[slotterkeith]

Hi everyone,
I am about to soak a load of old (c1980s) Scalextric tyres in a bowl of olive oil for a few days in an attempt to soften them up. Should I soak the ribbed front tyres as well? I like the idea of olive oil as it 'seems cleaner' (what a tart!). If anyone knows why I shouldn't use this instead of 3 in 1 oil or whatever, please speak now... or forever hold thy peace.
Many thanks. Keith.

 

[gus3049]

My immediate reaction is no.

Front tyres should be as hard as possible to avoid them gripping and digging in. All my cars have nail varnish or superglue treatment for that very reason.

 

[300SLR]

Do you know of anybody who has tried olive oil on that sort of tyre?

Unless some people who have tried it reply, it might be wise to try it on a couple of tyres first and see what happens. Also some experimentation with how long they should be immersed in oil might be wise, some tyres go usefully soft after a short period of oil treatment then start blistering if soaked for too long.

Olive oil and 3 in 1 oil are very different things.

You never know what works till somebody tries it, could be better, worse, not work at all or damage the tyres

As Gordon has said, most cars work better with hard front tyres. It's usually only the rears where softening can be an advantage.

 

[Mr Modifier]

Agree on not treating the fronts.

I'm not sure if Olive oil will help. I have only heard of people using mineral oil - but no harm in trying one tyre to see if it works. Don't commit all tyres until you are sure what the effect will be.

My major concern with soaking tyres is that oil causes rubber to soften but also to expand. It will also make the tyres very difficult to glue to the rims if needed.

I only treat the outside of tyres to improve grip because I don't want an expanded tyre that doesn't sit tight on the rims. I also glue and true for racing but that may not be a requirement for you. You only need grip on the tread area so a few drops rubbed into the tyre surface regularly could be all you need.

3-in-ONE works well on Scalextric rubber.

 

[longdog]

WD40 also works quite well as does ZX1

 

[slotterkeith]

Thank you very much everyone. I did suspect that one shouldn't soak the front tyres; it's good to have that confirmed. I am going to follow your advice and only soak the outer parts of the tyres... in 3 in 1. I hadn't considered the other consequences you have mentioned and don't want to risk ruining still viable items. If I come across any particularly unusable tyres I will try the olive oil test and report back. I will of course need to gain some experience re. the standard proceedure first before I am in a position to make any meaningful, relative comment concerning the two 'techniques', so please bear with me.

 

[Eric_8]

Thank you very much everyone. I did suspect that one shouldn't soak the front tyres; it's good to have that confirmed. I am going to follow your advice and only soak the outer parts of the tyres... in 3 in 1. I hadn't considered the other consequences you have mentioned and don't want to risk ruining still viable items. If I come across any particularly unusable tyres I will try the olive oil test and report back. I will of course need to gain some experience re. the standard proceedure first before I am in a position to make any meaningful, relative comment concerning the two 'techniques', so please bear with me.

Did you ever completed the olive oil test?

 

[Kevan]

Yep, update please

 

[RichD]

Treating rubber tires can be problematic because different tires or even just the same make and model from a different batch may respond differently.

 

[crustypop]

i bought a revo merc recently and put it on the track and did a few hundred laps the tyres seem to be fairly true to start with and as the laps went by they became more and more grippy ,even to the extent of saying sticky ,my other revos have not become sticky but seem to have the same amount of grip . no oil needed

 

[Abarth Mike]

WD40 also works quite well as does ZX1

Spray with WD-40 and put in a ziplock bag for the few days. Also works for old fan belts.

If you have any viynyl/leather cleaner , say , Armor All. That will also work.

 

[Kevan]

i bought a revo merc recently and put it on the track and did a few hundred laps the tyres seem to be fairly true to start with and as the laps went by they became more and more grippy ,even to the extent of saying sticky ,my other revos have not become sticky but seem to have the same amount of grip . no oil needed

Revo tyres are remarkably good...but do ball up...not a huge problem as they're heavy cars.