Upgrading 101

ambro25

Morning lads,

A few unexpected disasters at the weekend mean I can't go ahead with the GBB yet. Nevertheless, with a bit of airsoft funds still, and after the suddenly woeful performance of my M4 at HRTA last Saturday, I think it's time for an upgrade.

I noticed I wasn't getting even half the range of Robbie's rifle (for example), or still much less than liamo333's HK416 (was that you ). Now, sure, Robbie's rifle is easily 2x as long as mine, so barrel length undoubtedly plays a part - and liamo333's HK416 is high-end whereas mine's a clone.

So, I hereby confess my Über-n00bness about AEG internals and, cap in hand, beg for advice as to what to do to up/secure performance (NOTE: no question of upping FPS, of course).

To begin with, my hop-up seems to be f*cked, as it keeps 'setting itself' to max as I fire, then eventually jump beyond the geared portion of the hop up wheel. So that's gotta be fixed first. Next, about tight bores - what of them? Will my BB's fly longer/straighter/etc (I think yes, but am asking). What else?

Methinks some sort of 'Basic Guide to Upgrading' would make a useful addition to one of the stickies - e.g. this part does this, that part does that, there's no point upgrading this without upgrading that first, etc.

kdouglas

Ok, barrel first, tighter generally means better and should give you more range and better accuracy, tightbore barrels will also generally increase fps by about 5 due to the fact that they give a better airseal. Although i doubt 5fps is gonna cause anyone any problems. However, with a tighter barrel also gives the opportunity for more problems, misfeeds and jams are much more likely, sometimes certain brands of bbs just wont work with certain tightbores and you might need to try several different brands of bb before finding the right one, or you could get lucky and the one you already use will work fine.

The hopup sounds like its a bit f*cked alright, i'd take apart the hopup unit and see if there's anything obvious wrong with it, but you'll probably end up replacing it, haven't had the need to replace a hopup yet, but there are a couple of different brands out there and a bit of googling will likely have some info on them.

Oh, and about the upgrade guide, I wouldnt have a problem contributing to it, but we probably have enough stickies already

Fallschirmjager

ambro,

you could go thru a number of steps. i would replace the hopup rubber, they are about a fiver. this is probably damaged and could be fecking up your setting. if that doesnt work, you can replace the hopup unit...the dboys, from memory, is tm compatible on the hopup...prometheus have a fairly good reputation but i would not ignore the element ones either. they are the acm copies and seem to have a fairly good rep. there are loads of names here and just as many opinions.

as for the barrel...just watch the length and getting the old one off can be a bit of a bugger...again element do barrels now.

while its open, you may as well check some of the other bits, you could be loosing pressure from the piston but you wont know till you see the rubber on it.

also i would give it all a right good clean, oiling etc...you can by the gear greases etc on some of the websites...

Spitfire666

tighter o-rings can help pressure problems without needing to replace the whole piston.

ambro25

Anyone know the length of the M4A1 inner barrel (stock)? Can't find it with my Google superskills

Methinks it's 363mm, and I'm poised to order but haven't taken time to dismantle (f00lish I know :rolleyes:)

davvowl

just make a rough measurement from the front of the magwell to the tip of the barrel (without flash hider) and add 2 centimeters
this should give you a fair approximation of the inner barrel length
then compare with the available sizes in shops, and when in doubt, take the shorter one

kdouglas

there's an m4 barrel listed on rsov here which is 363mm, so looks like your right about the length

Hivemind187

ehobbyasia list the systema barrels with a reference chart (at least I think its the systema ones) indicating the length of the basic models (M4, M16, Ak, P90 etc). Have a look and it should solve your problem.

EDIT: My mistake it is the KM ones that are listed. http://cgi.ebay.com/KM-6-04mm-Airsoft-AEG-TN-Barrel-650mm-for-TM-AEP15PSGL_W0QQitemZ270155243182QQihZ017QQcategoryZ64635QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

davvowl

yeah but theres as many barrel size as different m4 configurations :rolleyes:
which is alot.

Hivemind187

davvowl wrote:

yeah but theres as many barrel size as different m4 configurations :rolleyes:
which is alot.

Which is wwhy you have the variation designations. M4A1 is the standard one. I have an M4 CQB-R which I would either need to get a custom cut barrel or open it up, measaure it and hope that there is a barrel available for it.

Its a bit of pain isnt it?

davvowl

never know if those clone aeg's follow the right dimensions though. :rolleyes:

Hivemind187

davvowl wrote:

never know if those clone aeg's follow the right dimensions though. :rolleyes:

true, but its the closest thing to a decent chart I can find

davvowl

better take the exact measure anyway.
example : the 1st release of clone fa-mas didnt had a shorter inner barrel than the marui one :rolleyes:

ambro25

Lads, thx very much for your efforts - I'll dismantle later this week and measure. It'll give me the opportunity to check the hopup and see what/if I need any new stuff there as well

Hivemind187

davvowl wrote:

better take the exact measure anyway.
example : the 1st release of clone fa-mas didnt had a shorter inner barrel than the marui one :rolleyes:

Who is making a fa-mas clone?

davvowl

forgot the manufacturer's name. ill do some research later (im at work, shh, dont tell anyone)

bewildered

http://www.rsov.com/product_info.php?cPath=105_142_151&products_id=367&osCsid=819a5df7c50813ff7c93add19a7c9c40

Is the only one I've found. A friend of mine has comissioned him to find a good FAMAS clone for him. I think I saw one on uncompany but I cant find it again.

Hunter1100

Hivemind187 wrote:

Who is making a fa-mas clone?

JINPENG check it out on rsov
http://www.rsov.com/product_info.php?cPath=105_142_151&products_id=367&osCsid=a8e9ad87f8751c4729293953716cf4cc

ambro25

That JINPENG is the only clone FAMAS about.

It's been out years already.

Reportedly, despite troll-ugly externals, it's technically quite a decent little beast, and is a carbon-copy clone of the TM F1 (with ROF to match Marui's).

There used to be an excellent review of it on the Cheapos Airsoft Forum (FR), as well as all sorts of hints/tips for parts/upgrades and whatnot - unfortunately that Forum died a few weeks ago (not renewed) and the review with it

Hivemind187

ambro25 wrote:

That JINPENG is the only clone FAMAS about.

It's been out years already.

Reportedly, despite troll-ugly externals, it's technically quite a decent little beast, and is a carbon-copy clone of the TM F1 (with ROF to match Marui's).

There used to be an excellent review of it on the Cheapos Airsoft Forum (FR), as well as all sorts of hints/tips for parts/upgrades and whatnot - unfortunately that Forum died a few weeks ago (not renewed) and the review with it

Bugger, I was hoping it would have a metal shell or some harvestable bits for my TM famas.

ambro25

Hivemind187 wrote:

Bugger, I was hoping it would have a metal shell or some harvestable bits for my TM famas.

Reportedly (again), the gear box is better: fiber-reinforced shell and all-metal gearing/shims inside.

I've still not ruled out adding one to my next RSOV order, to tinker with a frankengun project - they're just so damn cheap now, sod buying a springer shotgun when there's this for a few more €s :rolleyes: