# "How to Guides" for slot car repair?



## Matack

Yes, yet another question.  

Can any suggest books, guides or sites that explain how to repair HO slot cars?

The only thing I remember doing as a kid was replacing tires. 
Been poking around but havent found a site yet that explains from begining to end how to do HO repairs. 

Thanks,

Matt


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## ParkRNDL

this has been one of my favorites since I got back into the hobby...

http://www.slotcars.org/neilswheels/techtips.html

--rick


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## micyou03

Thanks for the link Rick. I never saw that before.


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## Matack

First, thank you for link. Very informative.

Like to see is some pics of where you would oil a car at?


Why do you need to change wheels/rims? 

Do they loose shape? 

Understand changing tires just wondering how the rims are damaged.

DO the G-Plus cars come with silicone tires?

Silicones make a big difference?

As always thanks all for the replies to what I know are some lame questions to most of you.

Matt


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## TX Street Racer

Matack said:


> First, thank you for link. Very informative.
> 
> Like to see is some pics of where you would oil a car at?
> 
> 
> Why do you need to change wheels/rims?
> 
> Do they loose shape?
> 
> Understand changing tires just wondering how the rims are damaged.
> 
> DO the G-Plus cars come with silicone tires?
> 
> Silicones make a big difference?
> 
> As always thanks all for the replies to what I know are some lame questions to most of you.
> 
> Matt


Hey Matt, you and I are pretty new to trying to rebuild cars man....and I'm constantly experimenting with ideas and tricks to help me out. 

First off on the wheels.......straight out of the box wheels like the JL wheels can perhaps be out of round......I've encountered some of the JL TJet wheels that were....and an out of round wheel definately will slow you down and limit performance....just as in a real 1:1 car.........you want as smooth of a ride as possible. It is possible to "True" these wheels by using a Dremel tool and slowly running the wheel over some find grit sandpaper......

Secondly, Silicones DO make a HUGE diferrerence. While I was in Florida I hung out at a slot car shop that had an extensive supply of parts...... I bought several sets of "Wizzard" brand silicone tires....these are by far the BEST silicone tires I've ever seen.....and I've had a few other brands in the past....but they pale in comparison to the Wizzard silicones.

For example, on my recently completed Rat Rod coupe project car (that I posted pics of recently) I used a set of Tyco "foam" 440X2 tires on the back......for a meaty look...and I knew from past experience that they worked well. When I sat down to actually run the coupe on of the tracks in Florida I found that the coupe did handle ok.......was kind of slow out of the corners though.....as it would hit maximum acceleration. A few of the guys at the shop suggested that I throw some Silicones on it.......which I quickly searched for a pair that were beefy looking to keep the look of the coupe that I wanted.....yet were soft. After I put these one I soon had a rocket of a car.....it hung thru the corners like a bullet.....and on the straights it was a monster! In fact, this car hooks up so well....that if I come to a stop on a long straight and launch hard at full power the car will literally pull the wheels.....despite the resin wheel bars out back.....this coupe will literally "de-slot" itself with the amount of torque coming from the motor....and the ability it has now to plant ALL of the power to the ground.......no spinning, no slipping.

So yes, Silicones DO make a HUGE difference.......but search for a quality silicone tire.......because there are alot of brands out there......but these Wizzards like I use are $1.35 a pair.......and have NO molding imperfections like other brands......... :thumbsup:


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## Matack

Ahhh, understand now.

I have ordered 2 sets of JL slot cars as at $6 a car figure these would be great for general racing and they have some nice looking cars.

However, I also understand that thier quality will not match up to other slot cars. Well this is what I've read.

Thus, I understand that I may be doing some twinking in the future.

For now going to stick with the JL and G+Plus cars as not to need a whole slew of different Manufacture parts to begin with.

Going to hold off a bit on buying some of the other cars and just get up to speed with these two makes.


Thanks all,

Matt


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## TX Street Racer

Matt, I've got a bunch of the JL Tjets...and Xtractions...as well as Tyco 440X2's, AFX original Magnatractions, Tomy Turbo's, and Gplus cars. There's plenty of variety out there....and there's nothing wrong with playing with some of each....as I'm doing. 

