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Xray NT1 vs Serpent 720...need help!!!

Xray NT1 vs Serpent 720...need help!!!

Old 01-23-2008, 08:27 AM
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Questions?? Xray NT1 vs Serpent 720...need help!!!

hey guys...ok, i narrowed it down between two racing platforms...the Xray NT1 and the Serpent 720 '08...i also would consider the Mugen MTX4R if i was convinced enough...i am living between Maryland and Miami, Fl right now so I will have access to both 301 Raceway in MD and Homestead Racetrack in Miami...to my knowledge, both of these tracks have pretty good parts support for these cars...ok, now for the real...what do you guys think? im totally open to the pros and cons of each...so you Serpent guys, if you want another guy on the team speak up...the Xray followers same goes to you...and i know there is a strong Mugen cult going on...speak up and help me make the choice...thank you, your help is appreciated...
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Old 01-23-2008, 08:36 AM
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both of them r great cars!!!!!, just get the one in your area with the most parts support, in my opnion the fit and finish of the nt1 is second to none!!!, handling wise, they r 2 totally different animals, nt1..planted, super stable, 720..agile.super agressive, take ur pick, btw i got both of them, and love them a lot
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Old 01-23-2008, 08:56 AM
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Originally Posted by badKarma
hey guys...ok, i narrowed it down between two racing platforms...the Xray NT1 and the Serpent 720 '08...i also would consider the Mugen MTX4R if i was convinced enough...
All three of those are supported well enough at 301 Raceway (of course the owner is a Mugen man though ). Not sure about Homestead.

Where exactly are you livin?
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Old 01-23-2008, 09:22 AM
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I have both cars, raced the 720 since it's avaible. And the xray i just started.
Quality wise the xray is miles ahead, i switched because the quality of serpent is bad i think. i'm an race engineer myself and i just want the best, i'm really precise on the setup and the xray let's me do that because of the perfect fitment.

Especially the metal, alu parts from serpent are bad And the bearings are horrible. xray bearings are top notch.
Handling wise i can't tell you a lot about the xray. it's understeering out of the box and the 720 is oversteering.
The only thing is that in one day i was driving laptimes in .1 second of the best i did with the 720. And with the 720 this took me about 1 year of testing and several hop ups.
So probably i will be faster with the nt1 once i start testing agian. The nt1 needs the right tyres though, the car works on the grp tyres, because that's what it's designed for. The jap xceed tyres work great on the 720, because the tyres are designed to complement the 720 chassis. Xceed tyres are horrible on the nt1.
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Old 01-23-2008, 09:43 AM
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ds is completely right!!! i felt the same way about both of them, except 4 the bearing part,must b me but, i had more luck with the serpent ones, the x-ray one i had fried in the :first run with the car
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Old 01-23-2008, 09:45 AM
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in MD im in the Elkridge/Columbia area...so what are some good tire choices for the the cars? it was mentioned that certain tires go better better with certain chassis...what are the real differences between the NT1 and the Mugen? is there anyone out there who can defend the quality of the 720??
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Old 01-23-2008, 09:53 AM
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nothing is wrong with the quality of the 720!!!! just that the nt1 is just that little bit better, me personally, i drive the 720 a little bit more than the nt1, simply because of the track i drive on( small track to medium ) suits the 720 more than the nt1, the nt1 likes( big flowing tracks )
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:05 AM
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jaco tyres work ok on both cars. I never tried any other brands thet xceed, grp and jaco.
But i belief that xceed and grp are hard to come by in the states?
For mugen enneti works really well, alot of mugen team drivers use enneti.
Mugen mtx4 and nt1 are pretty close, they look alike pretty much.
But for me mugen is not populair at all over here, so nobody has one, so i can't tell much about it. For me it has no special features that stand out like with the 720 and the nt1
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:07 AM
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DIDO Nitro Ho,

Between the 2 cars its up to you! Whichever you feel most comfortable with but also look at parts support and the amount of racers in your area racing the chassis for advice and setups.

The XRAY out of the box goes together real well. The serpent requires alittle extra time for fit and finish to ensure all suspension components including sway bar moves freely without binding. At our track its smaller high traction and more technical, I havent noticed much deifference between the two it really comes down to driver and setup. As well on a bigger track with med-high to high grip between the 2 chassis there was not alot of difference and again its all driver and setup.

As far as Chassis charecteistics, I have heard alot of people continually say the NT1 is overally stable, and the 720 is more agressive, however I find the 720 to be just as stable as the NT1 from driving both, again all coming down to setup. Like I stated before the 720 requires additional fit and finish to ensure proper movement of suspension parts mostly in the rear-end. Personally if I had to choose between th 2 cars I would choose the 720.

