Maintenance

[dezertrat94]

Which of these MTs is easiest to work on: MGT 8.0, MGT 4.60, Savage X 4.6, Losi LST chassis trucks(any of them), T-Maxx, or Revo? What I mean by this is which one has the most easy-to-access parts and laid-out chassis? I can handle the actual work, I just want to know which one is easiest to work on. I'm really starting to like the MGTs, but the Savage has always been a favorite of mine. Any feedback you guys have is great.

BTW, I'm getting close to the point where I'm gonna sell my RC10GT Plus, so if you're on the market, keep an eye out. Hopefully I'll put it up soon. It's broken-in (just barely), and its bone stock. It comes with all the factory stuff, as well as a Hard Bodies roll cage, a set of paddle tires, and a starter box. Just thought I'd stick that in.

[pottsgroverc]

I would have to say, from a chassis layout point, that the MGT is the easiest to work on. It has an open chassis with a ton of extra space. But of all the trucks you have listed, you would probably be working on the Savage the least. Keep in mind, it is easier to work on something when parts are easily accessible. So, you LHS's stock is a consideration.

[jeffro]

I just bought the MGT 8.0 a month ago and i love it. It is a hellacopter motor and if u ask anyone at your LHS that owned a heli with that motor they will tell u it is a awsome motor and very long lasting. I have broke some stuff and had to take it apart and it was fairley easy.Its my first nitro too. I always go big so I loved it from the start very very fast and torqey real responsive too. IT comes with a digital controller and digital servos that are top notch. Go to your LHS and set the MGT next to all the ones u mentioned and compare quality. None of those come with as many the metal gears and guts as the MGT do. All though they are all very nice trucks and pretty easy to work on. Dude the thing is a tank and has all the a_ _ needed to make it go super fast. Its the BIGGEST motor on the market. My best friend has the revo 3.3 and it is probally faster on the track but I smoke him bashing. I would go revo if u plan on racing 4 sure but even he will tell u MGT 4 bashing. But be at ease their all awsome and none I dont think would be a bad choice.They all have challenges like rite now mine wants to run hot thanks to this site I think I got it figured out. Hope that helped, good luck to you.

[dezertrat94]

Alright I've narrowed it down thanks to you guys. Now it's the MGTs, the Revo, Savage X 4.6, and I've lately been drooling over the Savage XL. Anyone got any feedback on that sucker? That's definitely one of the coolest MTs I've seen.

[dezertrat94]

Got another question: Which one of the ones I recently listed would you guys say has the best bang for the buck?

Also, for you Savage owners out there, what is the most major maintenance you have to do to your Savage, and do you really have to shim the diffs?

[dezertrat94]

Now I'm down to the Revo and the Savage. Which of these is the best bang for the buck, and what major repairs have you Revo and Savage owners had to do? Also, I'm still curious about the Savage diff-shimming issue. Do you really have to do it?

[Philderbeast]

I have a revo 2.5r, recently dropped a 3.3 in. Other than the motor going south, ( my fault), the only problem I have had is I literally exploded the front diff, (probably my fault too). I found one on e-bay, new and complete for $20. I have had it for 2 and a half years now, I race it, and bash it. I have lost the occasional shock end, (where it hooks to the rocker), on really huge air with bad landings. I can turn this truck left/right in mid air, front/back flips in mid air also. Some of the truggy guys do not like me much, cause I run with them during practice. All in all, I WOULD NEVER suggest anything but a revo for MT racing. Bashing it does very well also. However I find myself doing more sick air runs than lower speed runs. On rough terrains, this truck is unbeatable. Parts-cheap/plentiful. Upgrades-cheap/plentiful. Good ol' fashioned fun and exitment-PRICELESS

[dezertrat94]

How hard was it to take out and reinstall the diff in the Revo?(in case the same thing happens to me) I've read the instructions, and it seems fairly straightforward. I'm not super mechanically-inclined, but I can handle simple stuff. What happened to your motor?(just curious) By the way, I don't plan to take the truck off any huge jumps (at first), so I'm not too worried about breaking stuff that way. Is the chassis well-laid out and easy to access?

[OldSchoolRC]

i have to second basher's comments - i LOVE my revo 2.5, tough and handles extremely well. Plus if you like to mess with set-ups, the revo wins hands down on adjustability, and of the two i find it a little easier to work on, but they are pretty close. i have both, and the savage is a tough truck too, but i'd give the nod to the revo.

[Philderbeast]

Replacing the diff is easy, it took me 20 minutes to pull it out with no instructions, and ratty allen wrenches. I took too much apart, just to clean it up a bit, and in the end, when I put it back together without the diff in the front, It took me about 10-15 minutes. No problems at.

