Setup book 1/10th scale 4wd competition car.
- 2 - - 3 - contents introduction 3 section a - basic setup 4 a1. Downstops 4 a2. Shock absorbers 5 a3. Track-width 6 a4. Ride height 8 a5. Camber 8 a6. Caster 10 a7. Toe 10 a8. Anti-roll bars 12 a9. Suspension tweak 12 section b - advanced setup 15 b1. Roll center 17 b2. Downstops 19 b3. Ride heigh...
- 2 - - 3 - introduction setting up a racecar with fully independent suspension, like your serpent 720, is necessary to make the car perform well. We have developed these straightforward procedures to help you set up your car properly and easily. Always follow these procedures step-by-step, in the o...
- 4 - - 5 - section a - basic setup section a: basic setup describes the default settings for the serpent 720 and how to adjust those settings. We strongly recommend you thoroughly read this section so you understand how the settings are adjusted. The setup described here is a good starting point. A...
- 4 - - 5 - a1.2 setting front downstops front downstop default setting = +1mm set the front downstops so the bottoms of the steering blocks are at +1mm on the gauge. (actual measurement = 1mm above top level of elevating blocks, or 1mm above the bottom of the chassis). Adjust front downstops by tur...
- 6 - - 7 - initial steps a. Shocks: to adjust shock damping, remove the shocks from the car by unscrewing the upper and lower shock pivotballs. You do not need to disconnect the shocks to adjust spring preload (for ride height adjustment). Setup apparatus none a2.1 adjusting shock absorber damping ...
- 6 - - 7 - initial steps a. Shocks: attach front and rear shocks. B. Wheels: mount all four wheels on the car. Setup apparatus measure track-width with the car resting on a flat measuring surface, such as the hudy flat setup board which has graduated markings to measure track-width. A3.1 measuring ...
- 8 - - 9 - a4. Ride height ride height is the distance between the bottom of the chassis and the reference surface on which the car is resting. Adjust ride height with the car ready-to-run but without the body. Initial steps a. Shocks: connect front and rear shocks. B. Anti-roll bars: disconnect fr...
- 8 - - 9 - • positive camber means that the top of the wheel is leaning outward (away from the centerline of the car). Initial steps a. Shocks: connect front and rear shocks. B. Anti-roll bars: disconnect front and rear anti-roll bars. C. Wheels: if measuring camber using a setup system, remove the...
- 10 - - 11 - a5.3 setting rear camber rear camber default setting = -3.0° set the rear camber to –3.0° (top of rear wheel leaning inward). Adjust rear camber using the upper pivotball in the rear upright. • to get more negative camber (more slanted), shorten the rear upper camber link. • to get les...
- 10 - - 11 - important! Make equal adjustments on both left and right sides of the car. A7.1 measuring toe measure front and rear toe using the setup system according to the instructions provided with the setup system. A7.2 setting front toe front toe default setting = -1.0° (toe- out) adjust the f...
- 12 - - 13 - a8. Anti-roll bars anti-roll bars are used to adjust the car’s side traction and alter chassis roll. Initial steps a. Anti-roll bars: connect the front and rear anti-roll bars. Setup apparatus none a8.1 setting the front anti-roll bar front anti-roll bar default setting = horizontal (s...
- 12 - - 13 - setup apparatus measure tweak with the car sitting on a flat reference surface (such as a flat setup board offered by hudy). Checking for rear tweak determine if the rear of the car is tweaked by checking at the front of the car. A9.1 lift and drop the front end and rear end of the car...
- 14 - - 15 - a9.6 place a sharp tool underneath the rear end of the chassis at its middle point, and lift the rear end. If one rear wheel lifts before the other, the front end of the car is tweaked and may be adjusted by front spring preload. A9.7 adjust the preload on the front springs until both ...
- 14 - - 15 - section b - advanced setup section b: advanced setup describes the effects of changing settings on your serpent 720. Throughout this section, we refer to handling effects of the car in the corner. We distinguish three corner sections and three throttle/brake positions as follows: • cor...
- 16 - - 17 - weight transfer weight transfer is the key to car handling. Consider that a car has a certain amount of “weight” on various parts of the car and this weight is distributed by a certain amount into each wheel. When the car corners, weight is transferred to the outside tires, when it acc...
- 16 - - 17 - b1. Roll center a “roll center” is a theoretical point around which the chassis rolls, and is determined by the design of the suspension. Front and rear suspensions normally have different roll centers. The “roll axis” is the imaginary line between the front and rear roll centers. In g...
- 18 - - 19 - higher • decreases on-throttle steering • increases car’s responsiveness • increases weight transfer at front of car, therefore decreases grip • decreases chassis roll • use in high-grip conditions to avoid traction rolling • better on tracks with quick direction changes (chicanes) rea...
- 18 - - 19 - large adjustments fine tuning important! Changing rear roll center settings impacts several other settings such as downstop and ride height. After changing rear roll center, re-check your other settings. Important! It is very important that you have the same settings on the left and ri...
- 20 - - 21 - lower • increases upward chassis travel on-throttle • decreases high-speed steering • decreases “initial” on-throttle understeer • better on bumpy tracks rear downstops higher • decreases rear chassis upward travel off-throttle or under braking • increases stability under braking • bet...
