Helpful tips and tricks:

Spur Gears:

1. To ensure the longest life for your spur gears be sure your clutch is on good condition. Worn clutches generate large amounts of heat that will dry your bearings and ruin the seals as well as cause spur gear heat failure.

2. Be sure the pinion is in good condition and not significantly worn. Worn pinions accelerate spur wear. Check the condition of the spur gear carrier and rubber pucks for excessive wear and/or play and replace when necessary.

Tires:

1. The HPI wheels often have very sharp flashing on the outer edge of the wheel that cradles inside the tires bead area. Be sure to sand any and all edges that come in contact with the tire or bead area to ensure the longest like from your tires regardless of brand.

2. Use only rear outer bead rings with protective lips on your rear tires. This extra lip (now a standard feature on all rear HPI wheel assemblies) prevents the sidewall of the tires from being pinched when hitting rocks or curbs sideways. The use of standard or non-lipped rings significantly increases instances of tire failure.

Tips to ensure the longest life for your axle boots:

1. Sand and round sharp edges on the face of the drive cup to prevent cuts. When a rock impacts that area, any sharp edges may allow the boot to be cut.
2. Completely grease inside of boot accordions so that they do not create friction or bind. Your boots will last longer when the accordion area is full of grease.
3. Pull small end of boot toward center of axle. This will be out past the rib on the HPI axles or the knurling of aftermarket axles. The boots function best when slightly extended rather than bunched up. The photo below shows the knurling. Be sure to pull the small end out past the knurling towards the center of the axle.
4. Please understand that axle boots are subjected to an extreme application. They are spun at a high rate of speed and backed by metal so that when a rock hits the boot it creates a pinch with great force that can and will cut any material used. These boots are made of the highest quality rubber to ensure the longest life possible for this application, but harsh and rocky conditions will greatly affect the life of your boots.