Collapsible Steering Shaft Demystified

I never thought those plastic pins had anything to do with changing the crashworthiness of a column. I always thought that they were there just to keep the lower shaft from falling out or getting out of adjustment when being installed on the assembly line. I can't imagine those factory pins would do a darn thing in a collision other than just break easily. If they will break just tapping on the column with a hammer, they can't be doing much to keep the lower shaft from moving. Heck, I've seen people break those pins just trying to pull the column out with a stubborn couple that won't let go. I certainly wouldn't want that column not to collapse during a collision, so, changing it to be stiffer/tighter than stock might not be a good idea.