shizcol

iTrader: (9)

I would have to say losi xxl also. I have had over 6 savages all of them. Savage 25. Savage x savage xl savage x ss and all.. they were all headaches, then I went to the losi xxl and I will never go back. Im very happy with my xxl and I have to say its the sickest.. go with th xxl

PP22

iTrader: (5)

no more words. from my experience savage is the best monster truck.

danih

thanks all,
so this is what i gather from all your replies:
HPI has stronger plastic but xxl is more durable
xxl handles better but hpi very fun to drive
the 454 is either a spec 3 or something but the 4.6 gives the hpi the same power to weight ratio
both are tunable
both trucks diffs break as much
and you can spend 5000 dollars hopping up a traxx or any truck for that matter

All your replies have been interesting but not helpful in terms of decision
although if i want to statistically count the points the xxl would do it

so hear are specific questions maybe that would be more systematic:
how important is 3 speed upgrade on the hpi vs staying with 2 on the xxl?
how important is reverse when i will NOT go racing?
which truck has more power to weight ratio?
which truck does more wheelies and has bigger top speed?
what do i have to do to make the xxl an equal basher to the savage x?
what do i have to do to make the savage x a good handler as the xxl?
i know the spectrum is a nice radio, but how much weight should i give it?

thanks again

eurofocus

Just want to add my two cents, having seeing my buddy's savage not fair so well from bashing... and driving my aftershock just as hard with no problems whatsoever. The XXL is my favourite, even if the Savage's chassis design is more durable due to less flex. The LST was designed with racing in mind, where as the Savage was designed with bashing in mind. Either way, they're both great trucks. But for ease of maintenance and ease of teardowns, do yourself a favour and get the Losi.

440swinger-kid

iTrader: (50)

3 speed is not needed on a Savage.
Reverse is a waste of money on the Savage....
My Savage X would wheelie on demand and top end on both trucks can be faster with proper tuning and gearing and wheel choice.
To make the Savage handle do big bores with proper fluid, sway bars and make sure your wheel choice works for what you are running on. Also run XL axles to widen the truck.
Also the Savage diffs are not a problem, I NEVER had any diff problems and I had the stocker diffs.

Weight has NOTHING to do with radio's.........

Personally I love TVP style trucks and loved all my Savages and had ZERO real issues with any of them..... I however did not like my LST2 and hated working on it.

Also maybe look into the NEW version of the Savage X 4.6 RTR.... has their BP diffs, Big bores and other nice parts and only require fuel to go out and run, everything else is included with the truck.

You seem to not really care what we are saying so take your pick and enjoy YOUR choice the best you can

Cummins Driver

iTrader: (19)

- 3 speed really isnt important. Its kind of neat to play with but the 2 speed is fine
- Reverse is nice to have actually. I never really miss it when im driving something without it, but it is fun to play with and does come in very handy if you are doing something like climbing hills/obstacles you could need to back away from, etc...
- Id say power to weight is about identical
- Savage for the wheelies for sure. Top speed should be about the same
- The XXL needs an engine brace, but really should be about as good other than that
- Savage X probably wont ever handle as good as the XXL, but lower it down a little with tires that dont have a huge sidewall and it will handle more than good enough for bashing.
- I guess the spektrum depends on how much you are into nice radio's. They are nice and expensive. I think telemetry would be kinda neat, but other than that I think its overpriced and un needed.

Like was said above - Just get the one you think looks the most fun to you. You wont ever get everyone to agree saying one is the best, so choose the one you think you'd like the best and go from there.

danih

I do care what you all say. However it's a mind vs heart thing. My Mind say losi xxl my heart says savage. And by the way when I say how much weight to the radio, I mean how much weight o. The decision not the truck. I might br MT ignorant but I am not stupid

doug e fresh

iTrader: (2)

Hi..

I have no idea who told you the xxl has diff problems? I've had my xxl for a lil over a year and my diffs are in perfect condition.

