HPI Racing has announced that their two big boys, the Savage XL and Savage Flux are now shipping with a 2.4GHz radio system! Both of these trucks Reviewed very well, and adding a 2.4GHz radio makes it even more basher friendly!

Drop by the official HPI Racing site for more information.

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Aww Yea! Now this is what I need. New from HPI Racing is the Aluminum wheel hex hub 24mm set. This set will allow savage owners to mount Baja 5B wheels and tires to their trucks! My Flux plus these bad boys, 5B paddles, and it’s snow action time! These are like a basher’s dream right here!

Drop by the official HPI Racing site for more information.

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I don’t buy the rc mags. Am I cheap? Maybe so, but normally I fill up on mags for free at trade shows and races. Today, a good friend of mine told me “You gotta see the new issue of RC Driver!”, so off I went looking for it. RC Driver had been pulled off the shelves of my local Barnes and Noble, Wally Worlds, and grocery stores a couple years ago, but one of my LHS’s used to keep stocking it. I march into that LHS looking to get my hands on an RC Driver, but guess what? Even the LHS stopped carrying it. I live in a very large metro area, and I couldn’t lay my hands on an RC Driver magazine today if my life depended on it. Any wonder magazine sales are down?

I did come across the latest issue of Car Action though. I always loved reading product shootouts growing up, that’s why I’ve pushed for more of them not only here at BSRC, but across the entire market of media outlets. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it a “weird” coincident that both R/C Car and now Car Action have had shootouts since The Mighty Cub Reporter first announced the BSRC Traxxas Slash LiPo Battery Shootout? To digress, the Car Action shootout of the Traxxas Slash and the Associated SC10 could have been written without ever laying a hand on the trucks. No facts, and all opinions following politically correct stereotypes. Any wonder magazine sales are down? Consumers want the no bullsh!t facts, not more of the “dont’ piss off the advertisers” writing.

Horizon released another teaser for a new Losi truck last week. This time they encouraged readers to join the Losi forum to get exclusive clues to what the truck might be. Oh boy, that must have been one suit filled meeting in the Horizon offices to suggest that idea. The internet needs another message board like a hole in the head. A manufacture website should be like a fancy glossy brochure, pretty pictures of hot new product, not a place for every internet commando to sound off on how lame said new product is.

Speaking of pictures and magazines- this industry needs some good rc photogs. Handing 10k worth of photo gear to the average magazine guy (or manufacture rep) does not equal good pics. Yes, for sure, getting epic images of speeding lil’ rc cars is not an easy task, but it is possible. And by “epic images” I don’t just mean “clear” photos, I mean photos that positively portray the speed, the g-forces, and the true excitement of our rc’s in action. I can hear the mag photogs laughing at this, but some people do care about the beauty of an 8th scale exploding a berm or a Savage Flux nearly throwing it’s tires off the rims on 6S.

I hear the people at ROAR sit around hitting refresh all day waiting for the new Cub Report to come out. Thanks for being such dedicated readers! (LOL)

So there is a video on You Tube of Horizons Adam Drake jumping his Losi 8 a “record” 144 feet. Then this week, Associated shot out a video of The King Richard Saxton jumping his RC8B a “record” 137 feet. So which one really holds the record? Both were truly burly leaps for sure, and I’d love to see them go head to head in a jump off, Seth Enslow style. I-Hobby perhaps? None of them come close to our video of the Worlds Longest RC Car Jump so I’m not sure how anyone claims the record anyway.

Speaking of moto (the Seth comment), congrats to the old man John “Junk Yard” Dowd for this 3rd place overall finish at the AMA motocross national over the weekend at Southwick. The 44 year old Dowd had the biggest smile ever on after beating most of the other riders that were half his age.

On the other side of the moto coin, Justin Weeks, 450A champ from this years Loretta Lynns, had a bad crash over the weekend. Your prayers are needed, and you can find more info at justinweeks381.com

That’s it for this week, support your hobby, make it out to your local tracks and LHS’s.

Your Cub Reporter

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Is that Savage Flux Diff giving you trouble? Well HPI Racing now has a Machined Bulletproof Diff Bevel Gear Set for your bashing needs. It’s created to be super heavy duty for your Savage Flux and XL. Each kit upgrades one diff to the new super strong machined set. If you have a Flux or XL, I can predict one of these sets in your future.

Check out the official HPI Racing web page for more info!

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HPI has come out with a super charged brushless motor for their Savage Flux truck.  Get more RPM and more top speed with the Flux Tork 2650. The Flux Tork 2650 features massive machined cooling fins to help keep it cool when you’re driving all-out.  With a 5mm motor shaft it can fit the upcoming optional pinion gears so you can get even more top speed for those insane runs, or gear it down a bit for increased acceleration on the track.

