HV Savage (56k view with caution)
 

I thought I had a thread on this truck here, but it turns out it was on the temporary forums. Here's the old setup:

http://www.rc-monster.com/tempforum/...2&postcount=27
http://www.rc-monster.com/tempforum/...4&postcount=28
And a vid of the old setup:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...45575189089257

The chassis is an extended low CG chassis from FLM.

Since I just received my HV110 back from CC, this truck will live again. But since that 12XL's rotor broke apart, the truck needed a new motor. That's where the KB45 10XL (1200 kv) came in. The motor plate had to be modified due to the 30mm bolt pattern and 4mm mounting screws.
I remade on of the brake linkages, so now the brakes are stronger than before, which is nice considering the weight of the truck.

New pics will be up soon.

I remember this- that was a sweet setup.

Nice. 10s A123 is crazy. I was watching your yard jumping revo video as well. The handling on that revo is impressive. I'm starting to understand why you guys like them so much.

Heh. On Sunday BP and I went out bashing, and I took the Savage along with me. At the end we did some speed runs, and I gotta say, the Savage's suspension is way too soft for its intended purpose (especially without sway bars). On one pass, I kinda lost control of it, and it smacked a car tire... At least there were other spectators! The damage was pretty minimal considering the weight, and the 45+mph speed it was going. One of the CVD axles broke where the hex goes, a couple shock shafts bent, and some stuff came loose (like the batteries). Not too bad, I think!

Hardening the shocks up works well but if the truck isn't lowered it will want to flip really easy. A cheap an nasty way to lower them I have seen is a couple of cable ties. They harden the suspension and lower the truck at the same time.

Actually, the suspension does its job very well. It's just not stiff enough. I can't get the truck to flip/roll/whatever AT ALL, and I think it's low enough. The LST shock upgrade/mod is looking pretty interesting, though...

I'm thinking this truck will be better off as a basher. After all, that's what the Savage was made for. It could still be converted over to speed run usage easily for future events.

So are you indeed converting it over for bashing?

You need to pick up some sort of vehicle with mechanical brakes that you can fit the KB45 in...I'm sure in a truggy and something along the lines of 12S A123 and you can come very close to 100mph...

How is the startup with the cc hv esc? I just bought a hv 85 for my aftershock conversion, so I guess that I will find out for myself!

Yeah, I think I will. It'll get more usage that way.

If only I were made of money...

With the gearing the truck is running at, the startup is very good for an airplane ESC, and good in general IMO. I don't do fast starts, though, so as to reduce the amp draw and the overall stress on the ESC (I've already burned one). Once the gearing is changed for 40-45mph, I imagine the startup will only get better. At the same time I'll also switch over to 10s1p A123 instead of the current 10s2p. Should be good for a 2lb. weight reduction.

MetalMan your setup is sounding pretty good to me at the moment. 10s1p A123 pack isn't that expensive ($100 dewalt pack off ebay). What options on escs are there though on 10s. To be able to run something like this in a car would be sweet https://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITED...idProduct=4691. The voltage and amp specs would work but I doubt anything else would.

Edit: I just found a thread on this esc on here and you have tried this esc metalman. How did it go. Would it work on 6s lipo in the savage or would you recommend the 10s1p a123 instead.

I haven't used anything between 5s2p A123 and 10s A123, so I can't really recommend a setup. I also haven't bashed with HV yet.

With the Sentilon ESC, it's set up in my high speed MT2. It works fine for that setup, but I don't have any experience with it in any other situation.

The CC Phoenix HV series of airplane ESCs work pretty well, provided you have mechanical brakes and a PiStix adapter.

After much time sitting from the debilitating crash several months ago (as noted in post #4), this truck lives yet again! For a Savage that crash meant death - with the front right tire stuffed under the tire of a parked car, the following damage was done:
-sheared the front right axle
-bent the front right shock shafts
-broke the lower front right a-arm
-broke a left rear steering turnbuckle rod end
-broke the left rear upright

When stock parts break, it's often time to upgrade! First up were the shocks: I bought some used LST shocks off a fellow forum member, cleaned them, rebuilt them, filled them with 35wt. oil, and stuck silver springs on them with about 1/2" of preload spacers on each shock. Then I made some custom lower mounting point spacer/brace pieces that provide ample clearance from the upper arm and should keep the shock mounting very sturdy. At the top of the shocks I just used the standard LST shock bushings.

