TerribleTy

Okay I finally got out and was able to do some good testing on the new 0 deg caster blocks. I ran two cars today with identical setups one with the 10 deg and the other with the 0 degree caster blocks. I started my day off with the car I race all the time to get a control. Once I went trough a tank of fuel I jumped immediately over to the 0 deg car. The first corner I was sold.

The steering feels so good, much more natural and smoother than the 10 degree. The setup I was running had 1mill cst in the front diff and 60k in the rear. I have never had so much on power steering I am going to have to learn to use it out of the corners for more speed. Rotation is great but I felt the car could have a little more turn in.

I then swapped the stock option 3 ackerman with the option 2 as we often do on the buggy. The car responded very well adding more turn in and taming down the on power slightly. This felt much better to me and ultimately is what I stuck with by the end of the day. The car was dialed and I made little to no setup changes (just ackerman).

Overall the car on the zero degree blocks felt the best and the blocks will make their way over to my main car asap. Im going to keep the test car with the zero degree caster together as I would like to play with the diff oil cst a bit to see if I can get the car to rotate more how I am use to.

Serpent nailed it on these, well done!

willcarrera

iTrader: (1)

Ty,

What steering blocks are you using and what is your cars setup? I have both 0 degree steering and caster blocks and my car just seems out of control. I have 1mil in the front and 30k in the back. I am threw on the 2.0 rear arms a few weeks ago, but am thinking of going back to the stock 1.0. I had a tough day at the track today.

jmoneym

iTrader: (357)

What's your swaybar setup?

TerribleTy

I am using the zero degree aluminum steering blocks with the zero degree caster blocks. Setup wise I am very close to Andy Liu's setup on Serpent.com but I have a few changes to make the car feel how I like it.

I'm assuming you are having trouble keeping the rear end planted so a few suggestions. Try running a harder shore tire on the front than the rear. This will make the car push before you loose the rear. Depending greatly on how you set up the car the added steering (from the zero caster) will cause loss of traction in the rear.

What seems to happen to a lot of the guys I race with is they set their cars up soft and let it roll around through the track. While this works you put your car on the edge of breaking loose every corner. The weight is transferred violently from side to side causing the outer tire to carry significantly more load than the inside. The more you can balance that out the more traction you are going to have through the corners. Keeping the weight still on the outside but being supported more by the inside tire makes for much more control and gives you more time to catch the car if it starts to break traction.

I run black springs all the way around the car with 1.3 insert and 1k oil. I also set the rear of my car up to be as lazy as possible by running long links and the number 4 hole. This is something we were doing on the buggy and truggy so I tested it on yet another cobra. I like the less responsive rear.

Next time you are out try a few things
Run a harder shore tire on the front than the rear example 45 rear 50 front, this will help with rear traction.
Make the car run flat, try hard springs and take almost all the droop out of the car
If you still aren't seeing what you are after try the lazy rear end, long links in the top hole.
Make note of where you are having trouble, ie corner entry corner exit on power off power and we can work more from there. Its really hard to give advice setup wise without seeing the car but we will try.

Let me know how stuff works out!

TerribleTy

I'm running the stock sways with the 2.5 front and rear. Depending on how the car is reacting I will adjust the link to add more effect or reduce it. Yesterday during testing I had them very neutral with the links standing straight up.

willcarrera

iTrader: (1)

Ty,

Thanks for all the insight. The car is just real "assy"spins out coming out of turns. The whole droop thing makes sense cause I gave it more droop and the car got worse. I ran soft tire all the way around with black springs and RC shox 2 stage pistons with 1200CST all around. Going to pick up the option 2 steering rack this week and see if it helps. It just seems like the car is so hard to drive. I can get the car around the track in s half way decent time if everything goes right its just almost impossible to get consistent. Was going to up the rear diff oil this week to 60k (currently 30k) and leave it with the 1million in the front.

cobas383

i have recently purchased a Serpent GT cobra,used about 5 times.The car has been built up from a new kit by a friend of mine to stock specs.I wanted to get the car a bit more ready to be competitive to race on the track.If someone has the time to advise me of any required upgrades for the cobra GT that i need to have to improve the car,that would be greatly appreciated.

