Novafox. Any weaknesses?

[toyolien]

I really like the Fox, and have never got round to getting one of the Novafoxes. I'm not that familiar with this chassis, and I do believe it wasn't found on any other buggy.

Are there any obvious weaknesses with the Fox? I'm toying with the idea of building one as a frequent runner... Thanks.

[Twinfan]

Subscribed, as my next build is going to be a Novafox!

I've got ball bearings for the front wheels, a steel pinion, a Sport Tuned motor, rear hexes and DT-03 wheels/tyres lined up for mine.  I'm not aware of any obvious Hop-Ups and I'm planning on just replacing stuff if it breaks.  Assuming parts stay available of course......

[JRG00]

Funny, I just built a Novafox to relive my days as a kid with the Fox, but I'm not planning to run it all that much.  As a 2WD runner I'm currently building a BBX.

Since I don't have much modern experience with the running the Nova, I can only speak to my times as a kid with the Fox.  I ran that model through badword and back.  The only trouble I really had was with the two RWD driveshafts slipping, but thankfully these were replaced with dogbones on the Nova.  I do seem to remember having some gearbox issues (I stripped at least one set) but I think it was mostly the driveshafts that were problematic.  Oh yeah, I did break the chassis entirely in half at one point (the gearbox completely broke from the front half of the chassis, but this was admittedly from abuse ... jumping 4-6ft off the ground and landing on concrete over and over again).

I still have this Fox sitting on my shelf and it's completely worn and not worth trying to rebuild, as it would need so many new parts to replace the worn ones.  It's funny to see all the MacGyver repairs that I did on it as a kid!

The reason I got a BBX as a runner instead of running the Nova was simply that I have never had a modern Tamiya kit and thought the BBX would handle a bit more abuse considering it uses more modern plastics and is of a more modern design, plus I really enjoy the building process.  I also didn't see many others running the Nova with the 3300kv motor and 2S lipo that I'm putting in the BBX.  I've got the stock RS540 motor in the Nova.  I did buy a spare pinion and gear set for the Nova just to have them on hand...

[Mrowka]

I keep blowing up transmissions in mine.

[toyolien]

1 minute ago, Mrowka said:

I keep blowing up transmissions in mine.

With what motor etc...?

[Mrowka]

1 minute ago, toyolien said:

With what motor etc...?

I have done this with a variety of brushed motors of random origin, TT and suchlike. I forget them all, but nothing too hot dog.

[toyolien]

4 minutes ago, Mrowka said:

I have done this with a variety of brushed motors of random origin, TT and suchlike. I forget them all, but nothing too hot dog.

Wow. Didn't realise the transmission was so weak...

[Mrowka]

On the other hand, I out powerful brushless motors in my re re Kyoshos, and never a problem with the geartrain.

[Juggular]

4 minutes ago, toyolien said:

Wow. Didn't realise the transmission was so weak...

Oddly, my impression was that the gearbox is solid with moderate motors (like Sport Tuned). It's not any much different from anything of that era. (Mine is a vintage Fox).   I would use sticky diff grease, like everything else from the 80s.  

The only thing I got confused on was the orientation of the Pac-man ghost.  16 pinion requires that the ghost head pointing right.  

 

[Twinfan]

A quick search shows that a few people have had had Novafox gearbox issues, mostly Mrowka!

Making sure assembly is done correctly, and possibly shimming the diff to remove slop and using anti-wear grease, seems to be the way to ensure it holds up OK?

 

[Sillyoldfox]

I found the front of the chassis has a weak point where it joins to the front skidplate. A moderately hard front impact could easily snap it. I made a simple reinforcement plate out of thin gauge aluminium which helped a lot.

 

[Super ally]

I had the fox back in the day and have a never run original.I have the novafox and i had problems with the gearbox clicking after the first run with stock motor and nimh battery.I took the gearbox apart and put anti wear grease in the diff and it helps.

[Kowalski86]

I only own a silly "Hot Trick" Fox, but the fact that the current kit comes with some ballbearings makes it enticing, especially at $157. You can still get important replacement parts too.

I dunno if I'd run it with anything hotter than a silver can though, like the Frog and Wild One, there isn't much to the transmission housing. Lot of weight hanging off to the side that will stress the screws over every big bump.

[Nick-W]

5 hours ago, toyolien said:

Are there any obvious weaknesses with the Fox? I'm toying with the idea of building one as a frequent runner... Thanks.

It’s prone to being chased by posh fellas in red coats on horses! 

[toyolien]

2 minutes ago, Nick-W said:

It’s prone to being chased by posh fellas in red coats on horses! 

Nice...

Think I'm gonna see about this one. I quite fancied getting the Factory Works FRP chassis for it, but it still uses the kit transmission, so might be  a waste of time...

[Willy iine]

 

5 hours ago, toyolien said:

I really like the Fox, and have never got round to getting one of the Novafoxes. I'm not that familiar with this chassis, and I do believe it wasn't found on any other buggy.

Are there any obvious weaknesses with the Fox? I'm toying with the idea of building one as a frequent runner... Thanks.

Yes, HotShot.. killed the Fox that ate my Frog back in the 80's with my like-new second hand HotShot my friend's dad sold me. 

Mechanically. I have no idea.  After that moment, I quickly lost interest in RC and moved onto other hobbies.. I still do not own a rere Frog nor Fox.  

[Wooders28]

Built mine with full bearings (came with almost full bearings from memory, didn't include the front wheel bearings 🤷‍♂️), steel pinion, metal geared servo (Alturn race servo), 15t firebolt and 1060 esc.

It's not been a regular runner, but have raced it on 2s in a few of the vintage races at a local club, and ran 2 packs of 3s for a speed run (41mph) and a bit of garden bashing.

Mechanically it's been fine, although bent a steering rod, but that's racing.

One point I would make, is have the elecs ready to install, I figured I'd just build it, and bosh the elecs in after, but with the solid cover, you need to remove the back end, and other bits, just to get the servo in!!! 

The motor leads need to be long, so I unsoldered the leads off the supplied 540, and soldered them onto the firebolt.

The 1060 switch doesn't fit, but I just left if switched on, and unplug the battery to turn it off.

The shocks weren't that great with the kit supplied oil, and hopped a bit, but I've a selection of oil anyway, so put some thinner stuff in.

[Mrowka]

FWIW, I shimmed the transmission and used heavy diff grease.

Just saying. 

[Saito2]

I figured a Novafox thread should have a pic of an actual Novafox in it...

I never had an issue with my original Fox BITD. It was one of the better Tamiya gearboxes back then without the problems of the ORVs or FAV/Wild Ones. The early cars had preassembled hex half shafts that wore out because folks neglected to peel back the boots and lube them though that went away after Tamiya started lubing them from the factory but I digress...

As they aged, the arms would crack, probably from initial cold screw pin insertion. Then again, we drove them like the plastic Tamiyas that they were back then. It didn't have RC10 durabiltiy. The hottest motor Tamiya ever expected in one was probably the Technigold. I remember its "dustproof" closed chassis being a nightmare for crystal changes, lol. My current Novafox runs a Torque Tuned and and has been trouble-free. Then again, I probably still drive with care like I did back then (cars seemed/were so much more expensive back then). I'm not insinuating anybody is driving their's incorrectly. That's just been my experience and your mileage may vary. 

Clearly, something is up with these re-re gearboxes however. Perhaps mold wear is creeping in, causing problems with some folks cars. 

[toyolien]

16 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

I figured a Novafox thread should have a pic of an actual Novafox in it...

I never had an issue with my original Fox BITD. It was one of the better Tamiya gearboxes back then without the problems of the ORVs or FAV/Wild Ones. The early cars had preassembled hex half shafts that wore out because folks neglected to peel back the boots and lube them though that went away after Tamiya started lubing them from the factory but I digress...

As they aged, the arms would crack, probably from initial cold screw pin insertion. Then again, we drove them like the plastic Tamiyas that they were back then. It didn't have RC10 durabiltiy. The hottest motor Tamiya ever expected in one was probably the Technigold. I remember its "dustproof" closed chassis being a nightmare for crystal changes, lol. My current Novafox runs a Torque Tuned and and has been trouble-free. Then again, I probably still drive with care like I did back then (cars seemed/were so much more expensive back then). I'm not insinuating anybody is driving their's incorrectly. That's just been my experience and your mileage may vary. 

Clearly, something is up with these re-re gearboxes however. Perhaps mold wear is creeping in, causing problems with some folks cars. 

Thanks for that detailed response. I've just spoken to a friend who has had a Novafox for a few years, and he also hasn't had any issues running. 

Maybe it could be either how they are being driven by different people, OR maybe different surfaces they are running on.

[Killajb]

I have a Novafox with a 14T brushless Tamiya sensorless motor and haven't had any gearbox issues.  Way too much power for this thing and on asphalt it can lift the front wheels off the ground accelerating.  I did use anti-wear grease when assembling the gearbox.  Granted, I do not run it much and certainly do not abuse it.

 

I think having the receiver and steering servo enclosed within the chassis is a bit of a "thing" to deal with, so it's best to dedicate a receiver to this car and get  your servo set up properly because you won't want to dive back in there.

 

[toyolien]

Some interesting info in this video about gearbox issues with the Novafox. From 8 minutes in.

 

 

[Juggular]

28 minutes ago, toyolien said:

Some interesting info in this video about gearbox issues with the Novafox. From 8 minutes in.

My younger self would have just ordered things first and asked questions later. As I get older, I appreciate the wisdom of asking questions before buying. It's good that you asked. I learned that not all Foxes are the same.  I should watch out for the gaps (or lack there of). And that could potentially save mine from a disaster! 

 

[Jonathon Gillham]

We've been running a Novafox since early 2017 and have had an upright pull out and the servo saver worn out, but thats it. Its been run with the kit motor only (it comes with long cables so is a hassle to change).

It is PITA to work on (swapped a steering servo)

The chassis doesn't take a Tamiya hi torque servo saver (yep found out afetr taking it apart) but apparently the Kimbrough ones work. I have those but haven't fitted them

Overall its a fun runner which understeers like understeery mcundersteeryface and is really quick off the line. It looks so good (especially next to a Boomerang) so you should get one

[Sogogi]

I initially wanted it so bad (before they did re re). After it got released and saw bunch if reviews, i was hesitant to get one. Last week, tamico had it for 125 euros.. if the price in US is similar to that, i may grab one.