HPI CVDs replaced the front and rear driveshafts, since I got them for maybe $15 TOTAL (gotta love employee + Red Tag discounts!). When I built the CVDs I also added Hellfire axles so I could use Hellfire 17mm hex hubs.

From my boss I bought a number of aluminum Golden Horizons parts for really cheap, including front and rear shock towers, chassis braces, and the rest I haven't/won't be putting on the truck.

I also threw on a generic New Era wing mount kit I had laying around from another project, along with a Hellfire wing.

With the Savage back together, I loaded it up with only a single 5s2p A123 saddle pack (normally I run two of them for 10s2p), reprogrammed the HV-110 for a 10.6v cutoff, put the receiver in, and fired it up. Amazing! I thought for sure there would be a lot of cogging, considering that the gearing is quite tall (20t pinion, 46t spur, and stock 43/13 diffs) and the top motor RPM is below 17,000 RPM with the 1200 kv KB-45 10XL. But the starts are quite smooth, and the HV-110 allows very low motor RPM.

This truck is set up pretty well right now, with the oil/spring combination in/on the shocks, but I still feel like it would benefit quite a bit from sway bars for street running. Otherwise, WOW! Top speed is an estimated 37mph and acceleration is ballistic. Wheelies only occur on inclined surfaces thanks to the center diff. Unfrotunately the temps weren't quite so pleasing - after maybe 6 mins of pretty heavy street bashing the motor was up to 170 deg, HV-110 at ~140 deg, and the A123s were at about 100 deg. I can tell the motor is pulling a lot of current, but I can't do anything about that for now since the motor will hit the center diff outdrive with anything much less than the 20t pinion on it.

Now, if you have managed to read this whole post, you will be rewarded later!

How about some sort of "idler" gear between the pinion and spur? Might help solve motor fitment issues without having to gear so tall. Don't know if it's feasible...

I need to see a picture of this setp... I am trying to figure out why the motor would hit the outdrive with less that 46/20...

I have seen 46/12 run on buggies and truggies without hitting the dif outdrive. Why is this different?

He is using a 45mm diameter motor. A 46t spur is 48mm in diameter, and the 20t pinion may well be the same size as the outdrive.

I read the whole post, now wheres my reward bitch?..

:lol: :wink:

check...:tongue:

That's something I hadn't thought of. TBH, if I went with an idler I think I would just throw a slipper clutch in there as well and call it a day - but then I'd still need that 20t pinion anyways :lol:. One idea I had was to drop in some truggy diffs, with their lower ratio of 4.3:1. With an 18t pinion and 10s A123, that'd put the top speed at a much more respectable ~54mph, which is still way too fast for typical bashing.

Like linc said, it's a 45mm motor. This was a tough shot to take (and because I was too lazy to remove the chassis brace):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7111.jpg
I could definitely get away with an 18t pinion, but I dunno about anything lower.

Yes, master.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7106.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7086.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7090.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7095.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7098.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7102.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7104.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/IMG_7105.jpg

Please excuse the horrendous wiring. Two servos + PiStix + long-ass ESC-RX wire + series battery connectors + tight space.

I'm ready, though half scared, to see this thing in action. The last time I saw it (which was the first time) it really gave me a numbing feeling seeing something that big and heavy going THAT fast.

I bet. It doesnt look like a savage anymore, when you see it from the side- lowered so much it looks competely different. Those shocks are huge....

Looks good Metalman!

Any reason that using a larger spur gear would not work? IIRC there are some 48-50t metal spurs available that should fit the std diff cup. I am sure that ofna make a few different sizes. Then you could step down on the pinion size and still have adequate clearance.

If you look at the pic in post #18, you'll see where the 46t steel spur currently sits. It's pretty much as low as it can go, so any larger spur wouldn't fit properly.

Yeah, that is what I thought. But I figured that I would throw it out there...

What radio system are you using with your setup?? Any glitching problems?

Nomadio React, I kinda need all of its adjustments for this Savage, because I like to be technical :intello:. I also use this radio for all of my other trucks/buggies. No glitching problems for it as far as I have seen.

