FLM 1717 Converted Savage 25
 

Here is my first savage conversion. I still need to mount the batteries, upgrade the shocks, and possibly support the back of that motor. I don't feel to confident with the weight of that 1717 and the way the KD Gen 2 tranny is mounted. I had to have the tranny post machined to adapt the 4mm screws on the 1717.

I have about 10 runs with a CC1518 motor on 4s and the truck was a blast. This should be a new ball game.

- CC 1717 motor
- MMM ESC
- Futaba 3PM radio
- Turnigy 40c 5000 3s lipos
- Kershaw Gen 2 direct drive tranny
- FLM chassis
- HPI bullet proof diffs
- Lots of aluminum

very nice..

Nice truck. How's the torque on that motor?

Only 4 screws holding the kershaw tranny in place? Looks weak, the rest of the truck look great. 1717 is heavy... And powerful!

Ya the 4 screws worries me. The weight is very uneven with that coke can sized 1717 hanging off the side of it. I'm trying to think of a way to support the back of the motor with a bracket.

George16- I still haven't tried the truck with that motor yet.

I'm anxious but I'm still trying to mount the battery packs. I really didn't like the Flux battery boxes so I picked up a pair of Tekno boxes and straps. The problem is the FLM machine chassis is like swiss cheese so I'm having trouble attaching all 4 mounting locations on the Tekno boxes. There is very little metal to work with. I may have to go back to the stock boxes.

very nice mate. I am in process of getting and doing s savage x to 1717 conversion atm.

Is gunna be fun but should be good.

LOVE yo see vids of this when you get it running. Have you run the 1717 at all yet.

Interested in what batteries and run times you are getting.

How do you find the direct drive tranny?

Keen to see how these go also. Have seen the v1 wasnt much good.

I haven't tried the 1717 yet. I did try it with a 1518 before I snapped the old graphite chassis in half.

Matfew- Just a heads up the 1717 does not fit nicely in the V2 tranny. It required some machine work.

You can find the tranny here: http://kershawdesigns.com/
Just click on Savage and navagate your way to the tranny.

yeah thought you opened it up a bit more to get 1717 to fit.

Still weighing up my options atm. I know the 1717 is going to shred the tranny so deciding on what to do.

Was reading about the ofna CD also another member here done. Seems like the way to get is some sort of centre diff.

I see no reason the stock flux tranny will not last... It has all metal gears. Sealing the halves of the case with some rtv silicone and running some oil in it would help. The lucas or stp oil stabilizer is a favorite with a few members here.

Keep in mind how fast these gears turn, it crates alot of heat. Some oil on the gears will help with both heat reduction and lubrication. The oil stabilizer is sticky, so it stays on.

Yeppers, the Lucas works good on everything. LOL

Hmmmmm.............Linc. What do you know about sticky? :intello:

LOL dunno if i need any to know anymore... lol.


That is a brilliant idea. Never even thought of running oil in it. I will give that a go first and see how it runs.

They dont leak from bearings etc?

Mine is a Savage X nitro. So will have to get the metal gears from flux box. But thats ok will find them no probs.

My "phase 2" plan is to go with a center diff. I'd like to see what others have used for center dogbones with a center diff. I bought the truck with the KD tranny already in it. It was someone elses project that was never finished.

I don't have high hopes for that tranny with the 1717.

I personally like the simplicity of a center diff...in stead of a tranny. Less to worry about IMO

Looks like the tranny needs some work before it can be called "somewhat-proof".

TVP Chassis braces and a slightly bent skid plate to acccomodate the bottom of the KD Direct Drive. Mounting it taller to allow regular skid plates would make more sense tho. Most people have the plastic brace bar to protect that area anyhow.

And as for support for the larger motor, what about a TVP brace or 2 with a little half circle cut into it, with the motors dimensions -- to make the braces hold the motor nice and tight. Would require a bit of modding though. Would need to place a brace on each side of the TVP, since there are big holes on each side. But would be doable with 4 TVP braces or so, 2 screwed on each side of the holes, 2 more screwed onto them for motor support.

I have the new RPM center skid plate installed now but it looks terrible. It covers the tranny however it's bowed like a wet piece of wood.

I think I understand what you mean^^ as far as braces. These TVP's have huge openings for what I would assume is the stock locations for the motor in a flux. I wish I had a little more meat to mount some braces.

I think the plan will be to drive the truck for a bit and see what the KD tranny does. If it holds up fine I'll design new TVP's in Solidworks and have them made. They would accomodate the changes I want to make such as raising the tranny up.

If the tranny explodes then I'll start designing a center diff layout.

I think if you buy the upgraded HPI tranny gears it will be fine, mine have lasted a long time so far with no signs of wear at all. You just need to shim them really well because they are so narrow

Adding to this, does anyone make an al tranny case? Would all but eliminate flex... And how are savvy slipper clutches doing?

The savage slipper is a joke, everyone just tightens them all the way so they dont slip at all.

Ok, so the revo slipper (larger of the 2 traxxas "revo spec" units) is better? I have had good succes with it, but never in anything this heavy...

The problem with the revo-style slippers with something as powerfull as brushless is that they need to be tightened down pretty hard, and then the part that the pads are on flexes so just the inside edge portion of the pads are contacting the disk making it slip even more.

Never had a problem with my "RevoSpec" slipper in my 3905 Maxx... It weighs ~13lbs on 6s with a 1520. So...:whistle:

Even still you can get the Hot Racing Double slipper with 6 Traxxas Al pads and have a GREAT Slipper system. I know that would hold up to whatever you throw at it...:smile:

Seems like a mod to use the lst slipper would be handy. Great design, like a clutch basket on a sportbike. Has about 10 times the contact area that a revo slipper does.

Aside for the somewhat limited selection of spurs it would be pretty easy to mod the lst tranny input shaft for use with the KD unit. And if you made a differnt 1 speed hub, other bolt on gears (such as the old ofna monster pirate and gtp/lx) that are smaller could be used.

See what I just did, I redesigned the KD unit with better everything. No need for applause, the volume is muted on my computer...

Well the savage is finally done and I had the maiden voyage tonight in the dark. You guys were spot on with the power and speed calculations. It's a torque monster and doesn't have a blistering top end with the current gear ratio. Don't get me wrong... it's fast but could certainly be faster.

The throttle response is a little hairy along with the brakes. I'll probably use the Castle Link to due some adjustments. I tapped the brakes and the truck flipped about 3 feet in the air.:gasp:

After about 5 minutes I blew a bead lock so it looks like I need to try some other wheels in the dirt.

Status update:

I'm going to have to make some adjustments to this beast. I either need to install a good slipper clutch or try adjusting the punch control.

1st run- I ripped the tire out of the beadlock.

2nd run- I shredded the hex's on 2 stock Savage wheels.

3rd run- Installed 40 series Big Joes and snapped a rear dog bone.

The last 2 runs were no more than 1 minute in my basement.:neutral: The added traction from the carpet probably doesn't help. I still have 2+ feet of snow outside.

Ok another update:

I ran my first full batt pack outdoors tonight. It's a lot of fun and a little violent. :lol: Even with a set of 40 series Big Joes it will lift the front end at any speed. I need to dial down the brakes because at 60% I still can't use them. The truck just goes into a front flip as soon as I touch the brake. I also need to dial down the punch to make it more driveable. I could always gear it up but the top end is hairy enough.

Everything worked great until the truck stopped and I heard what sounded like a blown spur gear and smelled burning rubber. The stock savage clutch melted.

It's a good start!:yipi: