going4#1

The problem with the 960 was not the 960. The Mega engine just could not keep up. Picco ran his with a Picco, not Mega Picco and Salven also switched to a blue-headed Picco because the engine could not output the power need. Too bad he didn't have enough time. Basically Salven was trying to force an engine that couldn't compete into the winner's circle. The Mega-Picco is ready for most competitions but the Worlds requires something just a tad better. Maybe next time.

Look at Fantini. He drove his 960 from 57th place to 8th and he was no doubt using a hand-tuned Max engine. Looks like something happened to him in the last 3 minutes of the race. I wonder what? If all the Serpent drivers had used Max, JP, or Novarossi I think the results would have been different.

If you're going to buy a car based on WC championship, the Evolva is the one. Look at Mugen. Almost 1 in 2 cars was a Mugen AND they had 6/10 in the top 10 BUT still lost!

That's got to hurt.

nefastseven

i have an mrx3 i want to sell it after that i'll buy 960(i've had a sting before mrx3...i know what is mugen it's very good car easy to build and easy to drive)but i want to change..
i know mega picco are not too fast and have not power like novarossi or JP

i hop you understand me because i didn't speak english since 1993(i live in France near Paris)

s8in

[QUOTE=going4#1]The problem with the 960 was not the 960QUOTE]

Statistically it seems that more Mugen runners reached the main no matter what motor.

Since most of us can be considered average drivers then the Mugen will give the best average results over time to the broadest spectrum of drivers and engines.

Or are we going to claim that it is all down to horsepower? If that was the case then most of the finalists would have had the same motor.

This is not drag-racing so the motor is not everything( do you think salven got a lemon?) Before I get shot down -I know the motor is not everything in drag racing!! But the analogy its here.

I think that the lack of results Serpent has had is a direct reflection of their business practices and policies over the last couple of years. The are judging their ability on the results of a few team drivers who seem to always be running prototype or special equipment - regardless of cost.

While in the real world the average driver is battling with known (by serpent) but never admitted issues.-Which Serpent will no doubt try and fix with a pile of expensive upgrade bits.

From TSN site "MEGA high performance racing engine for use at top-level 1/8 scale on-road racing"

Is the worlds not top level ?

They have had issues with crankpins, rods, pinions, diffs, carb o-rings etc. but nowhere on the site will you find a technical bulletin advising cutomers regarding any of these (not even the distributors)- rather they prefer the more deceitful route of claiming the changes as a routine production variance - while the customers in the marketplace are still exposed to buying the sub-standard/faulty parts without them being withdrawn.

Then they pull a microsoft type move with the different plugs and bearings etc. to make sure they catch your dollars on the roundabout.

Even the NovaMega is still listed but not available??? Is it so hard to keep a website updated?

The same situation has emerged in F1 where Bridgestone developed a customised tire (tyre?) over the last couple of years to suit one car- Ferrari. But now that the tire requirements have changed and they do not have a knowledge base of information to draw on they look like idiots!

Serpent needs to realise that the real measure of their performance is how the car performs out of the box in the hands of Joe Average - without a pile of expensive upgrades/options/team parts.

The one thing we as racers need to start measuring and the manufacturers start taking notice of is TCO- (total cost of ownership) this is the real measure of value.

The profit hungry attitudes of the main manufacturers has let to a situation where the design of the cars has narrowed to the point that any far eastern company could combine the features of the top three and flood the market with really cheap alternatives.

For example - Injection moulding tooling for one wishbone on its own - not clustered- will cost about $600US then cost per part about 12 cents (US) and can be injected on the smallest of machines. Combining more parts per mold reduces this even more.

And I am talking small volume.

Rapid prototyping and plating of plastic to spark out the tooling reduces the cost even more.

Their greed is going to be their own death sentence.

s8in

I am a 12 year loyal Serpent fan- but reality has to set in sooner or later.

Fernando_M

That is correct. The WC results are an indicative, but do not tell the whole story.
As an example, take the 200mm WC in Brazil. If the results were the whole truth, then the MTX3 is definitely a piece of crap, because no MTX3 was even close to get to the finals. Also, all Novarossi based engines are another piece of crap. Now, we all know that the MTX3 and Novarossi engines are not crap.
There is no doubt that the result was bad for Serpent for a commercial point of view, but to say that the 960 is a bad car is something different.

