One of the most exciting hobbies around, slot cars have taken the world by storm as they have allowed people from all ages to experience what its like to race a vehicle albeit in miniature form. In the past, analog slot cars dominated the scene but advances in technology have introduced digital slots that are run on Carrera 132digital slot car tracks.  If you want to get ahead of the competition read on below for our beginner’s guide to optimizing your slot cars.

Out of the Box

When you first take out your brand spanking new Carrera slot car set from their box, place a small drop of light plastic friendly oil on both the rear axle bushing as well as on each front axle hole. Place a little amount as well on each front shaft bushing as well.   If you bought a front-motor slot car that features a shaft passing to the rear axle, place a drop of oil in the drive shaft bushing located in front of the pinion gear. Oil is your friend as long as you do not over do it.  Over oiling can lead to damage to the motor bushings.

Tires

If you want to extend the life of your slot car tires what you can do to the slip-on silicone tires is to apply some liquid soap first. Doing so will markedly reduce wear and tear such as stretching. This can also minimize splitting and tearing that usually happens when the tire is stretched over and above its normal limit.  This approach can also be used for modders that prefer to use wheels that are bigger than the size of the rims.

Over time your tires will eventually fall off as the press-on plastic wheels become loose on the axles. If this occurs a quick fix would be to take out the wheel from its axle and determine for the presence of a crack around the axle hole. The presence of a crack is a game changer as there is no fix to this and a replacement must be ordered.  If there is no crack all you need to do is to clean the protruding end of the axle using either a tissue or a simple cotton swab to get rid of any debris and oil that may have accumulated.  You also can place a small drop of light oil on the axle busing but be careful not put any on the cleaned section of the axle.  Next step is to place some super glue on the end of the axle and then press the wheel back.

To know more about slit cars log on to www.carreraslots.com