John Knight asked us to build him a Serpent Spyder SRX-2 buggy for him and has sent a nice report which I would like to share.
Kit Used:
#500003
Serpent Spyder SRX-2 MM Buggy
Parts Used:
| #500192 Geardiff set SRX2#500204 Pivot pin brace 30 deg fr SRX2 #500197 #500354 #500227 #500243 #500281 |
#500103 Two Spare set of white Serpent wheels FR #500105 Pinions needed for race 48 pitch and sizes, 27, 28, 29 and 30 tooth RudeBits R1 Wing Supplied by RudeBits RudeBits under Lipo Weight 46g Supplied by RudeBitsShorty batteries MKT shorties X3 Supplied by Team NCRC Hobbywing Just Stock ESC and 13.5T Motor Supplied by Team NCRC Schumacher Tyres front and Rear x 2 sets plus inserts for rear tyres Supplied by Team NCRC Muchmore Tyre Glue Supplied by Team NCRC |
Report from John:
Following a recent move to Istanbul, we were looking to find a suitable buggy to race at the Rat Racers Winter Series that were being held at a local school. We were introduced to Tom How who showed allot of knowledge for the set of the Serpent range of cars and we were also informed that he offered a car set-up and build service.
After the decision was made to purchase a Serpent Spyder SRX2 Mid Motored Buggy, we asked Tom if he would be interested in building the car for us as we were hoping to attend the next race event and would not have time to complete the car and have it ready to race in such a short period of time.
Tom was quick to respond and immediately started to send lists of options that were available and he also advised us as to which parts were the important and which parts were “nice to have” options that would enable us to have a competition ready 1/10th off-road buggy. Within hours of deciding what parts we were to order, Tom How proceeded to keep us informed as to when the parts for build up would be delivered and when the build of our new buggy would start.
After Tom had received the kit, we were sent various build images from him that showed us an in-depth look of the work that were being undertaken. These detailed images also gave us an indication as to how the car was being constructed which of course proved to be an extremely useful tool as we were soon to be the proud owners of this buggy and in turn would need this information to re-assemble parts for general maintenance and set-up. What also followed were a series of step by step images showing us various tuning options that had been added to the car. Based on Toms vast experience, we were shown a well balanced car designed to create a fine tuned race buggy ready for serious racing at the track.
Not only had Tom organised the build of our car, he had also arranged for all of the various parts to be delivered from various sources in time for the next race which was to follow shortly.
On the day of practice we were presented with a final “ready to race” buggy that had been carefully constructed and was clearly compatible to take on the competition. The first day of practice saw battery after battery races around the track with a car that was proving to be well balanced and extremely reliable. Nothing had been changed from the set-up of the car to which Tom had taken care in precisely ensuring the accuracy in his judgement and our buggy was proving to be fast on the track and really fun to drive.
After its first day out we had seen that a mid-field placement was secure and only driver ability was holding the car back from getting faster times on the track. Day 2 of the Rat Race Winter series showed once again the reliability of the car and its precise handling on the track, a clear credit to mention again the importance of a precise build of any serious RC racer.
Minor changes to the car set-up to suit drivers requirements showed some improvements, but again the basic set-up from Tom showed that his race knowledge was excellent in suiting the driving style of most racers who are interested at both entry and professional levels of RC racing. With a strong field of competition we managed to achieve C Final qualification and continued to push the car to the drivers limits, again without any failure to the car despite it seeing some unfortunate driver errors.
All in all the build from Tom gave us the ability to both enjoy the weekends racing and also have an excellent knowledge of the car he had built for us and the ways we could make further changes to suit our driving style if at all required.
At close of the first weekend of racing with the Serpent SRX2 Mid Motored 1/10 Buggy we were more than satisfied as to the reliability of the car and the high level of attention that had been given to the construction of the car by Tom How.
May I therefore on behalf of Tracksideshop and UNICOL Deutschland GmbH, (sponsors of RCSkool and Rat Racers Winter/Summer series) like to thank both Tom How, Serpent Cars and Team NCRC for their excellent support in presenting us with a first class professional model off road Buggy that we are very much looking forward to racing at further races throughout the year.
Best wishes,
John Knight.
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