Best basher yet! A Savage X SS story.

I wanted to wait a while before I did a review of my Savage. I wanted to get a gallon or two on it so I could make a fair assesment and compare it to the other models I've owned. I now have about 2 gallons on the original motor and it's really beginning to come to life, more on that later. You guys remember the build back in Febuary, then it sat on a shelf for 8 months. Work, life, other models, weather, something always seemed to get in the way of doing the break in and getting it on the ground. Long story short, I wish I had made time. So far, and I'll probably jinx myself, but the Savage is favorite out of all the models I've owned. It rocks!

The build was a lot of fun, I did a couple of mods right out of the box, the OFNA throttle/brake mod, 1/2" offset wheels to widen the stance a bit and the hinge pin mod. The kit comes with the K4.6 HPI big block motor. I pulled it apart and sealed it right out of the box. The X SS comes with a few upgrades from the RTR, here's the list:

K4.6 (vs L4.6 in the RTR)
high performance polished tuned pipe and high flow tube header
Aluminum diff cases both front & rear
Alloy diff cups with steel pin guides
Shimmed spider gears, pinion gears, diff case bearings
Hardened and lightened “Racing” clutch bell
Heavy duty machined steel spur gear
Steel Clutch Bell Spacer
Stainless steel Dual Disc Brakes
Transmission Case with increased rigidity
Heavy Duty Dogbones
Engine mount with engine nose support, adjustable
Thicker 2.5mm engine plate, 7075 aluminum. (previously 2.0mm)
Adjustable Upper Arms
Low CG TVP chassis
17mm hex hubs
HPI Dirt Bonz tires
Dual Stage Air Filter Design

So you can see, I think stepping up to the X SS over the RTR is certainly worth it. I also added an HPI Roto Start and back plate. You have to add your own electronics and radio gear, other than that it's all in the box. The kit instructions were straight forward and easy to use and the truck went together without any problems at all. Thanks to the guys at Savage-Central.com for helping out with the throttle mods and a few pointers during the build.

Then it sat on a shelf from Febuary to October..................................

I pulled it out on the Sunday morning after the bash. It fired right up, idled great, first try. In fact it sits and idles better than any nitro model motor I've had yet. I ran the first tank through it really rich and it was actually hard to get it going without it choking out. I ran a total of 5 break in tanks through it, leaning it out about 1/8 turn per tank. It took all this in stride and by the 5th tank it was starting to wake up a little and get temps up around 200* by mid tank. Tank 6 and on I started to tune a little, it didn't take long to get it in a safe range (pretty bad tank lean, more later) and after that I didn't have to tune on it at all, it maintained the same temps for most of a week and most of the first gallon. I did have to retune after a significant outdoor temp change, but that is to be expected. Once I got things back into the right tuning range, the consistancy I had seen previously was back. Overall I'm very happy with the motor, the ease of break in and the obvious power that's there, even running a bit rich. There is a LOT of tank lean, about 40* total, but that's the only problem I've had. Knowing that it does that, I can tune accordingly. I'm researching a mod to fix the problem, by providing a fuel surplus in the line closer to the carb, either by using a fuel line priming bulb, or a very large fuel filter. The only other mechanical problem I have with it, is the 2 speed gear ratio. Granny gear is SUPER low and 2nd doesn't do the big block justice. I'm sure there's a 3 speed tranny in this trucks future. THe motor is at the end of gallon two and really coming to life now, a mid throttle punch results in a flip on the lid at 20 mph, that's the reason for the roll cage addition, I can afford the weight and the plastic roll bar hits the engine head when you wheelie flip.

After the break in, and during tuning, I started beating on this truck. It has taken the beatings like a champ! It's easily the most rugged model I've owned to date. I have landed on the lid from full throttle jumps, I have Bullwinkled countless times, landed sideways and flipped, done back flips against the dirt pile, you name it, I've piled on the punishment and it keeps coming back for more. The one chassis mod I'm making is adding an RC-Solution roll cage to help protect the engine and radio box from my pitiful driving. Cheesy

My thinking is that bulletproof with an RC-Solutions cage is DEATHPROOF! Wink

That's the extent of the mods, the rest of the stock stuff is so tough, there's no reason to replace it with anything else.

To sum up...go buy a Savage X SS, you won't be sorry!

Here's a few pics and my build vid (thanks to Ruthless for the action pics):

<a href="http://i128.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/Cajun_NC/Savage%20X%20SS/Savage46XSSBuildStopMotion.flv" target="_blank">http://i128.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/Cajun_NC/Savage%20X%20SS/Savage46XSSBuildStopMotion.flv</a>