In the market for a tight bore barrel? Well, this article may help you decide which brand to purchase. We chose four of the major tight bore barrel brands to compare in our first test. Madbull, Gaurder, Head TN, and the new DB Customs. Of course we compare them all against the stock barrel in our Classic Army M15A4 RIS test rifle, which after a basic upgrade, chronoed in at 408fps with Airsoft Elite .2g bb's. We composed two tests: FPS gains and accuracy groupings at 15 meters(about 50ft). Every time we changed out to a new barrel, we also changed out the hop bucking. We chose to use Classic Army standard hop buckings in order to show the TRUE gains of just a tight bore barrel. The inner diameters of the barrels tested ranged from 6.08 to 6.01, and the prices range from $35 to $75 (excluding the stock barrel of course). The outcome may surprise you.
First off, the stock, all brass, CA barrel. It's really not too bad for being so much larger in diameter than the tight bores. Measuring in at 6.08, that's allowing quite a bit of air to pass by the bb as it travels down the barrel. With the stock barrel, it chronoed in at 408fps with a .2g bb, which is 365fps with a .25g bb. Nine of ten shots from 15 meters were within a 14cm grouping. That's not including one of the ten shots landing above the target.
Next up to the plate is the Gaurder 6.04mm barrel. Also made of brass, but with a "Super Lucid Chromium Plating" for a much smoother finish than the stock barrel. This barrel chroned 425fps with a .2g bb, and 381fps with a .25g bb. That's a 16fps increase when using a .25g bb. The groupings also improved to 10.7cm. The Gaurder sales for around $40.
Madbull had some problems with their tight bore barrels early on, but seem to have worked out the kinks with the version twos. Their 6.03mm, Black Python barrel is very impressive for the price. Shooting .25g bb's it gained 17fps over the stock barrel, chronoing 382fps. But where the Black Python really shines is it's accuracy. It placed 1st in our accuracy test, with an unbelievable 6.4cm grouping. Again, for $35, those are very impressive numbers.
The KM-Head 1950 TN Barrel has been the Cadillac of tight bore barrels for a while now in my opinion. In fact, Gaurder has a good barrel because I think they are trying their hardest to copy the TN. The higher price tag comes with higher FPS gains at 391 with a .25g bb. That's a 26fps gain when using Airsoft Elite .25g bb's. Very nice. Groupings at 15 meters weren't bad either, with 10 shots hitting inside a 10cm circle. TN's sale for around $60.
Last barrel tested, but newest to the airsoft world, is the DB Customs 6.01mm tight bore. These barrels are made right here in the U.S., up in Washington state. At 6.01mm, these are the tightest tight bore barrels available. Prices are not really set in stone yet (I don't think), but I've seen them for around $75 or $80. These barrels really shine with higher fps guns, around 500 and up. We'll do that test later. It does however hold its own in the mid-level fps guns as well. With an fps increase from 365 to 390 when using .25g bb's. Accuracy is also impressive with a 10 shot grouping within 8.9cm. Watch for this company to bust out into the mainstream airsoft world in the near future.
Just for quick comparisons, here are all the numbers side by side.
Brand of Barrel Price FPS .2g/.25g Grouping at 15m
Classic Army Stock Barrel N/A 408/365 >14cm
Gaurder $40 425/381 10.7cm
Madbull $35 427/382 6.4cm
KM-Head TN $60 437/391 10cm
DB Custom $75 436/390 8.9cm
Take your pick!
Super Torque Motor Comparison
Written by Jonsnipe
There are many airsoft motors on the market today that have good qualities and will work with your basic AEG upgrades. Having a good motor is an essential part of building an airsoft gun that will be durable, yet have good performance at the same time. This will be a comparison between the Systema Magnum, the Guarder Infnite Torque motor, and both the Hummer 1100 and 1300. All of these are considered to have extra torque over stock motors.
