I was wondering what you guys all use on your chains? I've been using Klotz Chain Lube since I got my car and it really makes a mess... But anyways, I was looking for some prices last night and stumbled across a article about chain maintenance on go kart chains and the guy said that on dirt track you should defiantly use chain wax...

So I was wondering before I bought some what everyone else was using?

Chain is the messy job! I usually take chain off every race, clean it and soak it in tub of chainsaw bar & chain oil till next race day.

Damn, I'm still the only wax user? It does still sling, minimally though. We also clean the chain everyweek with parts washer. Comes off well, no build-up. one big benefit though, dirt is NOT attrracted to the chain anymore...

Chain is the messy job! I usually take chain off every race, clean it and soak it in tub of chainsaw bar & chain oil till next race day.

Boy, that must really make a mess... I would think that dirt would stick to chain like glue and wear it out even faster...

Damn, I'm still the only wax user? It does still sling, minimally though. We also clean the chain everyweek with parts washer. Comes off well, no build-up. one big benefit though, dirt is NOT attrracted to the chain anymore...

What brand of chain wax do you prefer to use?

I was reading a bunch of articles online, and seen pretty good reviews on the Klotz KLR.... I've been using the Klotz Hi-Performance Chain Lube and it makes a mess of everything on my car, dirt sticks to it like glue (I think this is b/c it doesn't dry), & most of the time after a few laps on the track it seems like it isn't even on my chain anymore (I put my finger on the chain and it is dry)..... But its surely all over my tires, motor, body panel, etc...

Well, now after looking at the can, it is a lubricant. Acts like a wax though. Fuchs Sikolene Synthetic. It is the best stuff we have found yet. Of course Hyper carries it...

My theory with soaking the chain for a couple days allows the oil to weep deep inside the chain. I could see the bubbles coming up the tub of oil with the chain drowned in it the oil after while. The messy part is getting the chain out of the tub and onto the car. On race day I hang the chain over tub for an hour or two the let the excess drip off before throwing it on the car. I had good results and the chain wears well, lasting a long time even though I do replace chain before it's worn 1/2 way before recommended point of replacement.

We have 2 chains, one for kutztown and one for the rest of the tracks we race because kutztown requires a much different gear ratio than all of the other tracks we race. So, with that beind said, we take the chain and clean it in mineral spirits and then blow it down with low air pressure as to not force any dirt into the chain. We then place the chain in a bucket with a mixture of red grease and Amsoil 90wt gear oil. Let is soak about a day and then hang it up like Billy-O does to drip dry for a couple of hours. Then install it on the car.

Yes this does make a mess of the left rear inside wheel half and the left side sail panel, but that's what they make Simple Green for, cleaning all that crap up on Sunday. AND ... we have had chains last *ALMOST* a whole year with this type of maintenance done (of course it'll break now that i said that).

Regardless of what you do, the chain needs to have maintenance performed every week if you want it to be reliable, it's just like cleaning your air filter or anything else you perform weekly maintenance on.

Honestly, our chains last quite long with just a parts washer cleaning and spray lube at the track once a week. we toss our chains due to stretch, not wear. Used to soak chain during the week. We found it was more of a PITA to clean it for the car plus after racing and no real benefit for all the extra work.

I use Repsol motorcycle chain lube. It sprays on clear and doesn't fling too much. Still flings a little though. I just spray the chain every week at the track.

Also, what kind of chain do you run? I run a Regina non o-ring chain. I do not soak the chain during the week and just clean the excess grime off with simple green.

Like HyperMotive Racing, I end up throwing the chain out due to stretching.

We clean the chain when we wash the car. Spray the chain with a degreaser, scrub it with a brush, rinse it off with the pressure washer, dry with compressed air, spray with WD-40 (I coat everything with WD-40, love the stuff), let it dry overnight, then use the Silkolene chain lube. The Silkolene is the best chain lube I have used by far. If you put the Silkolene on at least a day before you race it drys and won't fling off nearly as much as the Klotz chain lube. Never had a problem. I'm thinking the Klotz must be made for lower speed applications because it seems that it will almost completely fling off the chain when we race.

Clean in parts washer
Soak in oil for the week
Friday let it drip dry and put on the car that night
Spray with CRC lubrication (Stuff is relatively cheap and works great).

We like the Silkolene. Lubes well, not messy. We clean the chain with aerosol brake cleaner or Simple Green and a siphon gun with 45 -60 psi air. Never had one wear out before it "stretched" out.

Thanks, for all the responses..... Seems like chain lube is the winner :-)....

We take the chain off on Sunday clean it with the parts tank then put it in the used motor oil. On thursday I hang it up till the night and put it on. We have 40 races on my car this year and only one chain:)

It is wearing out as it "stretches". Stretch is cause by the internal parts wearing. You won't see external wear because most of the sprockets used are aluminum and softer then the steel of the chain. The internal bushings wear and the chain lengthens. A good way to know if the chain is worn out is to grab the chain at the back of the rear sprocket and pull. If it lifts away enough to see daylight between chain and sprocket, the chain needs to be replaced.

Ok, about three weeks ago I bought some of that Silkolene... But I bought the semi-synthetic rather than the synethic just b/c I found it for about 8 bucks a can on google...

Anyways it works really well, like everyone said very little fling off and what did fling off cleaned off really easy... The other two things that I notice is that the dirt doesn't stick to it and there is a pretty good film of it left after a set of laps....

Thanks for the info guys... Its a hell of a lot better than any of the other stuff I've tried...

Amsoil makes a heavy duty metal protecter that works quite well. It is specially designed to use on motorcycle chains. We've found it works best if you spray it on the night before a race and let it sit. When it dries, it forms a waxy film on the chain that doesn't sling off. When cleaning, it needs to be soaked for a day or two in the parts washer, then dried.

i take my chain off after the night of racing is over and spray it down with 2+2 carb cleaner to get the dirt off and let it hang til dry. as soon as its almost dry i soak the chain in marvel mystery oil til the next race day. pull it out let it drip dry and put it on the car. ive never had a problem.

soaking your chain in chain oil makes a very oily mess on your car. all that i do is just take it off the car and spray it with a degreaser and scrub it a lil bit, then just spray it lightly with WD-40 and i can have my chain last me the whole yr. most of the time i dont even sparway it with anything. just clean it..and it doesnt wear or anyhting on my sprockets.

I cook my chain in WD-40 on my portable electric burners. I put it in a pot covered with WD bring to boil and let it soak for the week. You can see when it heats up all the dirt coming out. By heating it up it pulls the dirt out of the chain rollers and all the crevices . Pull out day before use and let it drip dry. I used to do it on my kart chains with never any problems. I have been using this chain last 6 races last year and all this season.

Our engine builder showed us the best way to oil your chain!!! heat it up so u cant even touch it without gloves in an oven or torch. then just spray it with Maxim chain wax and ull see it sucks the wax right in. just do this every other or every week and it works WONDERFUL!!!. no sling at all. TRY IT!!

This turned you to be a pretty "hot" subject...