Quote:
|
THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS (imho):
|
Respectfully, I disagree with the parts Skruface chose to categorize as most important parts to upgrade in an AEG.
Cylinder heads, nozzles, inner barrels, piston heads and cylinders have not caused critical failures in my experience. By critical failure I mean damage causing significant damage to other parts and not just poor (or cessation of) shooting performance.
On the issue of cylinder heads:
I have never found a stock one which did not maintain a decent seal to the cylinder. It is doubtful to me that a machined metal cylinder head can improve significantly on the performance of the injection moulded stock one.
On the issue of piston head materials:
I think it's hard to attibute better sealing charactaristics to metal piston heads since a comparatively much softer rubber oring provides an airseal. If a much stiffer support would provide good sealing, you wouldn't need such a compliant rubber seal. As such, it is more convenient not to machine honed metal-metal piston/cylinder seals (a la ringless engine) and use a compliant seal. The only benefits I see in an aftermarket piston head might be porting which may allow the cylinder to fill with air faster when the piston is yanked back on a cocking cycle or reduced impact loading with a polycarb or rubber tipped head.
On tightbore barrels:
In careful benchmark tests with various AEG setups HoJo discovered that an upgraded AUG with very long KN TN barrel and matched cylinder was outshot by a stock FNP90 with stock barrel and power upgraded internals on nearly every ammo type tested (nearly a dozen varieties). Both guns had recently cleaned barrels and were in otherwise good working order. However, it was noted that the FNP90 had a much more solid barrel to mechbox interface so we think that may have a much more strong influence on consistency. In our accuracy study, I measured 10bbs on three different axis to determine their sphericity and how consistent their diameters were. Measurements were made with a digital caliper tested against a NIST traceable gauge block and shown to be accurate to 0.002mm. BBs could be found to be as aspherical as 0.04mm and a typical bb 5.90-5.95 mm in diameter. What does this mean? The inaccuracies in bb manufacturing probably have a greater influence on consistency than an accurately made TN barrel (splitting hairs between 6.08 and 6.04).
On tappet plates:
Quote:
|
The worst case scenario is the tappet plate breaks while shooting full auto and smashes the hell out of the now-floating-loose-in-you-mechbox nozzle and damaging the cylinder head, requiring the replacement of a bunch of parts....
|
Looks like this ought to be high on the upgrade list to me. I have replaced 2 busted tappets now. Luckily their parts did not fall into the gears.
On spring guides:
In my experience repairing AEGs I found that 3 stock spring guides had failed supporting upgrade and stock springs. The result of this failure resulted in plastic shards to disperse throughout the mechbox sometimes jamming gears and causing them to strip. A non guided spring can also jam the piston either damaging the teeth or otherwise siezing the mechbox. HoJo has also reported sometimes replacing broken stock springguides which failed in a similar manner.
Conclusion:
In general I think the avg airsofter holds reliability, durability, of paramount concern. Performance improvements are nice, but they should come without mortgaging the car. Hence, one could decide that a moderate upgrade say: spring guide, bushings, PDI %150, tappet is everything one really needs to have a long lasting well performing AEG. Such an upgrade does reinforce the stuff which breaks with the greatest consequence yet provides a good value performance upgrade. High capacity batteries give easily seen benifits (you get to play longer), and they remain useable even as they lose charge capacity (get old) for longer because they at least last for an non negligible time.
Pretty much all the other stuff is expensive icing on a cake which won't get all that much better. ROF and super velocity upgrades come at much higher financial and durability costs. Sexy upgrades like TN barrels and bore up kits provide only dubious benifits. I'd also state that a replacement set of more robust parts by an inept airsmith can greatly reduce the life of an AEG. If you're not mechanically inclined, get someone who is to help you.
*addendum*
Hop up effect should be attributed to the reverse Magnus force not Coriolis but this is just pedantic as hop ups still work even if you name them bucklings.