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  #1  
Old 08-07-2007, 10:07 AM
PeterV PeterV is offline
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Serpent S400 ELECTRIC touring car!



Latest from www.serpent.com

Introduction
Serpent enters the competitive electric touring car market with the S400, which like all our previous cars, has been designed to win straight out of the box. Featuring an ultra low centre of gravity, optimized weight distribution, high performance geometry and top quality materials throughout, the S400 should see you in the winner’s circle in no time. In fact everything associated with this car is of the highest quality, from the packaging and supplied manuals, right through to the product and race support.



Rear end
The rear end of the Serpent S400 has been designed for high performance and ease of maintenance. The rear bearing blocks have been designed in 2 pieces which allows the topside to be simply removed with 4 screws, giving you easy access to the differential for maintenance or adjustment. All the parts have been machined from aluminium and have anodized in gun metal grey.



Rear suspension
The rear end of the S400 features strong 1-piece lower wishbones and aluminium uprights. As with all the wishbones on the car, the lower wishbones can be used on both the left and right sides, minimizing the number of spare parts needed to bring to the track. The rear upright features a pivot pin mounting point on the bottom and three upper camber link mounting holes for fine-tuning camber rise.



Rear Differential
The kit version of the S400 comes supplied with a lightweight and smooth rear ball differential. The diff halves are made from hard anodised aluminium which is lightweight yet extremely strong, while the use of high quality balls and steel plates ensure a long lasting and smooth diff action.



Drive train
The S400 drive train utilizes a 2-belt system with rear ball differential and front spool, while 4 CVD (constant velocity drives) transfer the power to the wheels. The motor, which is mounted to an aluminium plate, powers the main spur gear and hard anodised aluminium pulleys.



Front suspension
Similar to the rear suspension in configuration, the front suspension sports a lower composite wishbone while the upper camber adjustment is handled using a track rod which is solid, lightweight and can easily handle impacts.



Front C-hub system
A standard system on all high-end touring cars, the S400 features a front C-hub system, which is a lighter alternative to a pivot ball steering system. The car comes standard with a 4-degree caster block but is also supplied with a pair of 2 and 6-degree blocks.



Servo Saver
The servo saver on the S400 features 4 steering rod mounting points to allow the user to easily adjust the cars Ackerman. The servo saver system itself features a nut for adjusting the spring tension of the saver.



Chassis
The chassis plate has been machined from a plate of 2.5mm thick carbon fibre, which creates a perfect platform for the cars electronics as well as stiff structure, especially when combined with the equally rigid 2.5mm thick carbon fibre top deck. All holes in the base of the chassis have been countersunk while on the top of the plate, the area around the motor has been milled down to allow it to sit as low as possible. The plate features cooling holes below the motor and speed controller.



Anti-roll bars
The S400 is supplied with colour coded anti-roll bars front and rear that are held in place using a 2 piece anti-roll bar mount. The anti-roll bars are available in a number of thicknesses and are connected to the wishbones using short adjustable track rods. Stiffness is quickly and easily adjustable by changing the linkage mounting points on the lower wishbones or alternatively by changing the position of the ball joint pivot point on the roll bar itself.



RCC Shock absorbers
The RCC shock absorbers are the smoothest and easiest to build shocks ever designed. Machined from aluminium and unique in that the shock bodies only open on the bottom half, they are really simple to assemble. The result is an ultra-smooth and air-free shock absorber thanks to the self-bleeding system incorporated into the design. The shocks are supplied with 4 different shock pistons.

Another great benefit is that these shock absorbers come pre-assembled in the kit, so you need only add shock oil.



Front axle
The car comes supplied with a front spool which has been made from hard anodised aluminium while its shape has been optimised to ensure that the part is as light as possible without compromising strength. The drive is provided through the attached pulley into the lightened steel drive cups, which are held in place using steel pins.



Shock towers
The Serpent S400 features 2.5mm thick carbon fibre shock towers on the front and rear of the car. Each tower sports numerous holes for adjustment of the shock absorber angle while the rear tower also acts as the mount for the rear body posts and the front tower accommodates a 3rd front body post.
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  #2  
Old 08-07-2007, 10:07 AM
PeterV PeterV is offline
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CVDs
This car is supplied with a complete set of 4 high quality hard coated steel CVD shafts, which are a highly consistent, efficient and durable way to transfer all the power the ground.



Suspension brackets
For adjusting the cars toe-in and track-width, the S400 is equipped with separately mounted suspension brackets on both the front and rear of the car. Each bracket features an easily recognisable number that corresponds to the setting being used and due to the way they are mounted allows the user to easily and accurately adjust their cars settings.



