Savage Flux Fixed . . . Finally

[JasonB]

I'm currently geared for 50.2 MPH (18/47) and max out at ~150F using the GT2s. Was geared for 51.7 MPH (20/47) and temps maxed out at ~135F using the Badlands. ESC fan is always on with either tire because I'm very heavy on the throttle; generally takes me 15 min or less to drain a set of 3S/5000s.

Just did a bunch of power slides in a big parking lot. The sound of the rubber sliding on asphalt was SWEET. I was quite surprised just how fast I could go into a slide without flipping; those 1/2" offsets really help! One thing I did notice with this set of GT2s was a tendency for the back end to wobble at high speeds while decelerating on the tarmac (I'm guessing sway bars would correct that if it became a concern). Badlands didn't have that issue and neither did the stockers. It probably has to do with how much contact area the tire has with the ground, and a taped tire definitly has more contact area.

Now I've got the urge to mount my Road Rages and give those a go; kinda regret buying those now that I have a decent on/off road tire, but might as well use them if I'm going to be burning rubber. From what I've read, the Road Rages last for a very long time. We shall see.

[JasonB]

Finally got my 3S/6000/25C NanoTech lipos in last week. I'm amazed at the performance. I'm getting 20 to 25 min run times at mostly WOT and the POWA is unreal. These babies have serious punch all the way down to LVC, absolutely no swelling, and around 110 deg F after a hard run. With a 5C charge rate, it would take a 30 AMP charger to fill up 1 of these at full C rate; that's just crazy. My truck is running considerably faster on 16/47 gearing with the Nanos than it was on 18/47 with my 3S/5000/30C Zippys. This is not really a fair comparison because the Zippys had been rode hard and put to bed wet for the last 14 months, but I'm still surprised there is that big of a difference.

Odd thing about the Nanotechs is that they are not as consistent in run time from lipo to lipo as the Zippys were. Luckily only 2 of the 6 I bought turned out to be quicker burns (20 vs 25 min) than the other 4 so I'll just pair them up. Even the 2 lipos with the shortest run time lasted for 5 min longer than my Zippys did when new, so I'm happy!

Another cool thing about the new batts is that my motor and ESC now run cooler. ESC fan isn't on near as much and the motor is down to around 130 deg max (that's after running hard for 25 min in the sand). I guess the Zippys couldn't keep up with the power demands of this beast.