Also,any help with a set up in regards to camber,toe,droop,ride height,diff oils,shock oils etc would be handy aswell.

Thanks in advance.

utah300rum

iTrader: (27)

Andy Liu's setup is listed at the link below, many Cobra GT drivers in my area start with his setup and adjust for their style.

here is a link to serpents website with setups:
http://serpent.com/product/600040/setups/

TerribleTy

Out of the box the car is very competitive. The stock setup works pretty well for what is provided with the kit. I wouldn't say there are required upgrades but there are some that pretty much everyone runs. First is 10 Degree caster blocks available in either plastic or aluminum. This will give you more steering which we all like. Part numbers are 600303 for alum and 600136 for plastic.

Next big thing is brakes. If you are heavy on the brakes the stock set will tend to fade on you quickly. There are a few options here. Right now I am testing out a set of brakes that are actually made for the Losi buggies and truggies. I really like how they feel however I cannot speak to how long they last. Part number is LOSA3545. You could also go with the Serpent Pro Brake kit which will work well and last you a season plus part number is 600345.

At this point you'll be where you need to drive the car and decide where you want to make gains for your driving style. I do this with all our local guys and we in turn get you the right upgrades to make you faster. Go drive the car and then tell me what you want more of and we will point you in the right direction upgrade wise.

As far as setup goes the car can be set up in numerous ways. I run a very stiff setup much like Andy's however I am the only Utah guy that does so. Others like to run cars with more roll. Depending greatly on your style of driving you can be fast with either. If you want to go with a softer more forgiving setup go with something very close to the stock setup and adjust from there. If you want to go stiff you can go with something similar to Paolo's or Andy's setup. Just make sure if you go with the stiffer setup sheet you pay attention to what kind of option parts they are using as this can greatly change the handling of the car.

Best thing to do is go drive the car and figure our where you want to make gains. If you want more of something we can get you there.

Zakariah

having some good old fashioned nitro issues..

car starts fine, idles fine, begins to take off fine (if i baby the throttle) but if any heavy throttle is applied, she bogs down. i figured it was time for a new glow plug, havent replaced it since i got the car, and its seen break-in plus 2 gallons of fuel. replaced the plug and still having the same issue. tried a clean air filter, nothing. no bubbles in the fuel line or anything.

the last time i ran the car, it didnt have this issue, and was tuned "decent"
never had a bogging issue. if anything, i had an overheating issue lol.
if anyone has any advice on where to start troubleshooting let me know please. the car only sat for 5-6 days since it last ran fine. i recently switched to odonnel 20%, from traxxas. should have never ever bought traxxas fuel i know...

side note..
i never broke down the center diff to loktite the set screw, only the front and rear. what symptoms should i look for as far as the center diff set screw coming loose? i remember the last time running, it would run great at first, shift perfectly and all, then begin overheating, and stuck in first gear i believe.

thanks for the help guys

FastPete

iTrader: (44)

Sounds like its breaking in. Take a hour at a time out of the hs needle. It should get better. I had one once had to take 4-5 hours out. Ran great.

Loctite the center drive cup set screws. If one is missing you will lose power to that end of the car.

Zakariah

do i need to remove the diff to get to those screws, or are you talking about the set screws that you can see/access from the top?

side note.. has anyone tried apex gt tires? 25$ for a set of 4 sounds like a good deal for someone who doesn't race (like myself lol)

FastPete

iTrader: (44)

The 2 speed you mean? You should be able to get to them without pulling it from what I remember.

IceAchilles

You used a normal tool to adjust the 2-speed? I have to remove the whole center tranmission gears, remove the coupler, adjust 2 speed and reassmble back everything. The holes for adjusting the 2 speed are impossible to get to. Do you mind showing the tool you used for adjusting the 2-speed? Thanks

FastPete

iTrader: (44)

It can be alittle tricky, just line it up with the hole, hole the shaft by the drive cup so it don't move. A ball end driver helps a lot. That's how to adjust the 2 speed.

But my post was about tightening the drive cup set screw.