I like the car. It seems well built and handles well. Had a screw or two come loose, but no big deal. The only complaint I would have is the electronics. I didn't expect much being an rtr, but it didn't even come with the radio that was pictured on the box. It came with an even lower end version, like a really, really cheap rtr radio. I planned to and already ditched the electronics, but it reflects badly when a company changes out stuff in the box for cheap junk without any notation.
Update. After a few runs and going over the car, I must say Serpent quality control on this rtr needs some big time help. I found both rear hinge pin retaining screws to be missing, one side of the steering setup was missing a spacer that didn't allow the screw to tighten in the receiver which caused massive play in the steering not allowing the car to track straight, one of the top plate hold down screws was overtightened and stripped, and a few other minor things. I still really like the car overall, would just recommend a thorough going over of it before running.
I really like how this car handles, like any other RTR, check things over before your first run. I didn't find any loose fasteners, but the set up needed adjustments.
The car is not that fast out of the box, but that was due to the slow gearing, easy change.
One complaint, the wheel nuts were cranked down so tight, it split all four wheels and crushed the plastic wheel drive hex's, I planned to replace them with aluminum anyway, but would have been nice to at least get some use out of the wheels and tires.
Overall, great car for the money ! I would certainly recommend it !
I have vehicles from many makers, but this is my first from Serpent. I do not have touring car experience, prior to this, so maybe this is how things are done in this arena of vehicle. So, keep that in mind when reading my review.
I looked over the car prior to driving it the first time. All screws were snug, and belt tension was good (Relating to a YouTube video on tension/deflection). We took the car and a handful of cones to the city park basketball court early one AM, and were packed up and headed home 10 minutes later. On the steering link, one of the ball screws (Well, a screw into a ball) had come out and gone away. The front belt had stretched quite a bit, too, but maybe this is typical—I will figure it out with time.
I pop into Amain to order more “Uni Pivot Balls”, and WOW $16 for a pack of 4! Steel ball screws from AE or TLR or Tekno don’t cost that much. Plus, without special pliers (Since there is no room for shock shaft pliers), you aren’t going to be able to hold the ball during tightening or loosening (Since they are going to receive a dab of loctite now).
I have only skimmed the usb stick manual that was sent, and don’t see anything about belt tensioning adjustments, right off hand. Thank goodness for YouTube videos.
Finally, for a RTR, and this is only opinion, I think the 3600kV motor is too fast, especially with most classes around me being 25.5/21.5/17.5 based.
If you are interested in buying this RTR........you should know a few things. Out of the box, these were my disappointments;
1. There is silicone based lubricant spewing from all corners of the car, inner body, spools, diff casing........etc. After your first run, the car was a nightmare to clean as dust and pebbles stuck to the chassis and surrounding parts like glue, and this was after cleaning off as much lubricant as possible.
2. Rear pulley spacers were both slack. The smooth functioning of these pullies and spacers is extremely important as both shorter and longer drive belts hook up to it which in turn drive the spur gear. Therefore if there is play on either side, it causes vibration to the spur gear which translates to vibration to the drive system. The end result was damaged spur gear teeth, pulley teeth and a shredded short drive belt running from the rear diff to the pulley.
3. The plastics mounted to the kit are extremely soft! You have to be careful not to ring out when tightening grub screws, hex screws. With the slightest bit of torque I was able to ring out both servo mounts.
4. Hex screws are equally brittle
5. My biggest beef is that of the ball joint linkages that give you your caster adjustment. They affix themselves to the uprights that house your bearings, c-hubs etc. This came loose just from running in my yard, 1/4 throttle, no accidents, again it might have not been properly tightened.
Im no ranter........... this rtr is very poorly assembled, it makes no sense at all to put a product up on the market as a ready to race version and the user has to run through the car piece by piece to find the loose ends and damaged parts as a result of the poor assembly and inferior plastics used. If I were a child, this car would be in pieces by now as its not a car you can put on the ground and go! It has to be carefully inspected.
Buy this rtr at your own risk, I have its bigger brother serpent cobra gte 1/8th scale.............ZERO problems. None. Well built, zero issues. If you must buy, buy the ERYX KIT.
