Serpent S120 LTX 1/12 Pan Car

Serpent S120 LTX 1/12 Pan Car

This new 1/12 pan car is packed with trick carbon fiber and aluminum parts, plus a fully adjustable front end and a spring loaded link system. Check out all the features below:

Serpent 1/12 scale pan car S120 LTX version. High performance 1/12 scale pan chassis, with nicely machined carbon fiber and aluminum parts. Superb fully adjustable front end creates loads of steering. Spring loaded Link system, in combination with diagonal positioned main shock and tube-system, controls the roll of the car. Well balanced Lipo chassis offers wide selection of set-up features and options to dial the car in best for any track. 2012 version has the main pivot point moved 8mm to the front and has a 2mm ( instead of 2.5mm before) chassis and 2mm podplate for lower center of gravity. All other carbon parts moved along with this change. Not included are wheel/tires, electronics or body.

The S120 Link chassis consists of 2 main elements, the 2.0mm thick carbon fiber chassis plate and the rear aluminum motor pod. The chassis uses a Link-system , and is damped using a conventional centrally mounted shock absorber together with an anodized tube system.

The front end of the car is completely adjustable and utilizes the now standard fixed lower suspension arms combined with active top wishbones, which together with kingpin mounted springs ensure that the car is able to corner at high speeds and soak up any small bumps found on the racing surface.

Development

Serpent pan-cars are developed by Michael Salven in close cooperation with Serpent key team-drivers.

The 1/12 team is expanded with Marc Fischer from Germany, who will also assist to test and developed the S120 platform even further, and same with top-driver Chris Kerswell from the UK.

S120 Front end

The front end of the car features 11 different adjustments to help you get the most from your car, all of which are easy to adjust and measure. Fixed lower suspension arms are themselves damped by the central strut which uses rubber o-rings to take up the flex in this area, while the grey anodized aluminum front upper wishbone mounts are available in different caster angles, the car being supplied with 6 degree versions as standard. Ride height spacers are available too in 0.5mm and 1mm. With the steering block kingpins spring loaded, the cornering forces are channeled through the upper wishbone, which enable the car to corner at high speeds.

Tube system

The S120-LTX uses tubes to control the roll of the car.

This system plays a big part in how the car turns into a corner which can be adjusted through the use of different oils, 15.000 for normal grip and 20.000 for high grip tracks.

Central section

The spring-loaded side-bars, the links, are made of composite nylon and control the roll of the chassis, together with the tubes and the main central shock.

Precision made springs and pivot balls.

The central section is a combination of elements to control the movements of the rear end perfectly

  • a central main shock, based on the famous Serpent RCCX technology; the shock tower enables various angles.
  • the anodized alu tubes on both sides
  • 2 spring loaded shaped side bars

These elements interact to create the best possible handling (roll, bump and alignment) under all grip-conditions.

Body post

For securely mounting the body shell to your S120 LTX, the car has strong plastic body posts front and rear. All 4 posts are supplied with orange anodized adjustable collars to precisely adjust the body’s height and the posts are supplied extra-long to allow the user to cut them to their own preferred length. The front body posts have also been designed to help protect the front of the carbon chassis from splitting in the event of a heavy front impact.

Servo saver

The S120 Link comes supplied with a high quality miniature servo saver, which through the use of orange anodized shims, has adjustable Ackerman.

The kit includes 2 alu servo posts, which enable a perfectly centered mounting of any popular brand servo.

The small foam bumper is also included.

Rear axle mounts

The lightweight graphite rear axle is mounted on bearings that sit within eccentric composite inserts that allows the user to ability to quickly and easily change the rear ride height of the car simply by changing between inserts.

The kit comes supplied with all 9 inserts which range between 0 and 4mm, each differing by 0.5mm and all are reversible for an even wider range of adjustment.

Rear ball differential

The S120 LTX comes supplied with a durable and high performance ball differential. Easily adjusted by a plastic nut, accessible through the right rear wheel, the diff uses high quality steel balls and plates and is supplied with both suitable silicone and graphite grease for use during assembly and maintenance.

The rear diff features hardened D-plates and light alu shaft assembly for super smooth diff action.

Central shock absorber

To aid rear traction under acceleration and to absorb bumps, the S120 LTX sports a centrally mounted shock absorber. Supplied with a soft spring, the pre load of which can be adjusted, the front mount of this shock absorber is used for adjusting the rear down stop and range of movement between the chassis and motor pod.

The central shock is mounted on a shock-tower with a number of positions to choose from.

Rear motor pod, chassis

The strong basis is formed by the 2.0mm thick carbon fiber chassis plate designed such way that the Lipo is mounted in lateral direction, and can be mounted either left or right side, and enough space for all the valuable electronics.

The alu / carbon motor pod is a beautiful combination of high quality machined alu brackets and top quality carbon fiber parts, bolted together to create an ultra-stiff rear pod. The new motor-bracket allows the brushless motor to be mounted in the optimal position for car balance and offers good heat dissipation as well.

Packaging & Manual

The S120 LTX kit is sold in a very compact matt black box and which can fit the built S120 (minus wheels). To allow you to build your car with the greatest of ease, Serpent supplies a full color instruction manual and integrated reference guide section that contains all the exploded views and latest options. The S120-LTX also comes supplied with a pair of decal sheets in black, white, orange.

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If you like this article, check out this additional article on Serpent.

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Updated: July 21, 2015 — 2:53 PM
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