Guarder Infinite Torque motor:
High Magnetism
Great price in the U.S. at $45.00
Pressure pressed hard pinion gear
Hard to turn Pinion gear shows high power through strong magnets
Systema Magnum:
Super High magnetism
Hardest to turn pinion head shows high power
Set screw on pinion head rather than pressed
Brittle pinion head compared to others in this review
Larger connection tabs than all other motors
Giant brushes for great current
Hummer 1100 and 1300
They feel like they have normal magnet power
Pressure pressed Pinion head
Super hard Pinion gear that is very durable
Reportedly the longest lasting motors due to high quality standards
Rate of fire tests on SP150 and CA super torque up flat gears in CA 7mm bearing mechbox with 12 vlt 2200 mah:
Magnum: 20 rounds per second
Guarder: 16 rounds per second
Hummer 1100: 11 rounds per second
Hummer 1300: 11 rounds per second
Rate of fire tests on SP120 and CA torque up flat gears in VFC 7mm bearing mechbox with 9.6 4200 mah:
Magnum: 21 rounds per second
Guarder: 17 rounds per second
Hummer 1100: 12 rounds per second
Hummer 1300: 1300 rounds per second
Conclusion:
The Systema Magnum motor is absolutely incredible. To pull back an SP150 20 rounds a second is very impressive compared to other motors. I just think Systema should have put more quality into the pinion head. It should be Pressure pressed and harder like the hummer motors pinion. It’s also usually priced around $95 in the U.S., which is high, but worth the money if you want a beast AEG.
The Guarder is the most impressive motor I have tested for the money. You just can’t beat the $45-50 you will spend with this kind of performance. The rate of fire it produced was great and it seems to be very high quality. I also like the pressure pressed pinion head. This motor is a must have for upgraded AEGs!
The Hummer motors were obviously beat in this small review. I know they have great quality but the performance was lacking compared to the Guarder and Systema. They do have the hardest pinion gear so you won’t have to replace it much. They have great torque so it’s easy to turn over powerful spring, but the Guarder is much better for the money.
The Magnum is impressive! The Guarder is a steal!
Thanks for reading and email me if you have any questions.
-Jonsnipe
Super Core Piston by System Airsoft
Written by Jonsnipe
Piston Durability is one of the most important things when building a custom airsoft gun or just doing internal upgrades. The Super Core AEG piston is the best piston I have tested and used to date. Here is a list of the AEGs I have used them in.
G&G Socom 16 490fps
CA M4 shooting 560 fps
CA M4 shooting 430fps
CA M4 shooting 400fps
VFC shooting 495fps
The Super Core Piston actually looks like a half tooth piston at first glance, then one can see that it is just built differently than most pistons as seen in the picture on the left. It has a shiny texture and feels much smoother that other polycarbonate pistons. You can immediately tell when you hold it that it is made from a different materiel that all other pistons on the airsoft market. It sounds just as smooth as a standard Polycarbonate piston with the strength of an aluminum piston. My favorite gun I have used it in is my M4 sniper rifle that shoots right around 555-565fps w/PHX .20s. I have put 32,000+ rounds through it to date with an SP150 in it and have not broken the piston yet. As you can see from my list above I have the piston in quite a few high-powered AEGs. I am telling the truth when I say that I have not broken or replaced a Super Core yet. To my knowledge, I believe this is by far the best full tooth polycarbonate piston on the airsoft market today.
Pros:
Polycarbonate means easier on gears and mechbox
Super Strong
Can Handle even the tightest AEG springs
Faster rate of fire over aluminum with same strength
Cons:
Expensive compared to other Poly pistons
Very hard to find in the United States
They do not make a half tooth version yet
Thanks for reading and email me if you have any questions
-Jonsnipe
Prometheus Max Torque Gear Set
Written by Jonsnipe
Prometheus has been making high quality internal AEG parts for years now and has gained respect from airsoft techs here in the United States. Prometheus is best known in the U.S. for their internal barrels and high power gears sets. In this review I decided to test the strongest gear set they make, their Max Torque Helical gear set.
One of my favorite parts of airsoft is customizing my mechbox to shoot at either extreme fps levels or have incredible rate of fire. I was very excited to try out the Prometheus Max Torque gears because of the high spring level tensions the gears can handle and the high quality they are known for. The first thing one notices about this gear set is it comes with a piston.
The piston used for these gears is a half tooth piston, which is only used for extreme torque gear sets. There are only a few gear sets on the market that have this same setup. The gear set looks and feels very high quality (as it should for the price of the set) and is two tone as seen in the picture above.
I decided to install the gears in my Classic Army 7mm bearing mechbox for my M4. Contrary to many untested beliefs 7mm bearings will hold up fine in high FPS guns if the gun is built right. I wanted to get everything out of these gears I could so I chose the SP170 AEG spring by Guarder. From all the testing and upgrades I have done, the SP170 is the strongest readily available spring made for AEGs. There are stronger custom springs out there but these are for later reviews.
