Servos: Hitec vs Savox

[Panther6834]

First, just wanna say, this will be posted here in the RCC forum, as well as in the Traxxas
forum, so those who frequent both don't really need to reply in both. Anyway, here goes.....

I've been using Hitec servos for many years, starting when I was flying RC helicopters. Since getting back into ground-based vehicles a little over a year ago, I've mostly stuck with the same brand. I do have some Futaba servos in a couple of vehicles, and...yes...a Savox in another. I'll let it be known that I purposefully try to avoid Spektrum servos, as there is the known occasional "conflicts" with Futaba receivers.

Getting to the question at hand, I've noticed less and less people appear to be using the Hitec servos, and more and more people appear to be using the Savox servos. When I got rid of all my RC helicopters (approx 10yrs ago), Hitec servos were still considered to be among the best, and I hadn't even heard of Savox. Yet, now, even my LHS stocks almost entirely nothing but Savox. Although the difference is minimal, even Amain and RPP both stock more Savox servos than they do Hitec servos.

Are Savox servos truly that great, to deserve 95% of the servo space at my LHS? Or, is it just that my LHS is trying to push Savox servos over any other brand, just as they do with Sanwa transmitters? Are there any truly valid reasons why I should consider switching brands...and, if so, what are they? Or, would I be better off sticking with Hitec, and why?

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[MaX-D]

I've used both hitec and Savox. I think people are using Savox because they are cheaper than hitec. The HS 7950 that I have in my Wraith pushes 403 oz @ 6v at a price of $160. You can get a Savox with the same specs at half the price. I have Savox in all of my TLR race vehicles. The deciding factor was price. It seems like Savox has more servos to choose from than hitec does

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[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by MaX-D

I've used both hitec and Savox. I think people are using Savox because they are cheaper than hitec. The HS 7950 that I have in my Wraith pushes 403 oz @ 6v at a price of $160. You can get a Savox with the same specs at half the price. I have Savox in all of my TLR race vehicles. The deciding factor was price. It seems like Savox has more servos to choose from than hitec does

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What about quality, especially in the gears? For what I'm about to say/ask, I'm NOT saying either of these companies is guilty of this.

There are a LOT of servos out there indicating "metal" gears, but what they (purposely?) don't tell customers is that they're aluminum, or some other soft alloy. A perfect example of this would be Reef's (except...maybe...for their new 'Raw 500' second, which closing "steel gears").

There are also quite a few that will indicate "steel" gears, but, again, what they don't (purposely?) tell customers is that those gears are a (softer) steel alloy, as opposed to hardened steel (several are "stainless steel", which is actually softer than hardened, or even standard, steel).

It's for both of these reasons that I typically look for servos indicating "titanium". I know that both Hitec & Savox produce titanium-geared servos...so, if we were to focus only on those, then we go back to my original questions (although, I should have probably also indicated digital servos...Tx is a Futaba 7PX). Just so no one gets the wrong 'impression', just because I have a 7PX, that does not mean I'm not asking about the most (or least) expensive servos. Nor am I asking about any specific model comparisons. I'm asking about the two brands, in their entirety. This isn't like some Ford vs Chevy, or Mercedes vs BMW, comparison...those are typically all about "personal preference". This is about which, if either, is actually better (especially, again, in terms of quality). I don't mind paying extra, IF I'm actually getting something better. For example, I could have purchased the 4PM...however, the 7PX offered features, as well as additional channels, that the 4PM couldn't provide.

Others...especially those just getting into this hobby...will be looking for this kind of information, and much as it might be able to help me, if it can help them, all the better.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[MaX-D]

I've always bought titanium geared servos. I don't abuse my vehicles, but I have yet to strip gears in any of my Savox servos. I did smoke the motor on a Savox 1258 only because I forgot to set my endpoints. Oops!

If nothing else, Savox offers replacement gears on the majority of their servos at about $20-25 for the whole set.

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[xjman]

I've tried savox in the past. Burnt up in no time and was no way as strong as the fact sheet would have suggested. Maybe they have gotten better as everyone and their brother uses them but I'll stick to my hitec 7955 and 7980.

[JatoTheRipper]

I bought Savos servos for years because nobody offers more bang for the buck IMO. But I got tired of the buzzing over the years so I'm started trying others. I did buy a Hitec 7954 and it's way noisier and way more annoying and obnoxious than any Savox I've owned.

[meatmonkey]

I'm a servo killer. Let's just get that out of the way. I've broken them all, from Hitec 7950's, to Savox 2270's, even a couple Promodelers have met there demise at my hands.

Every Savox I've owned I've broke within a year. It is impossible to get a warranty claim through savox. Tried multiple times with multiple servos. Needless to say, I refuse to buy any more Savox servos.

At least Hitec will warranty there's, just don't bother sending anything in for non-warranty repair. They've tried to hose me on that, saying multiple servos were non repairable and offering to sell me replacements at a discounted rate of only slightly higher than street price. Between the "MK" (metal karbonite=half plastic) gear that keeps stripping out, even on the coveted 7950, and burning up circuit boards I'm about done with Hitec as well.