- 20 - - 21 - spring rate spring rate determines how much the spring resists compression, which is commonly referred to as the “hardness” of the spring. Different spring rates determine how much of the car’s weight is transferred to the wheel relative to the other shocks. Spring rate also influences...
- 22 - - 23 - spring preload spring preload is used primarily for adjusting ride height, and is not used for altering camber or other suspension settings or characteristics. Spring preload may also be used to adjust the tweak in the car. For more information, see the section for setting ride height ...
- 22 - - 23 - shock damping - shock oil shock oil is rated with a “viscosity” number that indicates the thickness of the oil, which determines how much the oil resists flowing and how much it resists the shock piston moving through it. Shock oil with a higher viscosity (for example, 40w oil) is thic...
- 24 - - 25 - b5. Track-width track-width is the distance between the outside edges of the wheels at one end of the car. Track-width affects the car’s handling and steering response. It is important that front or rear track-width is adjusted symmetrically, meaning that the left and right wheels at o...
- 24 - - 25 - tires wear slightly conical to the inside. The amount of front camber required to maintain the maximum contact patch largely depends on the amount of caster. Higher caster angles (more inclined) require less negative camber, while lower caster angles (more upright) require more negativ...
- 26 - - 27 - b7. Caster caster describes the forward/ backward angle of the front steering block with respect to a line perpendicular to the ground. Caster angle affects on- and off-power steering, as it tilts the chassis more or less depending on how much caster is set. Generally, a lower caster a...
- 26 - - 27 - b8. Toe toe is the angle of the wheels when looked at from above the car. • wheels parallel with the centerline of the car have a 0° toe angle. • wheels are open toward the front have a negative toe angle (toe-out). • wheels that are closed toward the front have a positive toe angle (t...
- 28 - - 29 - b9. Anti-roll bars anti-roll bars are used to distribute the car’s side (lateral) grip. Anti-roll bars resist chassis roll and by doing so transfer wheel load from the inside wheel to the outside wheel; the harder the anti-roll bar, the more wheel load is transferred. However, as the o...
- 28 - - 29 - b10. Centax-3 clutch the centax-3 clutch included with the serpent 720 may be used to tune the performance of the car. It is important to note that there are many factors that may affect engine and clutch performance. Factors such as proper engine tuning, proper clutch assembly, clutch...
- 30 - - 31 - effects of clutch gap adjustment larger clutch gap • harder engagement • more sudden acceleration • better on a wider track or high-traction a track • puts excess stress on the clutch components, especially the thrustbearing smaller clutch gap • softer engagement • smoother acceleratio...
- 30 - - 31 - clutch shoes serpent offers different clutch shoes for the centax-3 clutch to change the characteristics of the clutch and also wear and durability. Effects of different clutch shoes #802508 centax-3 clutch shoe xp (black) • softer material • higher initial bite, but more slippage • mo...
- 32 - - 33 - b11. 2-speed transmission the 2-speed transmission included with the serpent 720 may be adjusted for shift point and shift smoothness. Transmission adjustment - shift point the shift point determines when the transmission shifts into 2nd gear, and is set by the two shift-point screws o...
- 32 - - 33 - b12. Front and rear axles the serpent 720 has several options for front and rear axles. The choice of front and rear axles depends on track conditions. The serpent 720 is designed to quickly change these axles with minimal effort or disassembly. Front axles • gear differential (standar...
- 34 - - 35 - adjusting front and rear gear differentials gear differential action is adjusted by filling the gear differential with differential oil of a specific viscosity. Differential oil is rated with a “viscosity” number that indicates the thickness of the oil, which determines how much the oi...
- 34 - - 35 - heavier rear differential (thicker oil) • increases on-throttle steering • better acceleration if the grip is there • more predictable car (cars with very “loose” diffs have a tendency to understeer heavily under throttle and turn-in oversteer as soon as you lift) • more on-throttle ov...
- 36 - - 37 - tighter front diff action (tighter friction collar) • decreases steering • increases stability under braking but less turn-in • better on-power at corner exit b16. Rear ball differential (optional) the optional rear ball differential (#802380) shares the same construction and adjustabi...
- 36 - - 37 - b17. Front one-way axle (optional) the front one-way axle (#802245) behaves like a differential off-power at corner entry and in mid-corner, and like a solid front axle on-power at corner exit. It allows the inner and outer wheels to rotate at different speeds under off-power condition...
- 38 - - 39 - quick reference the quick reference table on the next page is a simple to use setup guide. With the car’s handling characteristics listed on the left of the table the suggestions for solutions are presented in order of importance and also shows whether the adjustment should be a positi...
- 38 - - 39 - corner entry key guide understeer oversteer straight line stability off-throttle harder / increase / higher / lengthen / do not use softer / decrease / lower / shorten / use on-throttle downstops camber caster ride height toe-ou t roll center downstops camber ride height toe-in camber ...
Serpent model racing cars bv spaarneweg 12e, 2142 en, cruquius the netherlands, europe #803103 - v ersion 1.
