I don't use Serpent bearings.

I never had the bearing problems with the 808. I had an '08 808 and I blew exactly one center diff bearing when I first got the car. I replaced them with Avids and still on some of the original bearings in the car from '08!

I can't tell from the drawings but it looks like the Serpent has a composite chassis? The battery boxes look molded to the chassis.

:) well, please read UK forums, or French forums, or German forums, or Polish forums, or Russian forums, or Czech forums... and then tell that all this people is a "type" :).

And if Car is a Perfection how can one mess up assembly that bad that he post his frustration on a forums... Serpent have perfect 3D instructions for all his cars so there should be no problems at all???

:lol:

Sorry, do not mean to be a "type". No more bad words about Serpent, ok :). Peace? Will you help me with good advices on assembly and some basic settings when I get e-Serpent?

Why would I read other forums to look for the problems they have with cars? :weird:

Follow the instructions and take your time, if the screws are tight pretap the holes or use a wax or something. Some of the screws are tight. Sand the edges and CA them on all carbon like standard procedure for carbon cars.

Don't pay any attention to some on here bud, there are known issues with the serpent whether they choose to admit it or not. Rather than discuss the problems they attempt to save face by blaming it on the person assembling or driving the kit, I don't doubt there are some who cause the problem by there own doing but there are also those such as myself who have been racing for some time and built probably 25 race level kits who realize they need to refine some things on the buggy. It's for that fact that no matter how much I like this buggy I would not buy it because it would be a continuation of the nitro version and the similar problems. Buy the buggy, a screw kit, aftermarket bearings, a couple hundred dollars worth of hopups and you may be able to make it around the track and only require maintenance similar to that of other buggies. The buggy is tough, and I really wanted to like the ones I had but its got a ways to go imo.

Who's saying there weren't problems with the buggy? I have yet to own a buggy without SOME kind of problem (XRay, Mugen Losi, etc).

I'm saying my problems weren't diff bearings (which is what was mentioned) because they weren't.

My problems are, if you really want to know:

Sway bars; the design lends to them getting dirty/squeaky easily so it takes a lot of extra maintenance (at least at the tracks I run) to keep them smooth

Old radio tray (that was beaten to death, we all know those issues)

Stock servo saver spring; too soft, can't straighten out all the way in one direction

Shock caps; anodizing rubs off REALLY easily (they have new caps, but the black ones get rubbed off easy)

Rear wing is kind of fragile compared to what I'm used to

OEM body material seems to be somewhat brittle

That's about it for me

No, no buggy is perfect and by no means is the Serpent. It is, however, my favorite out of every buggy I've owned.

What?????

Uh-oh Mug....I mean, Caster got offended by the "quality ground-up e-buggy," comment. People, when talking about "original" 1/8 E-buggies, you need to mention Caster first.:lol::lol::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I know I know....Pot calling Kettle black.

Oh well, they always say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The serpent is a good looking buggy from the cad drawings so far.

Not sure if rear mounted saddle pack is the best way to go with 1/8 electric. I was convinced earlier this year that it would work and so converted my mbx6to an almost identical layout to this car. I found it lacked steering and wasn't actually as balanced in terms of handling as I expected. I'm also a recent convert to mechanical brakes after discovering how much more stopping power and additional efficiency can be gained over direct drive. a clutch is also a very important part of getting a 4wd to handle, especially over rough or loose terrain. both these things can require a bit more space than looks to be available in this chassis. about to buy a tekno v4 kit with traction drive and if it ain't any better than my current car then I might look at this one but will definitely be looking at ways to mount mechanical brakes and a slipperential.

This coming from a company imitating a Mugen??? :lol:

anyone catch the release date?

I was thinking along these same lines, so while waiting for this release I went ahead and put together a Tekno v4 D8 kit with traktion drive and mechanical brakes. So far so good...clutched power delivery is very smooth and the mechanical brakes are great. The ability to set front rear bias is a real plus too. No more over heating the motor either.

Win win win.

I think you did a very good choice.

"Clutch" + mechanical brakes on a good 1 lipo setup is the best bet today just because we have feedbacks about it. The S811E SHOULD be awesome, but no one knows before its released, these are just guesses.... or wishes call it what you want

Similar, but has many refinements over the Caster.

-Batteries pulled in at the rear
-ESC is on the chassis (it is heavier than the receiver)
-Motor can be adjusted without removing a battery tray
-Hinged battery trays that are an integrated chassis brace.

Not so sure about the plastic chassis, but it is purpose built for this car. Should be an interesting car.