As I've been killing 7954 and 7950's I've been replacing them with Promodeler 470's and 630's. I've only stripped the gears in one so far, and it was a couple years old and been through lots of abuse and survived lots of broken axle and steering parts, so I shouldn't really complain. I also have a 420 that played submarine for far to long and stopped working. It is quite old and also had an abusive life, so again, shouldn't complain.

I tell you all this because out of 10+ Promodelers I have, I've only killed about %20, which may seem high. But considering my kill rate of Savox is 100%, and Hitec is over 75% now, I'd say that's a great improvement.

None of the servos, no matter who makes it, use pure Ti gears, they are always Ti coated, usually aluminum underneath. Once you wear through the coating they will strip on a crawler/scaler.

You actually want good old steel gears. Doesn't sound as appealing as Ti, but stronger in the long run.

I will say I have one Hitec 7980, and it's been tough for years now, but it is noticeably slower than the Promodeler 470 or 630. Not an issue at a snail's pace, but can be annoying in a faster vehicle, plus I had to fabricate a mount for it because it is oversized.

Good luck with you decision.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by meatmonkey

None of the servos, no matter who makes it, use pure Ti gears, they are always Ti coated, usually aluminum underneath. Once you wear through the coating they will strip on a crawler/scaler.

I highly doubt all of the 'titanium' gears are nothing more than Ti coated. There's are fairly stringent laws (at least here's in the US, and especially in California) pertaining to "false advertising". If they were nothing more than Ti coated, I'm sure there would have, most assuredly, been lawsuits. There have been similar lawsuits in the past, such as a manufacturer claiming to use stainless steel, when the steel was never as such.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[xjman]

Originally Posted by Panther6834

I highly doubt all of the 'titanium' gears are nothing more than Ti coated. There's are fairly stringent laws (at least here's in the US, and especially in California) pertaining to "false advertising". If they were nothing more than Ti coated, I'm sure there would have, most assuredly, been lawsuits. There have been similar lawsuits in the past, such as a manufacturer claiming to use stainless steel, when the steel was never as such.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

Titanium is obnoxiously expensive and not necessarily better than steel. It's just light for it's strength. I'm not familiar with the actual process but titanium can be brittle as crap from some processes. TiN coatings tend to be ignorantly hard and would actually make more sense as a gear goes. You'll also have to find the actual product sheet to know what it is. Titanium coatings tend to be goldish in color while titanium itself is gray.



Stainless steel itself is a farce. It should be stain resistant steel.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Panther6834

I highly doubt all of the 'titanium' gears are nothing more than Ti coated. There's are fairly stringent laws (at least here's in the US, and especially in California) pertaining to "false advertising". If they were nothing more than Ti coated, I'm sure there would have, most assuredly, been lawsuits. There have been similar lawsuits in the past, such as a manufacturer claiming to use stainless steel, when the steel was never as such.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

You should believe it. Servo gears aren't titanium.

I forgot to mention that even on Hitec's "titanium" and steel geared servos, they have one plastic gear somewhere in there which is stupid.

[Icehawk]

Mostly you wouldn't want Ti gears anyway IMO, not really the right metal choice. I'd *assume* the coatings used are titanium nitride which is tough and I believe does not suffer from the same galling issues. Won't help with gears stripping though since it's just surface hardness.

This may sound silly but Hitec using a 24T spline doesn't help them. I have also seen pics showing the usage of a plastic gear in their "metal" servos which is a big turnoff even if it is in a gear unlikely to strip.

The Promodelers look beefy and I was close to buying a 470 a couple of weeks ago but a good enough price on a BEC & Savox 2290 to go that route. I've read a lot of good long term reviews, it seems like their Monster servos are a notch above their regular models.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

You should believe it. Servo gears aren't titanium. I forgot to mention that even on Hitec's "titanium" and steel geared servos, they have one plastic gear somewhere in there which is stupid.

That, I'm in complete agreement with. I much prefer ALL gears the same (preferably not aluminum) metal material.

Originally Posted by Icehawk

This may sound silly but Hitec using a 24T spline doesn't help them.

The Promodelers look beefy and I was close to buying a 470 a couple of weeks ago but a good enough price on a BEC & Savox 2290 to go that route. I've read a lot of good long term reviews, it seems like their Monster servos are a notch above their regular models.

I don't know what having a 24T spline has to do with anything...especially the quality. Different manufacturers use different spline counts...some use 23T, some 24T, and some 25T. There is NO "standard"...learn to live with it.

As for the Pro modeler servos, I've read very good...AND, very bad...things about them. No need to point out the 'good', as most are aware of those points. But, as for the 'bad', I've read more than a few complaints, and some of them are pretty bad. While the higher-end models might state the exact metal (I'm blanking right now on what, specifically), the lower-end models just state "all metal gears"...or, nothing at all. The website gives the most minimal of shoes information.