I am sick to say that I blew my first engine, or should I say locked it up, by leaving the air cleaner on wrong, and while playing around with the revo on some huge air jumps, it came loose, leaving air shooting in past the filter, hench a ton of dirt and debris making it's way to the piston. It left deep grooves in the piston and sleeve causing a huge air leak, and then spurs from the grooves tangled up in there causing it to lock up when it died. After I loosened it up some, it would not start anymore because of the excess of air flow through the cylinder, and it caused the compression to be so low, it could not combust properly. But hey, I look at it as a learning experiance and a chance to freshen up the motor. I will be compleatly redoing the engine, seals bearings, piston/sleeve, just for a backup at the track.

By the way, with the 2.5r motor, and stock tires on a loose surface, I was running pretty good with the other revo's that were running bow tie and crime fighter tires, and sporting a picco 26 and os maxx big blocks. Kinda blew there mind, but I think they did not know how to properly tune thier engines or thier suspention for the track. I killed them in the rythems and in corners as they opted for a stiff setup for the large jumps. I figured what the hell, the truck has skid plates, lets use them, try somthing different, and see where I come out in the end. Like I said. It is a very loose surface at the track, with stock tires, but I was 25 30 mph through the rythems and whoops. They were 5-15 mph at their best. I killed them.

I can not wait to see how this truck does with the 3.3, posi rear end, 2.5 chassis, bowtie treads, and stage 3 rockers. I should be #1, and for a rookie to take that in his first race, WOW. But like I said, the MT guys at my track are knuckleheads who do not know how to properly tune thier trucks for optimal performance. Just don't tell them I said that.

Check out my revo, has the old 2.5 engine in the pic, under my little babies in the show us what you drive section.

Thanx for the backup there oldschool, most people are so savage nuts, they write off revo.

[Philderbeast]

by the way, chassis lay out is fairly easy, a few tight spots on the 2.5, but nothin too major. Disassembly, and reassembly are a breese, for me at least, some probably will not share my opinion there. But you may want to check into the revo 3.3 as the chassis is longer, and more stable, and it comes with stage 2 rockers installed, and of course the wicked fast 3.3 engine. The treads seem to last forever on it. I purchased a roll cage from ebay to help protect my head a little better, but the factory roll bar/handle and the addition of a nice wing do the same job. Have fun with what you get, both are great trucks, but I still love my revo.

[dezertrat94]

Nice cage on the Revo. I'm thinking about putting the progressive 3 rockers on too (I'm a desert guy, so the more travel, the better). I'll probably swap out the shocks for the Traxxas Teflon ones, and the aluminium Traxxas pushrods and turnbuckles. By the way, I'm gonna buy a 3.3 (factory). The thing that really sold me on Traxxas was the ERP. That is a great deal, and I'm definitely putting my name down for that. Also, after watching countless Revo vids, I have to say that it is the best performing out-of-the-box truck I've ever seen. Watching this stock truck crawl was amazing! I'm sold on the Revo, and it's definitely worth the extra dough. To be honest, I've never been this wowed by a Savage, or any other truck for that matter. I look forward to purchasing my Revo and seeing for myself what it will do.

Thanks for the advice guys, it's really helped.

[Philderbeast]

Wanna race when ya get it??? Huh huh huh, do ya?

I think you will love it as much as I do. Heck, if you look around at the race tracks, the MT class is lined with them. That has to say something. My Local track runs nothing but revo, with the occasional racer Jr. running his dads Maxx or savvy or something.

[dezertrat94]

A race would be cool....too bad i live on the west coast...

However, my dad wants the Baja 5B, and I've always secretly wanted one...I have the $$$ to buy it (see the "Decision" thread in the Lobby)...

[Philderbeast]

fyi, stage 3 rockers do not increase your suspention travel, they firm up the droop, nose dive, roll rate ect. To add more travel, you would need to install the long travel rockers. I do not know if they are still standard items with revo or not. My 2.5 came with them.

[dezertrat94]

Ohhhh...the Traxxas website said that the progressive 3 rockers lengthened the travel....I'll have to check.

[dezertrat94]

Here's an excerpt from the Traxxas website:

"...adding long travel progressive-3 rockers..."

That's where I was getting my information from. The part # for the progressive 3 rockers is #5359.

[OldSchoolRC]

i think they are all "long travel" per Traxxas.. :) There should be a set of longer travel rockers that come with the revo. i tried them out, but i liked the feel of the stockers more to be honest - they have so much travel in the first place, it's unreal and they handled much better at speed. i have since switched to the progressive 2 setup and i think it's a killer all around way to go. It most definitely bottoms out less on large air, but still floats right over most bumps.

Congrats on picking the Revo - i still think it's overall the best performer out there.

[Philderbeast]

Yeah, the long travel rocker from traxxas do handle poorly I think. I have progressive 2 and 3, 3 being installed. I cannot wait to see how she handles now. Being short wheel base (2.5R), and posi rear with bowtie 40 series treads, she should be a beast, specially with the 3.3 engine I dropped in it.