Can You Mix RC Shock Oil?

If you have an RC car that has shocks on it then you likely have shock oil inside (shocking right?). One issue with shock oil that many people wonder about is there are a bunch of different “weights” (yes I know it’s actually viscosity but everyone uses weight so don’t yell at me) and brands and that leads people to wonder whether they can mix them or not. 

You can mix RC shock oil without it causing any problems to your shocks or RC car. If you mix a 30wt oil with a 50wt oil you will end with about a 40wt so the viscosity is something to keep in mind but mixing different brands won’t harm anything. 

Before you start mixing the shock oil make sure you know what viscosity you are aiming for so you can put the right amount of each into the mixture to end with the right weight oil in your shocks. 

Now that we know that you can mix different brands and weights of RC shock oil there are some other important questions that you will likely have about your RC shocks and their oil so we will try to cover the most common questions about shock oil in the rest of this article. 

What shock oil should I use for my RC car?

There are tons of different shock oils on the market and then if you check out some message boards or forums you will find many people even recommending using dish soap or other random things in your shocks! 

Do you know what you should really use in your RC shocks? 

You should only use silicone shock oil in your RC shocks if you don’t want to take a chance on damaging your shocks. You should use 30-40wt. shock oil in your shocks but depending on how stiff you want your shocks to be you can use different weights. 

The higher the viscosity (weight) of your shock oil the stiffer your  RC’s springs will be so if you start with 35wt. and it is too stiff then you might want to go down to 25wt. and see if you like that.

 If 35wt. doesn’t make your shocks stiff enough then just go with a 45-50wt. shock oil. 

Can I use motor oil in my RC shocks?

Another common question we hear quite often is whether you can use motor oil in your RC shocks. Afterall motor oil is something that most people have lying around in their garage so why not use it? 

Motor oil will likely harm your RC shocks as the petroleum in motor oil could react badly with the plastic of your RC’s shock. RC shock oil is silicone based and only silicone based oil should be used in your RC shocks. 

If you absolutely have no choice then you could probably get away with using motor oil and honestly if everyone used motor oil the only people who would complain are those whose shocks were destroyed! 

Why would you take the chance of destroying your shocks and possibly something else on your RC car if the shock breaks on a landing? 

RC shock oil is cheap and can be found virtually anywhere (even online here) so why would you risk damaging your car? 

What kind of oil goes in Traxxas shocks?

Since Traxxas is a super popular brand right now with many hobbyists owning one (or more) Traxxas RC vehicles many people often ask what they need for their Traxxas cars specifically. 

As long as you use RC shock oil (silicone) you can really use any brand that you want. You don’t have to buy Traxxas’ shock oil (although it’s not a bad choice). 

As mentioned earlier you will want to make sure to find the right viscosity (weight) shock oil that you prefer but that is something that is a personal preference and will also vary from model to model and depend on where you are using your RC car. 

For most people just getting the cheaper RC shock oil that is the weight you normally run will work perfectly. 

How do I add oil to my RC shocks?

So we covered a decent amount of common questions about RC shock oil but this is the biggest one. How do you do it? 

If you are brand new to RC vehicles or you’ve never had a hobby grade car before you might not know how to even add RC shock oil or how to change yours out. 

Thankfully it’s pretty simple. 

To add or change your RC shock oil you simply have to take the shocks off the RC car, remove the springs from the shocks (on some models), and then unscrew the cap at the top. 

Most of the time you will want to actually change your shock oil rather than just adding oil to it but if the oil is brand new and you want to stiffen or soften the springs by adding different weight oil this is how you do it. 

Once you have filled the shock back with oil simply screw the cap back on, reattach the spring, and boot the shock back onto your RC car. 

To see exactly how to add oil to your RC shocks you can also check out the video below. 

What weight is Traxxas shock oil?

If you have a Traxxas RC car then you have likely seen Traxxas shock oil while you were searching the store. One issue that many people run into with the Traxxas shock oil is that it doesn’t give the weight (viscosity) of the oil! 

That seems like a pretty big thing to omit especially since every other shock oil says what weight the oil is while Traxxas doesn’t. 

The standard Traxxas shock oil is actually 30wt. if you go to your local hobby shop or online and find Traxxas oil that doesn’t give a weight on it that is what the weight of the oil is. 

Now just because that is the standard weight of the Traxxas shock oil that doesn’t mean that is what weight oil you should run in all of your Traxxas RC vehicles. Most people actually prefer to have a little bit stiffer shocks so they run 40 weight oil in them.

How stiff or soft you want your shocks is difficult to determine if you are new but most people prefer using 30-40 weight shock oil. 

How full do you fill RC shocks?

The last commonly asked question we will cover today is how full you should fill your shocks. Many people get their RC shocks all the way off, apart, and drained and then have no idea how full they should refill them! 

RC shock oil should be filled right up to the top of the shock. That will give you a little bit of extra room (space in the cap) but will still keep your shock working properly. 

If you do end up with too much oil in the shock it will just leak out and won’t harm anything so it’s better to have it too full than not enough. 

If you just fill it to the top everytime you really can’t go wrong. 

Conclusion

I hope today’s article about RC shock oil helped answer any questions that you had about whether it can be mixed, what weight oil to use, and even how to put the oil in. 

RC shock oil is really quite simple and cheap as well (although not as cheap as motor oil). It’s easy to change out your shock oil as well so it should be done regularly to keep your shocks and your car running down the road properly.