4 Essential Tips To Become A Winner In Slot Car Racing
It would be a waste if a top-grade slot car is not properly cared for. In the sport of slot car racing, proper maintenance and effective improvisation almost always determine the victor. And if you’re serious about being competitive in slot car racing, it’d do you well to heed the tips that are going to be discussed in this article.
1. Keep Your Slot Car Clean
Slot cars can accumulate dust and dirt in its nooks and crannies, which can cause congestion on the wheel hubs, axles, and pick up shoes. If not properly cleaned, these components will have a hard time to rotate freely.
What you should do is remove the body and make sure that the chassis is clean. The moving parts amount to tires, gears, axles, springs and motors. Rotate them and determine if they can move without difficulty. In case there are parts that are worn out, replacing them is the smarter thing to do. As long as all these components are working properly, the slot car will perform better and last longer.
2. Apply Lubrication
Cleaning is simply not enough. Even a clean car will have difficulties in maintaining a solid run if friction is left alone to do its nasty work. To avoid this problem, make sure to lubricate the slot car chassis and the motor. A small drop of oil on each of the chassis axle bearings is a good insurance policy as far as keeping the axles spinning without any interruptions is concerned. Do the same procedure for the front and rear end bells to make sure that the armatures can spin without difficulty. Remember, a small drop on each component will do; otherwise, the operation could become messy.
3. Stick to One Car
You have to choose a slot car that works for you. In case you have a lot of slot cars to choose from, do a test drive on each one and choose the one you can handle best. If you think that some tweaks have to be made, feel free to do so and do a test run again.
4. Practice Makes Perfect
Once you’re finished choosing your “baby”, you need to do regular drills in order for you to have a better “feel” for all the little but important nuances that are involved in handling the slot car. Believe it or not, each slot car is unique. And funny as it may sound, each one seems to develop its own set of characteristics.
So treat your slot car like a prizefighter. Do a test drive for a few hours each day. Try different types of tracks. If you spot a weakness, do the necessary adjustments and then give it another try. With plenty of time, you can spot subtleties more effectively and know exactly what you need to do with each one.
These are the basic guidelines to ensure that you and your slot car remain competitive in the slot car racing arena. Slot cars are curious things, but if you are familiar with all the little things, you are well on your way to making it big in the sport of slot car racing.
