TOPIC:

QD? do you mean this one

it is the XB(with the cheap friction dampers) not the QD

from the tamiya site, has a nice cover for the elktronics pitty nobody makes these.

You're right of course. It's the XB and not the QD.
The cover is a very cool detail - too bad it doesn't fit on the regular chassis though...
What's weird is that the top has a cover and the bottom of the chassis is a very open design.

A very interesting piece of text - he's talking about 50520 :

BHS wrote:

The current generation first seen on the 58068 Lotus Honda 99T model in 1987 (still yellow colored at the time) mainly features an enhanced sealing washer at the bottom of the damper cylinder, and also the use of olive-shaped bases for the spring. This last enhancement let's you choose the length of the damper end and provides a few millimeters more or less to make the total damper length vary: this way, the damper can be adapted to a wider range of chassis.

Just read your updates at the start, very fascinating reading stuff.

same for me, i didn't quite get what BHS meant with olive shaped

Usually one would describe a colour when referring to olives. Shaken, not stirred.
Don't think I'm finished researching this one yet...

Something I noticed from going through the pics of all the models.
The Avante 2001 is the first car to be fitted with black CVAs.
It can hardly be a coincidence that this is also the first car on the 50520 data sheet .
Apart from the Grasshopper II but that has coil over shocks as the basic part.

But there's seems to also be a gradual change towards the modern setup.
The Avante 2001 (although the shocks are black) still clearly has the parts for a "vintage" assembly :


But then... (how coincidental in my own search) the Manta Ray shows features that belong to the next generation :


Those are olive-shaped bases (D1) if I ever saw them...
Also several options for damper ends are possible. But there's more. A different form of the oil seal and spacers.
I think Tamiya changed the design over time, while maintaing the 50305 parts number in the spare parts list.

With models 58128 and 58129 a definitive switch was made - in 1993 :


When in reality the first car to have real modern CVAs is the Top Force.
Manta Ray shocks are still yellow. Those of the Top Force have finally become black.
So for a few years the spare parts listed for these buggies, weren't that compatible with what was going on in reality.

They set that straight in 1993 and retrofitted the modern design spare part to some of the previous models.
Ultimately going back to 1988 with the hop up for a Grasshopper II.
But mostly back to the Manta Ray. How about that for a round circle to the first post in the topic...

Would still be interesting though to find out what the year(s) on the guide is that comes with the modern shock set.
If anybody has some of the black CVAs at home, could you have a glance at the piece of paper?
Or put a scan on line... it would suit the thread very well.

@waterbok : BHS was a great lead to help think outside the box. So thumbs up for that on the previous page.
Even when his info is sometimes semi-correct... he shows the XB Manta Ray chassis, names the wrong shock unit for the Lotus and makes a distinction between a DF-01 Cayenne and a TA01/TA02 Hummer when there basically is none.
Still they're interesting reads and very helpful.

Last chapter

There's often a tiny bit more that's worth mentioning...
While the Manta Ray is the first car to show parts of a short type modern CVA, the change set on earlier.
This is less relevant for this topic (it is a mini shock) but it is the first sign of evolution in to what it is now.
The introduction of the olive-shaped base (I'd call it a funky doughnut) on the 58068 Lotus :


The spare part 50332 would be a good match for this. Hence also less relevance.
Technically interesting though.

Last detail to be said about the 50305 (vintage) short shock unit set is that there were actually two versions.
The first CVAs ever used were on the Fox and they had a different setup.
Instead of a flexible oil seal it used a semi-floating piston and small spring.
But these only came with the first batch of model 58050 and had a short production span.


I think that's it! Apart from the (date on) the 50520 guide...

1993






Sorry I don't have the back of the packet - that had the useful stuff like what parts to use to get the shock lengths for specific cars ...

If have the backs and manuals on both the cva mini and short but unfortunatly my scanner broke down in 1997 could try taking a picture...

Thanks John, for putting that on line. That's a great help - and it fits the theory!

And waterbok, if it's not too much trouble then please take that picture.
It could have a good purpose here as the last bit of missing data on the subject.
Especially for someone searching for those specs...

I think getting an overview of the CVA changes over time can be declared quite succesful.
Even if it was quite the mystery to me at the start.