metal wheels. which is better?

[zoegraf]

All you need is metal wheels. Metals wheels is all you need. Sounds like a Beatle's song.

[Phantomstrike]

The metal wheels that are available these days in all the Scale diameters work great. The guage is accurate and the contour form is perfect. If you are going to use a lesser code rail than 100 this is a must. If you are using the old plastic wheels you'll sometimes find the wheel flanges bumping the tops of the spikes and tie plates.
Something else to think about is that plastic generate static charge that will suck up everything that isn't glued down ( dust,hair,etc.) Plastic also speds any oils that have been deposited on the rail head. Unless you are running continuous welded rail ( ribbon rail ) you'll miss that old click clack that you always hear when the wheels roll over the rail joint.

[sd24b]

Originally Posted by rustam

All greetings! Maybe I did not suggest a new topic)))
And yet - what metal wheels better?

I have a lot of kit models, such as Bowser, Accurail, C&BT Shops, Athearn.
Plastic wheels sets do not look at this. Although a good move)))

Can you please tell what metal wheels better?
What is the best buy? There is universal? Or need to specifically select a manufacturer to manufacturer?

I use JayBee wheels on my intermodal cars except for old Walther's 89' flats & auto racks which get P2K. The other rolling stock get NWSL, Rebox or older CV if the insulation is good. My Athearn dummy units get Jay Bee wheels, also. Phil

[lmackattack]

Inter mountain...paint them with a rust color and install them...makes for a smooth and good looking wheel. Buy in bulk and save lots of $$$.I think a box of 100 wheels is about 50-60 dollars.. Proto 2000 are almost as good but still have the plastic axel.

[Phantomstrike]

Well:
There are multiple different brands of metal wheel sets out there.Personnally I like the Proto 2000 sets and the old stand by Kadee , either in the smooth back or the ribbed back. If you like the wheel sets with the metal axles remember that they have to be insullated on one side or the other,but that goes without saying.
If you are trying to put metal wheels on your dummy Athearn units for better electrical pickup ( lights ) use the Athearn factory Geared wheels that are used on their power trucks. The newer sets have the plastic gear in the center to power the axles and the bronze cintered block bearing (square) on either side for power pickup and location. These are the newer trucks with the plastic side frames. The older trucks have the metal side frames with the round extended axle outside the wheel on both sides of the wheel set. You have use the correct wheel for that particular era of truck.
Getting back to the frieght and passenger wheel sets. They both come in dozen packed and bulk. I've seen the 12 wheel packs from $10.00 to $15.00 so it depends where you buy them, same goes for the Athearn trucks and wheels. With everything being produced in China these days the availability of lots of this stuff is getting thin. I hope this is some help.

[MGWSY]

Here is a picturee I found and the discription of what wheel is which. I personally prefer the Semi Scale wheels in the middle car as I use those on all my cars and never had any issues running long trains on club layouts. I did try 1 set of proto 87 wheels and they are way to picky to run on comercial track switches. At least this picture will let you see the difference in width of the wheel tread.



Left - P2K code .110 wheels with Kadee #5 coupler

Middle - Semi-scale Intermountain code .088 wheels with Kadee #58 semi-scale coupler

Right - Proto:87 Scale wheels with Sergent Engineering coupler

[waltr]

Nice comparison of the different wheel Code widths and couplers Mark.
I've been wanting to try the code 88 wheels. Maybe I'll order a few sets soon.

[rustam]

Wheel width - I do not know! Always thought that the width is the same...
This is very useful information and very good picture. Here you can compare!

I'll be honest friends - I ordered metal wheels on all companies that you recommended;-)
When will I receive the parcel, I will take photos and compare.

it's - be sure the photo will appear here!

[fire28]

I like the Intermountain Wheels. Most of what I have uses the IM 33" they roll Nice and Smooth!

[diburning]

+1 for Intermountain. I prefer the code 110 (standard width) wheels for running on the club layout because the trackwork varies. I do also use the code 88 semi scale wheels. They look good and are a decent compromise as far as appearance goes.

The Proto:87 wheels are very picky and are more suited for handlaid track and switches.