When I was in Florida for the past few weeks I had about a dozen cars with me to race with.....a Tomy Turbo, 2 Tyco 440X2's, a few vintage AFX Magnatractions, a Gplus, and the rest were JL Tjets. I had fun tweaking each car..... :thumbsup: 

As for the JL Tjets, there are some that are great right out of the box.....and some that aren't......and from what I understand some particular released series cars are better than others. Bottom line is I don't own any vintage TJets yet.....so all I run are these JL Tjets.With some minor tweaking with the pickup shoes, changing the tires.....or perhaps aftermarket wheels ,checking wheel clearances,oiling and etc. a stock TJet can run rather well. Another recomendation for you if you're going to run TJets is to add a small round Neodymium magnet to the bottom of the chassis......right where the flat plastic part of the chassis is underneath. Make sure the magnet is mounted inline with the pickup shoe....only one magnet is needed too.......essentially you be able to run at a faster pace...without fear of coming off the track as easily. I just learned this trick while in Florida......and man does it make a difference.


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## dlw

*Where to Oil?*

Matack, you will want to put a tiny drop of oil on the gears, and anywhere you see a metal shaft going through a plastic hole. Those places are the axles, the top of the gear plate under the first gear (push the arm up, drop the oil, blow it under the gear to the arm shaft, the move the arm up and down to work it in), under the rear gear (do like you did for the arm gear), and the little hole above the rear axle. And after you've hit these places, then put a drop on the arm shaft under the chassis (it's in the center between the brushes. You'll see the V-shapes brush holders on either side of it), then spin the wheels in both directions to work it in.

After you do this, run the car on a 9V battery for a few minutes, in both directions. And you're ready.


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## edric339cobryn

Matack said:


> First, thank you for link. Very informative.
> 
> Like to see is some pics of where you would oil a car at?
> 
> 
> Why do you need to change wheels/rims?
> 
> Do they loose shape?
> 
> Understand changing tires just wondering how the rims are damaged.
> 
> DO the G-Plus cars come with silicone tires?
> 
> Silicones make a big difference?
> 
> As always thanks all for the replies to what I know are some lame questions to most of you.
> Artex Productions Miami Video Production Company
> Matt



Hey Matt, you and I are pretty new to trying to rebuild cars man....and I'm constantly experimenting with ideas and tricks to help me out.

First off on the wheels.......straight out of the box wheels like the JL wheels can perhaps be out of round......I've encountered some of the JL TJet wheels that were....and an out of round wheel definately will slow you down and limit performance....just as in a real 1:1 car.........you want as smooth of a ride as possible. It is possible to "True" these wheels by using a Dremel tool and slowly running the wheel over some find grit sandpaper......

Secondly, Silicones DO make a HUGE diferrerence. While I was in Florida I hung out at a slot car shop that had an extensive supply of parts...... I bought several sets of "Wizzard" brand silicone tires....these are by far the BEST silicone tires I've ever seen.....and I've had a few other brands in the past....but they pale in comparison to the Wizzard silicones.

For example, on my recently completed Rat Rod coupe project car (that I posted pics of recently) I used a set of Tyco "foam" 440X2 tires on the back......for a meaty look...and I knew from past experience that they worked well. When I sat down to actually run the coupe on of the tracks in Florida I found that the coupe did handle ok.......was kind of slow out of the corners though.....as it would hit maximum acceleration. A few of the guys at the shop suggested that I throw some Silicones on it.......which I quickly searched for a pair that were beefy looking to keep the look of the coupe that I wanted.....yet were soft. After I put these one I soon had a rocket of a car.....it hung thru the corners like a bullet.....and on the straights it was a monster! In fact, this car hooks up so well....that if I come to a stop on a long straight and launch hard at full power the car will literally pull the wheels.....despite the resin wheel bars out back.....this coupe will literally "de-slot" itself with the amount of torque coming from the motor....and the ability it has now to plant ALL of the power to the ground.......no spinning, no slipping.

So yes, Silicones DO make a HUGE difference.......but search for a quality silicone tire.......because there are alot of brands out there......but these Wizzards like I use are $1.35 a pair.......and have NO molding imperfections like other brands......... 👍


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