Mostin's Nova

[Mostin]

Mostin, Did you run your car with the bonnet off for a while in the end to narrow down the best fix for the cooling issues?

Hi islandman. The bad news is no. Life is getting in the way of Nova time grrrr

All I've had time to do is add an extra 8mm outlet pipe at the high point of the cooling system at the front end & reroute a couple small hoses to help bleed out any trapped air via the header tank.

I've also shorted the main inlet hose into the the rad to take out a high spot.

I think after taking in the advice I got from Stones & the input from yourself I'm on the right lines to getting it sorted.


Mostin.

[Buffy]

Also try some mintex front brake pads ref your brakes.
I noticed a difference !

[steve]

Hi Colin.

[...]
Also keep in mind the Red9 kits are made to run at standard ride height or less & has about 2 inch of adjustment to lower a beetle (Cal look). On my Nova if i adjust the coil overs down it sits on the floor at the front & my Subaru sump kisses the cats eyes on the road

That's why you may feel the need to add some sort of spring lifters like Buffy has done on the front & extend the rear shocker tops like mine, just to get some more adjustment back if you want to lift the ride height slightly above standard.
[...]

Agreed.
I'd suggest that Red9 Coil-over front end conversion isn't a good fit for the Nova.
For the (ride height) reasons given by Mostin - you may need to adapt the coil-overs to lift the car's nose out of the dirt.
Plus the springs themselves are probably too firm for the car's lightweight front end.
I believe that most people replace the Red9 springs with 100lb per inch units for the Nova.

I assume that the shocks provided by Red9 are adjustable(?) but can they go soft enough to stop your fillings rattling out? Anyone care to comment?

Finally the price: £470 is quite a hit.

FYI I'm thinking of going down this route for my front-end:
For the 'through' torsion bars:
https://www.limebug.com/product/view...-rods-718#temp

And these guys (who I chatted too at Stonleigh) for the adjustable shocks that be can set for any height and for a lighter-weight car: http://www.protechshocks.co.uk/

Just my 002
Steve

[Buffy]

That's very interesting what you have put there.
It's probably worth making a new thread under " suspension" so that it's easier to find for others in the future .

[jim73vw]

Agreed.
I'd suggest that Red9 Coil-over front end conversion isn't a good fit for the Nova.
For the (ride height) reasons given by Mostin - you may need to adapt the coil-overs to lift the car's nose out of the dirt.
Plus the springs themselves are probably too firm for the car's lightweight front end.
I believe that most people replace the Red9 springs with 100lb per inch units for the Nova.

I assume that the shocks provided by Red9 are adjustable(?) but can they go soft enough to stop your fillings rattling out? Anyone care to comment?

Finally the price: £470 is quite a hit.

FYI I'm thinking of going down this route for my front-end:
For the 'through' torsion bars:
https://www.limebug.com/product/view...-rods-718#temp

And these guys (who I chatted too at Stonleigh) for the adjustable shocks that be can set for any height and for a lighter-weight car: http://www.protechshocks.co.uk/

Just my 002
Steve

As with any custom approach to car design it will come down to personal choice and the time spent setting it up right.

Often cars like this are utilising a selection of parts not designed to go together, or on a comparable vehicle in terms of weight and COG. Time must be invested testing and setting up.

Simon at Red 9 will supply his front axle kit in standard beetle form, which is indeed lowered from stock, or to a 'Nova spec' which is standard beetle ride height. That is what I ordered and I have a sensible ride height, which I can lower if required using the cup adjustment on the coilovers, as well as also using different spring rates.

As per my build thread I found 125lb springs edging towards too soft having moved from 175lb, and am likely to settle on 150lb. Even on my 175lb initial set up the adjustment on the 35 clicks on the dampers from firm to soft was evident. It will of course depend on car set up - we have a large radiator, large battery, fuse boxes and hydraulic pump up front.

Personally the through rod solution you suggest (which incidentally Red 9 also supply) doesn't appeal. It is putting a lot of force and reliance on the end bolts securing the trailing arms to the rods and transfers more stress to the axle shock mounts - great on a new strong beam, but older beams can suffer rot here.

Lots of choices out there for sure these days,

[Mostin]

Also try some mintex front brake pads ref your brakes.
I noticed a difference !

Cheers Buffy. Have you got a link for where you got the Mintex pads from?


Mostin.

[Buffy]

eBay
Just type beetle Mintex front brake pad.
£14-07

[Spacenut]

Just to clarify, the Red 9 front beam (double wishbone, rack and pinion etc.) and the tie-rod conversion to coil-overs for the original torsion beam also sold by Red 9 will use different spring rates. This is because the coil-overs will bear directly on the Beetle trailing arms, so a lower spring rate is needed, e.g. 100 lb/in as Steve notes above.

For the double-wishbone conversion the coil-over is not located at the upright and will therefore need to be stiffer to have the same effect as a spring bearing directly against the upright. Hence the need for 150 lb/in springs for these conversions.

Most adjustable dampers only work on rebound, the bump resistance is usually fixed. So adjustment will not change the damper characteristics in bump. Double-adjustable dampers are available, but are expensive, and of course you have twice as many control points to tune!

[Mostin]

I managed to take some time out on father's day & took my Nova out for a bit of a drive to a local show. Car ran fine. Plus the nova got some local coverage. In fact it's the only car photo in the local press about the show.



Cheers.
Mostin.

[islandman]