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Serpent introduces the Serpent VIPER 977-e 1/8 scale electric onroad car

Although the Viper 977-e is based on the Viper 977, it has a lot of features that make it a dedicated Electric racing car:

Carbon fibre chassis 5mm and topplate 2.5mm
Carbon fibre battery bolder / protectors, fully adjustable fits
most 3S LIPO batteries.
2 belt system with 5mm belts.
large pullies and ballraced belt tensioners.
Aluminium 7075 T6 motorholder.
Aluminium fan-holder.
15T motorpully  / 48T spur ratio.
Viper 977 front and rear suspension and shocks.
Race-ready weight around 2600 to 2650 grams.

Serpent Main Site

SERPENT HERITAGE:

Serpent has started developing and manufacturing of rc cars in 1980 in the Netherlands, Europe and has expanded the rc car program ever since !  Serpent has won mulitple World Championships, as well as European, American and Asian Championship titles. Michael Salven is head of design for all onroad Serpent cars, as has been racing all his life, and won World and European Championship titles, as well as many German national titles.   His experience and knowledge has also been used to design the VIPER 977e.

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL SALVEN:

Interview on the VIPER 977-e project with Serpent designer and toplevel racer Michael Salven

READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE 

Michael Salven  

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO OF THE 977E:

   

CARBON CHASSIS:

5mm stiff carbon fibre chassis  in perfect  symmetrical shape for even flex and weight distribution.
Countersunk holes, chamfered edges for more cornering,  ground clearance. All screws from the bottom are with 2.5mm allen size.

BELT TENSION SYSTEM:

2 belt system with 5mm wide belts for optimized effectivity.  Both belts have ballraced bel-t tensioners.

CARBON TOPDECK:

2.5mm carbon fibre top-deck   to create a strong and stiff connection between the front and rear-end of the car . The servo is mounted in the center of the car and can hold large and low profile servo’s.   The center offers  also space fo the receiver  which can be glued to the small plate/ clips.

CARBON BATTERY HOLDERS:

Strong carbon fibre battery holders, which can be easily adjusted to fit most popular 2S or 3S battery packs.  The batteries can be moved more to the front or the back with the flexible mounting system.  This can be used to change the balance of the car, to create more steering or grip. The low  and central position of the batteries create the  lowest and best possible CG.

CARBON SPEEDO PLATE:

Strong carbon fibre speedo plate, which fits most popular speedo’s well. The plate with speedo attached can be easily removed

ALUMINIUM MOTOR HOLDER:

Smart machined  aluminium motorholder in 8mm  very durable unit, which can stand the enormous power of the brushless motors. It is also connected to the rear bearingblocks to create a stiff, yet flexible construction. The gearmesh is easily adjusted from the bottom of the car. The kit includes a 14T pinion, other pinions are available as options.

ALUMINIUM MIDDLE SHAFT HOLDER:

Middle shaft holder in 7075 T6 alumium to hold and support the  mid-shaft and spur (14T/48T).  This makes changing  a spur gear a fast and easy affair.

 



FRONT BUMPER:

The strong aerodynamic shaped  composite bumper comes from the 977 . The upward edges make it more stabile, so these wont touch the surface under impact or with high temperatures.

STEERINGBLOCKS:

The steeringblock , which can be mounted left or right,  offers a system to change the axle position more to front or back giving a “trailing” or “leading” steering, and the ability to change the kingpin-inclination and offset.

The spring-steel steering-rods are fastened to the alu steeringplates, which mount to the new steeringblocks.  Optional carbon fibre disks can be mounted on the side of the steeringblocks to stiffen the assembly and for aerodynamic reasons.

The steeringblock is right and left the same, and features an aluminum plate to connect the steering-rods, 2 options for Ackermann.

The steeringblocks   and rear uprights connect to the arms with springsteel 8.5mm pivotballs , which run very smooth and well protected in nylon cups, and are easy to adjust with an allen  tool.

SERVO SAVER:

The springloaded servo-saver allows easy and fast Ackermann settings.  The servo-saver features a top mounted insert which can be used in 3 positions.  Another 2 Ackermann positions on the steeringblocks.

 

FRONT LOWER WISHBONES:

The long durable front lower wishbones, are mounted superlow in the car, and  feature  a semi covered “leg”  for the inner suspension pin and the pivot link for the front anti-roll bar system, its also has an extension for the down-stop screw . The lower arms hold the lower alu shockmount plate, which allows a further out and higher mounting point for the front shocks.  The strong upper arms can be used left and right.  The front lower arms connect to the alu front bracket on very low  nylon holders. The kit includes 2 versions, low and superlow. This system also enables you to replace a front driveshafts very quick and easy.



FRONT UPPER ARMS:

The longer upper arms are mounted between the anodized aluminum top brackets, which also hold the suspensionpin inserts to allow camber-change adjustments with 3 possible inserts . Below the alu top-brackets spacers can be used to change angle or height. Caster spacers are used as simple clips on the upper pivot pins.  Same clips are also used on the lower pins to change wheelbase.

