O.S or Novarossi?
 

hey everyone,

i have searched constantly over the forums but still cannot make the decision. I just bought a OFNA 9.5 pro and need a engine.

It's between the O.S VZ-B and the novarossi P5, recommendations or any input at all would be greatly appreciated

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Novarossi P5 definately... I'm hearing more and more complaints about the VZ-B's life longitivy after 3 gallons though I don't know that myself. OS normally makes very good engines, perhaps this is just one of their bad onions.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

stay away from OS right now. The great VO1B is no longer made, and the VZ has serious issues.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Has OS worked the issues out or are they offereing something to correct the problem?

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

At the moment, OS is denying all responsability, which is why im a little upset at them right now. Great Planes, the OS distributor for North America is currently accepting returns on all VZ-B models and issuing new ones.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

thanks for the input...

looks like the p5 is the way to go atm

why are they issuing new ones if the problem isn't solved, or have they resolved the problem?

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Are the new one's fixed? I really wanted to try this engine next. The review in car action was good and I have seen them for around 260. Seeing this engine can keep pace with a ws7 2 and p5 for that price I want to get it.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

I would stick with the P5. O.S. usually is top notch, but the VZ has some issues that need fixed. I have also seen a VZ with the crank snapped in half, motor wasn't broken in yet, it snapped on the starter box. I love the RG, but if you want an upper end motor stick with th P5 or WS 7 II. The Rg really isn't that much underpowered compared to the P5 and S7 so if you must have an O.S. get the RG. If you run on a short track or bash in the back yard the RG is king.It is a really snappy motor,it comes out of corners like a bullet!!!;)

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

bcash - they havnt fixed the problem yet, do a search - several threads about it here. the main cause has something to do with the cast piston - which is gouging the sleeve and causing premature blow by. the RB and Nova engines are all around 300.00 - not much more than the VZ

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Ok thanks for the info.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

You can find a P5 for as little as $250 if you're lucky, but they often go between $275-300. Another good engine to consider is a Picco 0-1BP, costs $260 and has nearly as much power as the popular Picco .26 does.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Regards the new VZB. You know something must be up when the OS factory guys are still running their old V01's when they can get the VZB for free. Of course when the V01 first hit there were issues with it as well and OS resolved them in due course. Give it some time before you buy.
The P5 is a decent engine for buggy as long as you get a plain purple head Novarossi P5 and not a TOP or REX P5.
Picco 5 ports are known to be weak off the bottom as well as hard to dial in and keep tuned. If you love tweaking on your engine all day and have a really big track that favors top end, it's not bad.
My current fave in 5 port buggy engines are (1) Bergonzoni XR and (2) Crono RS5. The Berg engine is in a word, awesome, but can be hard to come by. The Crono is right up there with the berg in terms of power and reliability. I've compared them side by side and the Berg has an ever so slight edge in the top end department, but other than that they are about the same. The good news on these engines is they cost about the same as a P5.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: fhm101


The P5 is a decent engine for buggy as long as you get a plain purple head Novarossi P5 and not a TOP or REX P5.



Why do you say that?

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

If the P5 is weak on the bottom then I think I will wait and see one run before I buy. The track I will be at most of the time is small and I need more torque then anything. I have a spare Picco comp I think I'm gonna rebuild and use. Which brings me to a question. Can I use the P/S from the 0-1 in the comp and if so what type of performance gains can i expect or not expect? Oh and one more thing when you guys weak on the bottom end. Would you say your talking about say the bottom end on the 8p hyper?

