i have been reading a bit about wheels metal wheels and have been using proto2k wheel set replacemnts is there any other brand worth the invesment? or am i getting the best 4 my buck for frieght cars
Like you I have been using PK2’s with no problems at all. 33" and 36" depending upon the type of car. Haven’t looked for something better. If it ain’t broke…
I use intermountain, but if you are happy with PK2 why change? As far as bang for your buck, you save a buck or two per 12 pack with PK2.
I use Kadee wheels and am pleased with the appearance and performance. But (and this might be a big but) I do not run them as is. I use a wire brush on a Dremel tool to remove the blackening agent from the actual wheel tread, so the wheel faces and backs are dark, but the treads themselves are shiny like steel. I did this for appearance, but some long time operators object also that the Kadee darkening wears off the wheel treads over time and the process of wearing off creates gunk. It may be true but I have no “as is” Kadee wheels to test it.
I have seen P2K wheels very cheap at some train shows and swap meets so I echo floridaflyer – why change if you are happy?
Dave Nelson
Every car on my layout, passenger and freight, has Intermountain metal wheels on it.
Nothing but the best for my rolling stock.
Rich
I started converting all of my freight cars using the P2K wheels when M B Klein had them for $3.99/pkg. After the price went up I stated buying the Intermountain bulk packs(100 wheel sets). You can find them for around $60/pack if you do some digging. Here is what I found:
- P2K - they have metal wheels with some kind of hard engineering plastic axle ends. They perform well. I am not sure what the current price is, but 12 wheel sets for something like $9 is pricey.
- Intermountain - They are all metal, and are the finest rolling wheel sets I have used. They are my current standard. In 10 packs they are expensive - go for the 100 bulk packs.
- Kadee - they have a couple of issues. The blackened wheels really need to have the treads cleaned off, and the axles are a soft engineering plastic with a rounded end. They roll OK at first, but the axle end seems to wear and the rolling qualities get worse over time. When used in Kadee’s own metal side frames, the wear is even faster.
Jim
I use Intermountain wheels exclusively. I like the all metal construction, and the weight they add down low. Whenever possible, I get them in the 100 wheel set bulk pack.
Nick
With few exceptions, I now use Intermountain for all my passenger and freight rolling stock, from 28" to 38" as necessary. They just roll and fit better more consistently than the other brands I’ve tried.
Remember the good old days when we used capitalization, punctuation, and entire words like are and for? Of course that was way back when we typed on our computers and talked on our telephones instead of the other way around.
I use Intermountain wheels.
First, to answer the OP’s direct question and echo the comments of others, I use Intermountain wheelsets almost exclusively.
Additonally, after much testing and 40 years of experiance, I replace most freight car trucks with sprung metal ones from Kadee, removing the Kadee wheelsets and installing the Intermountain wheelsets.
I also go against conventional wisdom by adding a small drop of light oil to each journal before installing the new Intermountain wheelsets (this is a metal to metal situation). This oil soaks into the cast metal of the truck sideframe and seems to perminately lubricate it, and has never cased a problem on the track.
Some fairly extensive testing has shown this to have several advantages.
One, they are very free rolling, more so than any rigid frame truck/wheel combination I could find.
Two, they are heavy, adding weight were it does the most good and allowing cars to be lighter overall and still perfom well in long trains (40-50 cars and longer).
Three, the equalizing feature of the sprung trucks makes for much better tracking, just like in real life.
Also, since my trackwork is to NMRA standards, I do not use ANY semi scale (.088") width wheelsets like those from REBOXX. While I understand they work fine for many, I do not care for the way they “drop” into turnout frogs.
While this is not the least expensive approach to free frolling trucks or metal wheels, its performance is superior and it has greatly increased the number of cars that can be pulled by any given loco.
Sheldon
I have used both Inter Mountain and PK 2000 wheels, to me they seem equal. But which ever you can get cheaper. Last time I was at K-10 Model Trains the Inter Mountain where a dollar less.
Cuda Ken
I’ve been using P2K pretty much exclusively for several years. Never had a problem, never got a bad one. Sometimes you run into cars where the required axle length is different than the P2K wheels, in those cases I get the exact size Reboxx wheels. Cars that come with metal wheels I generally leave alone and don’t change them.
I don;t have derailments other than being an idiot and forgetting to line a switch or some other bonehead move, so I must be doing something right.
I do miss the days of Life-Like being an independent company and MB Klein selling the P2K wheels for under $4 a pack, though they still are under $6 there.
–Randy
I have not experienced the bearing/axle wear problems with Kadee wheels that some above posters comment on, but having said that, my layout has not progressed to the point of high milage for any equipmentand except for cars on long term loan to a buddy, so there has not been much opportunity for such wear. Perhaps over time I too will prefer the Intermountain wheels. I certainly do not dispute their quality.
Just for the sake of being thorough I suppose it should be pointed out that Bowser, JayBee, North West Short Line, Atlas, Branchline, ConCor, and very likely some others also make metal replacement wheel sets.
Some of us remember when Athearn blue (formerly yellow) box kits came with metal wheels and sprung trucks (real geezers remember the rubber nubbing that preceded the springs, grooved to look sort of – emphasis on sort of – like springs), and all pre-RP25 contour. The Delrin plastic replacements as well as the then very popular Lindberg trucks were a revelation for how free rolling they were, and suddenly lots of guys realized they had placed yards and industries on grades, with surprising results … A very common “solution” was a hair brush bristle poking up between the ties to stop and hold cars on grades.
Dave Nelson
phoebevetidomemberdagoodoledayswhensuchthingsweremorecommonbut4urinformationtimeshavechangedandtodaywecansayanythingwewantanywaywewantanducan2.
I know you’re trying to be cute and I have no problem with that, but more seriously, since when have the, “times,” changed the courtesy of using coherent and articulate speech in communicating one person’s ideas to another?
Ray
Oops, forgot, I use Proto 2000 wheels
They haven’t, as you say, just trying to be cute. Let’s hear from Dr. Bones, he started it. [(-D]
I know you’re trying to be cute, but more seriously, since when have the, “times,” changed the courtesy of using coherent and articulate speech in communicating one person’s ideas to another?
Hi!
This subject comes up every 6 months or so, and I asked a similar question about 4 years ago. I ended up getting the Intermountain - 33 and 36 inch, and soon found that buying in bulk was the only way to go. Check out Ebay, there are always some good buys on them.
I will not be so bold as to say Intermountain are the best, but I will say I have never heard someone talk badly of them, and modelers whom I respect tend to say they are the best.
I use Kadee’s for my freight cars and Intermountains for my passenger cars, some of the RTR P2k cars I bought wobbled as they went down the track and I discovered the wheels were out of round, slightly “oval”. So I bought a bulk pack of the Kadee 33" wheelsets for the freight cars and a bulk pack of Intermountains for the passenger cars.
I also use the Kadee “short shank” couplers for my freight cars. A couple of reasons for this, one being they look better closely coupled, secondly it makes the train shorter so I can add more cars in a given length of train. But the main reason is they just look better pulled up close to each other and since I have broad radius curves I also install them on my engines and “cabeese” as well.
Mark
I believe that Intermountain wheels are turned & not cast, like mos, if not all of the rest, so you have less chance of getting an out of round one. Kadees are cast white metal.