bleach1

thanks for advice all. I Had a good run with the car today and adjusted some settings. I added a bit of rear toe in and it has made the car a hell of alot better under braking. Only problem i now have is the long belt gear on the 2speed/brake shaft melted to the main rear suspension block part also stuffing the bearing that sits behind the gear.

InitialD

Opps, that is a common first problem which most 705 owners encountered including myself ! I think it was an error on Serpent's part with regards to this. The solution is here.

lawndoggie

Strange I've never had this problem on my 705.... Make sure you put a shim inbetween the bearng and the pulley... I think that alone can solve the problem..

InitialD

Yeah, the earlier kits did not have this shim included. That is why Julius wrote the article for existing owners at that the time when the problem was discovered. The newer kits like the one you got included this shim already. And I thought I mentioned this to you to put the shim before you built the car in one of our PMs as the manual does not mention this anywhere !

lawndoggie

Thanks!! I did put the shim, no problem!!
I had another fine day, still got lapped big time, but managed to hold off MOST of the EP cars, which although sounded like a joke, the fact is its a very small technical track, hence those EP little buggers are pretty tough....
This is the set up I had today:
40/40 tires both around 58mm...
Rear 3 degree chamber, 2.5 degree toe in
Front 2 degree chamber, 1 degree toe out..
no sway bar front and rear...
All shocks at the softest setting...
Front shock mounted on the block..
Rear shock mounted on the lowest shock mount hole.
Front 0 droop, rear 6.5 droop.
Front 5mm ride height, rear 4 mm..

The car is turning GREAT... The FC is definitely doing better job than the standard steering block....
However I think the car is a bit too sensative...
The car has EXCELLENT top speed, I would say it has one of the fastest on the track, however the accelaration is SLOW, especially during first gear... will change first gear spur and spinion...

One thing I noticed today my car had very good acceleration at the first half of the tank, it behaviored somewhat jumpy, it pushed right out at the slighest touch on the throttle, definitely felt the torque.... It was exactly what I was looking for!! but around half way through the tank, the car started losing the accelaration/jumpy feeling/torque...
Someone told me that maybe my engine is getting old? Its only got less than 4 liters through it!! Still has plenty compression!!
Someone else said I am running the engine too lean, well I do admit its "fairly" lean, as I got more run time per tank than anyone on the track, but I still had "some smoke" when exiting turns, and my temp guns gets around 100C right after the run!
SO please tell me whats up!
Thanks!

InitialD

As long as your engine does not die half way or finishes a complete full tank, then I would think it's OK. The engine will "complain" when it is too lean. You will notice that the running of the engine will be a little erratic in terms of idling etc.

Good to hear that you had a good run. Keep it up !

lawndoggie

Whats wrong with completing a full tank of gas?
Most people at my track do it... I understand that the engine runs extra lean at the very end its about to run out of gas, but thats usually only about 3 seconds... It can't really hurt the engine!?
BTW, how can I improve the car's onpower steering? Especially during the mid to the exit of a turn??
Thanks!

bleach1

Another problem i have found with the car is the front belt has basically melted half the teeth on the front gear that fits over the 1 way. anyone seen this before?

InitialD

Buy a 710 and get the setup guide book ! (j/k) But seriously, you can go with harder rear springs or use higher weight rear shock oil. If you already taken out the front and rear sway bars, try adding just the rear sway bar and leaving the front sway bar out. Try using slightly less rear toe in.

InitialD

It looks from your signature below that you're a destroyer of cars ! (j/k)

Anyway, when your front belt is stripped for whatever reason and you do not realise this and continue to play, your front pulley will also strip !

You need to continually check your belts to make sure that they still have teeth on them. Also, play at clean track surfaces. You'll have less chances of the belt stripping.

And while you're at it, check the front pulley (in fact all pulleys) to make sure that the flanges are installed with the smooth curved surface facing the belt and not the other way around. Chances of the belt rubbing when the sharp side of the flange facing inside is higher and makes for higher chances of the belt stripping.

From the pic attached, the top one is wrongly mounted while the bottom one is correct.

bleach1

I have had a few decent accidents with my rc cars in my time.

Thanks for the advice. This is what the front pulley on my car looked like. The front belt wasnt to bad thoug. A little frayed on one edge.

Sorry about the focus in the picture.

bleach1

New question.

It looks like i wont be able to get some parts in time for a track day i want to attend on the 10th. I am waiting for some pulleys and a belt but in the event i cant get the parts i would still like to go to the track and run the 705 in 2wd. It is a non competitive begginers day so im not worried about speed.
SO has any one got any ideas on setup for a 705 running in 2wd so it is at least drivable. Maybe tighten the diff right up or something? It is a permenant high grip track.

Also with My front pulley problem i mentioned earlier in the post. I found that the instructions said to fit the pivot balls on the servo saver facing down. I found this would cause the steering rods to rub against the front belt at certain positions so i fitted the pivot balls facing up. I coulndt see any interferance with this though. Have other people had to fit the pivot balls like this?

Pacman25

Which track are you going to? If it's at Morebank this is the home track of the Serpent Distibutor for Australia.

InitialD

If you're interested, you could see the setup of the Serpent Impact 2WD or the 835 2WD on mytsn. I think you need to loosen the rear diff but I may be wrong...

If you have a Sanwa / Airtronics servo, then following the manual's mounting position of the ball cups on the servo saver would be correct. Else, reverse the ball cup mounting on the stock servo saver to have the linkages clear the front belt.

On a side note, if you can get your hands on the servo saver meant for the 1/8th scale Serpent cars (part number 1635), you can replace the stock servo saver (part number 1634) and install the servo linkage and ball cups as per the manual. The other good thing about using the 1/8th scale servo saver (1635) in the 705 is that it gives more agressive steering. I think this is due to the change in the Ackerman steering.

bleach1

Has anyone ot some basic setup tips for a 705. Its a high grip permanent track. Im using 45shore front foams and 40 rear.
Also how long does anything serpent will keep producing 705 parts now that is has been superseeded?