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

the bottom end on an 8 port is a joke. that is an rpm tuned engine, not a torque tuned one. If you can afford it - go with the RB Concepts WS7 II. This engine probably has the greatest bottom end on the market. If its too much for your wallet, go with the OS Max .21RG - cheap as hell, and just insane bottome end torque. not very fast on the top end though.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

OK so the bottom end on the 8p is a joke. If thats the case then I will like the RB. I don't understand something. Explain if you can. To me when some one describes bottom end. I think the punch of the line or in other words the power the engine makes at low idle. If I'm correct. Then isn't the low end response based on one's tunning? Reason why I ask is b/c I have a 8p in my Mad Force that will lift it up anytime. I have a 4p in a maxx that will do the same and they are both really quick off the line. Also if I remember correctly when the 4p came out it was know for it's low end. And lastly. IMO I'd say the Picco comp is a all around good engine and the low end is pretty good. How would you describe the picco comp.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

yes, low end is referring to how much acceleration it has from low speeds. Normally, the higher the number of ports, the better then engine will perform at high RPM, and the lower number of ports, the better the engine will eprform at low RPM. this isnt always true, but its a good rule of thumb. The hyper 8 port lacks bottom end punch compared to the the os .21RZ, RB WS7, RB C5, NR P5, ect.... Shoot, even the os .21RG has more bottom end than the 8 port.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

I know where I can buy a V01B NIB. I think they are asking around $260. Is this too much? What is the absolute max you would pay for one? What would be a decent deal?

Is a V01B even worth it considering the other mills that are out there?

Thanks.

Roy

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

royta - 260 sounds fair - i paid 290 for mine back in the day. great engine even against the bad boys of today.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Earlier in this thread, fhm101 mentioned the early V01B's had problems, but OS took care of them. Do you have any idea what problems those were? I have no idea how long the engine has been on the shelf. Should I decide that the couch is a nice place to sleep, is there anything I need to look for before picking up one those engines?

Roy

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

i dont know of any probelms ever encountered with the VO1B

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

Many of the first run V01's had rear bearing problems. When it first hit the shelves and people started running them and this was discovered, the same things that are now being said about the VZ were being said about the V01. Then as now, the OS factory guys were hanging on to their V99's while the V01 went through it's teething pains.
As for port number being a guide to where the engine performs, it's a VERY general guideline at best. It really depends on how and where the ports are cut into the sleeve that determines an engines' power band. A perfect example is the Berg XR buggy engine (5 ports) and the Berg Rallygame engine (9 ports). The XR delivers excellent bottom end, yet retains the ability to run hard up top as well, but not as strong on top as say a C5 (also 9 ports). The berg rally engine with it's 9 ports will run circles around the XR OR C5 anywhere in their power band. I hear folks all the time talking about what a powerhouse the OFNA Hyper 8 port is, yet the berg XR, any version of the Novarossi P5, or the Crono RS5, (all 5 ports) will own the Hyper low or high. The sad fact about all of this is that very few 8th buggy drivers can fully exploit an engine as weak as the Hyper, much less the more powerful engines most of them insist on having. If you are just starting out in 8th buggy, get an OS RG. It's got tons of bottom, but lacks high end. When you can run it in the upper end of it's range most of the time, start thinking about more power. The only thing more power will do until then is make your LHS happy with all the broken parts you will be replacing from all the high speed wrecks you will have with more powerful engine. I started 8th buggy a power hungry fool myself, but after staying broken all the time I took some very good advice and got an RG. I broke less, won more, and eventually learned to run hotter engines. Of course I'm still a nob when it comes to stupid fast engines like the berg Rallygame.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

thanks a lot guys i just bought the nova p5

I'm in Australia so it cost $444 compared to $410 for the O.S - hardly anything in price difference

I had a Traxxas rustler but it got run over by a 4wd a couple of weeks ago, and here in Australia 1/8th scale buggy racing is really the only true race category

thanks again, Jason.

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

you may also want to look at the 8port "RACE"

it has as much low end as the VZ-B with out the probs and as much high end as the reg 8 port!!!

http://www.ofna.com/eng-hyper21-8portRace.html

RE: O.S or Novarossi?
 

The bottom end on the P5 is very strong, stronger than the WS7, I think fhm101 was referring to the Picco engines considering weak bottom ends, the Picco 0-1BP however is supposed to have really good bottom end.

Any version of the P5 are good, but the original Rex P5 had a slightly thinner crankcase than the Novarossi and is fixed on the "new" Rex P5 so even if you get a blue head P5 it's good to go.