COMPOSITE BRACKET:

The topmounted composite bracket gives extra stiffness to the front section, it holds the 3mm thick carbon fibre front shocktower and allow for the down-stop screws.



ALUMINIUM FRONT BODYPOSTS:

The durable alu front bodyposts are excentric ,  to allow moving the body to front  or back a   few mm to optimize steering / downforce.

ALUMINIUM FRONT AXLES:

In the front the alu front axle with Japan-made one-way bearings features a free of play and super-true pully assembly . Springsteel drivecups, strong, long and thin spring-steel driveshafts with CVD system, and ballraced springsteel wheelaxles with alu quick-change levers. The open front end design allows for very fast and easy removal of the front axle or parts.

FRONT ANTI-ROLL BAR:

The ballraced front anti-roll bar is a wire type, with very easy and fast open access on the front, captured in the alu front braces.  The standard wire is 2.5mm and 2 other as options. The pivotballs link system directs the power to the bar in a smooth way and easy to adjust the tweak with the captured pivotball.

SUPERTRUE PULLIES:

All the supertrue pullies have holes in the side flanges to allow dirt and dust to move out easier.

REAR END CONSTRUCTION:

The rear end construction with the alu brackets holds the rear axle. Its open design allows for eas of maintenance and cleaning, and needs very few screws to dis-assemble. Replacing a belt in case needed, is simple and very fast too. The excenter on the rear shaft allows for belt tensioning 

REAR ANTI-ROLL BAR:

The ballraced rear anti-roll bar mount in steel adaptors, which run in nylon spacers in the alu holders as integral part of the rear brackets, with 2.5mm as standard wire and 2 other as options. The anti-roll bar links to the rear lower arms with adjustable trackrod guidance.

REAR AXLE:

The solid rear axle with new lightweight 48T pulley in Serpent springsteel, 9mm wide with 4 slots for the pin.

In the rear strong springsteel driveshafts , springsteel wheel-axles  with alu quick-change levers and a springsteel rear axle.  Very durable and lasting drivetrain

REAR UPPER CAMBER LINKS:

The adjustable rear upper camber links mount to the  rear carbon camberplate with 2 positions

LOWER REAR WISHBONES:

The long durable rear lower wishbones  can be used left and right. The lower rear arm holds the low mounted  link for the  rear anti-roll bar and holds  the  alu mounting plate of the rear shocks, which allows a position which is very far to the rear and to the outside for best performance/ geometry.   The lower arms also hold the easily accessible down-stop screws. Nylon clips are  used on the  lower rear pins to change wheelbase.

 

SUSPENSION BRACKET:

The suspension bracket and rear plate hold the pins firmly and have composite roll-center inserts to allow for fast and precise changes.



REAR UPRIGHTS:

The durable composite uprights hold the ballraced spring steel wheelaxles, with aluminium quick-change levers.  The 8.5mm piotballs are used to adjust camber fast and easy with the smooth hex-shaped plugs . The arms of the floating bodymount mount to the top of the uprights.    On top of the up-right spacers can be added under the pivotball to change rollcenter and camberchange. 
Optional carbon fibre disks can be mounted on the side of the uprights  for aerodynamic reasons.

RCM SHOCK ABSORBERS:

The shockabsorbers are the latest Serpent RCM  units with membrames. The threaded houses with setting-nuts ( or-ring inside) makes ride height changes easy and precise.  The front and rear shock are identical.  The RCM shocks are very smooth, and easy to assemble and fill.  The shocksprings  are selected, matched,  flatgrinded, colorcoded units. 

REAR BODYMOUNT:

The rear floating bodymount is mounted on the up-rights with 2 arms and held in place by a carbon-fibre-steel guider.  The 2 arms have 2 positions to choose from, depending on body In use.  The end of the mount allow for mounting body-supports , with full threading to allow exact positioning. The system  leads the available downforce direct onto to the uprights to the tyres.

HIGH SPEED BALLBEARINGS:

The kit features high speed ballbearings, mostly sealed ones with aeroshell lubrication or grease.  All bearings in the car ( except for the servosaver and brakecam) are seated in nylon bushings to reduce  vibrations and play. 

MANUAL / SET-UP SHEET:

The 977-e comes with a full color assembly manual as PDF download, reference guide and exploded views booklet all in one. 
Set-up sheets  ( blank and default) are included seperately, and 2 decalsheets are included as well.

The kit does not include motor, batteries, speedo,  radio-gear,  body, tyres-wheels or electronics.
The silicone shockoil  is included.

SETUP POSSIBILITIES:

Wheelbase
Caster
Trailing/leading steering
Offset
Kingpin-inclination
Camber
Camberchange
Roll-centers
Ride height
Droop 
Width
Toe-in
Weight balance
Shocks for dampening and springs, shockangle
Anti-roll bar thickness

Designed by World and European Champion Michael Salven

OPTION PARTS:

Rim cover rear carbon

Wheel-axle set CVD RR

Rim cover front carbon

Pulley rear axle 48T alu

Pulley front axle 28T alu

Servosaver bottom alu

Driveshaft cvd FR alu

Wishbone FR lw L+R hard

   

Dragon-RC Novarossi