Breaking in New Slot Cars

Before racing a new 1/32 slot car, it is a good idea to follow these basic steps:

1) Make sure both the rear and front wheels turn freely. Of course, all the wheels need to spin freely for your slot car to really zoom. However, slot cars are rear wheel drive, so it's especially important that the rear wheels are not stuck at all. While holding the car upside down in one hand, gently spin the rear wheel with your thumb. If it doesn't spin, chances are the rear axle assembly or the motor has come out of position and needs to be snapped back into place. You'll need to take the body off to see if this is the case.

2) Make sure the braids are frayed. The braids are the copper brushes that touch the metal rails and provide electricity to power the car. Often, new cars right out of the box will run sporadically simply because they are not making good contact with the rails of the track. New braids are wound very tight. This does not make for good conductivity. To break these in, take a straight pin, pocket knife, or even your thumbnail and work the ends of the braids until they're separated or frayed. Curl them down, too, so the frayed ends will come in contact with the track first.

3) Break the motor in. It is a good idea to break the motor in by taking the first 10 to 20 laps around the track at half to three-quarters speed. You can find much more elaborate methods for breaking in motors if you wish, but they may or may not make a difference.

4) Lubricate all moving parts. This must be done with the body off the chassis. It is not always necessary to grease and oil all new cars. Some come pretty well lubed from the factory and others don't. A visual inspection should give you a good idea. Apply white grease to the gears and oil to the drive shaft of the motor and the axle bushings. Wipe up any excess grease and oil with a cotton swab. You should grease and oil your cars periodically. Every second or third time you run them and after long periods of non-use would be fine. If you run very long sessions, it's a good idea to do it more often.

5) Clean and/or sand rear tires. Have you ever seen an F1 or Champ Car race and noticed the cars zigzagging back and forth before the race or during caution periods? The drivers are scuffing in new tires, getting heat in them or cleaning the debris off of them. It is important to do the same thing in slot racing too. New rubber tires are very slick and don't stick to the track very well. To get the best performance out of the tires on a new slot car, you need to sand them.

To sand the tires, just put the car on the track facing the opposite direction to the way they normally go. Tape or hold a piece of fine or medium grit sand paper to the track. While giving the car half to three-quarters power, gently ease the rear wheels up and down on to the sand paper, making sure to keep the car perfectly level. This abrades the tires and also cures any out-of-round imperfections. You will need to repeat this procedure periodically to maintain good traction with your stock rubber tires. It is also important to clean the tires often; you need nothing more than cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol, plain water or spit. Your tires pick up dust and debris from your track so it is a good idea to keep your track clean, too. Rub your track down periodically with a rag lightly moistened with rubbing alcohol.

~ by Jim Corley