Some general monster truck questions.

[SOAKONE]

Okay, some of you may know I bought and built my first monster truck (Savage SS 4.6) over the weekend. Since I'm new to Monsters and somewhat a novice at off-road (mostly owned on roads) I have a few questions.

1. Are sway bars useful/recommended for a monster truck?

2. I've seen piggy back shocks, no intention of buying a set, but my curiosity wants to know what the benefits of them are?

3. The kit came with 10wt shock oil, is there a recommended general purpose weight or is 10 fine?

4. Would Carbon Fiber Chassis plates be a good idea for a truck or is it just bling factor and they'll still break?

5. Finally, I've also seen low CG Chassis plates and wondered how big of a difference in performance will those offer? Are they geared towards racing? Is the Savage race worthy or will it need to be modded or not very suited for the task?

Thanks, in advanced gang. I really look forward to meeting some of you this summer for some good RC'ing.

--ROBBMAC

[Mr. Tune]

1. Sway bars are not needed on monster trucks.

2. The only piggyback shocks that I know of which fit a savage are the integy's. They are gargage! The shafts bend with the smallest of jumps and bend bad enough where the shock simply locks up.

3. I would bump up to 30 or 40 weight oil.

4. Stock chassis plates will hold that truck together just fine. No need for carbon fiber IMO.

5. Low CG chassis plates will help performance if you going to race it. You probably won't notice anything different if you're bashing. To make the savage race worthy requires quite a bit of money and a hell of a driver to be competative. With that said there's only 1 guy on this forum who's built and been competative with a savage. Rocco will chime in this thread for sure.

[SOAKONE]

Awesome response. Thanks, I had been hearing about people upgrading the shock oil immediately so actual numbers are welcomed. There are so many products out there for monster trucks (rc's period) that I always like to check on the usefulness before considering. I appreciate everyone's experiences and look forward to more responses. Especially from Rocco.

Since you brought it up and pending my taking to monster trucks... What would be a good race worthy truck right off. LST2 or LST, Revo? I got money and room for another in my stable, possibly this summer, I'm starting to get the race bug too I think.

[Tex]

lst2 or revo for the best out of box racing MT's.

[Mr. Tune]

If you're gonna race, the closest out of the box ready to race type setup is gonne come from the revo IMO. Requires minimal work to make competative.

[DAVEC-NITRO-RS4]

Revo....add tires, springs, shock oil and it's ready. Fine tune it from there.

I'm a NEWB and qaulifying mid-pack B main with ours after 2 races. But then I'm a really good driver (ok just average !)

Get the Revo.

[rocco79]

Originally Posted by SOAKONE

Okay, some of you may know I bought and built my first monster truck (Savage SS 4.6) over the weekend. Since I'm new to Monsters and somewhat a novice at off-road (mostly owned on roads) I have a few questions.

1. Are sway bars useful/recommended for a monster truck?



2. I've seen piggy back shocks, no intention of buying a set, but my curiosity wants to know what the benefits of them are?



3. The kit came with 10wt shock oil, is there a recommended general purpose weight or is 10 fine?

4. Would Carbon Fiber Chassis plates be a good idea for a truck or is it just bling factor and they'll still break?

5. Finally, I've also seen low CG Chassis plates and wondered how big of a difference in performance will those offer? Are they geared towards racing? Is the Savage race worthy or will it need to be modded or not very suited for the task?

Thanks, in advanced gang. I really look forward to meeting some of you this summer for some good RC'ing.

--ROBBMAC

If you wanna race a savage heres what ya wanna do...


1. Take off 4 of your shocks, run 4 shocks with 30 wt in the front and 25wt in the rear... I think the stock black ( or purple... Same spring, differnt color) will work well. 4 shocks allow the suspenion to react quicker and the truck to steer much better. BTW.... The stock plastic shocks are fine as long as you dont go crazy on shock oil thickness ( If you look to upgrade please talk to me before you buy. Ive made the mistakes. I can save you money ) You can also put small pieces of fuel tube inside the shocks . 3/8ths of an inch is perfect. They limit the down travel just the right amount



2. Fill your diffs with 1k or 2k oil in front and 7k in the rear . This will help your truck to pivot and shoot around corners.


3. I personally would suggest a www.twisted-toys.net extended and lowered chassis... This guy makes some of the toughest chassis on the market . They come with a heavy duty rear dogbone and a nice skid plate.


4. Invest in a desecnt set of nice racing tires... I run the wide offset proline wheels... It gives my savage a wide stance stable stance. Some say they hinder turning, i havent experinced this as my truck now turns inside other more "race breed"trucks.


5. A high torque steering servo is a must...


I have alot more info but this should get you going and shouldnt kill your wallet right off the bat

[SOAKONE]

Good stuff fellas. Rocco I'll be in touch before I buy anything. I also put one 142oz. JR Z650M on throttle and steering. I'm hoping that's all the torque I'll ever need. I've had bad luck with plastic shocks in all of my RC's and probably the nearest foreseeable upgrade would be aluminum threaded ones.