The foundation or in this case the chassis, is always the driving force in what sort of performance you can extract from your race car. With the interest of stiffening the front to back flex of the chassis, mostly in the center, we opted for a chassis with bent sides over our previous flat chassis. The life of the vehicle as well as how flat the chassis will stay over long periods of time is greatly enhanced. We also took our original front end design, accepted its weakness, and then pushed the envelope even further by developing a multi bend chassis. This increases ground clearance, while decreases the loss of forward momentum. It also keeps you from playing Lawn Darts off any pesky jumps your local track can throw at you. Talking about pesky jumps, the wooden kind, those ones you find on so many carpet/turf tracks around the world. Finding the invisible speed is only for the master magicians. Thankfully, we have one in house working diligently day and night, on and off the race track, to enhance your racing experience.
With no other reason than to dominate every surface, we created an optional chassis with adjustable weight plates. The rear 14 gram weights will also fit the standard chassis; however this new optional chassis has an additional 4 choices when it comes to positioning weight. The Servo weight comes in an 8 gram aluminum weight as well as a 24 gram brass weight. The electronics weight comes in a 15 gram aluminum weight as well as a 45 gram brass weight. Whether you race dirt, carpet or astro turf you can full adjust your weight distribution and push your setup to the master level.
The side pods have been completely re-designed, in which it differs from the way we have done it in the past. The side pod itself is now separate from the front upper deck supports. This will allow us to make optional aluminum supports in the future, changing the flex characteristics of the front end. Also on the front supports we added the body mounts, and then coupled that with the rear mounts, no matter who mounts your body for you, it will always sit flat, front to rear and be properly positioned. Whether you use the body clips or not, the pegs can be used to ensure that the body will always have proper alignment. Aside from the above mentioned design changes, the overall cars width has been reduced. This reduction in width enhances flight/articulation over jumps as well as reduces chassis roll.
Based on our customer feedback for a car that can do it all in any condition. One area that needed to be adjustable was the flex in the chassis. We came up with a super stylish, yet ridiculously functional way to achieve this goal. Besides who doesn’t love the stunning appearance of a great looking weave, of course we are talking about carbon fiber here. The small panels are 2mm thick and bolt directly onto the side pods. If you’re a fan of a super stiff chassis, we are certain this will satisfy your needs. These side panels will be sold separately and can be found in our “Optional” section on the web site.
The previous SRX line of cars, there were some good things, so we kept those, namely mounting the lower bulkhead to the kick plate. This is simply the strongest way to do business and it also keeps it in place while doing any maintenance on the rest of the front end. We also increased the boss diameter for the inner hinge pin by 1mm. This will add more overall strength for frontal impacts when you are trying to move the lapped car, which has held you up for the last 3 minutes while you're leading the race. You can rest easy knowing how durable your new car is and drive it like a real animal. Unleash the real beast within you.
In addition to the strength upgrades, we separated the front upper camber link mount from the lower and upper bulkheads. This allows the user to replace the parts independently if they strip out a camber link mounting hole and or the shock tower mounting holes. This also allows us to make an optional aluminum camber link mount in the future for weight distribution, alternate geometry and or to add more strength.
Gull wing, straight arm, the debate will live on forever. However, now we offer both. There were many instances where the gull wing arm, offered handling advantages and the same could be said for straight arm. The customers talked, and we heard you loud and clear. Not only did we make a new straight front arm, but we beefed up the inner boss around the hinge pin to increase the strength to ensure you finish every race you start.
In order for Serpent to progress, we had to accept the old front end geometry was more suited for a Rear Motor. So what did we do…. We tested until we were completely confident we had something that could propel us into the distant future. The conclusion of testing, resulted in refinements to the front roll center position. It also is a more adjustable and more durable front Caster block/Steering block assembly. You can now adjust the front roll center 3mm instead of the previous 1.5mm. We also increased the material around the bearings. We didn’t stop there though as we removed the outer 5x10x4 bearing and replaced it with a super long life 5x13x4. We added a vertical mounted ball stud for fine tuning the camber link/roll center. We changed the axle design so you can use a spacer between the axle and outer bearing. Other than giving more adjustability to the track width, you can now use any wheel on the market and be rest assured you can adhere to any rules and have highest performing scrub offset. Our new front is nothing shy of being a huge step forward. Progression is the name of the game, and that’s something we are no stranger’s too.
We know what it means to be able to work on your car, and to do it at break neck speeds. On our previous model, you had to completely remove the upper bulkhead to work on the bell crank and or remove the drag link. Well, we learned our lesson and jumped back into the meat grinder. We increased the area around the servo for wiring and also the ability to move the servo front to back. We coupled those improvements with easy access to the bellcrank and the drag link, by way of a new upper bulkhead/top deck. You can get the servo in and out in a matter of seconds, whether you want to adjust the horn, or replace your servo.
No matter the speed control and receiver you use, we have increased the area to the front and back as well as sides. This gives the end user, more freedom to position his electronics in the most optimal positions.
The battery compartment has been expanded to fit a Block Battery or even Saddle packs if you wish to. If you do not want to use either of those batteries, you can use a shorty and move it a smashing 23mm for some serious adjustment no matter what condition you race in.
In the spirit of easier to work as well as doing it faster than the guy sitting across from
you on the pit bench. This new transmission is the absolute most versatile transmission to
ever hit the 2wd market. With more maintenance friendly features at every turn, it will
crush current standards and place the bar at an unprecedented level.
Let’s take a look at the features shall we..?
The Serpent brand as a whole is very dedicated to making a difference in the 2wd market. This new platform is our way of doing just that, by making a difference that drives the market forward, while providing class leading ideas and technology.
With the 2wd market becoming more refined every day, we felt it was only natural we jump on board and ride the train. With narrow pivots becoming more and more of a factor in performance, we actually brought back the Narrow rear pivot from our RM car. The pivot from the RM was 2mm narrower per side than that of its MM brother. Aside from the Narrow pivots, you will also be able to purchase, medium and wide pivot sets for even more adjustability as optional parts. When we made the plunge to make new pivots, we also stepped away from our old limited insert system, and adopted a more versatile new one. The old system was only adjustable for 1 degree total toe, 0.5 in or out. The new system will allow us to go 2 degrees total, 1 degree in or out on each pivot block. This same system is also adjustable 0.5 to 1 degree in almost any direction. We didn’t cheap out like many other makers, we actually made a complete set of inserts. This will help increase the adjustability in a much larger variety of conditions. We want to see this car excel in every condition, anytime, anywhere. In order to do that, you need to have all the tools to do so at your disposal. Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you how amazing they look anodized jet black with silver chamfered edges!!!!
When we developed our first Mid-motor 2wd, Mid-motors were still in their infancy. The learning curve was steep for everyone. We also had a lot to learn in regards to what makes one of these cars really tick. As time passed, moving the rear shocks to the front side of the suspension arm, proved beneficial in cornering, jumping as well as sheer speed. With that in mind, we went back, updated the height of the tower to maximize the down travel as well as up travel. We tested multiple towers and angles for maximum grip, cornering and stability. The end product was an easier to drive, yet significantly faster car. We are very proud of what we achieved here as the performance was a huge step forward over our previous Mid-motor versions. The first time you hit the track with this car, you will feel the lateral grip it generates. This is the same kind of grip, which gives confidence to overtake your competition in the toughest corners and tightest windows.