Fit and finish isnt an issue, its an extra hour during builds our half hour on rebuilds. I just love the car and find that it is easily adaptable to every track. I have been running the same driveline for over 2 years and have yet to need to replace anything I even ran the same belts the entire season last year. The changes for 08 look great for the 720, they have addressed the major issue in the past regarding the fuel tank(mostly being the lid) the LCG chassis and Brass plates I havent tried however feed back from other drivers who have used it say that they will never drive anything else again...but didnt really tell me the benefit

I hope any of this helps, either if you decide on teh 720 feel free to ask any tips or advice and I can send you my setups etc...
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:13 AM
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morgan whats up u serpent ho
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:20 AM
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morgan im gonna tell ur employer, that ur on the net, some people dont like that, just kidding guy.
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:23 AM
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Morgan...thanks for the advice...as far as the 720 is concerned...what kinds of setup tools are offered? i see with the NT1, Hudy makes a whole in of tools to get all the specifics down...does Serpent offer any setup tooks do 720 drivers and Mugen drives just use generic setup tools? or even the Hudy ones?
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:24 AM
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hudys the best there is guy, second to none
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Old 01-23-2008, 11:22 AM
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The Hudy tools work on the Serpent remember this Hudy was always woking with serpent before they(xray) came out with their cars. As for parts quality if you were to open the two kit boxes and switch the parts there is almost no difference in quality, to say that serpent's part are of bad quality is some real bullshit, they have had the best cars for years everyone else jusy copies their designs and keep making it for years. Now I too have both cars so Im not being bias on this, my decision to get an NT1 was battery size, and easy removal of the diffs but I have had not one problem with my 720 none the things listed in the above post have happened to my 720. Overall look at which car you like and decide dont let the forum decide for you
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Old 01-23-2008, 11:29 AM
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Ok, all three cars are capable in the right hands. It depends on your driving style, The NT1 is very stable and I can't say enough about the parts. The 720 is pretty quick out of the box. and the mugen isn't bad. All three cars on the same track with comperable setups and drivers as always its going to come down to who makes the least mistakes.. and is the quickest. I have owned all of them, no bs I got a 720 right after it came out, had two mugens mtx4's, and now I have two xrays. going on three.

Pros and cons

Xray Pros:
Xray quality, fit, finish is above all else. the spur gears run true with no muss or fuss.. everything just works. Ran all of last season and with the exception of a runaway(which bent the chassis but broke nothing else). I pulled the pivot ball out of the knuckle.. No mechanicals during any of the three hour races...and rediculously free drivetrain with no tinkering from me.. If you run multiple engines the stock engine mounts are a godsend.. and you almost can't screw up gear mesh in this car... add light weight bearing oil.. and pow.. rediculous rip out of the corner.. and the xray guys listen... I made a suggestion last summer, and now some of the kits come with that suggestion.. you tell ralph or martin hey, I think this should happen.. and in time if its a good idea its included.. martin is mulling over some feedback I gave him this morning...

Cons:Its a short list... For my driving taste I had to free the car up quite a bit to make it rotate how I like it. and parts cost (dollar to euro conversion sucks) doesn't come with aluminum hexes for wheels like comparable kits do..


Mugen pros: Its quick when prepared right etc, parts/kit are pretty fairly priced..

Mugen cons: Broke more parts running mugen than any other nitro car. The composite is ridgid and light.. means breaks easier.. broke a knuckle first time out glancing off a board down the straightaway.. Spur gears are known to shit the bed. I haven't seen mugen seiki ltd break one lately. But a lot of the privateers eat gears.. there is a forum about it, and a chapter in the nitro kb i think. setting gear mesh sucks..

Serpent pros: I am a dealer lol... very capable car, once you have a setup it doesn't require constant tweeking.. I was .1 faster with the serpent than the other cars out of the box Till I found my setup on the NT1. IMO its easier to drive out of the box, points well(I can't drive a car that understeers).

Cons: If you live on the west coast parts support really isn't there(If it is call me and I will get you what you need lol). Parts fit and finish isn't quite where it needs to be. Not as easy to work on as other cars.. better than the 710. But not better than the xray in that regard.. setting gear mesh sucks.. and I never got a spur gear to run true without screwin with it for 10 min..

So if you run on permanent tracks, and you have the extra bucks to run what you want.. My suggestion would be xray.. But be prepared for some parts bills lol.. I get serpent parts cheap for me since I am a dealer.. but I still chose to run xray ...

these are all my personal feelings about the car and do not reflect Team Xray's, Mugens, or Serpent USA's positions lol..
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