Upgrading AEG Performance

[Joshery]

Hey guys.
I'm a newb. I just got a cheap M4 that I thought I could slowly upgrade, instead of going ahead and buying a high-end gun (I don't have a lot of cash).
I would just like some advice and/or clarification about this.

I got better range and accuracy in that gun than I thought I would, but if I was going to upgrade that, I would need to upgrade the hop-up, spring and inner barrel... is that right?
Also, to increase the ROF I would need a better motor and battery, right?
And if I did all this would it be appropriate to get a new gearbox, or parts of the gearbox, to stand up to the higher speed and power?
Thanks!

[JonsM4]

Which M4 you got? Clearsoft or Full metal or hybrid?

[JLiang]

1. The brand of the gun would help substantially.

2. Accuracy in Airsoft depends mostly on the user, not the rifle. However, a tightbore will help reduce bullet sway in the air, due to the physics of air in the barrel. The hop-up only puts spin on the BB, but upgrading it may cause more consistent performance. Upgrade these two at your whim.

3. To increase the ROF, you can do one or more of many things.
- A: Get a higher voltage battery. (This is the easiest way)
- B: Get a high-speed motor and gearset.
- C: Get a Li-Po. Use it correctly, however. I'm not responsible if your house burns down.
- D: Decrease your spring power, because if there's less resistance on the motor/gears/piston, the faster they go. This is very unorthodox, however, and usually not recommended unless for a special reason.

4. Reinforcing the gearbox and gearbox parts is always a plus, especially if you have higher power. For higher speed, simply get a gearset designed for that, although beware: This will lower its tolerances for a heavier spring. Metal here is usually not a bad thing.

In the future, being slightly more specific will help you, but I hope this gives you a beginning, rough idea of what to do.

[L473ncy]

Accuracy:

- Compression parts (Piston, Piston head, Cylinder, Cylinder head) make sure to get consistent compression. Double O ring cylinder head might be a good idea here
- Hop up bucking and unit (prommy purple/soft bucking and maybe a Prommy neo chamber)
- Barrel Prommy or PDI TBB I like 6.03 since it won't jam and whatnot as can happen if you use 6.01 and have a slightly larger BB

ROF:

- Modify Quantum piston/gearset
- short stroke your gears/piston
- 11.1 Lipo
- High speed motor
- M100 spring at most (ideal is probably an M90 if you've got high speed gears and motor since there will be not as much torque to turn over the spring)

Most gearboxes these days come reinforced from the factory. The V3 gearbox (AK, Sig, G36) by design is slightly stronger than the V2 gearbox (MP5, SCAR, and AR15 pattern variants) however it will still break if you abuse it.

[ThunderCactus]

For starters, upgrade your hop rubber.
Anything else, just wait till the gun breaks before upgrading.

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by Joshery

Hey guys.
I'm a newb. I just got a cheap M4 that I thought I could slowly upgrade, instead of going ahead and buying a high-end gun (I don't have a lot of cash).
I would just like some advice and/or clarification about this.

I got better range and accuracy in that gun than I thought I would, but if I was going to upgrade that, I would need to upgrade the hop-up, spring and inner barrel... is that right?
Also, to increase the ROF I would need a better motor and battery, right?
And if I did all this would it be appropriate to get a new gearbox, or parts of the gearbox, to stand up to the higher speed and power?
Thanks!

So basically... you want to replace the entire gun.

Why did you buy low end again?

Another illustration of why, time and time again, we tell people not to buy low end guns.

What make/brand of M4 do you have?

[Jcotter]

I just got my AEG back this Friday from getting the internals upgraded to increase ROF and accuracy.
I had a raptor FET installed,
a new motor
new spring
had the gun and batteries wired to dean's
Tightbore barrel
new piston
new hop up chamber
and, an 11.1 V lipo. (if you are going to run lipo and have it wired to the rear you may want to pick up a new stock that can better accommodate one. I just got the madull socom ace stock, it has lots of lipo room but set me back another $100.00)
By the time i paid tax, shipping and labor I had spent close to $450.00 excluding the new stock

I should also add that I have a higher end VFC gun ($600.00) to start out with.
This saved me money when it came to replacing other internals, because they didn't need to be replaced yet.

Now my gun is deadly accurate, shooting just under 400 fps with an insane adjustable ROF. I couldn't be happier.

