I have some cars that use walters metal wheel sets. They scrub the side of the rails on curves and hit some of my point rails, on my Atlas Customline turnouts, causing a noise. I haven't checked them with a NMRA gauge yet, but instead was wanting to just change the wheel sets out. Any suggestions for good wheel sets?
What types of cars are these (e.g. passenger/freight, Walthers Mainline, Proto, etc.), and what kinds of wheels are involved (machined or cast)? The current Walthers machined wheels are pretty good performers from my experience - consistently in gauge and free-rolling. I think some of the older ones were the same as the former Life Like (Proto 2000), which were cast. They sometimes weren't assembled square on the axles and could be out of gauge or wobble as they rolled. The axles also didn't always roll as freely as the newer Walthers types due to the wider, blunter ends.
High quality machined wheels from ExactRail or Intermountain tend to work well in Walthers trucks, so are usually good replacements.
Before blaming wheelsets, check them with your NMRA gauge. Also check the track, and ensure the trucks have a full range of motion. Trucks that can't move freely, due to overtightened screws, or insufficient lateral motion at the bolster. won't work correctly regardless of the wheels you use. Also note that Atlas Customline turnouts tend to have frogs with wide flangeways, and the frogs are often misaligned with the the other rails, either of which can lead to performance problems unrelated to the wheelsets.
Curve radius may also be an influence. Trucks may not be able to rotate sufficiently to allow the wheels to follow a curve if it's too tight. Sometimes the car will require modification to allow the truck to rotate properly.
Rob Spangler
I don't know if different wheelsets will make a difference on the particular issues you are having. I'd certainly check the turnouts and wheelsets with a NMRA gauge in any event.
That being said, I change my HO freight car (mostly kits) wheelsets as I believe they help keeping my track clean. I bought a digital caliper to check the axle length on the wheelsets to be removed. Then, I compared the axle lengths and tried both Proto (2000?) and Intermountain 33" wheelsets. First I used a MicroMark "truck tuner" to ensure the trucks' axle resting place was a smooth cone.
Initially I did a downhill to level rollout of the original, Proto and Intermountain wheelsets. An interesting detail was that, as long as the new wheelset was not excessively long (tight), they would work quite well. I seemed usually to get the most benefit from the Intermountain so they are my go-to type now. I like the Proto ribbed back wheels for older cars, but use the Intermountain if they do a lot better on the rollout test. The Intermountain are best purchased in 100 axle lots, about 60 cents per as I recall.
If you want to get real precise about replacment axle length vs. original, check out the Reboxx site. But I'm not convinced they have to be that close, as long as the new ones are not on the longer side in terms of difference.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
As I've slowly but surely upgraded all my plastic wheels to metal, Intermountain has been my choice for the replacements. They are great wheelsets, and I think their bulk-packs make them the most economical.
And, yes to the Micro-Mark truck tuner, too.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.