$8 servo

[Juggular]

$8 servo arrived (12kg one below).  It looks well built enough. 

I've got a dozen different servos (somewhere). I'm always searching for a cheap "standard basher servo" and this might be it for 2025, if the price doesn't go up.    

Most of the servos these days have at least 10kg torque.  That's a lot compared to 4kg servos we had in the 1980s and 1990s.  So I'm not concerned about torque.  Which leaves only the speed.  

Below 14kg servo seems to be the fastest servo I have.  If 0.06 second is to be believed (at 8.4v), it should be something like 0.9 second at 6v. ( measuring how fast the servo horn moves 60 degrees.)

Below left is just as fast.  

KST 12kg servo is the smallest servo I have.  The box says 0.10 second at 6v.  The way it moves, it seems just as fast as the servo above, so that seems to check out.  

The 20kg servo is something everybody has seen.  It's strong, but kinda slow.  It's suited for crawlers and trail trucks. 

These two below are in the middle in terms of the speed.  

On the spec sheet, the Hitec's HS300' speed is supposed to be 0.15 second. Futaba S3003 is supposed to be 0.19 second.  Hitec was supposed to be faster.  But mine might be damaged. It was making a lot of noises when not moving.  I had it on Wild Willy2, which is too heavy for a 3kg servo.  Perhaps due to the damage, Futaba was actually faster.  

Futaba's claim of 0.19 second should be legitimate.  And above Miuzei and KST servos seem twice as fast.   

The DIYmall's 12kg ($8) servo seems to be about the same.  The spec says 0.11 second at 6v.  I was hoping that it was actually that fast.  But it's about the same as Futaba S3003, which means 0.19 second (give or take 0.02 second).  I wish I could find a Y-harness to compare them side by side, but I couldn't.  (So I was just going by the feel, which is as unscientific as it gets.)  

But a $8 servo being similar to S3003 and many times stronger isn't a bad news.  Amazon sells it for $18. But for that price, I could get much faster servos.  

 

Below are the slowest 2 servos in this lot.  Injora 25kg says 0.17 second at 6.6v.  I would guess at 6v, it could be like 0.19 second.  That should be the same as Futaba S3003.  But it's noticeably slower.  My guess is it's about 0.25 second at best.  

The 20kg servo says 0.15 second at 6v. If true, it should be faster than Futaba, but it's noticeably slower.  I'd say also 0.25 second. 

So, what's the conclusion?  

Miuzei 14kg and KST 12kg are fast.  I'd use them for fast buggies and on-road chassis.  They are about $$17-20 each.  Injora also has a fast 14kg one, as well as SPT, etc.  They all look quite similar.  

Middle of the pack is the ancient Futaba S3003 and Hitec HS300.  Plus the $8 servo.  

Unsurprisingly, the slowest are high torque servos. 20kg and 25kg servos. I would not trust the speed spec on these.  Crawler drivers are not usually worried about the speed. So I guess they'd figure they'd take some liberties with the specs.  But there is no free lunch. Torquey ones are slower.  

Out of 7 servos here, two of the fastest seems to be actually that fast.  Do they have 14 and 12kg of torque?  I don't know.  But they definitely seem stronger than old Futaba's torque of 4kg.  

The $8 servo seemed slower than the spec sheet.  But I'm fine with that, because it's about the same as old S3003, but stronger.  Considering the price tag of $8, I'd say it's worth it.   

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807738151389.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.c04d38daBGrZFT&mp=1&pdp_npi=5%40dis!USD!USD 8.20!USD 8.20!!USD 8.20!!!%402103010b17508950839188693e802c!12000042865409652!ct!US!2630314545!!1!0&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Servos change fast.  7 years ago, I thought the $10 Tactic 5kg 0.18 second servo was a good "standard servo."  Now, the $8 servo has the same speed, but probably twice as strong.  If they had a 10kg servo that can move in 0.10 second for under $10, that'd be the perfect "10-10-10 standard servo."  (There are such servos. But they cost about $20).  People want the fastest or the strongest.  But the longest golf club is just as useless as the shortest golf club.  

 

 

[Re-Bugged]

Great write up Mr @Juggular & thank you.

