BTW: Mike has those hardened pinions here as well, and cheaper too:
http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...1pinion&cat=40
But no biggie, since they're his parts anyway.
Sure, get the metal spur, doesn't matter. But if the original problem isn't fixed, the metal spur and/or pinion will get eaten up as well. Back before the hardened pinions were the norm, everyone used the Kyosho spur and it worked fine (quieter too). No matter what you get, a proper and consistent mesh is vital.