The xxl is one hell of a truck. Everything is simple to get to the diffs all you need to is take out six screws and the diff pulls right out. It's a easy truck for all who is wanting a best of the best mt.

ntrain42

iTrader: (33)

If you had a day to play with the Savage and Losi XXL, your heart would be saying the same thing as your mind. The Losi is just a better designed and better built MT. You have 2 people here giving advice on a Savage with no hands on experience with the Losi LST XXL.

This time last year in my area about 11-12 people I know ran MT's with the majority of them being Savage's and only 2 running the older LST2. I was the first to buy the LST XXL in my area. Since then 7-8 of those Savage owners sold their MT's for XXL's. Now you have 9-10 people running either an LST2 or XXL at the mine pits and only a couple Savage owners left. And that number will probably whittle down this summer as well.

WHen I race down south its the same thing. Maybe a Savage or 2, majority LST's or Revo's.

440swinger-kid

iTrader: (50)

Coming from you who has ZERO hands on with a Savage and dumped 2k into your pile.

Had a LST2 and like I said it was a POS..................... Better designed my rear.......

neobart

iTrader: (4)

Savage:

It's meant to take hits like a boulder, and it handles like one.

I can't remember the last time I saw a bashing video of a savage with it landing rubber side down. I'm sure it's fun to go chase your truck every time it decides to play turtle.

Cummins Driver

iTrader: (19)

It feels the same walking to flip over my losi as it does my savage

wolf16731

iTrader: (9)

You all know I have plenty of experience with the Savage. (7.5 years with the same Savage )

Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the Losi or even compare. But take this for what it is worth.

A Savage doesn't really need big bore shocks. To me, thats just a fad for the most part or people just wanting something different. I use triple rate springs on my shocks (stock shocks mind you) from RCRaven.com and it handles just fine with wide offset wheels. My Savage has also used the 3 speed tranny with Reverse for a while now, at least 4 years. I have never had issues with any of them. As a matter of fact, it took 4 years for me to have any issues at all, and that was because the lower transmission shaft blew out that is part of the reverse. Simple $10 fix and I was back on the playing field. Once I replaced the diff gears in the first year, the tranny was golden.

It also doesn't really take THAT long to work on a Savage.. If the fear of working on a Savage scares you away from it, then you should probably be doing something else anyways. It is fairly simple. With a few screws, I can remove either the front or rear suspension and drivetrain, and with a few more the entire tranny is lifted out, leaving just the radio box. Don't let people sucker you into it being very hard. It is actually quite easy after you do it one or two times.

And all of this talk about engines..

Listen, every stock engine in these trucks is alright. You won't be dissappointed either way. But you will get to the point where you want more power regardless of which truck you choose. You are going to end up buying a new, more powerful engine to feed your need for power, we all do it. So all of this talk about which engine is better and the arguing to go with it is kind of pointless..

ntrain42

iTrader: (33)

Actually I had a Savage XL on hand for a full week as a loaner from my LHS along with an X SS for 2 days with some pics posted on RCU a ways back from last year. I know the ins and outs of the Savage design. The suspension setup is average at best and its not a well thought out design in terms of maintenance work compared to the LST XXL.

To say the Losi large bore shocks are a fad or aren't needed is to not know the benefits of them or fluid dynamics when it comes to controlled rebound.

When I picked up my second MT it says something that I didn't bother even thinking about picking up a Savage. Instead I dumped more money into it(Another $2k.) The truck's design to me is worth spending the money on.

wolf16731

iTrader: (9)

As they always say, "There is more than one way to build a great truck. You just happen to favor THAT one."

It is all good, but I am still not convinced that anything is leaps and bounds better over the other competitors in the business, even my Savage. It has performed great for me over the last 7 years and performs just as well as the other trucks I drive with. The Savage just happens to suit my driving style very well, and I will keep it for at least another year, maybe even more.