Serpent 733 Serpent 200mm racecar with
4-wheel drive, 2-speed gearbox,
independent suspension. Low center of
gravity. Newly developed geometry and
weight balance. High cornering speeds.
Superb braking. Easier to race, with wide
sweetspot. Very light and responsive
steering. High quality nylon and precision
machined alu parts. Serpent Spring ( SS)
steel transmission parts. Centralised
mounting of all electronics. Easy to build
and very open design for easy maintenance.
Developed, engineered and tested by
Michael Salven, in close cooperation with
Team Serpent drivers. Serpent, the racing
experience Introduction late july 2009.
Description
Serpent 733, new design approach
The Serpent 733 has a new, very
distinct open design and sets new
standards in 1/10 scale race-chassis
design.
Many innovative and practical solutions
are build into the unique design, to make
assembly, set-up, racing and maintenance a
joy !
Geometry
New geometry and roll-centers, lower
center of gravity and modified
weight-positioning for improved grip and
better balance.
Adjustable caster, camber, toe-in, width,
wheelbase front and rear, ride-height,
roll centers and more.
Front end brackets
Alu front lower bearing blocks and
suspension brackets, with integrated
anti-roll bar holders and integrated alu
middle bearing block. The gear-diff
is seated in eccentric nylon bushings
to set the belt-tension. The right
position ( choice of 4) of the eccentric
bushings can be recognised from the
outside, for easier re-assembly. The lower
rear end brackets have steel pins
pre-mounted which slide into the slots in
the chassis, for precise positioning.
Rear-end brackets
Very open design split type rear end
assembly. The supersmall and light
gear-diffs mount very low in the
car, in precision machined split type alu
brackets. The gear-diff is seated in
eccentric nylon bushings to set the
belt-tension. The right position ( choice
of 3) of the eccentric bushings can be
recognised from the outside, for easier
re-assembly.
The lower rear end brackets have steel
pins pre-mounted which slide into the
slots in the chassis, for precise
positioning.
The very open design leaves lots of space
for maintenance, cleaning and cooling.
Chassis
The 3mm chassis is made of precision
machined aerospace quality 7075
T6 alu. Countersunk and with
chamfered edges. Some extra maching
where needed for the belt, the engine with
airscoop for cooling, for the flywheel
and some extra space to allow the
moutning the transpinder below the
fueltank.
The very closed design of the chassis
creates the right level of rigidity in the
car. More flex-control is offered with the
chassis stiffner on the side and the ones
on the chassis. A laser-angraved
logo is the finishing touch.
Engine mount
The main upper engine mount is secured
to the engine, and this bracket is then
mounted to the 2 lower chassis-stiffners .
The system allows for precise alignment of
the clutch and 2-speed gearbox.
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Chassis stiffners ¡V flex control
The main chassis-stiffner is the nylon
one wich is mounted between the radioplate
and the left 2-speed bracket. 2
machined alu chassis stiffners are placed
on the chassis, below the engine. The
rear one, with the longer legs, can be
either fastened with just 2 of the 6
screws, or with 4 or all 6. The more
screws are fastened the less flex will
appear.
¡@
Suspension front
New front upper and front lower
wishbones, made from superb nylon
materials and have an excellent fit on the
hardened steel pivot pins. The lower
wishbones houses the hard-coated alu
pivot-ball, which operates the front
anti-roll bar. The wheelbase can be
changed in the front by using the small
caster-spacers in front or back of the
lower front wishbone. In the top ofcourse
change caster in the same way. The
roll-center changes can be made by
changing the inner pivot inserts for a
lower, medium or higher position,
depending on the situation.
Front upper bracket
The nylon upper bracket, connect
the front alu bearing blocks, holds the
carbon fibre shocktower and the upper
hinge pin inserts and incorporates the
downstops. To take out the diff
takes 4 screws only.
Steeringblocks
The kit comes with the strong prooven
steeringblocks of the 720, with off-set 0.
Offset 1 is available as option.
The steeringblocks mount to the wishbones
with light-weight coated alu 8.5mm
pivotballs, and use the nylon ball-cups
for an ultra light and ultra smooth
suspension process
Anti-roll bar front
Ball-raced wire type front anti-roll
bar system, more efficient and easier to
tweak. Operated by linkages that mount to
alu pivotballs on the ower front arms.
2.5mm is standard, 3 other options.
