Hey Johnny,
Serial is finicky because of the fact that there is no cable standard.
If you can get it working reliably in the shop, you're fine so long as you use the same cables and same configuration.
Juts don't expect to be able to change much on show site reliably unless you use cables and hardware you've already tested and know to work.
You'll end up shooting yourself in the foot if you try to change serial rates, sizes, etc. on show days in an attempt to resolve problems that are actually related to bad or incorrect cables.
(Please note edits in italics.)