I have 2 questions about guide pins. I am running Tomy track, will that make a differance Which side is better the blade or the pin? If the pin is better, is there pros and cons with the steel vs. plastic pins?
thanks for the help.

I assume we are talking Magna-Traction/X-Traction chassis?
The blade end should be better... It extends deeper into the slot.
That being said the pin end is easier for putting the car back into the slot.
(You always seem to have to turn the blade straight to line it up with the slot)
Then on the other hand I prefer to run metal guide pins from Tomy or Tyco cars...
(I have forgotten which one fits Magna-Traction/X-Traction chassis better...)
Simple, wasn't it...

What noddaz said.

I do like the blades the best. They are quieter going through the joints also.

Then on the other hand I prefer to run metal guide pins from Tomy or Tyco cars...

Simple, wasn't it...

Same here. My XTs don't turn a wheel until I have fitted a Tomy pin. 41, do you have a source for these?


Deane

Try it both ways. It depends on the car, the track, and your driving style. Gravity traction, bumpy tracks, and irregular joints tend to work better with the blade. Magnet traction aided cars and smooth tracks tend to work better with the pin. The pin makes for a better cornering car.

This points out the major snafu with the XT guide pins, which were faithfully copied, warts and all, from Aurora's magnatractions. If you are going to have one longer guide type, it should have been the pin. The Aurora blade should have been shorter to work with the shallow slot, bumpy, and gap prone Aurora lock and joiner track. The pin should have been longer for the deeper and smoother slots on the AFX track with magnatraction cars. Aurora would have gotten it half right if they made both sides shorter and the blade matched the one on the original AFX cars (non-mag). But they totally whiffed and got everything wrong.

Incidentally, if you like pins better but aren't quite happy with the wimpy XT pin and don't want to spend a buck for a Tomy or BSRT pin, you can glue a TJet pin on your XT. This allows you to move the pin back a little also, which helps a lot with tight corners. Make sure you cut or sand the bump off the flat part of the TJet pin. I've found that with a Tjet pin glued to an XT chassis with the pin to the rear and stepless shoes the car corners as good as or better than a MT/XT with the Aurora "power steering" kit. You'll be amazed at just how far you can hang the rear end out without deslotting or losing power. I can also take an MT/XT setup like this, put it on the track backwards and start out backwards and get the car turned around and pointing the right way about 90% of the time. Stupid pet tricks...

Thanks for your input. I went to the hobby shop for some guide pins for 2 tyco cars I won on Epay. It cost me $2.30 plus tax for 2 metal Tyco pins.


Montoya1 is your source cheaper?

Are the Tyco and Tomy pins simular?

Buds has the pins for 2 for $1

http://www.budshocars.com/Sec03June06.htm

Go to the right side column about 2/3rds of the way down...

Personally, I like the pin side the best. I also prefer the metal pins too