Most times I never have anything bad to say but I only ran a half a battery through the serpent and the diff bolts came lose which should not have and trash the spur gear both belts both pulleys, I have since order new parts from you waiting on the parts to arrive at the house but there needs to be a better quality of control on your car been in the RC hobby for 40 years first time I've come across this over the many of cars I have bought. After reading some of the comments on their cars this seems to be a common problem.
I was recommended the rc by people Who have been in this hobby a lot longer than me, was told this is one of the best rc’s straight out the box and ready for racing and it was meant for beginners
Here are my thoughts:
The car out the box came defective for me with a slipping/stripped servo saver. The instructions are very poor and does not match/align what needs to be done vs what is written to calibrate. I went to try and adjust my punch, breaks and voltage cutoff but somehow wiped my calibration. Took me all night to the break of day to figure out how to get it back a calibrated rc as I had to keep adjusting and trying different ways to get it set but still I cannot do what i originally wanted. Figured there would be tons of info on people reprogramming this thing and there really isnt much help info that I could find. They don’t have any online videos for help either. I am unsure if there is any customer support aside from the dealer. I also noticed on their site this rc has items discontinued already which makes me feel like this rc will not be long term for me. I’m feeling like I wasted a lot of money on this rc, hopefully support gets back to me.
This manual talks about ABS and says you need to disable but nowhere does it show you where it is and how to disable because it doesn't exist.
Their manual clearly shows different parts were used for this rc so good luck knowing which part you have or need. Perhaps it was a big mistake for me to buy this, going to look at amain refund policy, since i took it out the box and used for 5 minutes on road and already labelled the body, i doubt i can get a full refund if I return this. Was expecting a more premium feel with this car but now feel like it is a premium masquerade. The esc is only 35a and the box says 2s only. I thought this was supposed to be a 3s rc, but not with stock esc i guess. Motor gets hot with light revs. Will be contacting amain for help with the program as instructions direct you to seek out rc friends/online forum help/and links to websites that show the product discontinued. This was a shocker for the expectation I had vs what you really get. This is not as beginner friendly as some may state.. The manual is poorly written.
OUTSTANDING performance in a top of the line car that is just about ready to start buying the competition. I am super impressed with the quality and durability of the chassis and steering/suspension components.Esc and motor are very nice quality and really lay down Bice smooth power through the silky smooth rear end.
The body looks great and is is the perfect weight for track and saving you custom body for race day.
Overall this is a great way to get into a pan car at a great price ! Highly recomended
Its a good car but first thing i would replace are front and rear suspension brackets. Was just cruising along at barely 1/4 throttle bumped a few corners and after the 3rd bump right front tire was out of whack, checked and found the hinge pin on the suspension bracket had broke through the plastic, oh well, what would we expect from an rtr!
great car!!!! best rtr touring car your money can buy you. handles great!!!! drives like a slot car!!!
Decent little car for the money . I bought this car and replaced the electrics for a budget usgt car and for the money it’s served me well
This thing out of the box on 2s flies, I couldn't believe it. The build is beautiful, it has many thoughtful designs. The electronics are RTR so nothing special but the car is very responsive. I put it into a curb the third day, worth buying extra set of wheels and a pair of steering blocks. I snapped it off on the curb. Love this car.
Love it, can't wait to get it on the track.Well made with lots of parts support.I'm putting one heck of a 132ft drag race combo
Hi,
It is a very good model to start in the hobby. Good quality and price.
I used it for a while, right now I’m running two ARC in 17.5 and 10.5
Thanks
Excellent value for the money and can easily be updated to a very competitive platform with couple upgrades.
I just wish it would have come with a sticker sheet... ...because yeah... i buy stuff for the stickers!
Great rc car. High quality materials. Chassis, shock towers and top deck are made from high quality fiberglass.
There are hop ups availables from Eryx 3.0 and options to different set-ups.
Competition shock absorbers.
The electronics are enough for you have fun in a rc track.
Semi pro rc car for a great price.
Nice car, feels great once setup. It is as good as the eryx without all the hopup parts. Very competitive. Electronics are garbage though, I guess the electronics don`t really matter if you are going to race with it, I replaced all of them and the car runs great. I`m giving it 4 stars only because as a whole the electronics do suck pretty bad.
So far so good But as a Christmas gift have not opened it or used it but looks really fun
The S411 is the best Electric 10th scale rc car I've ever owned. It has surpassed my greatest expectations and has plenty of support in the rc world.