Advise on good cheap servo’s is always welcome to keep things affordable these days.

I find info on slow  servo’s helpful for more realistic steering on 1/14 Big Rigs. No lightning quick lock to lock need for those.

[JimBear]

I find that the ability to re-center is a good thing to notice - to me, it doesn't matter if it is a supposedly 25 kg servo and costs 5 euros if it can't re-center correctly. Most likely, as you write @Juggular, especially with the cheap servos, the X kg and X speed is to be taken with a grain of salt. 

And it's not a dig at anyone, just an observation that I sometimes think of spending 200 euros on a kit, and then I scrounge around to find a servo for 10 euros ...

 

 

[Twinfan]

I refuse to pay a lot for servos - they can't be expensive to make, and while £200 on a kit is a fair amount of money it doesn't make sense to me to put a £50+ servo in it.  Or a £50+ ESC for that matter!  I'm only having fun in the park or on the beach, and my £10-£15 servos are more than good enough for that.  Even if they don't always re-centre completely accurately.

Racing is different, there you want speed and accuracy so you'd have to pay to play as it were.  Plus your kit is likely to be £500+ including extras, so the servo is a smaller percentage of the overall cost.

[technics]

Great write up, thank you!

I saved the link.

[MadAnt]

Interesting.

I know that a lot of the cheap Chinese servos out there lie about the speed. I have Tower Pro and one Hexfly (might be the same as some others on Amazon) servos in use and it is clear that the rated speed is a lie. They seem to make plenty of torque, but they seem slower than a other servos rated at a lower speed. It's the dishonestly from some of these Chinese companies I don't like. Why lie when the price is low enough? 

[Starky_UK]

2 hours ago, JimBear said:

I find that the ability to re-center is a good thing to notice - to me, it doesn't matter if it is a supposedly 25 kg servo and costs 5 euros if it can't re-center correctly. Most likely, as you write @Juggular, especially with the cheap servos, the X kg and X speed is to be taken with a grain of salt. 

And it's not a dig at anyone, just the observation that I sometimes think of spending 200 euros on a kit, and then I scrounge around to find a servo for 10 euros ...

 

 

+1 for the ability to re-center. I'd rather a slow and accurate servo over fast and inconsistent. 

Personally I see servos as a consumable item so how much I'd spend on them would be relevant to it's use. i.e. for bashing/general driving around = cheap and plentiful, racing = cheap(ish) but fast & accurate, crawler/monster truck = powerful and reliable. 

With racing it also depends on your ability. There is no point in me spending £50+ on a servo for racing, I'm not at that level and that's not due to the servo. 

The TrackStar TS-D99X Digital (Hobbyking) has been my go to servo for buggies and on-road racing. Price seems to vary from £13 - £25 and they seem to handle a fair amount of abuse.

[JimBear]

2 hours ago, Twinfan said:

I'm only having fun in the park or on the beach, and my £10-£15 servos are more than good enough for that.

I see your point and I guess my needs are the same - it was just the thought that struck me that I might be trying to save in the wrong end (for me) - that is buying another kit instead of getting decent electronics. 

But that's the hard thing - knowing what's what. And in this case, @Juggulars write-up is a good help.

[tamiya_1971]

I’ve purchased some of the MG996r servos off Amazon (deegoo 😆). 4 for $18.  Since I don’t race, I don’t care to buy a quality servo. If one dies, it’s about 5 bucks and I’ve yet to kill one. I do have a Tekno MT410 with a very expensive servo in it for bashing.  I wouldn’t even think of slapping a $100+ servo in a Tamiya.

[Mo Powah]

I use £8 quid ebay specials in all my Tamiya cars. You don't need to spend silly amounts of money on servos unless you are a serious basher/racer. 

[El Gecko]

1 hour ago, tamiya_1971 said:

I’ve purchased some of the MG996r servos off Amazon (deegoo 😆). 4 for $18.  Since I don’t race, I don’t care to buy a quality servo. If one dies, it’s about 5 bucks and I’ve yet to kill one. I do have a Tekno MT410 with a very expensive servo in it for bashing.  I wouldn’t even think of slapping a $100+ servo in a Tamiya.

I bought 6 of those MG996 servos in a bundle a few years ago and only two of them still work. Two overheated and just stopped working when they were used in a 2.2 RWD truck, so I think their claimed specs are vastly inflated. The other two appeared to work fine on the bench, but when driving they'd glitch like crazy and put full power to one side, greatly increasing amp draw and causing a brownout with the electronics. They bent the steering rods and broke one of the uprights on my Hornet (apparently I replaced one dud with another, as it happened back to back, but since I switched to a JX servo it's been perfect, no other changes to the electronics setup or batteries).

They were always clunky and noisy and didn't center very well, so they've been slowly replaced with Futaba and JX servos over the years. Only one of the remaining two working MG996s is still in actual use in a car. The other one has been demoted to being a spare/backup that I hope I never have to use.

There are some things you can do to help them work better, but they really are the bottom of the barrel and only just barely work in a general sense. I've opened up and rebuilt the last two, which are still somehow surviving, however the performance isn't even up to the same level as a simple Futaba 3003. I wish Futaba hadn't discontinued the 3004, which had ball bearings and was buttery smooth (and only $15 a servo).

[tamiya_1971]

8 minutes ago, El Gecko said:

I bought 6 of those MG996 servos in a bundle a few years ago and only two of them still work. Two overheated and just stopped working when they were used in a 2.2 RWD truck, so I think their claimed specs are vastly inflated. The other two appeared to work fine on the bench, but when driving they'd glitch like crazy and put full power to one side, greatly increasing amp draw and causing a brownout with the electronics. They bent the steering rods and broke one of the uprights on my Hornet (apparently I replaced one dud with another, as it happened back to back, but since I switched to a JX servo it's been perfect, no other changes to the electronics setup or batteries).

They were always clunky and noisy and didn't center very well, so they've been slowly replaced with Futaba and JX servos over the years. Only one of the remaining two working MG996s is still in actual use in a car. The other one has been demoted to being a spare/backup that I hope I never have to use.

There are some things you can do to help them work better, but they really are the bottom of the barrel and only just barely work in a general sense. I've opened up and rebuilt the last two, which are still somehow surviving, however the performance isn't even up to the same level as a simple Futaba 3003. I wish Futaba hadn't discontinued the 3004, which had ball bearings and was buttery smooth (and only $15 a servo).

For as little as I run the multiple cars I own, they are still good enough. I think in all my years, I've had only a couple servos go bad, an old Futaba and some no-name Redcat servo. 

[alvinlwh]

Interesting take on this. I remember when I join the forum, there were some "advice" that only the branded (and therefore more expensive) servos (and radio gear) will do as they are the "only thing controlling your expensive car". Some newbies thinking of entering the hobby took one look of the additional price on top of the kit and walked away. Really does a beginner need a super fast and strong brushless servo?

Nice to see a cheapskate's (I am one myself!) take on this subject. Being cheap myself, my usual go to are the SPT/Injora (are they the same?) for general use and JX and PowerHD if I wanted something a little better. But then I am not a racer, so maybe I know nothing. 

[JeffSpicoli]

When I got back into the hobby full time a few years ago it really depressed me how much radio gear "quality" has diminished.

While yes, the tech side has advanced exponentially, the fit finish and feel is so crappy.

I remember when I picked up a Futaba radio at a hobby shop 7 years ago, I couldn't believe how light and flimsy it felt compared to our childhood radios.

I've been using the hi-tec servos and I like them, they seem to be built pretty good, the braided cabling is nice.

But for guys who have tons of kits, I get why you might want a budget friendly servo.

 

I'm going to be curious how much I can keep putting in $125 Sanwa receivers    I think I finally have my ideal electronics set up for my builds:

1080 G2 ESC

Sanwa 128 receiver

HiTec 645MG servo

MaxAmps battery packs

[kevinb120]

For non programmable 'just a servo' I've gravitated to the $16-ish(amazon-cheaper if you wait for one) 22KG Injora low profile.  Kind of gave up on the red/blue DS type banded ones.  For anything 'fancy' I'm exclusively within the AFGRC line these days.  Their $24 24KG 'gold' programmable is an RTR hero(once you have the programmer).  Can set everything to the car regardless of the radio then if you upgrade the TX you just leave everything at 100% and it's already there and can handle 3-4s bashing with great speeds.  Great for pretty much anything TRX/Arrma type RTR's.   Of course some setups I have servos that cost 3-5 times as much as dictated by intended use.   Speed/torque/profile/voltage as needed.  But AFGRC makes most of the other brand's stuff. 