WOW!

thats such a nice savage

Thanks! :yes:

Time for an update!

Within the past 4 months this truck received one of the Hobby City KD-36 XL 1200 kv motors. It did alright, but fried on Monday. And I mean fried, as in was SMOKING and temp'd at 350 degrees... Cause of death appears to be a short at the exit wires, although I can't say for sure.

Next up is a brake on the rear of the center diff. If you recall, I only had two discs on the front of the center diff. They overheated pretty badly... So with new rotors and pads in addition to the rear brake this truck stops pretty well for its size/weight.

Yesterday I threw my spare Feigao 12XL into the beast. And what a beast it was, until the run ended after only ~3mins. Turns out one of the A123 cells was at 155 deg. while the rest were about 95.
So I reconfigured the pack to 9s1p, and WOW, what a huge difference that bad cell made. Power is incredible, better than with that 10th cell there. And it's fast too, about 50mph. If the center diff didn't unload so badly I swear this thing would flip itself over.

One final comment: I LOVE THE HV-110. As an airplane controller it performs flawlessly in my Savage. Cogging is EXTREMELY minimal, and very low-speed driveability is amazing. The best part: it doesn't seem to heat up past 120 deg. Granted my run time isn't all that great with only 9s1p geared for 50mph, but it sure is fun!

yep i love mine too, i havent gotten it over 100deg even after 15 min of racing, i only got the hv110 because of all the mmm problems and i must say it was worth every penny

and when you take the body off peoples jaws drop :surprised:

Any more recent pics? Video maybe?

Nothing for now, but I can get new pics up tomorrow. Video is a possibility this Sunday at our bash.

MetalMan,

Is the 10S 120A ESC going to power this truck?

That's a good question, one I cannot answer right now. I think I will stick with the HV-110 in the Savage and throw the 10s ESC into my XLB, and with 10s2p A123 and a KB-45 10XL (1200 kv).

Cool. I would've loved to see it in this Savage though :lol:.

I will be interested to see how the kb45 and the xlb do. I have a 1300kv kb45 (11xl?) and would run it on 8s lipo with lutach's 10s esc. Not sure what to put it in....

Something big, or maybe something smaller so it will be stupid fast...

That Tower Terror that I have laying around would be a good candidate... HAHAHA, its smaller than an emaxx!

Somebody slap me for this lack of updates! Much has changed...

At the last bash the truck lasted maybe 10mins before smoke poured out of the truck... The Feiago 12XL was smoking and my temp gauge read somewhere around 300 deg. F. That's 3 motors this truck has mutilated...
So I preordered a Medusa 36-80-1100, and waited. And waited.
Then the motor arrived. And I waited. For what I cannot say.
I wanted to use a different/lighter/more powerful battery setup than the 9s1p A123 the truck was running previously. Enter 2 Tekno universal battery trays and 2x 4s 3700mah Rhino packs in series. 8s 3700mah! The gearing was set at 14/46, with stock Savage diffs and the Savage X aluminum diff cups. Should give ~50mph.

It came time to power up the HV-110. Except it yielded a solid red light and no arming tones :cry:. Threw it on the Castle Link... proper green and red LEDs for only a few seconds, then nothing :oh:. This ESC must have been taken out by that damn HV-110. Last time I spend money on one of those Feigao motors.

So I unsoldered my LT-10s from my XLB and threw melted its wires onto the 36-80-1100. Shortly thereafter I removed the brake linkage and brake servo from the Savage, and powered up the truck. HUGE spark!

And I must say, this truck is a frickin' BEAST! It's gotta weigh in near 12-13lbs, and even with a semi-leaking 100k-filled center diff and the long wheelbase it still pulls the front end up almost like nothing. Rolling wheelies at 30mph aren't a problem.

I should also mention I beefed up the upper mounting of the LST shocks by drilling out the holes to 4mm and using 4mm screws to secure the shocks. This was especially necessary considering the truck is now running the heavier yellow springs.

Pics will come tomorrow, the light isn't good and I have homework to do :whip:.

wow i cant wait to see pics of this thing.

3 days now... pics?

I know, I know :whip:. Between school, life, movies, work, and crawling I haven't found the time :whistle:. Tomorrow morning is my goal, before I head into work.