Hello All!
I pulled the trigger on an HPI Savage XL Octane. It was between the HPI, the Losi XXL-2 and the RCMK XCR-1000. I actually had the RCMK queued up, but then I thought about it, and the whole reason I was choosing another car is:
1) The redcat XB I own is 1/5 scale, and
I wanted something that ran on gasoline and was smaller. The HPI and Losi both fit that criteria. Really, the 1/8 platform was the main reason I was considering another purchase. There are plenty of other 1/5 scale cars out there to choose from, but HPI and Losi are courageously answering the call for smaller gas platforms.
2)
Parts Availability. So I emailed DDM about the RCMK parts availability, and the response I got was that parts availability is an issue. The HPI and The Losi have reasonable parts availability and my LHS, though HPI has a larger presence.
3)
Fuel cost, and this was the deciding factor. Now I know what you're thinking, "pump gas is cheap," and you're right, but the oil that is mixed into the fuel is not. Losi REQUIRES you to use their oil in their engine, and charges you $12 dollars (lowest price I've seen) to treat one gallon with their "Dynamite High Performance Oil Small Block 2-cycle oil." Your warranty is void if you try other oil. That makes the price per gallon around $15 bucks. With the HPI, they have a very simple rule... 25:1 and the oil has to be for a two stroke engine. The type of two stroke oil you use is up to you. Many people use Klotz, but I use (if you've followed any of my gas powered threads...you guessed it) Royal Purple (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). So that makes my cost per gallon of fuel right around $3.75. The beauty of gas power is that is cheap, has long run times and easy to acquire.
The Losi had things that I like, like big bore shocks, a spin starter, and runs off a lipo, but I've seen the nightmare tuning videos as well as durability issues after small jumps (RC Sparks videos). My son owns a Savage Flux XS, and he beats the crap out of that truck so I know the platform is solid. Also, the HPI has a 3 speed transmission. The Losi only has two.
So it wasn't something I just jumped right into. I've been researching this for several months now. I don't have any images or videos yet, but it's still a bit hot outside and I have to really pick my moments early morning on the weekends. But I will get some videos up when I can.
So right off the bat, with about 1/2 gallon through the engine, here are some pros and cons:
Pros:1)
Started in 5 pulls from brand new bone dry. I checked the needles and Idle to make sure they were still at factory settings, and they were, and that's all I did. With the earlier versions of this truck, there was an issue with the gap in the spark plug which made starting and tuning a beotch. I can tell you that problem no longer exists.
2)
Break in was only one tank. Though it took about 3 tanks before I started seeing wheelies and the engine was making enough power to get it into third gear.
3) For a raised truck, it is
well balanced and handles jumps nicely.
4)
Plenty of Power. I'm not racing this truck... it's a monster truck. If I wanted speed I would have bought an electric car. So this thing isn't a speed demon, but it does what a monster truck should: climb, jump, smash
5)
Servos are waterproof (but wait, see cons)
Cons:1)
Steering servo is way underpowered. It just takes forever to turn. This will be my first upgrade.
2)
Electronics box is disorganized and not waterproof.
3)
Uses x2 1200 mAh NiMh hump packs to run the servos and ignition. Cumbersome Heavy, crap power, slow charge..... I will be changing these to LiFe or LiPo SOON.
4)
No remote kill switch. You'll have to buy one of your own. This is a must have for this vehicle.
5)
Too many vital parts exposed to the elements. The whole bottom is open, and while the servos are waterproof, the steering servo uses an extension to make it to the electronics box. The connection for that servo extension is not waterproofed in any way and is begging to be abused.
I found a park with a soccer field and some hills around the outside. It had just been cut and looked dry, but it wasn't, and I accidently found small shallow puddle that this truck should have just plowed through. It did, but minutes later the servos started acting like they were losing signal. It became impossible to steer and the throttle servo made it dangerous to drive. So I shut it down, took off the lexan and inspected it.
The first thing I noticed was that the air filter was soaked with water. The filter rides rather high on the vehicle, and I never submerged the truck. So I replaced it with a pre-oiled spare that comes with the truck. There's just no way that should have happened. Dirty water in that engine could have been catastrophic. It was like the water was funneled to the air filter by the left front tire. I could literally wring water out of the filter. After that, I took the top off the electronics box and there was mud on the bottom... no water, but mud. So I decided to take it home, clean it up and dry it off.
After all that, I still could not get the servos to work without intermittent LOS. On a whim, I plugged the steering servo direct into the rx... it worked fine. Then I plugged the throttle servo directly into the rx, both worked fine. I connected the steering servo back into the extension then back into the rx... intermittent signal once again. It was then I decided to disconnect the steering servo extension and clean it too. Once I did that, everything went back to normal and I've not had another problem with the servos since. I decided to use heat shrink on the connection. But the issue of the electronics box not being waterproof will take some thought since it has to come apart to for the batteries to be charged.
That was a long "con," but I think for almost $1000 dollars a little more protection for that extension, like heat shrink, would have saved my morning and fun.
6)
I would have paid extra for a spin/wand start. Hopefully there will be a mod or upgrade soon.
EDIT: I just received an email from Adam W. at Great Planes (HPI's Tech support). He states "I am pretty sure there are no plans for a wand/starter because of the size of the engine." .....
WTH. Don't know how many times I've wand started a .30/.46 nitro or started my 10cc Evolution gasser with an electric spinner. Those are much smaller engines. The Losi XXL-2, the octanes direct competition, has a smaller engine, is gas, and it's wand started. So it seems like tech support for HPI is, well... basic (being nice). I might look into fabricating one at some point. ConclusionThe HPI Savage XL Octane is a blast to drive. The fix for the servo extension is quite simple, but water getting in the electronics box and the water getting to the air filter will take some thought. Go figure, here I am in the desert of Arizona and I swamp this truck by accident :/ I'll just need to make sure that where I'm driving is dry, and that's a bummer because this truck should be able to handle a little water and mud.