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Need a new body for yourHPI Racing Savage Flux? If you owned it for more then a few hours and have driven it on the pavement, trust me, you need a new body! The thing has sooo much power, I tore through the first body in a few hours. If you loved that original paint job, HPI has you covered. The Savage Flux HP GT-2 body comes pre-painted with decals applied so you can easily replace the stock body on the Savage Flux. It’s decked out in stealth black paint with red flames with dark grey accents. It’s pre-cut with body mounting holes pre-drilled, just bolt it on your Savage Flux truck and it will look as good as new!

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You are reading that correctly! This year’s grand prize in the Big Squid RC Contest is a brand new HPI Racing Savage Flux! How awesome is that?! I have a feeling we are going to get more entries than all the previous years combined for this baby! The official contest page will be updated soon with all the prizes we will be giving away during the year. We are updating the fan pics now.. get those Big Squid RC stickers on your vehicles and take some pics!!

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So we were doing some testing over at the Leisure Hours track, when it came time to pull out the HPI Savage Flux! I could tell people were excited to check out the truck, heck half the track cleared when I got out there, and people from the pits came out to watch! After a quick test lap I started to open it up a little. I could tell everyone wanted me to pull the trigger! I got to the back straight that had this huge triple that nobody was making! I closed my eyes and pulled! To my amazement, and everyone’s jaw dropping I pulled a sweet back flip while clearing the whole jump! Next time I’ll have to keep my eyes open, I heard it looked awesome!

There is also a HD test version posted up on YouTube that you can check out HERE! I hope it works.

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Lighter, stronger, and smoother than the original stock Savage shocks, the new HPI Big Bore Sport Shock set will make your ride stand tall! The four shock conversion will make you truck handle better and reduce your maintenance time as well. Available preassembled for all Savage trucks and includes 4 coilover shocks with springs along with a variety of preload spacers, instructions, and all the hardware for installation. To make it even better they do not come preloaded with oil, you can chose from you favorite or go with the recommended HPI Pro Silicone Shock Oil in 10 / 20 / 30 wt.

Drop on by HPI or your local hobby store and check it out!

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While out doing a little parking lot bashing, we got out the HPI Savage Flux and tossed in two 3S Max Amps packs! The power we got from these packs was awesome! The parking lot was too small for some WOT (wide open throttle) action, but fun was still had! It was tough to keep any wheels on the ground. Rolling about 20-30mph, a pull of the trigger would flip you right over! I can’t wait to get back to the track with these batteries! Hopefully we get a few more dry days out here so we can find a dry lot for some speed runs!

There is also a YouTube version here: Savage Flux Video

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If you are looking to tweak your new HPI Racing Savage Flux, these might be what you are looking for. They have now released a ton of different 1M Pitch and 5mm motor shaft ready pinions in everything from 12 to 25 tooth! Wow. Talk about options! Get out there, and start dialing it in people!

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HPI Racing has released some hardened steel spur gears for the Savage Flux. They have 43, 44, and 45 tooth options, and all come with a slipper clutch pad.

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Gotta love 2009 already. AMA Supercross is the first “big name” racing to kick off the new year, and their season opener last weekend in Anaheim was one for the ages. James Stewart could’a, would’a, should’a PWNED. But, after some brain fade and/or Yamabog, he took out arch rival Chad Reed (and eventually Kevin Windham), and finished the first round with a huge DNF. Reed went on to finish with a damaged front rotor in third place, while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Josh Grant took his first Supercross win. Look for full scale motowar to go off tonight in Phoenix as Stewart is surely going to be in full warpath mode on his new Yamaha. Bubba does not take losing lightly (but then, how does?).

In rc racing, the first big race of the year is always S&N Trackside’s US Touring Car Championships (aka- The Novak Race). To the average rc basher/racer, perhaps it’s not such a big deal, but if you are a carpet racer, it’s easily one of the best, and most professionally handled races of the year. Mains go off tomorrow, best of luck to everyone racing up there in Brookfield WI this weekend. Btw, I heard Wisconsin just got the internet this week, congrats!

Bet ya didn’t know that BigSquidRC is now getting more views than every print mag website except for RCCA’s. Head tentacle Brian S. has been working harder than a Vegas stripper on free samples day, and the huge increase in hits/views is proof positive. Give him another 12 months, and I’m certain BigSquid will reign supreme in the E-zine battle.

