get a lint roller to clean the tyres or gaffer tape wrapped back over itself on the roll, some zx1 oil for the tyres and some flat not folded sandpaper glued to a thin board for trueing. Keeping the tyres and car level with the track is important when sanding. The zx1 oil is a treatment for the tyres to soften them up which improves grip no end. A light coating of zx1 oil 10 mins before racing makes a massive difference. Lighter fluid to clean the braids helps a lot and the closer you get the motor to the track the faster you can go through the bends.
would clean the brushes on the bottom of the cars, ensure the brushes are angled about 45degrees before playing, then you can also use a good white eraser on the tracker to clean the track. Occasionally you can use lint roller on the wheels, and a very fine sandpaper on the track, but before using sandpaper I would try the eraser trick first. - If you buy a second hand track which is dirty or soiled, you can lightly sand the track, then use the eraser trick, then wash the track only in a mix of light detergent with warm water (a very dirty track can be cleaned with light detergent, a small spoon of bicarb and warm water), leave track to dry in the sun or dry it with newspaper and a good quality fleece towel. - Bent track and foil can be straightened on the joints. Ensure if you sand the track you use fine grit only and do not press too hard or you may remove too much foil.
Hello Good video and some of the advice is good and I also like to tinker with my cars. However some information is incorrect but I also understand that these upgrades are free and not for the professional racer. You do not put oil on the gearing you need to put a dab of grease on them( I suppose not everyone has some grease kicking about the house). As if you use oils all the dirt and debris from track gets stuck to the oil and will then make the gearing dirty and potentially not mesh correctly and the car will then under perform and possibly make the rear axle move about more than should. To clean your tyres you do not need to use your thumb, you can use Sellotape, masking tape or Gaffer tape to clean wheels. All you do is take a bit off and go round the tyres with the tape to collect the dirt or you can use lighter fluid (but how many of us has lighter fluid around the house). Also other videos on RUclips showing this method. These are only mere suggestions but if your tips have worked for you then carry on doing what you are doing.
Thanks for the comments, I'm not sure grease is any less sticky than light machine oil, but a great idea for a new video, endurance race.. machine oil vs grease and then a look under the microscope 🔬.
Put your sandpaper on a flat piece of wood,etc...water will cool tires and keep them from balling up while sanding. Try lighter fluid occasionally to give tires a good clean, you will see the difference
Hey Slot Car Dad, it may be that the act of truing the wheels create so much grit on the tires, such that the cleaning step may well have shown more benefit because of when it was done, not just doing it in the absence of truing. I also feel compelled to a rookie error I made recently, I trued to get a nice even surface on the back tires, only to find that I'd gone too far, resulting in the car body touching the track on a car that turned out to have an uneven chassis!
To be perfectly honest, just get some of tamyia's 4wd mini , type 130 motors, everything from torque tuned to plasma tuned way better than stock motors
My local slot car club doesn’t allow motor upgrades. That being said, I’m about to start 3D printing chassis for all my cars so I can have home and club setups.
I kept getting beaten by my son so one day when he was at school I put my cordless drill charger transformer on my side of the track 14 volts instead of 12 volts I think He was not a happy chappie when his old man beat him. We also improved a 1980s mk1 escort by putting the motor out of David coultards more modern f 1 car Having kids is Ace
@@slot-car-dad I would not recommend that - also when they dry out, the WD40 will crack the tyres, washing up liquid can save early on set for cracking older tyres, but best bet is just to replace them and then sand them for better grip, give them a wipe with a dry cloth, for an extra tip for extra grip put a flame under the tyre for a second to warm it up and round it off with your finger and thumb for the extra grip that the warmth in the tyre will provide in the corners, and if you have some give in the body the car will still to the track like a train on rails..... I am 53 and I have had slot car sets for most of my life, I've tried quite a lot of tricks but anything oil based should not be put on tyres or the track. as you said too slippy!
