AntreasRC

Hello I bought Serpent S411 rtr few days ago and I must say I am very impressed because this is my first touring model. It is much more for that low price. Though I have a little question. When I steer all the way left or right the front wheels seems to stutter a lot. I know this because when I remove the wheels there is now problem. Can you guide me to achieve a better quality driving with this model car? Thanks.

Double D Donuts

iTrader: (15)

From you quick description I'm going to assume your car is using the older style CVDs that have a single pin. These are known to cause a binding situation at extreme angles. It's acceptable and doesnt really effect the car too much while racing, however newer cars offer DCJ (double cardan joint) shafts which have 2 pins and an independent center body which eliminates nearly all of the binding at the harsh angles. Often times the DCJs can be retrofitted or are already offered for older chassis as a drop in solution.

Alternatively if you arent racing and dont need such extreme steering angles, you can reduce the endpoint on your radio until the binding and stuttering stops.

IndyRC_Racer

iTrader: (9)

(SEE POST ABOVE MINE)

The chatter or stuttering you are getting at maximum mechanical steering is common with vehicles that use a spool in the front of the car when using standard CVD drive shafts. Normally when you are driving the car on a closed circuit you would rarely need full steering, so the chattering is not normally a big issue. If you want to eliminate the chattering/stuttering here are you options:

1) Replace your front spool with a differential, preferably an oil filled gear diff
2) Keep the front spool and replace the standard CVDs that comes with the car with DCJs (Double Cardan Joint)

You could also replace the front spool with a differential AND use DCJs as well. I can not do a good job explaining the differences between spools & diffs or CVD's and DCJ's. Thankfully there are plenty of articles you can search for online and here on RCTECH.net that do a great job of explaining how these parts work. Maybe someone else can give a quick explanation.

Thankfully the Serpent S411 has many option parts for the car. Here is a page on Serpent's website that lists the option parts for your car...
https://www.serpent.com/xcart/cart.p...-tab-Optionals

I do not know if they sell DCJs as a complete kit for you car, so you many need to buy the parts individually.

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It also possible that when your front wheels are at maximum steering that the wheels are rubbing on one of the suspension components. This can also be common on many different types of on-road vehicles depending on what wheels are being used. If you don't notice the wheels rubbing when installed on the car, then it is most likely caused by using CVDs with a spool.

Also make sure that you don't have any loose screws on any suspension pieces such as the screws holding the steering knuckles to the chassis.

I hope this information helps.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

Never noticed that with mine. I really liked the 411 RTR.

AntreasRC

thanks for the answers. I have some experience with models and parts so that was very informative. I know the difference from spool to diff and DJC are costly about €50 whole set from that website. I will take a closer look on the car tomorrow to check all that but anyway why there is not trebble when I take the wheels off?

sosidge

It might be that the wheels are catching on the suspension at full lock.

AntreasRC

yes I will check on that too

AntreasRC

Billy Kelly if you want to test this I am achieving about 50 degrees of steering and then throttle not so much with the wheels steer all the way. This is done while holding the car so tires not touching the ground. This S411 model I think is a new release with 540 motor and not 380 with standard fins also tx has no screen.

IndyRC_Racer

iTrader: (9)

Several other things that can cause wheels or tires to wooble, especially when being run with the wheels/car off the ground...

- Bent axles
- Wheel hexes on the axles not installed properly over the roll pins
- Damaged wheel hexes on the axles
- Cracked or damaged plastic wheels (try the rear wheels on the front)
- Tires that are out of balance or mounted improperly on the wheel.
- Wheels that are of poor quality that aren't true and/or balanced.
- Tires that are not glued to the wheel properly (or at all)

When you buy an RTR kit, most of the time they have decent quality control. But it is always a good idea to make sure all screws and fasteners are tight, all the dampers are filled properly with oil, all the tires are glued, all the moving parts are secure and move freely, and all of the electronics have been properly programmed. Basically treat every part of the car as an unknown until you can verify everything is in good working order.

AntreasRC

Thanks IndyRC. I check today and nothing seems to bind or touch at steering lock. Also I notice the front wheels not stuttering all the time. I mean for some seconds is much smoother. I believe is the wobble on the wheels which is also minimal but there is no other explanation. Wheels off no stutter so there is no meaning to grease the CVD. Today I hope to get in on the road for the first time so I will be in touch with more results.

GerryH

iTrader: (26)

Also check the internal webbing of the tires isn't rubbing on the arms. Easiest to check by hand. Steer full left, rotate left and right tire, then steer full right and check both tires again. If it's hitting, you should be able to feel it.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, something has definitely changed. Mine is one of the smoothest driving touring cars I own. Turns on a dime since day it came out the box 4 years ago.

AntreasRC

So you have no problem nice. Can you tell me if you run the stock CVDs? I try to figure the issue on my model thanks.

AntreasRC

CVDs chatter only at low speeds. Maybe because of the bearings and other parts being unbalanced at this low end state

IndyRC_Racer

iTrader: (9)

It may easier for this community to diagnose your issue if they could see a high quality video of what your car is doing. Since you are a rookie RCTECH user, it may be difficult for you to post anything directly to this site. What you can do is post links to any of the readily available social media sites that are free to use and support video formats. RCTECH works very well with YouTube videos and is an example of social media you could use.