Post by Dahm on Nov 23, 2009 18:33:59 GMT -5
Alright guys, here is a review I have done via request of t_hum (from Arnies) for the FPS Adjuster and O-Ring Piston that he has produced. Both of these products are available on the Cradle Airsoft webpage (www.cradleairsoft.com). I am not affiliated in any way with Cradle Airsoft, and these reviews come to you as a consumer, and unbiased.
These parts are intended to upgrade the KJW/TK M4 GBBR that was released on the market a few months ago.
"First Impression"
Werner Dahm.
Receiving
Upon receiving the package there was a small rip in my O-ring Piston packaging bag. I do appreciate the zip-locks on the bags, as they are nice to have. One staple seemed to hold the label to the bag well enough, and I didn’t think it would rip during shipping. Other than the rip in the bag, the packaging was a good thickness, much thicker than most you see. Very nice, professional "Cradle" logo and label.
9.5/10
Opening
Both the FPS adjuster and the O-Ring Piston feel solid. There are no metal burrs of any kind on the metal, which exemplifies the quality of the machining done to these parts. There were also no rips, tears, or excess rubber on any of the o-rings or spacers. This indicates quality parts as well. All the parts are symmetric and circular where they are meant to be, and everything slides on or off as it should.
10/10
Installing the Piston
No instructions were included, and perhaps that would be a good idea in the future (EDIT: Instructions are now listed on the webpage at www.cradleairsoft.com ), especially for the less technically/mechanically inclined consumer. The piston threaded on successful and securely. Threads felt as though they were machined properly, and they did not appear to want to strip at all. I am using the factory Loctite that was already on the hex screw. I will test how long that is going to hold up. I have applied 2-3 drops of 20wt Blue bottle Silicon Shock Fluid used to lubricate the piston.
One side note: In your instructions, I would strongly suggest using a pair of vice grips or a vice (like you had told me) because getting the hex screw threaded on tightly enough is important.
9/10 (-1 for lack of Instructions, not the actual build of the piston or its assembly)
EDIT: 10/10 due to instructions being online now
Installing the FPS Adjuster
I would really appreciate some written out instructions with pictures for this part (EDIT: Again, instructions online at the webpage). It can definitely get a little confusing for those who have had no experience taking apart their bolt before. Nevertheless, installation seemed fairly easy. It took me a moment to realize which screw I had to unscrew, that the bar was holding the nozzle in place, and on the other side was spring tension. Once I removed the bar, dropping in the FPS adjuster was a simple task, and reassemble was even easier.
With the bolt back in the rifle, I experienced a random issue. I could not pull back my bolt. Upon further inspection this was caused by an improper alignment of the bolt carrier and the buffer/buffer spring assembly. Part of the bolt carrier was catching on the side of the lower receiver somewhere. I don't see how the internal parts of the bolt being changed could have affected this. There isn't really a fix for it either, I just jiggled the latch slightly, and made sure the upper receiver was pressed down firmly, and I haven't experienced the problem again. Therefore, I am considering this a random occurrence and having nothing to do with the upgrades.
So far I have filled up one magazine with gas, and dry fired about 15 times. There are no signs of anything wrong. Everything cycled as it should, bolt catch worked every time, etc.
9/10 (-1 for lack of Instructions, not the actually build of adjuster or its assembly)
EDIT: 10/10 due to instructions online now
Thus far, I am ecstatic over the new parts, and cannot wait to being FPS testing on Saturday.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Conclusion (pending FPS test for different combinations of spacers, and efficiency [pending])"
Werner Dahm
Durability
After using the O-Ring piston for just under 300 rounds, I have noticed little to no wear at all on the piston. The O-Ring on the piston is in pristine shape, and does not appear to be forming any kind of prolonged wear. There are no chunks missing, no tears, no "flat areas" and no stretching of the O-Ring whatsoever. Therefore, I would not question the durability of the O-Ring Piston, and I wouldn't change anything in its engineering either. It works, and excels in what it was designed to do.
After using the FPS Adjuster, I can draw a similar conclusion. Upon inspecting the air nozzle, I noticed no wear on the nozzle at all. It seems to be holding up, with no obvious difference in form. The testing on the FPS adjuster thus far has only been done with the o-ring itself, and with no spacers so I cannot conclude anything useful about the spacers themselves yet. Regardless, if they were sourced from similar manufacturers, I would not hesitate to speculate that they would hold up just fine as well.
