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whats your favorite servo

Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:32 pm
by orangemazda
I searched around a bit but didn't find a thread on current servos and which ones people like.

Just curious what current style steering servos you guys are using in your RC10's. I'm looking for the best servo for use in light racing/bashing. Please comment with specific brand and model numbers.

If a thread like this already exists, please point me towards it. Thanks

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:12 am
by RC10th
JR Z9100S.... Awesome servo, almost too awesome.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:19 am
by NomadRacer
Savox 1251MG

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:29 am
by limestang
For a very strong Servo Tower Hobby TS170. It’s a relabeled Airtronics. Spec for spec hard to beat the price.

Limestang

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:13 am
by mk-Zero
I've been running a Savox for about 4 years (can check the model number later), it's in its 3rd car, all of which were heavy 4wd 1:10 buggies (b44, b44.3, and d413), I'm sure literally 100's of crashes without a servo saver, and it's still perfect! I'm completely sold on Savox's.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:18 pm
by Timmahhh
The Spektrum S6240 is high on my list as a good all-around servo. Good speed and torque, aluminum case and replaceable wires are nice, and its somewhat reasonably priced. If money is no object, the specs on the new Tekin servos are about as good as anything I've seen, and they use a digital encoder rather than a potentiometer, which seems like it would be an improvement.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:20 am
by XLR8
I'm total old-school and still using (and loving) my small cache of old S132h's but they are in very short supply these days and they are far from indestructible. To take orangemazda's question a step further, what's everyone's recommendations for a modern, reasonable speed/power, sub-$25 servo that's compatible with Futaba 4pls radio system?

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:48 am
by GoMachV
XLR8 wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:20 am I'm total old-school and still using (and loving) my small cache of old S132h's but they are in very short supply these days and they are far from indestructible. To take orangemazda's question a step further, what's everyone's recommendations for a modern, reasonable speed/power, sub-$25 servo that's compatible with Futaba 4pls radio system?
Tricky one, because you have two paths. A reasonable quality company such as hitec, I’d say use a 625mg. Or you could go the cheap Chinese route and pick up a servo with great specs, and for very little money, but the specs aren’t accurate and the replacement parts don’t exist. I have both, and I only use the cheap servos for mock up

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 12:11 pm
by LowClassCC
GoMachV wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:48 am Tricky one, because you have two paths. A reasonable quality company such as hitec, I’d say use a 625mg. Or you could go the cheap Chinese route and pick up a servo with great specs, and for very little money, but the specs aren’t accurate and the replacement parts don’t exist. I have both, and I only use the cheap servos for mock up
I recently picked up a lot of new cheap Chinese knockoff servos (10x @ $33 shipped). The reason was so I could get steering rods on some of my shelf cars and cars I wont be using much. This way when picking up one of the shelf cars the front wheels are not flopping around. I didn't expect much from it but I was figuring I could at least center the thing. I was wrong. I centered everything up. got it together, turned on the tx to check it and it was good. I then turned the steering right to left and back a few times. now this centered servo is "centered" full right. I take off the servo horn and recenter. Now thinking it "should be correct my son tries the car out on the road. It was impossible to keep the car going in a strait line. After less than a minute of driving the steering is again full right when centered. Cheap Chinese knockoff servos are only useful for a shelf car with no other electronics in order to keep the front wheels strait while it sits on the shelf and collects dust. Now the cheap Chinese esc ($9.49 shipped)performed just fine. Not something I would race with but at least it did it's job.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 12:17 pm
by GoMachV
Yeah those are probably the ones that look just like a Futaba s148, I’ve heard similar stories. I have a few from hobby king and they are slow and bulky but seem to do decent for the very little driving I do- but mainly I just use them as you were intending- to hold linkages

I think the Turnigy are about the best of the really cheap ones and the low profile servo I have from them was $6, and is pretty similar in performance to a basic standard servo

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 1:51 pm
by Timmahhh
Blue Bird makes some decently reviewed cheap servos. I haven't tried them to say firsthand though.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 4:40 pm
by XLR8
Thanks everyone.
I have Hitec 625mg in a ProSC 4x4 and an SCX10 and found them to be good so far. A bit heavy and not terribly fast but solid, reliable and reasonably priced; pluses that far out-weight the minuses imho.
I have no personal experience with Blue Bird and Turnigy servos but I have also read positive reviews on both. FWIW, I have a Turnigy Track Star 10.5 motor and it seems good.
I've also read to stay clear of the Chinese knock-off servos as they simply will not hold center. A car with a servo that doesn't center consistently is nearly impossible to drive. They're perfectly fine for display but not for a runner.

Think I'll order up a Turnigy and give it a try. If it's a disappointment, I will let everyone know.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:32 pm
by XLR8
Having done more research, I think I will give this Hitec servo a try. For the price, it's small, light, fast, and strong. For comparison, my beloved S132H is 1.1 oz, 0.13 sec (@ 4.8v), and 25 oz-in. This plastic geared version is available from ebay for less than $20 shipped or Amain has the metal gear one for about $26. The plastic one is a little lighter and I'm pretty sure it can be retrofitted with metal gears should it become a problem. Plus, it's from a reputable manufacturer and it's analog so it will work with every radio system I have. What do ya'll think?

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:00 pm
by Timmahhh
XLR8 wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:32 pm Having done more research, I think I will give this Hitec servo a try. For the price, it's small, light, fast, and strong. For comparison, my beloved S132H is 1.1 oz, 0.13 sec (@ 4.8v), and 25 oz-in. This plastic geared version is available from ebay for less than $20 shipped or Amain has the metal gear one for about $26. The plastic one is a little lighter and I'm pretty sure it can be retrofitted with metal gears should it become a problem. Plus, it's from a reputable manufacturer and it's analog so it will work with every radio system I have. What do ya'll think?
What kind of car will you be using this in? This looks appropriate for a pan car or similar, but might not last very long in an offroad car. If you do plan to use it offroad, I'd at least go for the metal gears now, or even a full size metal gear servo.

Re: whats your favorite servo

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:59 pm
by XLR8
That's an excellent point Tim. It is a light-duty servo. I'm thinking of using it in 1/10th scale off-road buggies (that's what I'm into at the moment). I have metal gear servos in my heavier 4WD vehicles. I actually have never stripped a plastic geared servo in an off-road buggy (or any RC for that matter) but it makes sense to go with metal gears for every RC as insurance against a failure on the track during a race. One nice feature with this servo is you can order it either way or you can upgrade it from plastic to metal later if you wish. I feel pretty confident that I won't have a problem with the plastic gears but it's something to consider for anyone who might purchase this servo.