The wrong grease can damage plastic gears, attack rubber seals, or wash out under load. The right grease — matched to the component, material, and operating condition — protects your investment and improves performance. Here's how to choose.
"Grease" is a category, not a specification. Different greases have radically different chemistry, base oils, thickeners, and additives. A grease that's perfect for steel-on-steel high-load contact will destroy a plastic gear. A grease optimized for waterproofing will fail under high-speed bearing loads.
Professional RC racing isn't generic. Your differential, your bearings, your gears, and your electronics all have different demands. Match the grease to the component.
Greases differ in three key ways: base oil viscosity (light vs. heavy), thickener type (lithium, silicone, PTFE, etc.), and additive package (extreme pressure, anti-wear, corrosion inhibitors, friction modifiers). Each combination is optimized for specific applications. Get the match right.
Many petroleum-based greases attack plastic. They cause swelling, softening, embrittlement, or cracking — often slowly enough that you don't notice until your part fails mid-race.
Use: Plastic Gear Grease (silicone-based, plastic-safe)
Never use: Generic petroleum greases on plastic gears
Petroleum-based greases can swell or break down rubber compounds. Silicone-based greases are rubber-safe.
Use: O-Ring Grease (silicone-based, rubber-safe)
Application: Shock O-rings, gear box seals, any rubber-to-metal contact
Metal contact under load needs extreme pressure (EP) protection. Look for greases fortified with MoS₂ (molybdenum disulfide), WS₂ (tungsten disulfide), copper particles, or other EP additives.
Use: Copper Gear Grease, Moly Thrust Grease, Racing Grease Pro, Rogue-X Heavy Duty
Ceramic balls require very low-friction lubricants. The wrong grease creates drag that defeats the purpose of upgrading to ceramics in the first place.
Use: Ceramic Grease (HBN nano-particle), or Heliox L15 (PFPE oil)
Ball diffs require specialized grease for the balls themselves and a different grease for the thrust assembly:
Use them as a pair. The thrust grease handles the axial load, the ball grease handles the controlled slip behavior — together they keep your diff smooth and consistent.
Gear diffs use silicone diff oil, not grease. See our Differential Oils page for viscosity selection.
Over-greasing is the most common mistake. Excess grease creates drag, attracts dust and debris, and slows components down. A thin, even coating is what you want — not a thick globby application.
When you re-grease, remove the old grease first. Old grease accumulates dust and worn metal particles that act as abrasive. Clean components with isopropyl alcohol, dry, then apply fresh grease.
Different grease bases (lithium, silicone, PTFE, PFPE) can be incompatible when mixed. They may separate, harden, or lose performance. Stick with one grease type per application — and if you switch, clean the component thoroughly first.
For racing: inspect grease after every race weekend, reapply when thin or contaminated. For bashing/casual use: inspect monthly, reapply seasonally. After heavy water/mud exposure: clean and re-grease immediately.
If you're new to RC grease selection, this is the simplified workflow: