E-savage review

Body - Charger & Batteries - Misc Accessories
It would not be right if HPI did not give the e-savage a good body to match the very talked about chassis, and they excelled themselves with this! The body is pre cut very well, the stickers are very neat and the body holes all drilled, this together with the flame decals really make this car not only able to run out of the box but it looks good too.
As it is RTR and the truck uses 2 batteries it would be unfair for HPI only to give you a charger that charges one battery at a time. So they included the GT Escape, it can charge each battery at a different rate (1 , 2 , 4 Amps) it has a cooling fan integrated into the sleek brushed steel case as well.
The charger is made by Hot Bodies which has ties with HPI, in some kits the batteries are also made by Hot Bodies but my batteries are HPI branded. It comes with a converter from the cigarette lighter plug to the standard crocodile type clip for use with a car battery.
Included in the Kit are a few little extras, 2 additional body posts that allow you to use different bodies other than the Baja TT shell, optional servo horns, 3 hex wrenches that allow you to carry out basic maintenance, a few spare body clips and also the ariel tube. The only item missing from the extras that would make life easier is a nut spinner, though not essential for initial running it is for maintenance.

Body - Charger & Batteries - Misc Accessories
The controller that comes with the e-savage is the TF-3 model it is made by Futaba under HPI brand name. It only has analogue trims but it keeps the cost of the kit down. The controller can be replaced with a digital counterpart at any time if required by the enthusiast, but the standard one will be fine for novice drivers.
The Manual and Information sheets are very clear and user friendly with lots of useful information such as using the correct current setting and adjusting the trims. The manual also contains exploded views of the truck, which is invaluable for novices and experienced drivers alike.
A sheet with all of the usable radio frequencies is included.
The DVD however is their standard one and does not feature the e-savage.

Radio - Manual & DVD - Top
The e-savage runs on two motors that are 550 size so they are longer than the motors you usually find in RC cars, these are used to power the 4WD dirivetrain and move the car up to speeds in excess of 25mph. They are mounted parallel with the twin vertical chassis plates, similar to the layout of the bigger nitro savages. The batteries are contained in holders mounted in a 'V' shape though the chassis plates, keeping the battery weight low and helping the truck keep a low Centre Of Gravity (CG.)
From the bottom you can see the aluminium skid plats which are covered in the bumper return plates to both front and rear. You can also see the sliding stile drive shafts that the e-savage uses.

Right Chassis Side - Left Chassis Side - Botto
As mentioned before the truck uses two 550 sized motors to provide power to the wheels, each motor uses 14.4v which is supplied by the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC for short.)
To protect the gears from sudden bangs to the dirivetrain ect.. So HPI have incorporated a dual pad slipper clutch into the spur gear.
There are clips on the dirivetrain case that hold on the wires for the ESC and motors, this not only make it look better but also prevents damage to the wires from dirivetrain entanglement.
The motor plate is anodised aluminium with slots so that you can get the perfect gearing mesh with different size pinions.
The transmission gears are all plastic but are beefy enough to withstand the forces that the two 550 sized motors produce. To keep the dirivetrain running freely it is fitted with ball bearings.

Gearbox - Slipper Clutch - Inside Transmission
One thing that the savage is renowned for is 'super long' 8 oil filled shocks, so it is good to see that HPI has brought this onto the e-savage, the sturdy shock towers provide a solid mounting point for the shocks and on the lower wishbone has 2 mounting configurations.
There are no body mounts that are too long either as they adjust on the bulkhead by moving the whole body mount up or down with two 'R' clips.

Inside the bulkhead you will find a hardened steel diff, the diff is fitted with grease as they are not sealed for diff oil.
The suspension arms are the same for all four corners of the truck so that it is easy to get a replacements part, if you manage to break one.
As mentioned before the bumper has a bottom plate which covers the aluminium skid plate and is held in place with countersunk screws, the main bumper is made so it has some movement to help absorb shocks. The rear bumper is the same except that is houses the switch as well.
The radio box contains the steering servo for the truck, which is very able and can move the wheels while the truck is stationary! It also holds the receiver which is all pre mounted and wired ready to go out of the box.

Front Bulkhead - Bumper - Radio Box
The steering is a bell crank assembly, this can be completely removed [included servo] by unscrewing four screws that hold the radio box in place, disconnecting the steering arms from the steering hubs and lifting out the radio box, (you will have to disconnect ESC.) The servo saver tension can be adjusted by turning the aluminium nut, the servo that comes in the kit is adequate, it is model SF-2 which runs at 6v.
The vertical aluminium chassis plates give the chassis a low CG keeping it all stable, this is because of the fact that almost everything is situated between the chassis plates and not above them, making the truck top heavy like many other duel motor trucks.
To keep up with the times you need to have a good ESC, and HPI certainly delivers, this ESC was specially made for the e-savage, it runs 2 motors from 2 batteries, giving both motors 14.4v each. When your controller and ESC are switched on the ESC automatically sets itself up, you need to hear the second sequence of beeps before you run the truck. It has a Failsafe and overload protection built into it so if you go out of range the truck will stop. It even has an external power supply of 7.2v for fans, lights ect, if you look at the 'GT' on the ESC you will see a flap, under there are the pins that supply the power.

Steering Linkage - Chassis Plates - ESC
The shocks on the e-savage maintain the characteristics of the nitro savage trucks, they are long in length, there are 8 of them and they provide very good dampening.
They consist of composite plastic body filled with oil, with a 3mm stainless steel shaft, there is a rubber insulator placed on the shaft so that the truck can't bottom out and damage the shocks. The ride height can be changed by changing the plastic spaces, additional spacers can be bought.
The wheels that the e-savage tires are mounted on are 5 spoke and chrome finished. These go very well with the silver base coat on the shell. The tires are 'V' directional block type, they are branded by Hot Bodies again showing the link with Hot Bodies and HPI, there is foam between the wheels and tires to stop the tire deforming under the weight of the truck.

.....Running The Truck.....

The best thing about electric trucks is that there is no run in procedure to do, you get it out of the box and run, well except the miscellaneous task like charging the batteries and the 1%, putting up the antenna wire.
I had to wait a whole day before I could run the truck due to the great British weather. However once I did get to run the truck I headed out to try and find some wasteland, I didn't have much luck after driving around for 45mins but then I saw what looked like a recently demolish building on an industrial estate. There were lots of bricks and rocks but the e-savage's stock tires were very grippy and it didn't get stuck because of the great ground clearance!
I ran the car slowly first getting a feel for the handling, but when the batteries died and I put new ones in I decided to see how well it took the bumps at speed. AMAZING the truck was very fast, still grippy and the 8 oil filled shocks took the impact of the bumps.
Nothing on the truck broke this time however the chrome plating on the wheel has started to flake, although this happens on most plated wheels, this is because the ABS plastic wheels have an amount of pliability which the chrome plating lacks.
Out of the box the slipper clutch is set to ultimately protect the dirivetrain, but next time I go out I will tighten it slightly and get the front wheels off the ground!
Oil Shock - Oil Shock Components - Wheels