I received a batch of X tractions for my birthday. One X traction had a wider pick up shoe. It runs so much smoother on my track. I have a MM L&J track that the magna tractions can get hung up on as they fish tail. Does anyone know where I can pick these wider pick ups up? It would give new life to some of my magnatractions.

Jim

Tim, check the online guys (SCJ, Jag Hobbies, etc) to see if they have any loose wide XT shoes. The thin shoes need a little bend in them to help with the hanging up issue. A slight bend around halfway shoud do the trick. You want to see a wear-stripe about halfway up the shoes.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aurora-AFX-JL-Magnatraction-Pick-Up-Shoes-ho-Parts-Lots_W0QQitemZ190046698657QQihZ009QQcategoryZ2619Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i have ordered from him several times. wont combine shipping but is upfront about it. never had a problem with anything ive got from him

thanks - I'll check it out.

Jim

The best thing that I have done to give new life to old Magnatractions (and new X Tractions) is to add new old stock non-magnatraction silver pickup shoes (available on e-bay). They do fit and it's like adding a 4 barrel carburetor to a 2 barrel engine....instant horsepower and they last longer too. They have improved everything that I have ever put them on...Magnatractions, non-magnatractions, X-Tractions and 4-gear chassis.

Jeremy, Put a step in those skinny XT shoes, and you'll get that performance boost you mentioned.

First, you make a downward bend with some needle-nose pliers, the slightly ahead of that bend, make an upward bend and you'll have stepped shoes like the NOS one you have. Some NOS shoes do come flat and this stepping tweak can be done. Just don't make the step too far back.

I do the same thing with the Magnatraction shoes from BSRT,
they work great.

Thanks dlw, the silver shoes that I picked up on e-bay are stepped, but they seem to be more conductive than the chrome ones that are now put on X-Traction or even most original Magnatractions. They don't seem to wear out as fast either. :-)

The early XT shoes can perform well when properly set up. They are tip-heavy out of the box because they tend to bow upwards (Fig 1), offering only a very tiny contact area. They are also a real pain in the neck on uneven rail joints and Tomy Z-Bends, literally digging into the rails. Quick attempts to correct this upwards bow often lead to a belly in the middle of the shoe (Fig 2). This bend is what causes lost power in corners, if the belly is deeper than the rails are tall, as the car corners the "belly" rests on the track surface preventing the front half of the shoe from making contact. If the car straightens out enough to keep going, the sides of the belly catch on the rail as the car straightens out. By flattening the shoe then putting a light single bend about 1/3 of it's length from the rear (Fig 3), all the above problems are gone. My best XT's run stock skinny shoes, and they are unbelievably fast.

http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/3121594372f8c09c46c46f835060f5ecd5dc779.gif

If you buy the Autoworld pit kits they come with the wide shoes. Sometimes you can get them for 2 - 4 on ebay if you can catch them

There were some eBay listings for the AW wide shoes, but I'm not getting any hits now. I got them from this guy, but his prices have gone sky high compared to what they used to be:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmidshipslotcar

Here's another that lists AW parts lots:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmaggie630_1

The early XT shoes can perform well when properly set up. They are tip-heavy out of the box because they tend to bow upwards (Fig 1), offering only a very tiny contact area. They are also a real pain in the neck on uneven rail joints and Tomy Z-Bends, literally digging into the rails. Quick attempts to correct this upwards bow often lead to a belly in the middle of the shoe (Fig 2). This bend is what causes lost power in corners, if the belly is deeper than the rails are tall, as the car corners the "belly" rests on the track surface preventing the front half of the shoe from making contact. If the car straightens out enough to keep going, the sides of the belly catch on the rail as the car straightens out. By flattening the shoe then putting a light single bend about 1/3 of it's length from the rear (Fig 3), all the above problems are gone. My best XT's run stock skinny shoes, and they are unbelievably fast.

http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/3121594372f8c09c46c46f835060f5ecd5dc779.gif

Hahahahaha...Cool!... Ya just re-invented the stepped shoe Gene! The "Swamper Long Step".

I run both designs of the skinny shoe (stepped and ski) on all of my early AFX cars and love them. They are light, quiet and have no problem in my 6" radius areas when properly tuned.

Look here, a bargain
http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTO-WORLD-X-TRCTION-PIT-KIT-TUNE-UP-KIT-CHECK-IT_W0QQitemZ140235204064QQihZ004QQcategoryZ2619QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

you may be able to get the Wizzard t-jet shoes to do the same thing.

Tim