Performance
The performance of the O-ring piston was nothing less than terrific. I felt that my FPS was consistent throughout testing, and that I was not getting any compression leakage at all. The O-ring seems to do its job again and again, creating a good seal with the correct amount of lube applied. The body of the piston doesn't seem to collide with any other parts of the carrier when in use. I don't hear any odd noises when the bolt cycles, and upon detailed inspection after good use, I did not notice any further wear of other parts on the carrier. So far, using the factory blue lock-tite that had been applied to the piston's screw in the factory, the piston has stayed solid and does not have any play, nor does it rotate at all.
The performance of the FPS Adjuster was likewise first-rate. Using no spacers, and 0.20 bb's at 58 degrees Fahrenheit, I chrono'd at 385, 379, 371 fps in three successive shots, fired at 1 second intervals. The fact that I was firing at 58 F and 385 fps helps confirm a presumed target FPS of about 400 fps in 70 - 75 F conditions. I was very satisfied with the FPS drops in the successive shots fired, being that each interval was only 7 fps on average. I hope to do a more extensive gas efficiency test in the future, however my living situation (apartment) makes that hard to do on a whim. Once I get my hands on a chronograph, I will do testing with all possible combinations of spacers and report their fps readings as well. The final two test's will then complete my overall evaluation of this product.
Overall Satisfaction
Regarding both durability and performance, as well as packaging and installation, I would be cheating Cradle Airsoft to give the O-Ring Piston rating less than 10/10. Superb engineering combined with top of the line materials has led this product to outperform the original KJW/TK piston by leaps and bounds. I see this piston standing up to many thousands of rounds with zero problems.
As for the FPS Adjuster, as far as testing can show, I am very satisfied with this as well. I am ranking the FPS adjuster as a 9/10 overall. It can definitely stand up to cycling the bolt and firing the training weapon thousands if not tens of thousands of times over. The reason I do not issue a 10/10 ranking is plainly due to the fact that changing the FPS is not as easy as I would have hoped in a hypothetical fps adjusting product. The fact that I have to open my bolt up to adjust the FPS is slightly more cumbersome than a turn of a hex screw, however the user does get used to it and it becomes second nature quickly. Upon further usage, I do recommend an "FPS Guideline" Chart to be included with this product (EDIT: This will be most likely hosted on the Cradle Airsoft website). That way, instead of each individual user having to chart out their own rifles FPS on each combination of shims, they can simple turn to the chart and look up which combination would probably work best for their desired FPS.
These parts are intended to upgrade the KJW/TK M4 GBBR that was released on the market a few months ago.
"First Impression"
Werner Dahm.
Receiving
Upon receiving the package there was a small rip in my O-ring Piston packaging bag. I do appreciate the zip-locks on the bags, as they are nice to have. One staple seemed to hold the label to the bag well enough, and I didn’t think it would rip during shipping. Other than the rip in the bag, the packaging was a good thickness, much thicker than most you see. Very nice, professional "Cradle" logo and label.
9.5/10
Opening
Both the FPS adjuster and the O-Ring Piston feel solid. There are no metal burrs of any kind on the metal, which exemplifies the quality of the machining done to these parts. There were also no rips, tears, or excess rubber on any of the o-rings or spacers. This indicates quality parts as well. All the parts are symmetric and circular where they are meant to be, and everything slides on or off as it should.
10/10
Installing the Piston
No instructions were included, and perhaps that would be a good idea in the future (EDIT: Instructions are now listed on the webpage at www.cradleairsoft.com ), especially for the less technically/mechanically inclined consumer. The piston threaded on successful and securely. Threads felt as though they were machined properly, and they did not appear to want to strip at all. I am using the factory Loctite that was already on the hex screw. I will test how long that is going to hold up. I have applied 2-3 drops of 20wt Blue bottle Silicon Shock Fluid used to lubricate the piston.
One side note: In your instructions, I would strongly suggest using a pair of vice grips or a vice (like you had told me) because getting the hex screw threaded on tightly enough is important.
9/10 (-1 for lack of Instructions, not the actual build of the piston or its assembly)
EDIT: 10/10 due to instructions being online now
Installing the FPS Adjuster
I would really appreciate some written out instructions with pictures for this part (EDIT: Again, instructions online at the webpage). It can definitely get a little confusing for those who have had no experience taking apart their bolt before. Nevertheless, installation seemed fairly easy. It took me a moment to realize which screw I had to unscrew, that the bar was holding the nozzle in place, and on the other side was spring tension. Once I removed the bar, dropping in the FPS adjuster was a simple task, and reassemble was even easier.