I hope this gives you an idea of the costs involved. I'm sure had I used cheaper parts and had done the work myself I could have saved a few bucks.

I purchased the gun new and have spent a lot on externals too, but that's another story.

First thing you should do is get age verified. instead of buying a cheap gun, maybe you should look at buying something from the classifieds that has already been upgraded. 9 times out of 10 you'll save yourself some serious money.

[suzenonest]

Since this topic has already been started, I'll post my quick question in here lol.

I just received my VFC E Series Mark 12 Mod 0. Its shooting consistently at 436-438 fps w/ 0.25g bb's. I would also like to upgrade this to achieve max range and accuracy. ROF not important as I will be mainly using semi auto.

For anyone with experience with this brand of gun and setup, what upgrades would you install?

I'm already looking at new hop up buckings, inner barrels and piston heads. I dont know what brand of parts works best with VFC tho. Probably gonna order off airsoftparts or ehobby

@jcotter, what brand of parts worked best with your VFC?

I also noticed the mag that came with the gun wobbled in the magwell. Any other brand of mags that fits securely in the magwell?

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by suzenonest

Since this topic has already been started, I'll post my quick question in here lol.

I just received my VFC E Series Mark 12 Mod 0. Its shooting consistently at 436-438 fps w/ 0.25g bb's. I would also like to upgrade this to achieve max range and accuracy. ROF not important as I will be mainly using semi auto.

For anyone with experience with this brand of gun and setup, what upgrades would you install?

I'm already looking at new hop up buckings, inner barrels and piston heads. I dont know what brand of parts works best with VFC tho. Probably gonna order off airsoftparts or ehobby

@jcotter, what brand of parts worked best with your VFC?

I also noticed the mag that came with the gun wobbled in the magwell. Any other brand of mags that fits securely in the magwell?

Downgrade the spring for one. 360-380 (on 0.2's) is usually best for range. Second, shoot heavier rounds, like 0.28bbs.

Mad Bull tightbores are very good and pretty cheap. A new piston head, cylinder head, and nozzel will probably help with airseal as well, but I'll leave that open to people with more experience with VFC guns.

[Jcotter]

I haven't had a chance to try out a lot of different internals. Lonex Parts were used to upgrade my gun. They're not the most expensive parts out there but they are certainly not the cheapest. I am impressed with their quality thus far.

Id still look at getting a raptor fet installed because you can program the firing modes. Semi burst auto ect as well as the instantaneous trigger response. You also won't get the semi jam ever again. The FET is amazing.

To fix your mag issue go buy some Velcro tape. Use the soft side and put some in the magwell. This will fix your problem. I use vfc and tm mags without any issues.

[peacekeeper]

the easist upgrades you can get are a new tightbore and hop up rubber and convave shredder , cheap and easy to install .

[ThunderCactus]

Originally Posted by peacekeeper

the easist upgrades you can get are a new tightbore and hop up rubber and convave shredder , cheap and easy to install .

They're also the BEST upgrades you can make!

Seriously guys, don't be screwing around in your mechbox unless you've upgraded the hop rubber and tested it out already.

It honestly makes a HUGE difference. Why spend $400 on a full upgrade kit, when all it takes is a $15 hop rubber you can install yourself?

The piston head, cyl head and air nozzle would be the first things to replace, but achieving perfect compression won't add as much performance as having the right hop rubber.

[Joshery]

It's just a GameFace M4A1... about 330 fps, shoots 200 feet, and it's about 50/50 for metal and plastic. 1.5 inch groupings at 150 feet, but the rof is brutal and the battery only lasts about 3 mags.

[SuperCriollo]

Originally Posted by Joshery

It's just a GameFace M4A1... about 330 fps, shoots 200 feet, and it's about 50/50 for metal and plastic. 1.5 inch groupings at 150 feet, but the rof is brutal and the battery only lasts about 3 mags.

Then, the "upgrades" I would get if I were youwould be :

1. A good NiMh battery or a 7.4v Lipo
2. A really good "smart", charger. Preferably with an LCD screen.
3. A new hop up bucking
4. A new gun lol

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by Joshery

It's just a GameFace M4A1... about 330 fps, shoots 200 feet, and it's about 50/50 for metal and plastic. 1.5 inch groupings at 150 feet, but the rof is brutal and the battery only lasts about 3 mags.

1.5" groupings at 150'? Yea, I'm going to call bullshit on that.... especially from a GameFace AEG (Classic Army sportline)