I would lube/not lube based on how it felt as you put it together. Trapped dirt may cause wear, but most people bust a-arms on a TT02 long before you would ever wear one out due to dust in the lube. So, whatever you choose will be fine in that regard.

I agree with you on the shims. I flew r/c helicopters for years and slop was the enemy. The slop will make the car a little less consistent, because it will behave differently based on what position the slop allows from corner to corner. Just the from toe and steering angle changes are enough to cause issue. If in one corner you have 1 degree of toe out and the next has one degree in, you are going to have a vastly different experience in those corners.

I am not discounting that some people can drive their cars like that and be very fast, but I am not one of those. And I'm not trying to start an internet argument, I just think shimming out slop is a good plan.