1.8-2.0, 2.2 and 2.8
Shocktower front
Carbon fibre front shocktower in
3.2mm with 3 positions for the front
shocks. Includes holes to mount the
3rd bodymount.
¡@
Shocks
Pre-assembled RCCX shock-sets. Short
type both front and rear, also short
springs front and rear. With
the 2009 modification on rod-support and
silicone x-ring for supersmooth shocks.
SS-steel shock-rods, precision machined
coated shock-housings, foam bleeders,
precision moulded nylon pistons and
shock-parts. The spring pre-load nut has a
silicone o-ring inside to prevent unwanted
change.
Use 1000 Cst (40W) shock-oil as enclosed
for standard set-up both front and rear.
Gear-differential.
Extremely small and light gear
differential, seated as low as possible in
the 733. The same gear-diff is used in the
front and rear of the car, just different
pullies are mounted. High quality,
precision machined , hardedned gears,
combined with SS-steel shafts, create a
supersmooth gear-diff. The
gear-cases are sealed with a captured
o-ring. The SS-steel precison
machined outdrives are lightened to
decrease rotating mass further. For
standard set-up use 80.000 Cst front and
30.000 Cst rear oil, as provided.
Its very easy and fast to take the
diffs out of the car.
Centax
The Serpent 733 comes with the famous
Centax clutch ( an original Serpent
innovation) . The ultra reliable Centax
III WC version comes with precison
machined, hardcoated alu screw on gears (
laser engraved) mounted on a hardened
steel clutch-bell.
A very small and light 31mm hardcoated alu
flywheel with precision mounted steel
pins. Race developed clutch shoe and
flyweights, combined with a hard Centax
spring, to create a superb working clutch
for amazing accelleration and durability.
Ball-joints
High quality nylon ball-joints for
precision fit on the pivot balls. All
balljoints of the car are on one larger
frame inside the kit. Some have TOP as
indication, to show which direction to
mount them for best operation.
Gearbox
Ulta smooth gear-changes are provided
by the WC type Light-Compact
(LC) automatic 2-speed gearbox, which
combines perfectly with the Centax III-WC
system.
Precision machined 2-speed bell and
one-way adaptor, combined with durable
centrifugal shoes mounted on the SS-steel
polished adaptor. Balanced SS-steel 2-speed
layshaft.
¡@
Belt tensioner
Alu CNC machined belt-tensioner
bracket, that can mount on top or below
the radioplate. Ballraced.
Driveshafts / wheel-adaptors
The front end has SS-steel CVD
system, with laser engraved, ultra thin
and light driveshafts, combined with
durable wheel-axles and precision machined
alu hex wheel adaptors.
The rear end has SS-steel dogbones also
thin/lightweight, yet durable, to stand
the beating of the ever increasing
horsepower and grip-levels.
Belts
Kevlar 4mm wide re-inforced
drive-belts. Orange PU type belts
are standard (the black/brown low friction
rubber type are optional, but for the 1st
batch the rubber ones are used).
Fueltank
Low-mounted 75cc fueltank with
bronze sintered filter with AFL-cap, moved
more to the front and offers a
mounting-position for AMB
transponder on the bottom. Small side
indent to provide space for the throttle
lever. Tank-inserts can be screw-mounted
inside to decrease the contents if needed.
Tanks mounts on 3 alu posts, with
rubber covers, capped with silicone o-ring
and small clips.
Roll-bar
Asymetric roll bar with integrated
sleeve for the fuel-cap strap. The roll
bar doubles also as end-stop for the
fuel-cap, to prevent the cap to open too
far.
Pipe-mount
Machined alu pipe-mount holds the
spring-wire , which is attached to the
radioplate. Grub-screw hold wire in
place.
Bumper
The innovative and nice looking new
bumper sports a split type foam bumper,
and the angled upper bumper creates a very
sturdy front end, to absorb the impact of
crashes ( if any). ( A wider foam
bumper is provided as optional.)
Servo-saver
Ball-raced servo-saver design, with the
steel servo saver shaft mounted on the
chassis only, spring-loaded with
pre-tension nut and easy inserts to change
Ackermann. The linkages to the
steering-servo are short and angles are
smooth / direct and easy to access, as
mounted above the radioplate.
Combined with the ultra strong SS-steel
trackrods and smooth ball-joints, the
assembly creates a very effective and
responsive steering-system.
Pullies
New gear-ratio combined with new
pullies with small sideholes to let dirt
out easily. Friction free and very
smooth operation.
