We get asked about guide pin installation a lot, so whether you’re brand new to the hobby or have been racing for years, here’s a quick walk through of how we do it.
The specific chassis doesn’t matter much, as long as the chassis and guide pin are made to work together. Not all guide pins are interchangeable. For example, the TAO guide pin has a different distance between its flanges, so it likely won’t fit other chassis, and the reverse is often true too.
The easiest test: if the pin starts to go into the chassis, you’re good.
Want to be precise? Use calipers.
On the Viper chassis, this is a little trickier because the guide pin area is recessed (captured) by .021″. To measure it, set your calipers to the .021″ recess, zero them, then close them up. That gives you a chassis thickness of .057″.
With a .057″ chassis and a guide pin gap of about .059″, you have a little clearance, which is exactly what you want. If your chassis doesn’t have a captured guide pin area, measuring the thickness is even easier.
Some racers install guide pins dry, some use a little oil, and some Loctite them in. It’s up to you. We almost never oil them and never Loctite a standard pin. We just install them dry.
Tip: Don’t let much of the pliers jaw stick out past the pin. When you squeeze, the extra jaw can mar your chassis. It still works, but it won’t look as clean.
Once it’s fully seated, you’re done.
Grab the guide pin, press your thumb against the chassis, and pop it out.
On stiffer chassis or other brands (like an older Wizard chassis), just pull the pin down and it pops out. To reinstall, use the same method. If the chassis has an access hole, we like to pop the pin in through there so we’re not pushing our thumbs all over the chassis.
We also make an offset guide pin, where the pin isn’t centered. It was designed for the Super G+, Viper V1, and BSRT G3 to move the guide pin back behind the front axle, giving you another tuning option.
The Viper V3 doesn’t need it, since its guide pin already sits behind the axle and has three mounting locations. But if you want to try it, go for it.
To install:
Off by a bit? If it ends up at 2 o’clock, grab it with your pliers, pull it down slightly, and rotate it until it’s lined up.
If you’re worried about the offset pin rotating in the chassis, add a little Loctite between the pin and the chassis, either before installing or after. We’d use red Loctite here.
Removing it works the same way as a standard pin.
The Auto World 4Gear uses a guide flag instead of a guide pin. To remove it, grab the flag sideways and pull.
Pickup shoes keep falling off? Check the tab that holds the pickup shoe. If the shoe is barely touching it, press the shoe down with your finger and bend the top of the tab back slightly so it holds the shoe securely.
To install a Viper guide pin in the 4Gear chassis, start it in one of the existing holes in the chassis and pop it in, same as before.
If you’re running the stock guide flag, it does move around, so a little oil helps. Better yet, we’d recommend swapping it out for an aftermarket guide pin.
Guide pin installation really is that simple, and these steps apply to just about any car out there. Have a creative method of your own? We’d love to hear about it.