[Jonathon Gillham]

2 hours ago, JeffSpicoli said:

When I got back into the hobby full time a few years ago it really depressed me how much radio gear "quality" has diminished.

While yes, the tech side has advanced exponentially, the fit finish and feel is so crappy.

I remember when I picked up a Futaba radio at a hobby shop 7 years ago, I couldn't believe how light and flimsy it felt compared to our childhood radios.

I've been using the hi-tec servos and I like them, they seem to be built pretty good, the braided cabling is nice.

But for guys who have tons of kits, I get why you might want a budget friendly servo.

 

I'm going to be curious how much I can keep putting in $125 Sanwa receivers    I think I finally have my ideal electronics set up for my builds:

1080 G2 ESC

Sanwa 128 receiver

HiTec 645MG servo

MaxAmps battery packs

Check out the clone sanwa receivers, there are a few available now, I've tried a few and never had an issue. I've bought from Banggood and Aliexpress, although I think DasMikro have avwebsite you can buy from

3 hours ago, tamiya_1971 said:

For as little as I run the multiple cars I own, they are still good enough. I think in all my years, I've had only a couple servos go bad, an old Futaba and some no-name Redcat servo. 

I tried a similar thing with the MG995 and one of them failed and took the ESC with it, so it turned out to be an expensive mistake!

I have a range of servos from the JX and SPT through to Sanwa and Futaba, its really horses for courses. Boats and planes are where I wouldn't go cheap, cars are less of an issue though

[ChrisRx718]

I've bought a few Etronix servos lately, they seem good value. I do wonder if they're just a Chinese re-brand (they probably are). I like that the blue works with Tamiya blue anodised coatings too.

I'd buy genuine Tamiya ones if they were good value, but they really aren't! They might look nice, but my god are they expensive for what you get!

[Juggular]

I don't trust any brand unless they continuously prove themselves to be worth the money (I'm cheap). 

If Futaba sells S3004 for $45, even though I have trusted Futaba for 40 years, I'm going to stop trusting them. (By the way, Savox sells a standard servo that has the same spec as Futaba S3004 for $45 --4kg, 0.19 second. It's "metal gears," but that's not going to help when the max torque is only 4kg). 

Savox has a $95 "titanium gear" servos too.  Do they know titanium is weaker than steel?  (Titanium can be stronger than steel if it's twice larger than steel. But they'd weigh about the same.  Servos are limited in size. Gears can't be larger. So titanium is weaker.)  Titanium is stronger than other "metal gears" such as copper or low-grade aluminum.  But if they wanted strength, they should've gone with steel. 

 

To me, the $95 Savox "titanium gear" 7.8kg servo that has the speed of 0.15 second is not worth it.  It's a sales gimmick. It just sounds cooler. But it's their choice.  Function-wise, it's similar to the $8 servo (12kg, 0.18 second).  (At least Savox is honest to say that it has titanium / aluminum gears =meaning it's not all titanium.)  If I wanted something safer, I'd go with a $22 Injora 14kg servo that can move at 0.10 second. Or whatever mine is, Miuzei.  They are faster and stronger and cheaper.  Even if I have to replace it 3 times, it's still cheaper. 

But if somebody wants to pay for the fanciness?  Buying coolness is a hobby too. It's a personal taste.  One of my favorite 80s songs is Tarzan boy. I can't blame anybody when mind is horrible.  Best of luck to Savox.  They just don't offer a good value to a cheap guy like me. (I do have a relatively inexpensive Savox somewhere, but I was unimpressed.)

