# Help With Using Oil..



## guinnesspeanut (Sep 25, 2009)

Can anyone out there tell me why you don't use regular 10W30 motor oil, or Slick50, or STP high performance whatever instead of the tiny, expensive hobby oils? I remember one of my old clunkers chuffing smoke from an engine on it's last few miles.. I put Slick50 in and it sounded like I actually put money into it, and it smoked less too.. From what I can tell, a V8 gas engine gets a lot hotter than these tiny motors do, so wouldn't it make sense to use the better oil? I saw a commercial a week ago for some car oil that actually bonds on a molecular level to the piston walls.. Wouldn't this make these tiny slot car motors perform better and last longer?? Isn't better oil simply better oil?? If the hobby oil is 10W10, then I'm sure there's a chainsaw out there somewhere with a formulated mix that'll outperform hobby oils in a heartbeat. I imagine when the first company decided to put a small bottle of oil in with a toy, it was for convenience, not because it needed a different oil. Somebody out there has to have a good answer..


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

I use a mix of oils, 75-90W synthetic gear lube / Slick 50 /and a high Zinc content break-in lube.
But i run nothing but bearings:thumbsup:

You're probably talking about Z-Max,it's mineral based,and if you go to some of the BB's that discuss the merits of oil,it's not overly liked


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

There are guys who do use regular oil. When this topic comes up, you'll get all kinds of responses for "my favorite oil", and most of them are not small bottled "hobby oils".

Do a search for threads with "oil" in the title.

Joe


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## cwbam (Feb 8, 2010)

Most new hobby oils are SAFE for plastic.
Probably synthetic base,

For me its the APPLICATOR & TIP the smaller the better, more precise location, oil where I need it, for longer runs between clean up.

I use 2 different viscosity? thick for gears, thins at armatures
scaleauto has:
HT372 G-Lube™ Gear Lubricant
HT374 G-Juice™ Redline® Oiler
HT375Micro Precision Oiler


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## guinnesspeanut (Sep 25, 2009)

I searched titles, and I get all the same old responses.. "Safe for plastic" can be said for every oil I know on the market.. White & clear plastic being the exception. No oil out there is 'safe' for prolonged contact with these, as they all discolor simply from 100 watt lightbulbs over time. Even a white car in a UV glass cabinet will eventually show where light hits it. One more thing with 'safe for plastic'.. 99.99% of the areas that require oil are enclosed, interior spaces. You're just as likely to get discoloration from uneven heat distribution in these cavities. Combine oil cast off with the heat and with carbon, rubber, and dust and there's no way to avoid discoloration, even if you do a complete teardown after every race. What I was hoping for here was a magazine article. Something where an objective study would show conclusions.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

peenut, congrats on 100 posts


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

For the bottom of the arm shaft on pancake motors, I use Thunder Oil. I've been on the same bottle for probably close to 10 years and I'm not halfway through yet. For everything else, I've picked up little cheap needle oilers at hobby stores, but I've had a couple crack and leak all over the place... so last time I was at a train store, I picked up a little container of Labelle lightweight something or other. Sometimes I think it's a little TOO light, but it hasn't caused any problems for me. I noticed recently that's getting low, so it may be time to try something else... maybe the same stuff in a heavier weight, or maybe Marvel Mystery Oil or automatic transmission fluid, both of which I've heard that other guys use...

I was under the impression that your basic 5W-30 was too thick/heavy for slot car applications, which is why people have tried the MMO and the ATF.

--rick


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I've tried ATF and found it too thin for T jet use. My thunder oil worked great, and lasted me a good 4+ years for one bottle, and that was using it for unintended purposes, such as cutting oil for tapping brass posts (I know Bill H, me bad). The problem with the ATF is it slings itself way too easily, and even with the needle oiler manages to get on the comm. Maybe other types of ATF have a different viscosity, but the Dextron3/Mercon is like water.


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## rholmesr (Oct 8, 2010)

I have been using Freejet for about a year and it seems to work pretty good. It's a rather thin oil but has teflon mixed in with it so even if it goes 'dry' it still provides some good lubricity.

I use a thicker ISO VG68 turbine oil for the idler gear on t-jets and mag-tractions - it just seems to stick better there.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Elixirs*



guinnesspeanut said:


> Can anyone out there tell me why you don't use regular 10W30 motor oil, or Slick50, or STP high performance whatever instead of the tiny, expensive hobby oils?
> 
> _I use a lightweight auto motive synthetic with good results and a moly based automotive assembly lube on areas where I dont want sling._
> 
> ...


Because not all slot cars are designed or built identically, everyone likes what they like; because of a particular characteristic that a lubricant has or doesnt have. Some guys use more than one lubricant to accomplish different tasks on the same chassis. Some guys use blends. Some guys swear by whatever home brew gets them across the finish line.

The bottom line being that any oil is better than no oil and everybody works up from there until they find what satisfies their particular requirments. 

Your mileage may vary


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