ICS M4 RIS. Barrel upgrade (Advice needed)

[HavokZA]

Hi there.

I have a ICS M4 RIS and it's pretty cool, however I would like to get a little bit more distance and accuracy with it.
Currently it has a standard 363mm barrel in it.

I was looking at maybe getting the Prometheus 455mm and covering the outer with a Silencer.
Would a longer barrel need a better spring or cylinder head?
Would I see as good gains with the same length barel or would the extra length give a good improvement over the current barrel.

Also would getting a better hop-up (Element) give me a bit of distance/ slight FPS increase and accuracy?

I don't really want to go the spring upgrade path unless it's the only way.

Thanks

[fleuryfighter]

just get the apropreat cylander porting and you good to go

[HavokZA]

How would I know the appropriate cylinder porting?
Any suggestions or what too look out for?

[Styrak]

Look at these two. A search would have found the second.

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/?filn...andbarrels.htm

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=18038

[HavokZA]

Ah thanks for the links.
Thats a big help.

So basically I can go for a 455mm barrel and keep my stock cylinder? According to the guide the cylinder is for a 364/456 and I still have the stock ICS cylinder in there which I am assuming as it's for a 363 stock barrel will be able to accommodate up to 456 before I will need to replace it?

i.e the ICS cylinder that I have can accommodate anythign from 363mm to 455mm barrels, should I wish to go to a 509mm barrel I will have to upgrade the cylinder as well.

[Crunchmeister]

Originally Posted by HavokZA

Also would getting a better hop-up (Element) give me a bit of distance/ slight FPS increase and accuracy?

I don't really want to go the spring upgrade path unless it's the only way.

Hopup chambers for ICS are proprietary. Swap the hopup rubber with a quality rubber such as Guarder Clear or Prometheus Soft and you should be good to go there. The ICS hopup, even though it's plastic, is of a far superior design to the standard metal hopup systems.

And just so you know, swapping springs on ICS is incredibly easy compared to normal V2/V3 mechboxes.

[Kos-Mos]

If you buy a prometheus barrel, the stock lenght will give you a significat boost of accuracy. You start to see the benefits of a very long barrel at higher FPS... meaning that under 400 you should keep it around 400mm...give or take.

You will also notice a bigger difference by swaping the hop-up rubbers than with a longer barrel. When you get your new parts, clean the barrel and the rubber with dish soap and warm water. It might sound stupid, but that is the most important thing you can do.

To change theses parts on an ICS rifle, you don't even need any tools.

First remove the rear body pin.
Then crack open the receiver.
Remove the upper mechbox.
Remove the hop-up unit along with the barrel.

Install your new parts and revert to re-assemble.

[HavokZA]

Thanks for the help so far.

So hop up rubber is then a definite upgrade.

I opened my gun (Was very easy) and I seem to have the 3/4 Hole Cylinder Barrel Length 227/430 mm cylinder according to the Arnies Airsoft page.
So does that mean I cannot go to the 455mm barrel? how big a difference would that make?
I am now thinking maybe like Kos-Mos sid to upgrade to the prometheus 363mm barrel instead and then get a hop-up rubber.

Also for half the price I can get a 455mm Vanaras barrel.
I can also get a 363mm Vanaras for even cheaper.

How would the barrels really compare. Is the difference really worth double?

[Kos-Mos]

Well.. that is like comparing buying a no-name airsoft gun off china streets vs. buying a full-metal VFC or CA off a retailer...

Defenitely.

If you want to go cheaper, Madbull tighbores are nice too. The drawback is that since they are aluminium and have some coating to make them nice and shiny, they will wear down eventually.

Prometheus steel barrel will never wear down... unless you decide to pour 10 lb. of sand down the barrel and then hammer a pike down with it...

Originally Posted by HavokZA

Thanks for the help so far.

So hop up rubber is then a definite upgrade.

I opened my gun (Was very easy) and I seem to have the 3/4 Hole Cylinder Barrel Length 227/430 mm cylinder according to the Arnies Airsoft page.
So does that mean I cannot go to the 455mm barrel? how big a difference would that make?
I am now thinking maybe like Kos-Mos sid to upgrade to the prometheus 363mm barrel instead and then get a hop-up rubber.

Also for half the price I can get a 455mm Vanaras barrel.
I can also get a 363mm Vanaras for even cheaper.

How would the barrels really compare. Is the difference really worth double?

[HavokZA]

Originally Posted by Kos-Mos

Well.. that is like comparing buying a no-name airsoft gun off china streets vs. buying a full-metal VFC or CA off a retailer...

