Novafox front shock

[rwordenjr 1890]

Anyone here run the novafox without the front stabilizer ? If so, how do you have the front shock set up? I'm trying to find something that feels better than the stock super stiff/stabilizer combo. 

[Juggular 4964]

It would sway. Cornering would be silly-looking because it's like you have no suspension when you are turning.    

I think the setup of the Novafox is far superior to the original Fox.  It was weaker in the original, I think. I was dissatisfied with the original.  But after switching it to the Novafox set up, it was optimal for me.

If you think your stabilizer it too stiff, try removing the oil.  That loosens up the whole set up.  I know sway bar is left and right thing, not up and down.  But you might give it a try. You might be surprised how smoother it feels. (If that's too soft, fill it with lighter oil. If the stock oil is #300, you could use #100)

 

[rwordenjr 1890]

13 minutes ago, Juggular said:

It would sway. Cornering would be silly-looking because it's like you have no suspension when you are turning.    

I think the setup of the Novafox is far superior to the original Fox.  It was weaker in the original, I think. I was dissatisfied with the original.  But after switching it to the Novafox set up, it was optimal for me.

If you think your stabilizer it too stiff, try removing the oil.  That loosens up the whole set up.  I know sway bar is left and right thing, not up and down.  But you might give it a try. You might be surprised how smoother it feels. (If that's too soft, fill it with lighter oil. If the stock oil is #300, you could use #100)

 

i have the vintage tamiya fox stabilizer kit coming soon. have you tried that? how is it compared to stock nova?

[Juggular 4964]

If I remember correctly, the vintage stabilizer is weaker. That alone might sound like a good thing.  But the biggest problem is the sloppiness. (I did not remove supports and stuff from old setup. Too lazy and also I like having the old heritage.)  Tires would move like 5-6mms, and the stabilizer would not engage at all. Even after that, it didn't do much until the very last 30% or something. (Maybe you'd prefer that?)

Novafox fixed that.  One side goes up, the other side following up is a bit strong as you've noted already.  In my case, I disliked the sloppiness for so long, I like it. (But I do wish it wasn't this strong, now that you brought it up... I wonder if DT03 stabilizer set could be straightened? Piano wire, maybe?)

 

[rwordenjr 1890]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

If I remember correctly, the vintage stabilizer is weaker. That alone might sound like a good thing.  But the biggest problem is the sloppiness. (I did not remove supports and stuff from old setup. Too lazy and also I like having the old heritage.)  Tires would move like 5-6mms, and the stabilizer would not engage at all. Even after that, it didn't do much until the very last 30% or something. (Maybe you'd prefer that?)

Novafox fixed that.  One side goes up, the other side following up is a bit strong as you've noted already.  In my case, I disliked the sloppiness for so long, I like it. (But I do wish it wasn't this strong, now that you brought it up... I wonder if DT03 stabilizer set could be straightened? Piano wire, maybe?)

 

The part I dislike isn’t so much the stabilizer but how springy the front shock is. For example, when the car is stationary and you just push down the front end and let go, the front end springs back up fast like a pogo stick. I’ve taken out one of the spacers, put heavier oil and a much lighter spring… that seems to have helped quite a bit. It still rebounds but not like a pogo stick 

[Juggular 4964]

Huh... that's interesting...

I just tested mine. Dropping 6 inches, it sticks to the floor like dropping a lump of clay. The shock was rebuilt so long ago, I cannot remember which oil I used, though.  But I always aim for 'no-bouncing.'  

 

 

 

[Silver-Can 402]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:15 AM, rwordenjr said:

The part I dislike isn’t so much the stabilizer but how springy the front shock is. For example, when the car is stationary and you just push down the front end and let go, the front end springs back up fast like a pogo stick. I’ve taken out one of the spacers, put heavier oil and a much lighter spring… that seems to have helped quite a bit. It still rebounds but not like a pogo stick 

Yes my nova is the same. The front shock is very springy. I've messed around with different oil weights etc but not really noticed any difference. I guess the front end is really light, even for a 2wd. I also have the vintage sway bar fitted and much prefer it to the 'as fitted' bar on the nova. It still handles OK, although I tend not to drive so much these days. Going through a 4wd phase at the moment so not tending to use my 2wd very much. Just looking pretty on the shelf 😁🤪

[rwordenjr 1890]

5 hours ago, Silver-Can said:

Yes my nova is the same. The front shock is very springy. I've messed around with different oil weights etc but not really noticed any difference. I guess the front end is really light, even for a 2wd. I also have the vintage sway bar fitted and much prefer it to the 'as fitted' bar on the nova. It still handles OK, although I tend not to drive so much these days. Going through a 4wd phase at the moment so not tending to use my 2wd very much. Just looking pretty on the shelf 😁🤪

have you used that crp front stabilizer before? is that supposed to be in addition to regular sway bar or replacement ?

[Silver-Can 402]

 

20 hours ago, rwordenjr said:

have you used that crp front stabilizer before? is that supposed to be in addition to regular sway bar or replacement ?

