[Flatlander]

I've got a CA M4 and it's been running strong for probably 50k+ (conservative estimate) rounds on stock gears and even the stock piston. It's been upgraded most of its life and running mostly on a 9.6v battery and sometimes even on a 10.8v. I upgraded a buddies TM p90 with only a new spring and bushings and it shot 380fps and he ran it off a 11.1v lipo!

Obviously running things harder and faster causes wear faster, no way around that. If the upgrades and work is done properly you should get lots of use out of higher voltage guns. Now you might have constant bad luck with parts slightly out of spec, etc and things will just break with whatever you use. Proper trigger control is crucial also to your gun. Emptying a mag in one burst is definately trouble waiting to happen. I try to limit my bursts to 2-3 seconds max.

Pretty much most of my team uses 9.6v and there's a handful of us using 11.1v lipos. I don't fear the voltage myth no longer! So yes, definately go for a 9.6v. You'll like the extra ROF and snappier trigger response.