Fella the tyres do not seem to be right ones for the rims they too narrow??? I used CARBY CLEANER sprayed on a cloth and rubbed the tyres with wet section it cleaned the tyres nicely, deglazed them, next thing is to clean or replace brushes, have fun fella Of course none of the tuning is really NOT the end of it, the track rails need to be polished to bright smooth finish, and this is easily done useing AUTOSOL METAL POLISH
@@slot-car-dad interesting point here.... I have several cars from two manufacturers, some expensive ones too... my two fastest cars by 1 sec on a nice large track ( more than 12 mt in length) made up from 4 sets are what we could call STARTUP CARS Stock factory tyres and they are by far the best handlers and fastest I have, 4.1 sec lap times consistently, without mentioning names to be fair these cars have black windows, I was interested to know why these two from a entry level set were so fast, weight came into it and surprisingly when placed on a piece of spare track and turned upside down it remains attached to the track!!!!!!! Yip hanging upside down with standard magnets As someone said all the fancy plastics in the cab of driver and seats is JUST WEIGHT and adds to the instability of the car All but these two cars are fitted with ultra grippy/sticky rear tyres yet they don't handle nearly as well, Even my LMP type cars with wider wheels and lower centre of gravity are not as fast due to handling Have a great day fella
Hello but yeah this,,trick,does,work, but in,time,,the wheels might,,start,,coming,,off,,because every thing is plastic, and the back of the car may,,ride,,too,low,and scrape,,the,track,,then,,you will need new,,back,,tires,,and my self,don't have the money to keep doing this, but i,will oil,the motor,,and keep hair,and dust,,off,of,,every thing, the,,track and all tires,,and the,cars,,will,,go,,faster but,then,every one has there,,own,,way,,of,doing,,things,,to,get more out,of,ther,car
Another good way to clean tires is to roll them on masking tape (sticky side) until no more dirt is on tires. Works great.👍
get a lint roller to clean the tyres or gaffer tape wrapped back over itself on the roll, some zx1 oil for the tyres and some flat not folded sandpaper glued to a thin board for trueing. Keeping the tyres and car level with the track is important when sanding. The zx1 oil is a treatment for the tyres to soften them up which improves grip no end. A light coating of zx1 oil 10 mins before racing makes a massive difference. Lighter fluid to clean the braids helps a lot and the closer you get the motor to the track the faster you can go through the bends.
Excellent video! You actually gave a quantitative before and after tuning of the cars. Great job!
Thank you !
would clean the brushes on the bottom of the cars, ensure the brushes are angled about 45degrees before playing, then you can also use a good white eraser on the tracker to clean the track. Occasionally you can use lint roller on the wheels, and a very fine sandpaper on the track, but before using sandpaper I would try the eraser trick first.
-
If you buy a second hand track which is dirty or soiled, you can lightly sand the track, then use the eraser trick, then wash the track only in a mix of light detergent with warm water (a very dirty track can be cleaned with light detergent, a small spoon of bicarb and warm water), leave track to dry in the sun or dry it with newspaper and a good quality fleece towel.
-
Bent track and foil can be straightened on the joints. Ensure if you sand the track you use fine grit only and do not press too hard or you may remove too much foil.
Thanks for the tips , ignore the negative comments it ain't like were entering the Indy 500.
Hello
Good video and some of the advice is good and I also like to tinker with my cars. However some information is incorrect but I also understand that these upgrades are free and not for the professional racer.
You do not put oil on the gearing you need to put a dab of grease on them( I suppose not everyone has some grease kicking about the house). As if you use oils all the dirt and debris from track gets stuck to the oil and will then make the gearing dirty and potentially not mesh correctly and the car will then under perform and possibly make the rear axle move about more than should.
To clean your tyres you do not need to use your thumb, you can use Sellotape, masking tape or Gaffer tape to clean wheels. All you do is take a bit off and go round the tyres with the tape to collect the dirt or you can use lighter fluid (but how many of us has lighter fluid around the house). Also other videos on RUclips showing this method.
These are only mere suggestions but if your tips have worked for you then carry on doing what you are doing.
Thanks for the comments, I'm not sure grease is any less sticky than light machine oil, but a great idea for a new video, endurance race.. machine oil vs grease and then a look under the microscope 🔬.
@@slot-car-dadGrease sticks to the gears and provide lasting lubrication whereas the gears will fling oil everywhere inside your car.
Just came across your channel. Great material. Subscribed
Awesome, thank you!
