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I am new to the sidewinder configuration (all my others are inline) so I have a newbie question. Do you grease the sidewinder gear set or leave it dry? I am worried that if I grease it I am going to end up with some grease being slung off on the track since the spur gear is totally exposed...

Thoughts?

Thanks;
Eric

Your correct.

Personal preference, for break in, if needed, I mix a buffing compound with gear lube and run until quiet.
I then clean the grease off and run until time to replace the gears. All my years I don't remember ever wearing
gears to the point of replacement.

Get ready for all kinds of methods to be reveled. Each racer has his own preferred procedure.

They are gears rubbing together of course they need lube. You don't need to add a lot just enough to reduce the friction.
Mike

Have a rag ready for when you first place the car on the track after lubing the gears. A small amount may be slung onto the track so you just wipe it up.

When we greased the Fass bronze spur gears in the 70's, we first put the car on a power supply at low voltage without the body on for a few minutes. That way, we never had to clean tons of grease from bodies or the track.

Thanks very much for the input guys, I appreciate the education.

Cheers;
Eric

I find the grease that R/C guys use to be excellent for slot cars. I have Vanquish cars that run perfectly with the original differentials because I packed the diffs with this grease as soon as I got them home. Other folks saw their Vanquish cars become unusable, and had to revert to ordinary drive gear.

To polish gears, use Tamiya polishing compounds (there are several grits available). When the gears (sidewinder, anglewinder, or inline) get quiet, lightly brush the lumps of compound off and apply a light oil. The compound will continue to work for a long time, and when you hear any noise (many laps later), you can apply the R/C grease. Let common sense be your guide, there's no mystery about this stuff.

White stuff in a tube. I can go look at the label if you need it.