Now that you're done snickering about the title... Oh? You're not done? I'll wait.


Ok. Got that out of your system? Good. Let's take lube seriously. (heh heh)

What I've learned in my most recent return to slot cars is that there are several ways to lube up that hot rod of yours. These days I'm mostly running T-Jets, but what I'm learning often applies to other classes of HO cars, other scales of slot cars and radio control cars. There seem to be 2 camps of thought; oil the living daylights out of the gears so they have everything they need or oil just enough to provide the bare minimum film of lubrication needed to get you through a heat or two.

What have I taken from the advice I've been offered by both camps? Take them both seriously, but be selective where to apply that advice. In T-Jets, I've learned to oil the top gears liberally, oil everything else very sparsely, spin the tires a few times with my fingers, then put the car on a warm-up box for a minute or two. If I can reach it and have time, I mop up any oil that got spun off of the gears on the top plate with a paper towel. That gives everything a good coat without adding drag.

For magnet cars, I've found that the sparse method works best, no matter what. Again, no matter how much or how little oil you apply, spin everything you've oiled with your fingers first to coat it, then run it on the warm-up box to spin off any excess. That way less will wind up on the track.

Not sure where to oil? I've found a few resources on the Internet, but the common sense should be applied liberally. Gears, axles and bushings all get oiled.

T-Jet/pancake motor car oiling.
Inline motor car oiling.

One last note, don't forget to oil the front wheels. They turn, too, but they require far less lube attention than gears or rear axles.


Got any tips you'd like to share? Please do.

At the most recent race I attended, I overheard a couple of veteran, respected drivers and car builders talking about what it takes to win races. Sure, a competitive car is needed. Bringing a knife to a gunfight never does anyone any good, except the people with the guns. However, where you invest your time is more important. If you spend a full day working on an already competitive car, you may only get a tenth of a second per lap faster, if that. However, if you spend a full day on a track, running multiple cars on each lane, you're likely to gain four tenths of a second per lap per lane. Experience is king.

I had first hand experience with this at that same race. I showed up late in the practice session to a track I had never been on before, got set up, was able to run 3 minutes on 4 of the 6 six lanes and then qualify. Luckily, qualifying was on one of the 4 lanes I ran on. I qualified second to last. The first race I finished 15th out of 18. I had the same result in the second race. However, as my time on the track increased, my finishing position started to rise. The third race I finished 13th out of 17 and the fourth race I was 11th out of 17. All of this happened while I had almost no time to adjust my car to suit the track. It turned out that, while my car wasn't the fastest, it was competitive and my knowledge of the track grew. Experience is king.

As I drove home that night, I was able to feel good that I learned quite a bit that day and would be able to bring that knowledge back with me the next time I raced there. In addition, any track time is useful track time, especially in a competition environment. Take a deep breath, get in your rhythm, race the track, keep lady luck on your side. Experience is king.

Here's a video of the most recent race I attended, courtesy of Jeff Hurley.

The 2012 Fray in Ferndale is just around the corner, March 2 and 3. A lot of racers are focused on the preparation of their cars, teams, strategies and all other aspects of traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to race highly modified Aurora Thunderjet slot cars. They are poring over the tiny mechanical and electrical components of their steeds with tweezers, magnifying glasses, desk lamps and any number of off-the-shelf and custom made tools. The Fray in Ferndale doesn't have the big money payout of NASCAR, ARCA or even IMCA. You get your name on the cow trophy, bragging rights and you and your teammates' names are splattered all over the Internet. In addition, whatever tools and products you were using get bragging rights and a likely uptick in sales.

Most of the racers are happy to help newbies and struggling participants. I'm sure the majority of them have a couple of secrets they keep hush-hush in an effort to have some sort of competitive advantage. Fray season is an exciting time of the year for HO slot car racers.

What's your favorite slot car race to attend?
Which race are you looking forward to most this year?
What's your best slot car racing memory?
Why not share a favorite Fray race memory?
If you were stranded on an island with one slot car tool, what would it be?