Defenitely.

If you want to go cheaper, Madbull tighbores are nice too. The drawback is that since they are aluminium and have some coating to make them nice and shiny, they will wear down eventually.

Prometheus steel barrel will never wear down... unless you decide to pour 10 lb. of sand down the barrel and then hammer a pike down with it...

Thanks for the advice, I also read about the Madbull coating, not a fan, will rather get the Prometheus then, I now need to decide if I should go longer at 455mm or stay at 363mm. I think I will need to get a new cylinder if I go 455mm.

[fabzster]

Hi

I would really appreciate some assistance

I have an ICS-30 M16A3 it has according to the specs a 515mm Barrel
http://icsbb.com/web_e/html/02_produ...ind3=24&num=47

Lets see if i have managed to understand the above:

I should upgrade my Barrel to a 6.03 509mm prometheus barrel
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_inf...oducts_id=1585

and my hopup bucking to a Promethues (Soft Type)
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_inf...oducts_id=4693

Now i get a little confused re: the cylinder
if i look at http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/?filn...andbarrels.htm

the closest one in length is the first one (No Hole Cylinder Barrel Length 450/580 mm)
but under ICS say's non applicable.

Would i need to change the current cylinder to a no port one? does any1 know the standard ver. in my gun?

also is that just the cylinder sleeve or the piston head etc. that would need to be changed?

Maybe some1 could post links to the actual products (That would be awesome)

[Styrak]

All AEG cylinders are a standard size.

Yes for a M16 length (510mm) barrel, you would use a non-ported cylinder like it says.

[fabzster]

Originally Posted by Styrak

All AEG cylinders are a standard size.

Yes for a M16 length (510mm) barrel, you would use a non-ported cylinder like it says.

SO i must just check the cylinder type in my gun?
what if it is one without ports then i dont have to upgrade it ?

does the cylinder come with the piston head etc ... or are these all seperate ?

Or do I have to replace the set with this?
http://www.airsoftpost.com/product_i...ducts_id=25869

[HavokZA]

i rate if you have the unported one then you wouldn't need to upgrade it.
Upgrading the head etc COULD improve compression or reduce sound depending on what you buy but it wont be a necessity.

[Kos-Mos]

Originally Posted by fabzster

Hi

I would really appreciate some assistance

I have an ICS-30 M16A3 it has according to the specs a 515mm Barrel
http://icsbb.com/web_e/html/02_produ...ind3=24&num=47

Lets see if i have managed to understand the above:

I should upgrade my Barrel to a 6.03 509mm prometheus barrel
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_inf...oducts_id=1585

and my hopup bucking to a Promethues (Soft Type)
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_inf...oducts_id=4693

Now i get a little confused re: the cylinder
if i look at http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/?filn...andbarrels.htm

the closest one in length is the first one (No Hole Cylinder Barrel Length 450/580 mm)
but under ICS say's non applicable.

Would i need to change the current cylinder to a no port one? does any1 know the standard ver. in my gun?

also is that just the cylinder sleeve or the piston head etc. that would need to be changed?

Maybe some1 could post links to the actual products (That would be awesome)

Remove your upper mechbox (read thread above)
Check on the side of the cylinder, you will see a hole or no hole. You can move the cylinder with your fingers without opening the mechbox, sometimes the hole is placed inside the mechbox to prevent dirt and shit from going in.

If you don't have a hole in there, leave it that way. You don't need to change it for a barrel up to 540mm.

Be careful with the Prometheus rubbers. They work awesome, but sometimes will have some molding scraps at the lips. CAREFULLY cut theses out with a very sharp X-acto. I looked for the reason for jams in a rifle and it was all caused by a hair-thin rubber shaving blocking the BBs.

Madbull barrels are really good. But expect to see a degradation in performance past 50 000 BBs... that might look like a lot, but I know some people that shoot that much in one summer. If you don't intend to keep the rifle for long, or if you are an occasional player, they are very good. The bore is 6.01 vs 6.03 for Prometheus. In an AEGm this won't make a difference in accuracy or range, but might cause jams with cheap BBs (read here KJW or KSC)


ICS guns all use some standard cylinders. The one you saw might have been a bore-up version. Theses are for barrel lenght from 540 to 650mm (PSG-1 barrels). They will also requite a bore-up nozzle, cylinder head and piston head.

If your cylinder is ported, you can just buy any brand of NB (Normal bore) full cylinder. Modify makes awesome parts and can be bought right off airsoftparts.ca.