Steering system
The Serpent S400 utilises a centrally mounted steering assembly that contains the servo saver and Ackermann adjustments. Controlled by a side-mounted laydown servo, the steering assembly is ball raced precision and due to its central position it is much lighter than more complex off set steering systems. The tension of the servo saver spring can be adjusted using the supplied adjustment nut.



Bumper
The front bumper has been made from a high impact absorbing foam material and is shaped to protect the entire front end of the car in the event of a crash. The bumper is held in place with a large stylish carbon plate that features the S400 logo cut out of it.



Belt tensioner
Secured to the cars top plate, this machined aluminium piece acts as the mount for the aerial as well as the cars ball raced belt tensioner.

Bearings
The S400 is supplied with high-quality lightweight bearings throughout, making the drive train very efficient and allowing it to run very smoothly.

Belts
The S400 features a 2-belt configuration with a long front and a short rear Kevlar reinforced belt that makes for a super smooth and free drive train.

Manuals & Decals
To allow you to build your car with the greatest of ease, Serpent supplies a full colour instruction manual and integrated reference guide section that contains all the exploded views and latest options. The S400 also comes supplied with a small setup book explaining how to adjust your car and a pair of decal sheets in colour and in chrome finish.
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  #3  
Old 08-07-2007, 01:23 PM
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B4 Stealth B4 Stealth is offline
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I was really excited until I was the lack of elliptical diff cases for tensioning. this is easier to adjust however I still prefer the total lack of additional friction and simplicity of the ellipticals.
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  #4  
Old 08-07-2007, 01:58 PM
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Jayboy Jayboy is offline
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Looks nice...
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  #5  
Old 08-07-2007, 02:40 PM
RedRC RedRC is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B4 Stealth View Post
I was really excited until I was the lack of elliptical diff cases for tensioning. this is easier to adjust however I still prefer the total lack of additional friction and simplicity of the ellipticals.
What is an elliptical diff case? If you refer to belt tensioning, the car features bearing eccenters on both the front and rear main axles.
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  #6  
Old 08-07-2007, 04:51 PM
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MattHiggins MattHiggins is offline
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He was looking for adjustable bearing mounts.
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  #7  
Old 08-07-2007, 05:30 PM
Hikari no Tenshi Hikari no Tenshi is offline
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Sweet, another 500 dollar electric touring car. It does look nice, but good lord, how about someone make a competitive car in the 200ish dollar kit range.
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  #8  
Old 08-07-2007, 07:00 PM
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savageP3 savageP3 is offline
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looks strikingly like an xray...i wonder why? it does look pretty nice though.
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  #9  
Old 08-07-2007, 07:34 PM
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Grizzbob Grizzbob is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by savageP3 View Post
looks strikingly like an xray...i wonder why? it does look pretty nice though.
Actually, I'd say it looks even more like a Tamiya TRF 415MSX or MRE(just color the aluminum stuff in blue, & voila!)....
Oh, & Hikari, there are a few cars in the $250 range that are competitive, Tamiya's TA05R, Hot Bodies Cyclone S & I think even XRay has a similar kit(the T2R, I think?)....
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  #10  
Old 08-07-2007, 07:45 PM
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SerpentKing101 SerpentKing101 is offline
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...Interesting. *jumps off XRAY boat*

Would love to see an asphalt version.
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  #11  
Old 08-07-2007, 11:32 PM
Hikari no Tenshi Hikari no Tenshi is offline
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Grizzbob, I know there is some decent stuff in the 250 dollar range, i'm just saying there's way too many "pro" kits in the 500 range now adays. You can practically get a truggy for that.
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  #12  
Old 08-09-2007, 01:13 AM
JHIH JHIH is offline
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It doesn't look very lipo friendly (), but it does look very sharp.
It's actually kind of strange, because it doesn't really have the "serpent look". I guess I have become to used to seeing nitro engines in serpent cars!
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  #13  
Old 08-09-2007, 02:13 AM
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IMO it looks kind of ugly and plain. I guess nothing stands out to me as innovative or different than what's currently available. I mean, I guess it's good to stick to the original touring car formula, but we already have a ton of pro belt drive cars. Also, for 200 you can get a nice TA05R, a TC4 team kit, or T2R
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  #14  
Old 08-09-2007, 01:05 PM
RC-ZOMBIES RC-ZOMBIES is offline
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I hope they come out with the orange version and not the boring gunmetal finish..


The manual and set-up guide can be downloaded from the Serpent website.
http://www.serpent.com/product/400001/
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  #15  
Old 08-09-2007, 10:31 PM
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crazyjr crazyjr is offline
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I'm sorry, i can't get into the touring classes anymore. I know there are differences, but if it takes more than a split second to identify the car, then they are all the same design. I miss the days of the KX-One, the pro2 and the TC3. I loved touring because of the divercity, now they are all sheep in a flock. Like i said, if it takes more than a split second to identify extra MM of bulkhead one has over the others
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