With the bolt back in the rifle, I experienced a random issue. I could not pull back my bolt. Upon further inspection this was caused by an improper alignment of the bolt carrier and the buffer/buffer spring assembly. Part of the bolt carrier was catching on the side of the lower receiver somewhere. I don't see how the internal parts of the bolt being changed could have affected this. There isn't really a fix for it either, I just jiggled the latch slightly, and made sure the upper receiver was pressed down firmly, and I haven't experienced the problem again. Therefore, I am considering this a random occurrence and having nothing to do with the upgrades.
So far I have filled up one magazine with gas, and dry fired about 15 times. There are no signs of anything wrong. Everything cycled as it should, bolt catch worked every time, etc.
9/10 (-1 for lack of Instructions, not the actually build of adjuster or its assembly)
EDIT: 10/10 due to instructions online now
Thus far, I am ecstatic over the new parts, and cannot wait to being FPS testing on Saturday.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Conclusion (pending FPS test for different combinations of spacers, and efficiency [pending])"
Werner Dahm
Durability
After using the O-Ring piston for just under 300 rounds, I have noticed little to no wear at all on the piston. The O-Ring on the piston is in pristine shape, and does not appear to be forming any kind of prolonged wear. There are no chunks missing, no tears, no "flat areas" and no stretching of the O-Ring whatsoever. Therefore, I would not question the durability of the O-Ring Piston, and I wouldn't change anything in its engineering either. It works, and excels in what it was designed to do.
After using the FPS Adjuster, I can draw a similar conclusion. Upon inspecting the air nozzle, I noticed no wear on the nozzle at all. It seems to be holding up, with no obvious difference in form. The testing on the FPS adjuster thus far has only been done with the o-ring itself, and with no spacers so I cannot conclude anything useful about the spacers themselves yet. Regardless, if they were sourced from similar manufacturers, I would not hesitate to speculate that they would hold up just fine as well.
Performance
The performance of the O-ring piston was nothing less than terrific. I felt that my FPS was consistent throughout testing, and that I was not getting any compression leakage at all. The O-ring seems to do its job again and again, creating a good seal with the correct amount of lube applied. The body of the piston doesn't seem to collide with any other parts of the carrier when in use. I don't hear any odd noises when the bolt cycles, and upon detailed inspection after good use, I did not notice any further wear of other parts on the carrier. So far, using the factory blue lock-tite that had been applied to the piston's screw in the factory, the piston has stayed solid and does not have any play, nor does it rotate at all.
The performance of the FPS Adjuster was likewise first-rate. Using no spacers, and 0.20 bb's at 58 degrees Fahrenheit, I chrono'd at 385, 379, 371 fps in three successive shots, fired at 1 second intervals. The fact that I was firing at 58 F and 385 fps helps confirm a presumed target FPS of about 400 fps in 70 - 75 F conditions. I was very satisfied with the FPS drops in the successive shots fired, being that each interval was only 7 fps on average. I hope to do a more extensive gas efficiency test in the future, however my living situation (apartment) makes that hard to do on a whim. Once I get my hands on a chronograph, I will do testing with all possible combinations of spacers and report their fps readings as well. The final two test's will then complete my overall evaluation of this product.
Overall Satisfaction
Regarding both durability and performance, as well as packaging and installation, I would be cheating Cradle Airsoft to give the O-Ring Piston rating less than 10/10. Superb engineering combined with top of the line materials has led this product to outperform the original KJW/TK piston by leaps and bounds. I see this piston standing up to many thousands of rounds with zero problems.
As for the FPS Adjuster, as far as testing can show, I am very satisfied with this as well. I am ranking the FPS adjuster as a 9/10 overall. It can definitely stand up to cycling the bolt and firing the training weapon thousands if not tens of thousands of times over. The reason I do not issue a 10/10 ranking is plainly due to the fact that changing the FPS is not as easy as I would have hoped in a hypothetical fps adjusting product. The fact that I have to open my bolt up to adjust the FPS is slightly more cumbersome than a turn of a hex screw, however the user does get used to it and it becomes second nature quickly. Upon further usage, I do recommend an "FPS Guideline" Chart to be included with this product (EDIT: This will be most likely hosted on the Cradle Airsoft website). That way, instead of each individual user having to chart out their own rifles FPS on each combination of shims, they can simple turn to the chart and look up which combination would probably work best for their desired FPS.