MCRUZ

Just want to say congrats Ofna teamate Chris Verano with his Serpent 960. I was lucky to be at Revelation when he first drove the 960 and let me tell u it was pretty dialed out of the box. After a few tanks trying to get the feel of the car, Chris was basically full throttle through the whole track. It just shows how easy the Serpent is to drive. It looks like the Serpent is going to be a tough car to beat. Congrats again with Serpent USA and your new 960.

C Verano

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Marc...Congrats on your win in sedan.

Mie3R

iTrader: (9)

guys, i'm thinking to shift to 1/8 on road. need ur sincere opinion on overall performance of serpent 960, evolva 2005 and mrx4. which one should i go for.. thanx

M7H

I think the performance of these 3 cars is similar....

The 960 has the newest features,
The MRX4 has allready proven itself,
The Kyosho is the world champion again.....

But if You look at the differences between these cars on the world championship, well in performance there is no difference....

I would buy the car of which you can easily get spare parts of.......

going4#1

M7H has the right idea. Although, with the Internet getting parts is a LOT easier than it used to be. Still, you don't want to be stuck at the track with a busted something-or-other and have the shop guy say they don't sell your brand of something-or-others. Also, cost out spares when you buy the car. It will be easier to establish your upfront costs for a 1/8th car.

I'd go further and say, whatever guy is top at your local track, buy the same car. At least you can copy his setup unless the guy is a total A-hole and won't share it. If there are a few tops guys with different cars, well, that gives you more choice. It takes quite a bit of experience to find a good setup so at the beginning copying a more experienced racer's setup can save you a lot of time. Eventually you'll get the hang of it and be able to set the car up yourself.

As for which one is better, well, they are all pretty much the same although the 960 has some nice features like easily adjustable rear camber and easy to change CG. Serpent definitely seems to have the best English-language web site of the three as well. But in all honesty more of how the car drives is about the driver/mechanic than the car itself. All 3 cars will drive very nice out of the box but all three need to be tuned to make them winners.

I've talked to a few of the car switchers at the local tracks around here and all claim that each car they buy is better than the last one (one guy went 710->G4->MTX-3->V-One-RRR in 2 years!) but when I asked, "Well, for each car, didn't you test it by driving many, many hours out at the track?" "Yeah." "So how do you know it's the car and not your experience that improved your results?" You just dumped $1000s of dollars into 4 cars when you could have stuck with one, saved a lot more money, and done just as well.

I wish there was a magic car out there that would set itself up and drive perfectly every single time without problems. I'd definitely buy that one. Sadly, that one does not yet exist

racer x 1

iTrader: (27)

i think its nice to that chris is doing well with the car but did the car hit hobby stores yet? and how does this car drive compared to the mrx4 ?

C Verano

iTrader: (1)

The cars should be hitting stores in Cali tomorrow from what I understand. I can't tell you how it drives compared to the 4, I've never driven one. I can tell you that the 960 worked really well for me right out of the box. Building the car was easy. Everything fit and the way Serpent packages the parts makes putting the car together fairly easy.

Chris

Mie3R

iTrader: (9)

from what i heard n my observation on the serpernt die hard racers(at my local track), they are struggling with the car setting on each track. not like some of the kyosho n mugen racers. they look pretty relax compare to the serpent driver. is it true that serpent needs more attention on the setting n as easier as the rest?

going4#1

Not really. I believe it's more a culture of ideas difference. Mugen and Kyosho don't bother explaining what everthing does. They just tell you how to set up the car so it's drives in a stable configuration. Serpent has been around a long time, near the beginning of RC pro racing. Everything is geared to understanding your race car and what each setting does but not holding your hand. The idea is, you figure out what to do and set the car up to do that. This is either very good (because you need to understand how settings effect the car) or an annoying pain in the ass (there are only so many hours on a Saturday you wish to waste setting up as opposed to racing). From the 710/950 the basic setting is fairly stable. As for the 960, it seems the basic setup makes the car quite quick. Fewer adjustments may be needed to get it optimal.

Rob

Solara

iTrader: (17)

Does any of you guys know PICCO Speed/Integra type 1/8th foams tires fit Serpent 960...? Thanks.........(sorry about the little off topic)