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.