No

 

That's HIGHLY debatable.  Both with and without is correct.  I prefer with.

I believe Abu recommends light oil on the pads and the ENDS of the spool shafts. All of my Abus have come with oil on the tension pads, and it turn have had oil on the spool shafts. We need DVT in here to clarify.

That's HIGHLY debatable. Both with and without is correct. I prefer with.

I thought you just said there shouldn't be oil on the spool shaft? If you put it on the pad, its going to be on the spool shaft. I have used my reels both with oil and without on the pad. It seems in my experience that the smallest amount of oil on the pad possible works the best. The pad is usually saturated from the factory so adding more is in most cases going to impede the function. If the knob isnt working correctly and you cant get the tension correct for even a light lure it is often because of excess oil.

Not on the shaft, a minute drop on the pad won't hurt.  By your logic, we shouldn't put oil in the spool bearings either, since it will migrate to the shaft.  This small amount won't impede anything.  What I'm referring to is adding oil directly to the shaft.

I guess i misinterpreted what you meant by "there shouldn't be ANY oil on the spool shaft" sorry. I agree with what your saying though, but I still think that excess oil can be an issue. nuff said.

Excess oil and grease will always hold performance back.

I don't use any spool tension. I set it so it just barely has some side to side play and I'm good.

I'd try to learn to cast it without that much spool tension if you are using enough that you can feel it on retrieve.

This is how all my reels are set up even the dreaded finicky 2nd gen SX never had an issue and this way I can swap different weights and lures with out re adjusting the whole reel just learn to feather with your thumb.