I ran my nova stock for about 6 months and decided I didn't like the stock front stabiliser- I didn't feel it quite did the job, plus it kept fouling on the body. So I did a bit of research and discovered that the crp vintage item was a direct swap. I don't recall having any issues fitting it and it is a replacement rather than addition

This is my nova with the vintage piece added - you might need to zoom in a bit. 👍

[rwordenjr 1890]

27 minutes ago, Silver-Can said:

 

I ran my nova stock for about 6 months and decided I didn't like the stock front stabiliser- I didn't feel it quite did the job, plus it kept fouling on the body. So I did a bit of research and discovered that the crp vintage item was a direct swap. I don't recall having any issues fitting it and it is a replacement rather than addition

This is my nova with the vintage piece added - you might need to zoom in a bit. 👍

Sorry I meant the Parma stabilizer. I have the Tamiya fox hopup coming but I also got the Parma stabilizer too 

[Hobbimaster 190]

Just started reading this thread, I am currently building a Novafox. My observation when I built the front damper is that the spring is way too stiff. I had a hard time compressing the spring to screw on the shock end. I don't recall my Boomerang having such a stiff front spring, and its a heavier 4wd car. Maybe have to source a boomerang spring to try out. I have a Thunder Dragon on the way, and will definitely look at its front spring to see if that would be a good alternative.

[rwordenjr 1890]

13 hours ago, Hobbimaster said:

Just started reading this thread, I am currently building a Novafox. My observation when I built the front damper is that the spring is way too stiff. I had a hard time compressing the spring to screw on the shock end. I don't recall my Boomerang having such a stiff front spring, and its a heavier 4wd car. Maybe have to source a boomerang spring to try out. I have a Thunder Dragon on the way, and will definitely look at its front spring to see if that would be a good alternative.

I switched to OG fox set up on the front… no internal spacers and no nova sway bar. Only 4mm black rubber spacer outside above the nut. It’s way better. 

[Hobbimaster 190]

On 10/7/2021 at 9:51 PM, rwordenjr said:

I switched to OG fox set up on the front… no internal spacers and no nova sway bar. Only 4mm black rubber spacer outside above the nut. It’s way better. 

Yes, I am seeing now what others have been saying. Novafox front sway bar is complete rubbish. Two internal spacers limiting the travel, along with the worst designed sway bar on any RC car. Now question is, looking at the OG Fox manual, do you take even the rear spacers out, or just the front? Looks like the rear dog bones might have issues without the spacers. Also, will a Vintage Tamiya Fox front sway bar fit on the Novafox? Looks like there are a few vintage ones on ebay at the moment, may grab one if it will drop right on.

 

[rwordenjr 1890]

2 hours ago, Hobbimaster said:

Yes, I am seeing now what others have been saying. Novafox front sway bar is complete rubbish. Two internal spacers limiting the travel, along with the worst designed sway bar on any RC car. Now question is, looking at the OG Fox manual, do you take even the rear spacers out, or just the front? Looks like the rear dog bones might have issues without the spacers. Also, will a Vintage Tamiya Fox front sway bar fit on the Novafox? Looks like there are a few vintage ones on ebay at the moment, may grab one if it will drop right on.

 

I went og front set up in rear too so no internal spacers, just the external black rubber 4mm spacer like the front. Yes the old fox sway will fit the nova 

[Hobbimaster 190]

11 hours ago, rwordenjr said:

I went og front set up in rear too so no internal spacers, just the external black rubber 4mm spacer like the front. Yes the old fox sway will fit the nova 

Thanks for the information. Completely rebuilt the shocks this morning using original Fox Specs. X-6 shock pistons, no spacers on all damper shafts,  and 4mm rubber stopper above lock nut. What a difference! The whole stance of the car looks 100% better, the dampers feel nice and "plush" when pressing down. I have no idea why Tamiya made so many changes to the Novafox suspension. I did have to shorten the front steering rods a few mm's each side for the taller stance, but no big deal. Now for a after market sway bar.......

[Saito2 6686]

2 hours ago, Hobbimaster said:

I have no idea why Tamiya made so many changes to the Novafox suspension.

I think its because of the new sway bar. Without the added internal spacers, the bar (the ends of which slide in and out of the outer ball connectors as the suspension cycles) might be able to fall out of the outer ball connectors at full droop. Incidentally, some Fox racers BITD did not add the sway bar. Granted, the whole mono-shock front end feels/acts extremely weird without any sway bar, but sway bars can add understeer which is something old Fox racers fought against. I've never run back to back comparisons and haven't run a Fox without a sway bar since '89 so I can't offer any judgement. 

[rwordenjr 1890]

5 hours ago, Hobbimaster said:

Thanks for the information. Completely rebuilt the shocks this morning using original Fox Specs. X-6 shock pistons, no spacers on all damper shafts,  and 4mm rubber stopper above lock nut. What a difference! The whole stance of the car looks 100% better, the dampers feel nice and "plush" when pressing down. I have no idea why Tamiya made so many changes to the Novafox suspension. I did have to shorten the front steering rods a few mm's each side for the taller stance, but no big deal. Now for a after market sway bar.......

Nice ! Just add x3 shock clips on the rear collars as that’s what the og manual calls “normal”. No shock clips on front, 1 x3 on each rear shock collar.

[rwordenjr 1890]

3 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I think its because of the new sway bar. Without the added internal spacers, the bar (the ends of which slide in and out of the outer ball connectors as the suspension cycles) might be able to fall out of the outer ball connectors at full droop. Incidentally, some Fox racers BITD did not add the sway bar. Granted, the whole mono-shock front end feels/acts extremely weird without any sway bar, but sway bars can add understeer which is something old Fox racers fought against. I've never run back to back comparisons and haven't run a Fox without a sway bar since '89 so I can't offer any judgement. 

Yea if you run stock novafox shock setup with no sway, it’s terrible suspension. It’s way too low of stance and side to side is extremely loose. You have to set shock setup from og fox if don’t want to run nova sway. That way, the side to side movement slop is all but gone until the shock is compressed.