We all know that lubrication is an important item for many mechanical systems. Lubrication simply lowers the amount of resistance between 2 moving mechanical parts or components. A lowered resistance improves premature wear by slowing this process down.
Common Areas for Mechanical Friction – RC Car
When looking at any RC Car, there are a lot of areas where friction can build between two or more components. Let’s find some of them.
Drivetrain Components
One of the first areas you may consider is the electric motor providing all the power. An electric motor of today has very few moving parts. The only frictional areas are within the bearings and most bearings used in RC are shielded.
Following the power all the way to the wheels leads us to the next area to consider, the meshing pinion gear and spur gear. Many pinion gears are made up of metal where the spur gear would some for of nylon. There are several spur gears that are also made up of metal in order to handle higher amounts of power. From the spur gear, you may see dog bones and drive cups used to transfer power from a center differential to a front or rear differential. The next area is the gears that are part of the differential assembly that turn power 90 degrees and then in to yet another drive shaft cup and dog bone arrangement.
Lastly, the power goes through one of the last bearings that could be found within the steering block or rear hub.
Suspension Components
There are many areas within the suspension setup that has two moving and mating parts.
Anywhere from the lower control arms to ball joints connecting upper turbuckes. In the steering linkage are many ball joints that must rotate while moving another component.
Where is the Lubricant Placed?
This is a great question! Let’s cut to the chase really quickly here. It is extremely rare that I would use lubrication on any of the components of my RC Cars. This is not to say that I have never applied lubrication to any mechanical parts on an RC car but to say that if you don’t, it’s not going to hurt your car!
Nearly every bearing that I’ve seen in an RC car is shielded and trying to lubricate it serves hardly a purpose. Very similarly, most RC brushless motors also use shielded bearings that keep debris out of the bearings increasing their life.
But Why no Lubrication or Oil?
Our RC cars are very well known for attracting the most amount of dust, dirt and debris. We also know that any type of sticky liquid certainly attracts this type of dirt and debris. Dirt and debris will certainly increase wear more prematurely then lack of lubrication.
You are more likely to break a part on your RC car prior to it failing because of wear! I have RC Cars that are over 10 years old, have 100’s of battery cycles through them and show no signs of imminent failure due to wear. I can’t tell you how many spur gears I’ve had to replace because dirt has got in to the smaller gear train (1/18 scale) and destroyed the spur gear teeth.
My recommendation is to keep the car as clean as possible and there will be little reason lubrication is required.
I’m going for Maximum Performance and Must Lubricate!
There will be the guys that are going for every drop of performance and will want to lubricate their RC. There will also be the drivers out there that just want to lubricate the components as it makes sense to them and that’s OK. I’ve got you guys covered here too!
What you need to do is use a light oil, WD40 is common (likely everyone has heard this one before) and will work. Here are the important steps to follow.
- Place light oil on to paper towel (or cloth) in small amounts.
- Use the paper towel to place the lubrication in to the key areas that you wish to hit. If you have hard to access areas try using a cotton tipped stick or similar.
- Wipe down any excess oil as this will not lubricate anything and simply just attract dirt.
- After each and every run, be certain to clean the RC car well and pay more attention to the key areas that have been lubricated
Keep in mind that any lubrication will only attract dirt. If dirt is getting in to these key areas, no amount of lubrication will slow down premature wear.
Lubricating Maintenance in an RC Car Manual
I have reviewed all the manuals for the RC vehicles that I own, even going outside of just RC Cars and none mentioned lubrication. Yes, you will see grease and silicone weighted oils used for suspension and differential tuned performance. However, no lubrication was mentioned for mechanically mated parts or components.
I’m certain this is due to the facts thaat we have discussed.
I hope this gives you some sort of idea concerning lubrication about your RC car, truck or buggy.