Second Run Report - Track Testing

Went out to the track today to run the Savage.

My engine is still running a little rich with temps barely touching 230. Top speed wasn't ballistic, but when the second gear kicks in the tires will balloon and it will show a noticeable pickup.

Steering
It's true, the Savage will push severely on power. If you are accelerating through a turn, it will tend to go really wide. This was also confirmed by another Savage owner I met at the track as we talked about the truck.

I found that pumping the throttle through a turn helps for the medium to large turns to get the track to turn tighter.

For the really tight turns, accelerating into the turn and then hitting the brakes while turning will get the truck to lean and then slide through the turn quite nicely and also very tightly. This leaning is quite controllable and stable - i.e. the truck does not spin out easily.

Tires tend to deform a little too easily for my tastes. For racing purposes (or perhaps even for general bashing), a set of firmer foams would definitely help - although I'm not sure what foams will fit since the external diameter of these tires is somewhat larger than Maxx tires.

Jumping
As always, the truck jumps beautifully. The jump on this track isn't large (about 2 ft high) but the Savage takes it in it's stride. The jump is located just after a large sweeping turn so sometimes the truck is thrown off balance on the take off but landing on one or two wheels is not a problem.

Truck's in the air behaviour is predictable. A touch of brake will bring the nose down nicely (not violently). I would not recommend accelerating hard while in the air - especially if the two speed has not engaged yet - as the engagement of the second gear will get the nose up very quickly. Either ensure that you are already in second gear when hitting the jump, or let of the throttle a little on take off if you're in first.

Braking
Truck could use stronger brakes. I think the Hot Bodies Setup is the way to go - a metal disk with brake pads. Stock setup is just a little weak for my liking.

Speed/Torque
This needs special mention. The top-end of the truck is not ballistic with the stock gearing. However, when the second gear engages the tires will visibly balloon - which looks pretty cool. The truck could go to a higher gearing (stock clutchbell is 14 tooth but it can squeeze a 15-16 tooth bell in there).

With the stock gearing however, the low-end however is very good. The truck doesn't pull wheelies right now, but it picks up with authority and gets up to speed nicely.

There were a pair of stock Savages doing some hill climbing nearby and the torque was very apparent.

I may try a 15 tooth clutchbell if I can find one locally, but I'm certainly happy with the stock one so far. Decent top-end, great low-end and the engine runs relatively cool tank after tank.

Durability
So far, no breakage on any part of the Savage yet. I've had problems with the radio and engine pullstart, but the truck has not broken one single item.

I've heard of some guys breaking dogbones but I did hear HPI mention that there was a batch of hardened dogbones that were more brittle - and that caused the breakage. So far I have had no problems with my doggybones.

Wrenching
Wrenching is getting a little easier as I get more familiar with the truck. The radio box is still a tight fit, but I opened it several times today to work on the throttle servo and didn't have much issue with it's removal or re-installation.

Getting to the differentials - which I didn't do today - is probably still a pain, but with the removal of about 8 screws the rear end can be removed to be hosed down if necessary - the front end is relatively clean so I didn't take it off.

Note that other than hosing the car down, the dirt in some areas is very hard to clean. The bulkheads have thick webbing which can trap dirt very well and the bulky construction of the suspension parts (uprights, knuckles, bulkheads, etc.) make cleaning more of a chore. On the plus side, the abundance of high-quality nylon/plastic parts mean less parts to get rusty when the truck is cleaned with water.

Summary
So far, I find the truck to be a torquey monster with a decent top-end. Excellent - if not the best in it's class - jumper. At stock trim it does not give race-worthy handling but is still stable and manageable. Durability is top-notch.

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