Pilot jets revisited

[Dads_FJ]

Hope I'm not starting an oil thread here, it's been relatively quiet on the board and I'd like to keep it that way!  Here goes:

I'm going through the carbs on my newly acquired '89 1200, yes I am now a member of the >1 FJs in the garage club, and am going to replace the jets.  The question I have relates to the pilot jets.  The stock pilot has no holes in the sides while the RPM variant does.  I know this has been addressed here before but I'm unable to find the threads(s).

What's the function of the holes?  They are there for a reason...  I realize I could ping Randy via e-mail but figure others could chime in and or learn.

http://rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Carb%3APilotjet&cat=24

Thanks all,

[RPM - Robert]

They are for "cleaning" purposes. They do not effect anything. As the flow is dictated by the orifice in the end, and the end is sealed by the taper to the carb body. As far as I can tell after going through a lot of FJ carbs, they both clog just as easily so we swapped back to buying the OEM ones as they are cheaper.

That is an older photo. The ones well sell don't have them anymore unless you are getting an odd size like 35 or 45+