Lubrication

A smile and friendly words are the lubrication of good relationships!  Likewise to keep slot cars performing well so they make their racers happy, good lubrication is needed.

WHAT SHOULD I USE?  —  The most common mistake I see is using Graphite, 3-in-One or WD-40 for axles and lithium or axle grease for gears!  Graphite is great for PineWood Derby but is too thin and makes a mess on slot cars. 3-In-One is Too Thick,  WD-40 is too light.  Lithium and axle grease is way too heavy for gears!

AXLES:   A light tenacious oil, ideally with PTFE (teflon) is best for axles (front and rear).  EPIC RC car oil (from HobbyTown) or SuperLube PTFE oil (by Synco)  /both appx $5-7/ are my favorites.   You can call/email Warren and he can order you some Superlube oil so you save shipping costs and can avoid a trip to HobbyTown if you live far away from them.

GEARS:  The most popular lube for pinions (small gear on motor) and crowns (big gear on axle) is  SuperLube Synthetic Grease (w/PTFE) (by Synco).   Kings Hobby has some in some hypodermics but they only have 1/2 tube (6gm out of 12gm) in the $7 hypo.  A 12gm squeeze tube is available for appx $8 online.  Not as cool as the hypo but the small tip works just as well!  Ask Warren to order you some along with the axle oil and you can save the $8-16 shipping fee!

HOW?

AXLES:  Every 3 or 4 races, turn the car on its back and place a small drop of oil on the rear bushings/bearings, between the chassis and the wheel.   1-2 drops on the front axles, between the wheel “hub” (where the axles is pressed in) and the chassis hole (Scalextric) or bushing (Carerra, Fly, Slot.It).

MOTOR:  Once a month, unscrew the body and find the “can” end of the motor – it is the opposite end of where the wires are connected.  Put one drop on the motor axle/shaft.  Do NOT oil the side with the plastic “end-bell” where the wires are soldered on.  You risk getting oil on the brushes that feed electricity to the motor’s coil (the spinning armature that turns the pinion gear).

GEARS:  Once a month, use a tooth pick to smear some PTFE grease into the teeth of the small pinion gear and the big crown/spur gear it is driving.  You will make a small mess – clean up the excess with a tooth pick and small piece of paper-towel.  Avoid Getting Grease on the Tires!  (wipe them off with a paper towel and a extremely small drop of dishwashing liquid (just put a little on your finger tip).