I would start with harder roll springs in the back

After having been out of the game for a WHILE (Let’s just say that my last EP TC was a TC3), seeing footage of some TC races recently has really gotten me hyped to take up the hobby again! Having always been an Associated guy, one side of me says to just get a TC 7.2, but I have to admit that the design of the 4x Pro has caught my attention. Given that my last Nitro TC was a Serpent Impulse, I’m still being somewhat brand loyal - and hey, I’m in Serpent America’s Backyard, so I’m happy to help support a local business in the process, especially given how Serpent has been the local favorite Nitro brand For at least 30 years down here.

Anyway, I was just wondering how difficult it is to wrap your head around this car? After seeing some videos, I think I get the idea behind how the heave and roll assemblies work together (I honestly haven’t seen anything this exotic since the days of the Veteq) but am wondering how it’s working out in the real world with you guys at the club level?

one other concept that is a bit foreign to me is the idea of chassis flex. Call me old school, but back in my day, you wanted the chassis as stiff as possible to let the suspension do the work. Now I see that some cars (including the 4x) have graphite, aluminum, and now even Magnesium options. How does chassis flex play a role in the setup of this car, and what’s the general rule for using a specific chassis. Is it worth having the optional center brace to stiffen it up in the center? Is that vertical brace that was on the EVO even an option to use on the Pro?

I went through as much of the 52 pages as I could, but being how the 4x is on it’s 3rd iteration, and with the Pro only recently coming to market, any advice would be appreciated.

Hmm, interesting perspective - thanks for the insight! I too hope that Serpent continues development of the car. I already saw a few things shared by Felix Law that already appears to be an option part for the Pro Kit, so that’s a good sign. I saw quite a bit of information on the Awesomatix as well - in part, it’s why I found it interesting that Serpent took a similar “low CG” approach, rather than continue development of the more conventionally designed S411 they had before it.

After seeing a few videos on how the dampening/roll works on that car - holy cow, talk about wrapping your head around it! While I have no doubts to its performance, it does seem very finicky to tune... then again, the results speak for themselves.

Anyway, the local Serpent community down here has always been really supportive (at least on the Nitro side), and even if it’s not that prolific, I wouldn’t mind sharing what I learn with others.