Serpent S411
#738
Good move
#747
Tech Adept
Hello everyone,
Apologies for the lack of contribution on here over the last few weeks. Us guys in the UK have run the car a bit more now and are getting more familiar with it. So far so good!
I've been through the last few pages of this thread and noted down most of the points/questions people have posted. Here's my comments;
Xray spurs fit straight on the car. For modified in the UK we tend to use 48dp, as 64dp spurs strip too easily. I've got an 81t on my car. I think an 84t would fit, but would probably sit flush with the bottom of the chassis, which isn't good news if you drive over a kerb or get a rogue stone fly up. You may find the spur pulley screws are too long. This can be solved by fitting M3x4mm button heads, or by putting some washers in there to space them out.
I have also found the M2 socket head screws in the drive hexes to be a bit long. This results in a tight wheel fitment. The solution is easy - file a small amount off the screws, or fit shorter ones!
Most manufacturers springs will fit. We've experimented with Xray, Hara and HPI springs and all fitted straight on. The range of Serpent springs is limited, but there should be some more choice on the way...
I haven't broken anything on my car yet, but would recommend the usual stuff for your spares box - wishbones, steering blocks etc...
A one piece motor/layshaft mount has been released. This was in response to demand for one in the Asian market, although the guys in Europe haven't found much benefit in running it. It does offer one advantage in that it means you can remove the top deck screw from the top of the motor mount if you want more flex, as with the kit motor/layshaft mounts you risK losing gear mesh by doing this.
In the UK we are running 4 planet gears in the diff, usually with 2000cst oil. Building the gear diff from new sometimes results in a bit of a 'clicky' diff action. You can speed up the gear seating process by running the diff in with a cordless drill and filling it with grinding paste. Be sure to thoroughly clean the paste out after before filling it with oil though!
The wheelbase of the car is shorter than most others on the market. We have been running a longer than kit wheelbase by putting 5mm of spacers at the front of the rear wishbone. We don't run maximum rear wheelbase as this would result in an insufficient amount of forward sweep on the driveshafts, which would adversely affect the on power traction generated by the car.
I've always mounted my bodies in the same way - by lining up the front wheels with the middle of the arches and then just cutting out the rears where they lie. On the S411 this generally means that the rear arch is slightly further forward than the markings on the body...
We are running the 2mm chassis at the moment. In the UK our outdoor tracks tend to be less grippy than in the US and Japan and we felt the 2.5mm chassis was a bit thick for low grip conditions. We'll be trying the 2.25mm chassis out soon.
The drive shaft blades wear very quickly - we were only getting 1 run out of them using 4.0 turn mod motors. The spec-r yokomo ones fit - just make sure they don't bottom out in the diff outdrives or bind the suspension up on compression. Remove the shocks from the car and make sure it's all nice and free. Slice a bit off the blades to suit.
We agree that some harder wishbones would be good and are waiting for some to arrive. I think Chris Kerswell has some but he hasn't run them yet.
I think that just about covers everything. Over here we're working on improving the mid-corner rotation of the car without sacrificing on power rear traction. Our cars aren't perfect yet but they're improving all the time and at a club race last weekend we were contending with the other regular national A-main guys, so we're about where we should be in terms of pace and consistency.
I have emailed my setup from last weekend to Ronald at Serpent, so it might be available online soon...
Best Regards
Mark Stiles (UK Team)
Apologies for the lack of contribution on here over the last few weeks. Us guys in the UK have run the car a bit more now and are getting more familiar with it. So far so good!
I've been through the last few pages of this thread and noted down most of the points/questions people have posted. Here's my comments;
Xray spurs fit straight on the car. For modified in the UK we tend to use 48dp, as 64dp spurs strip too easily. I've got an 81t on my car. I think an 84t would fit, but would probably sit flush with the bottom of the chassis, which isn't good news if you drive over a kerb or get a rogue stone fly up. You may find the spur pulley screws are too long. This can be solved by fitting M3x4mm button heads, or by putting some washers in there to space them out.
I have also found the M2 socket head screws in the drive hexes to be a bit long. This results in a tight wheel fitment. The solution is easy - file a small amount off the screws, or fit shorter ones!
Most manufacturers springs will fit. We've experimented with Xray, Hara and HPI springs and all fitted straight on. The range of Serpent springs is limited, but there should be some more choice on the way...
I haven't broken anything on my car yet, but would recommend the usual stuff for your spares box - wishbones, steering blocks etc...
A one piece motor/layshaft mount has been released. This was in response to demand for one in the Asian market, although the guys in Europe haven't found much benefit in running it. It does offer one advantage in that it means you can remove the top deck screw from the top of the motor mount if you want more flex, as with the kit motor/layshaft mounts you risK losing gear mesh by doing this.
In the UK we are running 4 planet gears in the diff, usually with 2000cst oil. Building the gear diff from new sometimes results in a bit of a 'clicky' diff action. You can speed up the gear seating process by running the diff in with a cordless drill and filling it with grinding paste. Be sure to thoroughly clean the paste out after before filling it with oil though!
The wheelbase of the car is shorter than most others on the market. We have been running a longer than kit wheelbase by putting 5mm of spacers at the front of the rear wishbone. We don't run maximum rear wheelbase as this would result in an insufficient amount of forward sweep on the driveshafts, which would adversely affect the on power traction generated by the car.
I've always mounted my bodies in the same way - by lining up the front wheels with the middle of the arches and then just cutting out the rears where they lie. On the S411 this generally means that the rear arch is slightly further forward than the markings on the body...
We are running the 2mm chassis at the moment. In the UK our outdoor tracks tend to be less grippy than in the US and Japan and we felt the 2.5mm chassis was a bit thick for low grip conditions. We'll be trying the 2.25mm chassis out soon.
The drive shaft blades wear very quickly - we were only getting 1 run out of them using 4.0 turn mod motors. The spec-r yokomo ones fit - just make sure they don't bottom out in the diff outdrives or bind the suspension up on compression. Remove the shocks from the car and make sure it's all nice and free. Slice a bit off the blades to suit.
We agree that some harder wishbones would be good and are waiting for some to arrive. I think Chris Kerswell has some but he hasn't run them yet.
I think that just about covers everything. Over here we're working on improving the mid-corner rotation of the car without sacrificing on power rear traction. Our cars aren't perfect yet but they're improving all the time and at a club race last weekend we were contending with the other regular national A-main guys, so we're about where we should be in terms of pace and consistency.
I have emailed my setup from last weekend to Ronald at Serpent, so it might be available online soon...
Best Regards
Mark Stiles (UK Team)
#748
Tech Elite
iTrader: (10)
it be interesting see the affects of the rear hard up rites i think serpent should release some alloy ones, i think they would be popular.
I have ordered a 2mm chassi my car to but i wont be running it straight away i want to get a good feel of the 2.5mm chassi and setp and the slap on the 2mm chassi to notice the differance
I have ordered a 2mm chassi my car to but i wont be running it straight away i want to get a good feel of the 2.5mm chassi and setp and the slap on the 2mm chassi to notice the differance
#749
Tech Champion
iTrader: (1)
it be interesting see the affects of the rear hard up rites i think serpent should release some alloy ones, i think they would be popular.
I have ordered a 2mm chassi my car to but i wont be running it straight away i want to get a good feel of the 2.5mm chassi and setp and the slap on the 2mm chassi to notice the differance
I have ordered a 2mm chassi my car to but i wont be running it straight away i want to get a good feel of the 2.5mm chassi and setp and the slap on the 2mm chassi to notice the differance