On another Brian S. note, rarely does he contact me about rc related items, but I received the wildest phone call from him a couple weeks ago. Why all the fuss? He had just got done testing the big HPI Flux monster truck. He just kept going on and on about how fast that beast is. Brian is normally a gashole, but even he couldn’t resist the charms of an extremely overpowered brushless monster truck. I have yet to drive one, but if Brian raves that much about the power, it’s got to be something “above and beyond”.

The new Castle Creations 8th scale buggy system should be hitting consumer hands in the next few weeks. It features a 2600 kv motor, and the much maligned Monster speedo. But- as with all Castle products, it has a reasonable price point, making that 8th scale conversion of yours a bit more affordable/doable. How well this system goes over will have a lot to do with how many 8th scale coversions are done this year. Let’s hope it’s rock solid.

Tekin released computer renderings of their new 8th scale speedo, and boy does the heat sink/fan set-up look a lot like a piece already on the market. Competition is a good thing, unless it’s just really just one company making them all right?

Know that PITA rear bumper arm that keeps popping off the back of your Traxxas Slash? Well bless the guys at RPM. They have a new uber trick bumper mount that totally fixes that mess. RPM is a basher’s God, putting out the right parts at a decent price that are nearly bulletproof. In the rc dream world that I drift off into each night as I sleep, RPM makes not just hop-up parts, but entire cars. Yes, in my dream world, I drive entire cars made out of that sweet RPM plastic, where hitting curbs WFO on 4S only results in minor scratches. But to get back to the real world, maybe the RPM crew should hire a good car designer/engineer, get a trick looking uber durable design cooked up, and have a go at it. This industry needs less cheap ass Chinese knock-offs, and more good ole’ USA kick ass engineering/design. Just say’n………….

Trinity has put out a Li-po battery warmer. It’s hard for me to even type here because I’m laughing so hard. Yes, warming Li-po cells does give higher voltage under load. But- putting out a dedicated “Li-po wamer” is like committing liability suicide. Hope Ernie puts some miles on his Bentleys, because some sue happy idiot will be driving them next year. I’m still laughing my head off at this one. Why not start selling a high zoot Li-po dead short device as well? How about a flame powered Nitro bottle warmer? I can’t stop laughing, this is gonna get good.

Horizon has released info on their Losi 8IGHT-T version 2.0 truggy. I’m sure it’s all high zoot and fast ect. But is it just me, or is the body on that thing the ugliest I’ve EVER seen? That body is ugly enough to make me want to poke my own eyes out with a hot soldering iron. Damn.

Speaking of ugly bodies, seen the new Parma Mini-Comp Crawler body? Luckily, I already poked out both my eyes with the soldering iron, but I’ve heard it makes that new Losi 8IGHT-T look trick. I dig the guys at Parma, hell even dig their gear, but perhaps another couple hours should be spent on cosmetics before going full bore on the molds?

Pro-Line is the latest entry in the rebate war. Buy more Pro-Line, send’em the receipt, get 10% off. Hell Ya! Goodness knows we spend enough on Pro-Line tires/rims/bodies each year around the BSRC office to keep the owner well stocked on Ferrari parts. The 10% offer is Awesome.

That’s it for this week guys. As always, support your LHS and local tracks! Get off the net, get on the track!

Your Cub Reporter

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Here it is! The First Review of the HPI Racing Savage Flux HP! This truck has really been incredible! Hit the REVIEWS page or click here for a direct link to the Savage Flux Review!
What a great way to start off the 2009 year!

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We wanted to throw a little video together of the HPI Savage Flux HP in action. It’s not the best video, but for those wanted to see it in action, here ya go! We will get something a little better as we get some more footage. Enjoy!

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OH MY! What a day this turned out to be, and what a great way to end the year! I was getting some work done at the office when there was a knock on the door, a big box with HPI on the side was handed over as my jaw dropped. If there would of been video, I would of looked like that N64 Kid or some kid getting a Nintendo Wii for Christmas!
Here it is, the HPI Racing Savage Flux HP! A Brushless powered 1/8th scale 4wd rc monster truck! I believe this is a very early production run version since the manual isn’t even stapled together, it’s like 50 photocopied pages. Heh. The box isn’t the standard shiny/glossy look, but more of a matte finish. I actually like the look of the box this way. Not sure if this is how they will all be, or if this is just a sample box. First impressions, this thing is a beast! I pictured it being lighter since it’s electric, but it’s no lightweight! It feels pretty tough, and looks really good! Ok.. enough jabber, lets see the pics! Make sure to click the more button to see all 20+ Flux pictures! Looks like I’ll be heading to the track tomorrow for some testing action! Looking forward to seeing this thing scream! We’ll make sure to get some video up asap!

Click Here if you cant see all 20+ pictures

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