Savage XL-E

[Janezki]

Short introduction to my brushless Savage XL, if you have questions don't hesitate to ask.

motor: Feigao 540XL10 in TeknoRC motor mount
esc: LT-6S-150A (by lutach)
batteries: 2x3S Zippy 5000mAh in series

Total weight for the truck in driving conditions is 6.28kg (13.85lb).

Transmission locked to 2nd and using 47t spur, 16t pinion. Selfmade battery trays (from freezing bottles, aluminium angle and epoxy), bolted to TVP's.
Ofna T/E-Maxx 17mm hex adapters (had them lying around for a while with no use), modified to fit Savage axle.

Otherwise the truck is stock - atleast for the time being...

Short video on snow can be seen here.





More pictures of the project can be found from here.

[rhylsadar]

hi

i like this conversion. its simple and functional. locking the tranny is imo the way to go. nice work!
pay attention to the lipos in very low temperatures. did you warm them before using?
maybe you can use the battery holders of the flux when it comes out to make it look a bit more "factory style". i always used aluminium U-profiles for the battery holders.

bye
rhylsadar

Like ^ says; Simple and Functional!

Nice truck, and I like that snow over there.. =)

[Janezki]

Thanks.
Actually I didn't warm lipos in any way, just very slow driving for about 10 minutes, then the rest was a little over half throttle max. They seemed to warm in use a bit, just to melt the snow slightly - didn't feel warm to hand though.
Temperature was around -4 degrees Celsius.

I have noted the Flux battery trays and am planning to get them as soon as they became available.

[Savage03]

Thats awesome! Got a few questions if you dont mind. I am converting mine right now just waiting for castle to ship the combos. How is your drivetrain holding up and gears? Was locking into 2nd difficult? also are you using stock brakes or when you locked it can you have reverse?
Thanks!

[MTBikerTim]

I'm curious about your motor mount. Did you have to do anything special to use the tekno motor mount?

[Janezki]

* Added some detailed pictures to project pics.

Savage03: After the somewhat total destruction on test drive #2 on 3 speed (which lasted about 30 secs and trashed idler & main gear), I locked the transmission to second with super epoxy. Also, all the unused gears and excessive sideplay from the remaining ones was removed, so I suppose it'll hold up now...
Using motor brake and have reverse now.

pic of the mishap:



here's the current state of the tranny (that's not water, it's grease):



locked gear:



47t spur gives plenty of gearing options, with the stock spur I could fit only 15t pinion max.





MTBikerTim: No special tricks, I just drilled few 4mm holes to the original motor plate and widened them so I can adjust the mesh.
I'm using only two screws to hold that mount on it's place, mainly because the center rear driveshaft and the openings at the motor plate came into way.

BL_RV0: Thanks. Beautiful but COLD, if I may say...

[Savage03]

wow cracked that gear didnt it. Guess while im waiting for the monster max to ship I could lock the gear, like the idea of reverse.
No ones answered in my thread on this but which pinions do I use mod1? or im guessing these 32 pitch, dang spendy pinions to.
Thanks for the reply and pics.

[Janezki]

Cracked idler and two teeth missing from the main gear :(
Mod1 pinions are the way to go.

Speedwise, how is electric compared to nitro?

[BL_RV0]

Very very nice truck. Finland is purrty....

[BrianG]

Nice improvisation using the plastic for the trays! Did you happen to have them, or did you do what I do and wander around Wal-Mart looking for ways to hack up everyday items for R/C use?

Yes, I actually do that.

[Janezki]

doo540: Are the CEN Genesis ring & pinion gears straight fit for Savage or does this trick need some additional modification?
I might have use for those when I have some grip for the wheels...

BrianG: Thanks - we have something in common then. Those bottles just caught my eye when doing the normal shopping trip with missus.

[Janezki]

Savage03: Glad I could help. Is the clutch locked at that pic? Looks like you've been a bit sparing with the epoxy (or whatever you used?).
If you look at my pic, you can see that I filled the clutch gap completely. I jammed the locking pin (or whatever it's called) against the spur and taped the holes from behind until epoxy was hardened.
Yes, the gears seemed to have quite a lot of play sideways, so much even that the idler did "overlap" the main gear, which will definetely cause problems.

[Savage03]

Its in there pretty good, used jb weld and filled the clutch thing while it was open, I used a toothpick and stuffed it inside that thing. I then added more on the outside and put a layer on the flat side next to the gear itself then put it on the shaft to set.
Talked to castle yesterday and the combos are backordered since they added Traxxas and HPI to their orders so who knows when I will get to run this.