S733 and Murnan R3 test drive
Last Updated on Monday, 12 October 2009 07:10
Written by SlowSteady
Sunday, 23 August 2009 11:00
This was a not good week with the weather but then again that's the "specialty" of the UK - unpredictable weather. Still, I managed to run in the Murnan R3 in the 733 and then even managed to test drive the car.
First though I had to sort out the starter box. The S733 kit did not come with the usual Serpent starter box brackets of models past. Luckily I had an old spare starter box with adjustable guides which made it easy to use with any car. So here we go, my verdict on the test drive ... click Read More!
First the engine. The Murnan R3 is an RB based engine and you would have thought that it would not be so difficult to start compared to one of those Novarossi Plus series. You would be proved wrong. It was a pest to start but eventually when it did start there were no real issues to run the engine in. Restarting between tanks though is still showing that the piston-liner pair is tight - possibly because 6 tanks on the starter box and 10 tanks on the track still isn't enough. Time was running out so I started to lean it a bit with tank 17 and kept the temperature of the engine at around 85 DegC for the test drive.
The track is my usual one - my local club at Aldershot. This is the same track I've tested the TM G4, the V-One-RRR, the MTX4, the 720 and the NT1 in previous reviews. Except for the NT1, the other reviews are no longer online, left to the net-hole along with the old version of 3hobby.net. The point is, I'll have a good feel for the car during the test drive since I've driven the others here too. The only variable is the track conditions ... which was rained on the previous evening.
The set-up of the car was stock as per the original
PDF document you can download from Serpent (NOTE: There is an updated
Default setup file now). The bodyshell is a Protoform Mazda 6, same as the one I used on the NT1 test. The bodyshell set-up is per
BRCA/EFRA rules which means the rear wing is tiny and sits below the roof level. The tyres were 40 shores all-round and without fuel, the car weighs 1815 grams.
The 733 feels very stable, a similar feel to the NT1. It has much more steering than the NT1, much like the MTX4 was when I go around the inner sweeper at the AMCC track. The on-power corner exit is excellent, much like the RRR which SmoothSteady sent over for me to test at this track.
I did lose the rear end slightly a couple of times but I seriously think this is because of the track being rained on the previous evening. Besides there were so many leaves, you would never know when one of these would end up under a tyre.
Corner entry is sharp like the stock NT1 however I feel the NT1's stock clutch had more punch on this track compared to the 733. The internal ratio of the 733 is 2.0 and with 17-60 on the first gear, it does not suit this tiny track, especially if you take into account my driving style. It was the same story with the 720 and once changed to a 16-60, one would be able to kick some foam-dust.
Top speed feels stupendously fast on the straight however I am not sure if this is because of the 733's gearing or the crazy power that the Murnan R3 that is giving. Suffice it to say that with the current set-up together with the Murnan R3, I really wish I could test it on the Cotswold track - it would be hair-raising I think!
After more than 24 tanks through it, the Murnan R3 is still bone dry. This is key because I've never really had good luck with RB engines - my past ones seem to leak at the front by the time you've done a dozen tanks but not the Murnan R3 so far. I credit this to Uriah Murnan mainly because he carefully chooses each engine before modding and putting his name on them. I don't have a dyno but I've had quite a few Murnan engines in the past plus other non-modded ones too and I will say that this one does not disappoint. I will probably keep this engine for a future Nationals or EFRA race ... too good for a club race!
The Serpent 733 is a step-improvement over the 720 in my opinion. It seems to have the nice characteristics of some of the other models I've tested. Not all the characteristics are easy to write about but I feel if I can shave off a few grams and change the 1st gear pinion, it will allow me to put down some great lap times at my local track.
I did make a VERY small video of the test drive. It is not a good one unfortunately because I was experimenting with the camera set-up and before I could do some serious videoing, it rained on the actual and last day that I had free to do the test drive. This means half the footage is that of the run-in and the other half had a horrible setting which made the video too bright. Still, watch it, enjoy it and you'll see that the S733 is a very nice car to drive and race. Go get one!
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