Put your sandpaper on a flat piece of wood,etc...water will cool tires and keep them from balling up while sanding. Try lighter fluid occasionally to give tires a good clean, you will see the difference
All good tips, thanks for watching
Thanks for the tips and for the rocking blues?
Every little bit helps keep the advice coming
Hey Slot Car Dad, it may be that the act of truing the wheels create so much grit on the tires, such that the cleaning step may well have shown more benefit because of when it was done, not just doing it in the absence of truing. I also feel compelled to a rookie error I made recently, I trued to get a nice even surface on the back tires, only to find that I'd gone too far, resulting in the car body touching the track on a car that turned out to have an uneven chassis!
Could well be, I will have to investigate that on future vids
Really good video mate
Cheers
To be perfectly honest, just get some of tamyia's 4wd mini , type 130 motors, everything from torque tuned to plasma tuned way better than stock motors
This video concentrates on free and easy things to do, good shout, will be doing videos on swapping motors also
My local slot car club doesn’t allow motor upgrades. That being said, I’m about to start 3D printing chassis for all my cars so I can have home and club setups.
I kept getting beaten by my son so one day when he was at school I put my cordless drill charger transformer on my side of the track 14 volts instead of 12 volts I think He was not a happy chappie when his old man beat him. We also improved a 1980s mk1 escort by putting the motor out of David coultards more modern f 1 car Having kids is Ace
Wd40 on the tires is even better
I have not tried that, sounds slippy!
@@slot-car-dad I would not recommend that - also when they dry out, the WD40 will crack the tyres, washing up liquid can save early on set for cracking older tyres, but best bet is just to replace them and then sand them for better grip, give them a wipe with a dry cloth, for an extra tip for extra grip put a flame under the tyre for a second to warm it up and round it off with your finger and thumb for the extra grip that the warmth in the tyre will provide in the corners, and if you have some give in the body the car will still to the track like a train on rails..... I am 53 and I have had slot car sets for most of my life, I've tried quite a lot of tricks but anything oil based should not be put on tyres or the track. as you said too slippy!
How did you check the lap times
Scalextric C8215 lap counter and timer, I will have to show it in next video
@@slot-car-dad Thanks
Fella the tyres do not seem to be right ones for the rims they too narrow???
I used CARBY CLEANER sprayed on a cloth and rubbed the tyres with wet section it cleaned the tyres nicely, deglazed them, next thing is to clean or replace brushes, have fun fella
Of course none of the tuning is really NOT the end of it, the track rails need to be polished to bright smooth finish, and this is easily done useing AUTOSOL METAL POLISH
You might be watching the bit where I swapped them front to back
@@slot-car-dad interesting point here.... I have several cars from two manufacturers, some expensive ones too... my two fastest cars by 1 sec on a nice large track ( more than 12 mt in length) made up from 4 sets are what we could call STARTUP CARS
Stock factory tyres and they are by far the best handlers and fastest I have, 4.1 sec lap times consistently, without mentioning names to be fair these cars have black windows,
I was interested to know why these two from a entry level set were so fast, weight came into it and surprisingly when placed on a piece of spare track and turned upside down it remains attached to the track!!!!!!! Yip hanging upside down with standard magnets
As someone said all the fancy plastics in the cab of driver and seats is JUST WEIGHT and adds to the instability of the car
All but these two cars are fitted with ultra grippy/sticky rear tyres yet they don't handle nearly as well,
Even my LMP type cars with wider wheels and lower centre of gravity are not as fast due to handling
Have a great day fella
Wow you must be an expert fella
Hello but yeah this,,trick,does,work, but in,time,,the wheels might,,start,,coming,,off,,because every thing is plastic, and the back of the car may,,ride,,too,low,and scrape,,the,track,,then,,you will need new,,back,,tires,,and my self,don't have the money to keep doing this, but i,will oil,the motor,,and keep hair,and dust,,off,of,,every thing, the,,track and all tires,,and the,cars,,will,,go,,faster but,then,every one has there,,own,,way,,of,doing,,things,,to,get more out,of,ther,car
Yep they are just toys at the end of the day, everyone can enjoy them in which ever way they please.
Dion, punctuation is rule bound, not a mandatory excercise. Two commas mean nothing.😁