Size matters, stretch it and lock it

respond

In our first edition of Mechbox Monday, we’re going to attempt to answer a few of the questions sent to us recently. Airsoft upgrades often seem complex and many times come with dozens of opinions about what works, what doesn’t and the cheap tricks that sound too good to be true. We hope to use Mechbox Mondays as another way to answer as many of those questions as possible.

A few airsoft repair questions:

How much barrel must you add to make a difference?
Longer is better…that’s what she said. I’m sure some will debate my reply to this question. In general, to have any real effect I think you need at least 50mm to gain noticeable improvements. For example, my personal TM Spetsnaz was upgraded from 229mm to the MC-51 285mm inner barrel with a little modification to the flash hider to make it fit. That extra 56mm was all I needed to tighten up my accuracy (relative to what it was before the upgrade). Remember, sometimes size does matter, but going too big can create its own set of problems – but that’s another story.
Does stretching the spring work to increase power?
Simply put, no, at least not permanently. Stretching the spring to be “longer” could (emphasis on could) temporarily give your AEG a slight boost in velocity. Even if it does give a temporary boost, it definitely will not last. Save yourself the hassle of having to open the mechbox again and use a new upgrade spring the first time. Not to mention, springs are one of the least expensive parts you’ll ever buy so just get one… and save the stretching for the skirmish.
Is thread lock really necessary on gearbox screws?
The short answer is no, thread lock is not absolutely necessary. The reason we demonstrate and recommend adding a small amount of thread lock is that we’ve seen what can happen when screws come loose. It’s not a regular occurrence, but a loose screw in your mechbox can lead to a premature stress fracture in the mechbox case. Our view, why not lock it?

Have a question of your own?

Send it to us and we’ll do our best to answer it directly or in one of our Mechbox Monday updates. Let us know what you’d like to see us talk about or video next!

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7 Comments


  1. Just gonna throw this in, since I’ve had this happen to several guns of my own and members of my team: it is always a good idea to put thread lock on the piston head screw. In several guns, including my AUG this past week, the screw will loosen and come out, causing the piston head to fall apart. This will instantly cause the gun to jam, and can lead to further issues if you continue to try to fire the gun.

    by Kyle B. January 12th, 2009

  2. for the first question: you’re talking about short barrel AEGs, 50mm makes difference there but ~360mm and above there’s no big differecen, accuracy always depend on the hopup unit. example: an M16 won’t be ever as accuracy as az M14 becouse of the hopup

    by Rocko January 12th, 2009

  3. hello there.
    i wanted to drop a line and tell you how grateful i am to have found your site.
    VERY informative.
    i was wondering if i could get your help on something.

    http://s712.photobucket.com/albums/ww127/shawngnarlson/?action=view&current=IMG_2209.jpg

    i am assuming, after watching the V2 mechbox spring upgrade video. that i did not get the timing down for this.

    i was wondering if maybe you have something archived that could help me dial in my repair.

    i am VERY new to airsoft and i want to be able to maintain and repair my own equipment.

    thank you for ANY help you may be able to give.

    Shawn Tracy

    by Shawn Tracy January 17th, 2009

  4. @Shawn – What exactly is going on? Did you strip the teeth on all those pistons?!

    by 6mm January 17th, 2009

  5. hello. just adding a possible question to the list… if you could make a video of the trigger assembly of the AUG that would be really appreciated.

    by Danny January 24th, 2009

  6. Dear 6mm:

    Just found the site through iTunes and love it. Will be recommending it to all of my friends and team mates.

    How about an article on the difference in the various springs that can be installed?

    Thanks again.
    Bronco
    So Cal

    by Bronco February 5th, 2009

  7. your v2 mechbox video is very informative to us softers thank you very much more power

    by gog May 16th, 2009