That's too-hyped side of the servos. On the other end of the spectrum is the "dirt-cheap" servos.  I've heard enough bad stuff about the cheap servos like MG995 (including the 20kg one I have), I'm not going to use it on anything important or expensive.  Those servos seem to be churned out to flood the market, even though the failure rate could be like 50% (many people have reported worse than that). 

The $8 servo seems to be well-made, which might be why Amazon is selling it at $18.99.  But it will need time to prove itself. 13 reviews are not enough, and they are mostly from the past few months.  I'll put it in cheap bashers like my DT-02 that I got from ebay for $79.  Even if it fails and burns up the receiver, my Flysky receiver costs only $4.75.  

So... the expensive-end has sellers who want to sell us fancy stuff that I don't find worth the money.  If they never fail, that's good. But I don't want to pay $95 to last 40 years, when a $15 Futaba S3003 already lasted 40 years.  The cheap-end sells stuff knowing that 50% would fail. They want people to toss in the money just to see if they work or not.  That's two different ways of making money.  Neither way works for me (even though I did spend on a cheap Savox and a cheap 20kg servo). 

I just want to find a well-functioning servo at the lowest possible price. (Which is what an informed buyer in a free market would do.)  For now, DIYmall's 12kg servo seems to offer a very good value for $8.10.  But time and quantity will tell (just because one servo works well, doesn't mean all will).  

 

[Jonathon Gillham]

@Juggular this is a great thread and I'm with you on bang for buck

When you refer to Savox titanium - what model is that? The 1258TG is amazing and while expensive at about USD60 it is worth it. I've got ones bought secondhand and then done 4 years of racing and survived a flood! Dollar per use is very low and they are incredibly durable. I think thats right for most high end servos too. If you buy an expensive one you'll probably have it years later, but if its for a shelf queen then whats the point 

[Juggular]

9 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

@Juggular this is a great thread and I'm with you on bang for buck

When you refer to Savox titanium - what model is that? The 1258TG is amazing and while expensive at about USD60 it is worth it. I've got ones bought secondhand and then done 4 years of racing and survived a flood! Dollar per use is very low and they are incredibly durable. I think thats right for most high end servos too. If you buy an expensive one you'll probably have it years later, but if its for a shelf queen then whats the point 

I was looking at 1256TG. 

1258 you have is the servo with lightning-fast speed of 0.08 second.  That, my friend, is worth it for a racer.  Since I don't race, 0.10 second servo for $22 is plenty fast for me.  But if you are spending $800 for TRF420X to shave 0.3 second from a lap?  $95 for 0.02 second faster response time at every turn would be well worth it.  

A $175 Protec servo has 0.09 second response time.  MKS sells a $200 servo that has 0.082 second.  For a racer, 0.08 second Savox 1258 is a bargain.  And you don't want a $22 servo fizzle out in the middle of a race and crash the $500 TA08 either. (But my DT-04 cost only $160, and I run it in my backyard). 

The "value" is decided by what you need the servo for.  The fastest servo is a surgeon's obsidian scalpel for surgery. What I (as a basher) need is a pocket knife for camping.  And 1258 is only half the price of other fast servos.  

Of course, the fast 1258 servo won't do you any good, if you use a $45 Flysky GT3C.  It's a basher radio with slower response time.  You would need a high-end Futaba or Sanwa with a shorter lag between the transmitter and the receiver. (a fast eye blink is 100 millisecond. an ordinary blink is like 200ms.  In ballpark figures, Flysky GT3C gives you like 50ms. Somewhat faster mid-entry radios like Flysky G7P would give you something like 35ms. High end radios are under 20ms. Can bashers tell the difference between a slow GT3C and a high end radio? Yes. Would it matter in your backyard with a Lunchbox? Nope.  Would it make a difference if you race with a TA07?  Oh yeah.  A fast radio and a fast servo would make a world of difference.)  

Every job requires a proper tool.  We just have to know which we need.  (or want. There is nothing wrong with a Lunchbox runner thinking he's a world class racer so he wants a $500 radio and a $200 servo. It's his money. Fantasizing is also a part of this hobby. I imagine that I'm running through 10 feet tall grass and bullets are whizzing by me when I'm running my Fast Attack Vehicle in my overgrown backyard.)