Saturday, February 28, 2009

Airsoft Gun Upgrading Part 1

Why upgrade your airsoft gun?

I upgrade my airsoft guns for durability, accuracy and performance. Understanding the core components and engineering principles of your guns gearbox will be the first step to any upgrade process.

Far to often it seems the driving factor for airsoft upgrades is FPS or power upgrades. The common misconception with airsoft guns is that to achieve more power (FPS) all you have to do is add a stronger spring. This is INCORRECT and can result in major damage to your beloved replica firearms collection...

Take out your stock 90 or 100% spring add a new 130% spring and presto you have an airsoft weapon that fires in the neighborhood of 450 Feet Per Second, Problem is this airsoft gun will become a maintenance monster that will chip away at your wallet faster than the BB's it spews out.

Your airsoft gun uses both mechanical energy and air powered energy in timed synchronization to accurately propel and stabilize bb's. You cannot change one factor and just ignore the other as is done with spring only airsoft upgrades.

Many stock airsoft gun components are not engineered for higher velocities: Many stock gears, pistons, cylinder heads and other internal parts are not engineered to operate at 350 FPS or higher and will prematurely fail. Most gearbox units or "mechbox outer shells" are only rated for velocities up to 400 FPS and will quickly crack at the nose of the gearbox if upgraded to velocities exceeding this.

Some things you will want to consider when upgrading your airsoft gun gearbox:

1st upgrade you should change out plastic bushings and plastic spring guides if present. I would recommend a hard steel bushing set but there are airsoft bearings available as well. Metal spring guides come with or with out thrust bearings. The guide you use should be determined by the upgrade you are performing EXAMPLE: You have a Tokyo Marui airsoft gun and you wish to upgrade from the stock fps of 300-320 FPS but not exceed 350. By adding metal bushings and a spring guide with a thrust bearing you can up your fps slightly and increase the durability. You could also achieve this same result by changing out the spring to a 110% and using a standard metal spring guide. At the same time switch your stock 8.4 volt battery to a 9.6 volt and you can increase your Rate Of Fire from the stock rate of 14-16 bb's a second to 18-20 bb's a second. Now lets talk about gear upgrades:

Changing the gear ratio will change the timing of the piston so you must upgrade the piston accordingly. High speed gears will require a piston with one less tooth, High torque/FPS upgrades will require a reinforced or metal tooth airsoft piston. A silicone ported, aluminum or silent series piston head with a thrust bearing and metal double seal cylinder head is recommended for upgrades exceeding 350 fps. The dome shaped piston head features more surface area to absorb shock and vibrations from firing. The metal piston head with double O-ring's will create a tighter seal between the cylinder walls and add the durability of metal to the head itself. You should see an increase of 25 to 30 fps with the installation of a silent cylinder kit. OK I have presented much airsoft theory for you to ponder on for now. If your interested in seeing pictures of or buying the airsoft parts I mention here visit our Airsoft Gun Parts Catalog

Soon I will be posting Airsoft Gun Upgrading Part 2 where I will address more on gear upgrades plus bb weight, hop up units and the Bernoulli's principle, Stay tuned

Armsdealer...OUT

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