as well as other sites as far as I can see.

Some may not have liked the fact that he was posting the thread on multiple forums etc. Whilst I'm not one for the drama, I just think think its a loss to the site and the community if people are driven away from the forums and the hobby.

We all know that this group can be a tough crowd (don't get me started on Maxamps) this kid had enthusiasm and could have one day done some builds worthy of Sean...

PS If you don't know who Sean is then you've not hung out in the Project X and Revo pages...

Just as a counter point, might want to check out certain responses on the thread over on Savage Central.

Upon further reflection iv'e decided to say to hell with all naysayers and haters because their always gonna hate and or b1tch about something in life anyway . I'm very surprised and honored that I do have a few people and even fans that really do care and wish to see my project continue step by step and see the eventually completion of it. I don't want to let those people down or myself for that matter, so I'm gonna press forward! Any further harassment will be reported to the moderators and i'll be adding people to my block/ignore list, i'm not playing this game with them anymore. I also ask people to please feel free to report others inappropriate behavior/posts as they see fit to.

Now, back to the project!

now that's more like it! :yipi:

who gives a damn what people say about your savage. at least you are doing things better this time and you still bought the best out-of-the-box basher out there. if you ever plan on bumping it up to 6s, i have some neu 3s packs that i might be parting with soon. i'll let you know before i make a FS thread if i decide to sell them.

as far as upgrades go, some swaybars would be a good, inexpensive upgrade that would really help handling. they are next on my upgrade list after driving my revo with swaybars. the difference is night and day.

can't wait for the new bashing vids....:whistle:

Part 3: Diff Rebuild and motor sealing



Seeing's how I have not heard back from HPI in regards to a possible replacement diff cup with the broken screw, I decided to just go ahead get get the parts I needed from the LHS and proceed forth. "Frostbyte I" originally had 100k diff oil which resulted in a very hill climbing machine and could power through just about anything. In hindsight, the 100k did decrease my steering and handling a fair amount so I wanted to go less then 100k but I still wanted to keep the wheels from unloading too easy in rough terrain and gain some handling and steering back. Decided just to come to the easiest conclusion and go for 50k in front and rear.



Again, the Team AE green slime is excellent for lubricating the diff seals to help reduce leaks and seal failure.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/diff1.jpg



With the old, stock oil removed and our diff cup replaced, were ready to put in some fresh, bashing diff oil. FYI, only fill up to the top of the first axle shaft to allow for heat expansion and or prevent locking the diffs

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/diff2.jpg



Yep, were using the good green stuff on all the seals and lubricating the diff shafts as well so they slide on easy.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/diff3.jpg



And after putting on some fresh bevel seals and screws with a LITTLE bit of blue loctite, our diffs are ready to go!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/diffdone.jpg



Brushless motors are incredible pieces of engineering, its amazing how little we have to maintain these things compared to brushed motors. To help extend the life of my new Flux Tork motor as well as reduce maintenance intervals, I'm gonna seal up the front endbells openings with some set screws. I asked Patrick del Castillo, president and principle Engineer of Castle Creations at the RCM forums about doing this last year. He stated that there should be no issues with sealing the endbell of the 2200kv motor up. Never hurts to double check when your dealing with a $200+ motor and asking the president of the company who designed the motor is about as good as you can get! Major Kudo's to Castle Creations for their help and support at RCM in dealing with customers questions and issues on a face to face basis.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../sealmotor.jpg



These small set screw with a small amount of blue loctite will help keep the motor pretty much sealed and safe from the dust and debris during bash sessions, extending the life of the bearings and reduce cleaning/reoiling. Sounds like a winner to me!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...sealmotor2.jpg

Part 4: DeAnodizing and Steering upgrades


Because I once again have a blue/silver/white color theme for "Frostbyte II" just like the original, I decided it was a must to get rid of the stock, purple Savage anodizing. Luckily, thanks to practicing this on my 5T to get rid of its ugly orange, we can rid ourselves of the boring purple quick and easy!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/purple1.jpg


Enter the easiest and fastest way to removing your ugly anodizing, Greased Lighting! About $8 at my local Lowe's.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/purple2.jpg



A nice half hour dip in this stuff will quickly remove all traces of any anodizing on aluminum. Though this stuff doesn't smell very bad, it is fairly toxic so its best to do this outside and keep your animals from licking it.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/purple3.jpg



After just a few minutes, you can easily see the anodizing being removed. It takes about half an hour and results in a slimy, gray layer on the aluminum that needs to be cleaned off with a sponge or rag. Some aluminum parts will need two baths to get rid of all the anodizing as well as any visual impurities.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/purple4.jpg



After a few hours of soaking, cleaning, resoaking and wiping down, here's our result! Mucho better if you ask me! Some peeps actually polish and buff their aluminum parts like this to a mirror shine. I didn't feel the need or desire as its just gonna get dinged and scratched anyway. At least its not purple anymore.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...e2/purple6.jpg





Next on the agenda is upgrading servo saving spring. I'd heard since my first Flux last year that the stock spring isn't very good at protecting your servo unless you crank it down alot. After removing the stock spring, I can see why, its very easy to compress with the tips of your fingers. Were gonna solve that by putting in HPI's heavy duty spring. This sucker is alot beefier and stiffer! I highly recommend upgrading to it, even if you have the stock steering servo.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/saver.jpg



Now we need to reassemble the bulkheads and the steering assembly. During which, my next upgrade is to ditch the low end bushings in the steering columns and put in HPI's steering upgrade kit with bearings. I had also heard for awhile that these improve steering quit a bit. Lets find out......

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/bearing1.jpg



Because im anal about such things, I gave each bearing a nice coating of light bearing oil and wiped off the excess

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/bearing2.jpg



With the bearings in place, I gave the steering assembly a little try. All I can say is....DAYUUM!!! The difference is night and day compared to the bushings! The steering is so buttery smooth in comparison, its amazing the difference a few bearings can make! $15 well spent!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/bearing3.jpg



With the bulkheads reattached to our shiny, non purple aluminum parts, were done here!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/bulkhead.jpg

Sidenote update: I had a few extra shims from the replacement diff cup I purchased, so I decided to go ahead and put these in the middle tranny shaft to reduce its side to side play. This will help reduce wear and tear on the stock gearing until I decide to replace them with HPI's light weight, machined gears.


http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...yte2/shim2.jpg




Well, were making progress step by step! Now I'm waiting for USPS to bring me some more goodies so we can continue with "Frostbytes II" transformation , stay tuned!

I am very glad to hear that you will continue the project Freezebyte, keep on going strong!

The project looks to come along well, really makes me want to buy a flux. Are you going to make a seal for the bearing too or are you going to leave it open as it is?

Thanks for staying.