One customer, after the gears stripping, he contacted them, and John told the guy he must have caused it. The servos are (supposedly) rated for up to 8.4V...but, when the guy told John he was running 7.4V, John's response was to tell him he should be running it at 6.0V. When the guy pressed John for more specific info, particularly what the gears were made of, John started bad-mouthing the guy. That isn't just bad (actually, horrible) customer service...that's bad in every possible way. As proof, the guy posted screenshots of the emails, plus other proof.

Sorry, but this is NOT someone I would trust. If Steve Jobs were still alive, I'd trust him more than I'd trust John/Promodeler...and that's saying a LOT, as I never trusted Jobs.


~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[winnerone23]

I want to play!!! So let's crawl right in!

Forget the name brand (for a second), forget the specs, forget the noise, forget the price....

Because.. No matter the specs, noise, or price... The Only thing that matters to my pocket, is the warranty!

Can I get a savox that has the same specs, as a Hitec, at half the cost??(80$) Hell yes!
Would I waste half the money, on a savox? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

WHY, you ask???
When a savox takes a electrical crap, where does it go??? IN THE TRASH CAN!!! It's Throwing money away!

When a Hitec 7950(160$) takes a crap, where does it go?? Back to Hitec(7$ in shipping?) and comes back in the mail, working!

I've watched plenty of guys "save money" on a servo.. then buy 2 more of the same servos.. All while still complaining about the cost of a 7950..

So.. 80$+80$=160$..
Hitec 160+7=167$...

Umm.... I'll take the Hitec, please!!!



Even if you talk about the "kryptonite" gear, in the Hitec... How cheap is a set of 3 of them!? 15$? (I haven't looked in years)..

I've been running Hitec 7950's or 7980's, for almost a decade... I've only ever had electrical issues.

From mini class crawler's, to super class.. class 1 to class 3.. rock racer (35mph) to dead stop smashing the servo into rocks.. (after 5yrs of that, I finally did snap the ears off, one side) lol..

Anywho, I've sent my share back to Hitec. ONE TIME, I had to pay 40$ or something.. The electric motor in a 7980 was shot. It cost me money cause it was 8yrs old and had already been there twice before!
With that 40$, Hitec even replaced the plastic parts of the case.

So I might be bias to Hitec's warranty!

Show me another company that stands behind their servo's and I'll buy them..

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[Panther6834]

winnerone23, I do understand your "warranty disclaimer". I purchased an X2 Black Edition about three years ago, for my drone. It sat in the box for almost two years before I ever opened it, and less than a year later it went "poof"...long after the warranty expired. I contacted Hitec, they had me ship it to them, and they replaced it with a new unit (by the way, Traxxas is also great for this level of service).

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[raul shabinguez]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

I want to play!!! So let's crawl right in!

Forget the name brand (for a second), forget the specs, forget the noise, forget the price....

Because.. No matter the specs, noise, or price... The Only thing that matters to my pocket, is the warranty!

Can I get a savox that has the same specs, as a Hitec, at half the cost??(80$) Hell yes!
Would I waste half the money, on a savox? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

WHY, you ask???
When a savox takes a electrical crap, where does it go??? IN THE TRASH CAN!!! It's Throwing money away!

Thats not exactly accurate. I couple years back i sent a savox servo back in. They repaired it and sent it back free of charge. I wasn't even the original purchaser of the servo.

[HumboldtEF]

For me its a simple matter of whats got more torque since crawling is so demanding on servos which leads me to the Savox 2290. I usually dont claim warranties anyway nor do I factor them into my purchase (usually). Though I think I may have just killed one last week, its acting odd but I've yet to test it again. I'm a part time servo killer BTW, not full on but every once in a while.

That said I still trust Savox and Hitec to make a good servo so you should be okay with either.

Servos seem like a area where one never really figures out the best one. The few times I though I found the "one" I ended up rethinking it later down the road.

[WHITE-TRASH]

I've broken most every servo I've touched except an old promodler 420 V4. It's still kicking in my bomber.

I tried hitec a few times and always gave up dealing with the warranty. How good is a servo you spend more time waiting on the mailman than actually using the silly thing?

Most savox servos aren't great. The monster line are a whole new generation and they're rock solid. My original 2290sg lost a gear set a few months ago after nearly 3 years of abuse. I'm ok with that $30 investment.

[Col_Sanders]

I used to run only Hitec. Had pretty good luck with them too. Broke one 7954 on my TRX-4, but I was running 4S and jumping it like an 1/8 scale. Once I discovered the Savox 2290, I have been reluctant to try anything else. Thats what I put in my favorite trucks. Others get my old Hitecs.

[Stormin2u]

I must not be driving my equipment hard enough. I've been crawling for over ten years and have one of every thing from MOA, Sportsman,Yeti and multiples in Scale. I started out using Hitec servos which never gave me any problems. However when the Savox Brand came out I was operating and maintaining about six trucks. In an effort to reduce some cost I decided to try the less expensive Savox servos. I now have almost all of my trucks on a Savox diet. To date I have never regretted or have had any break downs on any of my five Savox servos in use and most are three to four seasons old. I still have a couple with Hitec servos that are still strong but when its time to change they too will get a Savox servo.