Before installing the gears in the mechbox, some modification is required. The switch stop in the mechbox must be shaved or filed down so the sector gear can rotate. The sector gear is a little larger in this set due to the gear ratios. You can see in the before and after pictures below how I have filled down the switch stop and it is now at an angle.
After the mechbox mods were done I did the math to see what the actual gear ratio was. Here are the ratios:
I shimmed the gears properly and installed the spring. Have fun with this spring if you have not done many high FPS upgrades. The sp170 is a beast to get in the
mechbox. After getting my M4 put back together, I chose a stock G&G motor just to see how it would work. Again, I wanted to see how much these gears could handle. Normally if I was going to use these gears with an sp170 I would use a very high torque motor. After I pulled the trigger and did my first full-auto burst my initial reaction was “WOW THESE GEARS ARE GREAT!” Helical gear sets sound a little whiny but these gears have a different sound to them. I guess they are somewhere in between regular super torque helical gears and flat type gear sets.
Here are the results from my SP170 and G&G motor/battery tests.
12vlt 2200 Elite cells battery: 12 rounds a second
10.8 1500 Elite cell battery: 8 rounds a second
9.6 4200 Powerizer cells battery: 9 rounds a second
8.4 1700 NICAD battery: I just had to see if this thing would turn it over and I could not believe it. The 8.4 actually worked on semi but locked up after shooting it on full for a short burst.
I hope the readers of this review understand how incredible the results were with the 9.6 and the 8.4 batteries. It shows the very high performance and quality of these gears.
After putting 1500 rounds through the gun I took the mechbox apart to check things out. The first thing I wanted to look at was the bevel gear. Many bevel gears start to shed metal very quickly when they are being used with high-tension springs. I found the bevel gear to be in perfect condition. This is unparallel to most Systema super torque gear sets lately. The new Systema bevel gears often show wear after just 500+ rounds. Second, I took the piston out to see how it looked. Again, it looked great. I know that 1500-1600 rounds is by no means a lot of stress, but the durability review will come later.
Conclusion:
This gear set is worth every penny if you want to build an extremely high FPS AEG. Prometheus gears have a great reputation for a reason and this set reflects it.
Pros:
Incredible torque with fast reaction and good rate of fire.
Super hard gear set that can take a beating
Comes with a good piston and shim set
High quality control of Prometheus
Cons:
Expensive
Harder to find the half tooth Pistons
Not many retailers carry them in the U.S.
Mechbox Specs:
CA 7mm bearing box version 2
Systema type 0 cylinder
CA silent piston head and re-enforced cylinder head
Guarder SP 170 spring
Prometheus Max Torque gear set
Pro-max ball bearing spring guide
CA M4 air nozzle
PHX sector gear clip
(I will put a list at the bottom of the U.S. retailers I have found that carry these gears.)
Here is some info about my gun and tests that may be helpful to readers.
-G&G standard torque motor used in review
-6.04 509mm TN tight bore used.
-FPS was around 638-652 with PHX .20 bbs
Thanks for reading and e-mail me with any questions.
-Jonsnipe
Guarder SP 150 AEG Spring
Written by Jonsnipe
Most airsoft games and fields in the United States currently have either a 550 or 600 fps sniper limit. To build the perfect AEG sniper rifle the SP150 AEG spring is one of the best choices. I have used the SP150 in 6 guns that I own and have seen great results in many different setups. The Guarder springs are very available in the U.S. and are know for their great rebound. What this “great rebound” means is they produce high velocity compared to how hard it is for the gearbox to pull them back.
In my favorite setup for the SP150 I like to use an M4 with a suppressor and a 509mm tight bore barrel. I also usually use a guarder or Classic army M16 Bore up kit to produce maximum velocity. A very consistent 540-560fps should be the result with this setup if workmanship is good. The characteristic which most stands out with this spring is the reaction time between trigger pull and the actual bb leaving the barrel for its FPS. Because of its great rebound, the SP150 will lead to a higher rate of fire for its FPS compared to other m150 springs. Basically what all this means is the SP150 will have a higher rate of fire compared to other springs that produce the same velocity. The SP150 is perfect for 550 fps upgrades
Courtesy of
www.customizemyaeg.com 