Middle shaft
The middle shaft holder is beautifully
integrated in the front left alu bracket
and secured with 3 screws. This offers
strong, flex-free guidance to the SS-steel
middle shaft.
2-speed shaft brackets
The 2 alu brackets to hold the 2-speed
shaft are true works of art. By separating
them from the rear end brackets, it
creates lots of open space to work on the
car and gives better way for cooling too.
In the top the brackets support the
ball-raced rear anti-roll bar, which is
seated in the brackets with small steel
adaptors and high speed bearings. The left
one also houses the ball-raced brake-cam
and supports the chassis stiffner too.
Multi-functional.
Shocktower rear
4mm thick carbon fibre rear shocktower
with 6 mounting positions for the shocks.
The holes are positioned in such way, that
when changing to to another hole, the
length of the shocks can remain the same.
The shocktower includes holes to mount the
tank-cap strap, as well as mounting
positions for the rear body mounts.
Uprights
New uprights to suit the new geometry.
Allows for 2 mounting positions in the
top, inner or outer and the
kit comes complete with conical spacers to
change roll-center.
Rear suspension
The new rear lower wishbones can be
used both left and right. The anti-roll
bar linkage has 2 mounting positions to
choose from. The rear carbon camber
bracket in 4mm thick material , has 9
positions to choose from, 5 inner and 4
outer each side. The roll-center
changes can be made by changing the inner
pivot inserts for a lower, medium or
higher position, depending on the
situation.
Brake
A very accessible and cool brake
system, with 2 large ventilated steel
disks, with one machined alu cooling-fin
in the middle ( also used
successfully on the Serpent 966) . The
brake-system is mounted very low in
the car for better center of gravity.
Spring ¡Vloaded race pads that
slide on precision machined bushings.
The race brake-pads are ready to use
with pre-baked friction material ( no more
glueing ) that lasts and offers incredible
braking power with excellent brake feeling
/ feedback. Reaches right
temperature quickly, has no fading and
works well in the rain too. The
nylon brake lever, that operates the hard-anodised
ballraced brake-cam, has 2 mounting
positions for the linkage. The linkage
runs very straight to the servo-arm.
Radioplate
The very short and narrow radioplate is
made of 2.5mm high quality carbon
fibre material and ads to the overall
stiffness of the car. The overall design
is mad ein such way that the complete
radioplate with tank, roll-bar, belt-tensioner
and all electronics comes out of the car
in one go. Just release the steeringlever
and release 7 screws. Ideal for cleaning
and maintenance. All wiring very
short and compact to mount. Straight
aligned servo-linkages to both brake and
throttle levers.
Radio-gear and battery mounting
The 733 provides a neatly designed
side-bracket-assembly that offers mounting
space for the receiver, the switch, the
antenna and both servo¡¦s. The receiver
goes into the nylon box with embossed
Serpent logo. On the opposite side
of the tank, the battery ( Lipo or regular
pack) is mounted to a carbon fibre bracket
(shrink-foil/tape) , which again mounts to
the radioplate with nylon spacers.
This very compact design means you can use
very short cables and when mounted
correctly hardly any cables are visible
from the outside, but house well protected
inside the car. The steering-servo bracket
offers another mounting position ( 2
holes) for the transponder in case that is
prefered instead of the lower mounting
position under the tank.
Spacers are provided to correctly mount
the servo¡¦s, as well as 3 types servo
levers to suit all major brands.
Bearings
High speed stainless steel bearings
throughout the car, lightweight and
lubricated with high quality Shell bearing
oil. High quality one-way bearing
for the 2-speed adaptor.
Fasteners
Allen type high quality steel screw
throughout the car.
Manual / set-up sheet / decals
Manual
State of the art, full color manual with
all assembly steps and tips. Each
bag in the kit-box follows the steps in
the manual. The integrated reference
guide in the back, shows all exploded
views and part-number and full parts-list
too. The parts-list also shows the
currently available optionals parts.
A set-up sheet is inserted with a standard
set-up and a blank one too. Other set-ups
will be published in the 733 product-page
on serpent.com under set-ups.
The kits includes 2 decal-sheets
with Serpent and 733 logo¡¦s.
Optionals
A line of optionals will be offered to
further improve an already superb car, or
just for the looks. More info in the
optionals page.
Tyres, wheels, radio-equipment, engine and
pipe-system are not included.
More pictures in the image gallery.
Developed, engineered and tested by
Michael Salven, in close cooperation with
Team Serpent drivers.
