[m102404]

* SAFETY NOTE *
1. Assume every gun is loaded
2. ALWAYS point the muzzle in a safe direction
3. ALWAYS keep the trigger clear until you're ready to shoot (primarily your finger...but tools/clothing/rags/slings/etc...too)
4. See that the gun is safe...or confirm that it is in the condition that you want it to be in (this may mean clearing the gun, disconnecting batteries, removing magazines/boxmags/gas/etc...)
5. ALWAYS wear protective gear (i.e. ballistic glasses, etc...)

"Why does my gun seem so slow?"
First...define "slow" a bit more.
- is the Rate Of Fire (ROF...how many shots complete per minute or per second) slow
- is the actual speed of the BB slow (measured in FPS...Feet Per Second)

Slow ROF
- a slow ROF will result from either one, or a combination of the following:
-- The battery is weak and/or underpowered for your motor/spring/gear ratio
* Change out to a fresh battery...and/or a battery with either larger cells (2/3A -> SubC)...and/or a battery with a higher Voltage (note: voltages higher than 8.4V will significantly accelerate the wear in the switch...search Burn Contacts or Burned Out Switch)

-- the motor is weak
* see other posts regarding weak/worn motors

-- the motor simply doesn't have the speed or torque necessary
* change motors...some motors are better at high revolutions vs. producing torque. High speed motors are meant to pull "weaker" springs...High torque motors will pull stiffer springs, but perhaps not with the same RPMs.

-- the spring is overly stiff for the combination of gear ratio, motor power and battery
* dropping the power level down to the next strength of spring will increase your ROF if all else stays the same

-- Inappropriate gear ratio
* standard ratio gears...are just that, they are the "original" gear ratio used. TM's stock gear ratio (built for 1J guns...approx 320fps w/ 0.20g BBs...m90/m100 springs). "High Torque" gears will have a larger gear ratio (i.e. ~22:1)..."High Speed" gears will have a lower gear ratio (i.e. ~15:1). If you're pulling a really stiff spring with a high speed gearset...you're making the motor work a lot harder, demanding more of the battery and in general overstressing the teeth of the gears.

-- your wiring is compromised
* see notes in other posts re. wiring

Your FPS is slow (or really low)
- Is it really? Or you just think it is?
*** all FPS references are assumed to be using 0.20g BBs...unless stated otherwise
* You need a good reliable chronograph to actually know...the chronograph needs good batteries in it. Even a good chronograph will have a 1-3 fps variation in it...so think in increments of 5-10fps, the extra couple of FPS isn't going to matter.
* Springs are rated in %...and M/S (meters per second). Search Spring Chart. % is in reference to the "standard" TM stock spring. It is ~300fps = 100%...150% = (300+150) = 450fps...110% = (300+30) =330fps...etc...
* Springs rated in M (or MS) are a straight meters/second (multiply by 3.3 to get FPS). So...100M/S = 330FPS...120M/S=396FPS...etc...
* various "upgrades" will affect FPS...tightbore barrels, bearing spring guides, bearing piston heads, etc... Search What to Upgrade, search Greylocks, search Skruface
**** you need to be able to measure your FPS and have an actual expectation of what it should be....before you can say that it's shooting slower than it should be.

- cyclinder might be mismatched for inner barrel
* full cylinders are meant for long inner barrels (i.e. AK/M16)...Type 1's are meant for 363mm barrels...etc...
* there are differen labeling systems in use...they mostly follow the same pattern. Google search AEG Cylinder Types...there's a nice little list out there
somewhere
* the purpose of the porting is to allow the piston to build up speed before it starts trapping air to push the BB down the barrel....an MP5K ported cylinder (the port is about in the middle) will not have sufficient volume to push a BB down a long M16 length barrel...it might come out, but not at the velocity it's supposed to. Even a full cylinder might not push enough volume of air to send a BB out a 590mm inner barrel at the speed that the "spring should be". Take a properly setup M4 carbine (3/4ported and 363mm inner), and blindly swap a 509mm inner barrel to be covered by a suppressor....and you may end up with a gun that shoots slower than when you started.

- air leak
* an air leak forms when any combination of the following air-seals are less than perfect...piston o-ring to cylinder...cylinder to cylinder head...cylinder head nozzle to nozzle...nozzle to hopup/hopup rubber....hopup rubber to inner barrel
* there are dozens of things that can go wrong here...and this is not the place to go into each of them...but here are some quick tests.
** when the mechbox is apart...put your finger over the cylinder head nozzle...push the piston into the cylinder quickly and it should stop nearly immediately.
** same as above...but put the nozzle on the cylinder head nozzle, keep it forward a bit to simulate it being pressed out into the hopup....the piston should stop nearly immediately and there should be no leaks
** With the tappet/nozzle as forward as possible with the mechbox done up...press the hopup onto the mechbox/nozzle...then blow into the muzzle of the inner barrel...there shouldn't be any leaks.
** With the rifle fully reassembled...see SAFETY NOTE...do the same blow in the muzzle test (be careful that you're actually blowing into the inner barrel...and not the outer barrel...on some setups you won't be able to do this test)


****NOTE****
If all the above sounds like greek to you....then either search/research the crap out of it all...or seek help from a gun doc.

But being able to better describe and pin down where the issue is ends up being really helpful.