Final Wheel Lubrication for Your Car

Now that the car runs straight and true, the last step to reduce friction is to lubricate the wheels. Most organizations allow graphite, Teflon, or other dry lubricants. We have found that the graphite/moly blend from Hodges Hobby House works the best of anything we've tried.

The other part of the puzzle is the technique to build up the best coating of graphite which will last through a day's racing without adding more graphite, since this is almost never allowed.

Tools and materials you'll need:

  • Your preferred graphite or other dry lubricant
  • An exercise treadmill or other device capable of running the wheels at a quick walking pace (I'm a photographer, and found that my Cibachrome processing drums and motorized base worked just fine, so you may be able to beg or borrow a different mechanism to roll the wheels for this process.)
  • A small artist's paintbrush

Steps in the process:

  • Using the artist's brush, work graphite between the axle hub and the car body and gently burnish it in place by twisting the wheel while pressing it against the body.
  • Holding the car sideways, tap a small pile of graphite into the "wire wheel" area of the wheel and work it down between the axle and wheel bore using the brush.
  • Repeat the first two steps for each of the four wheels.
  • Now "run in" the car on the treadmill or other mechanical contrivance for two minutes.
  • Repeat those four steps at least four times.
  • Now do two more cycles of steps one through four, but these last times, run in the graphite for only one minute the next-to-last time and 30 seconds the very last time.
  • Put the car in a padded box and lock it away from little hands that want to "play" with it before race day!
  • Whatever you do, avoid the temptation to add "just a little bit more" graphite! Loose graphite is gummy and you will just slow the car down with little bits floating around inside the axle bores. If you do careful timing of the car, you will find that it runs faster on the second and third times down the track, and holds times pretty well for at least six to eight runs before the graphite starts to wear off.
  • When you win your Pack and go to District, repeat this entire process the day before the District races.