Hop Up Rubbers

[bareass]

I just bought a second hop up for my G&G F2000 (G2010) with the idea of running a longer barrel (590mm) when playing outdoor games at ~400 fps.

the f2000 has an adjustable spring length that allows my gun to be adjustable between just under 350 and just over 400 fps.

the ultimate goal is to use the stock hop up and inner barrel at cqb games, set close to, or at 350, and use the second hop up and long inner barrel for outdoor/long range games set at ~400fps.

what i am not sure of is:

what is the difference between different hop up rubbers and buckings?
what is best at what fps ranges?
do CSC (concave spacers) make a difference? and at what, if not all, fps ranges?
do barrel brands and lengths come into play?

Thank you!

[Drakker]

There are people more knowledgeable than me about this... but here we go:


what is the difference between different hop up rubbers and buckings?

None... two words for the same thing.


what is best at what fps ranges?

The higher the FPS, the harder you want your hop up rubber to be. This is mostly for durability, as any hop up rubber will work at any velocity, but at lower velocity, softer rubbers tend to work a bit better.


do SCS (concave spacers) make a difference? and at what, if not all, fps ranges?

They do make a difference at all fps range... but from my understanding of recent discussions on the subject, a W hop like PDI's will give you similar performances and are much easier to install.


do barrel brands and lengths come into play?

Barrel brand does come into play, a barrel with a good, regular bore will improve the accuracy of your gun, good examples are Prometheus and PDI barrels. Barrel length on the other hand doesn't matter that much for longer AEGs, you won't see much of a difference in accuracy going from say, 363mm to 400mm, but going from 80mm to 120mm in a pistol will make a noticeable difference. Still, the improvement in accuracy from a good barrel will be much lower than what you can achieve with a good hop up rubber and good compression (piston head, cylinder head, loading nozzle, hop up chamber and rubber). Still, a good barrel helps if you got the money, but it is not the upgrade that gives you the most improvement in accuracy per dollar spent.

[Forever_kaos]

Personally I would leave your setup as it is, the range boost from ~350 to ~400 will not be that wide.

If you swap out the barrel, you will need to match the cylinder as well. See here:
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=18038

[bareass]

Originally Posted by Drakker

......

what is the difference between different hop up rubbers and buckings?

None... two words for the same thing.

.......

sorry, i meant "is there a difference between different brand hop up rubbers and buckings?"

i know everyone says the gaurder clear is the way to go, and i have on in my m4, but its too soft for 400fps is it not?

as for hardness of rubber, is there an FPS range that is best for soft, medium, and hard?

Originally Posted by Forever_kaos

Personally I would leave your setup as it is, the range boost from ~350 to ~400 will not be that wide.

If you swap out the barrel, you will need to match the cylinder as well. See here:
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=18038

the reason i'm not leaving the stock setup as is, is that i'm actually buying a second hop up unit and barrel. so i don't actually have a rubber. the f2000 has a quick teardown so swaping the barrels is simple to do, but i didn't want to constantly remove the barrel from the hop up (don't want to wear down the rubber)

as for the length, the barrel is going from a ~400 (not sure the exact length off hand) to a 590. both are matched to a full seal cylinder, which is stock on the gun. that is something i made sure of before i bought the gun.



also for the record, i did do a search, but couldn't find the answers regarding the rubber hardness vs. FPS or brand specific comparisons

[Drakker]

Originally Posted by bareass

sorry, i meant "is there a difference between different brand hop up rubbers and buckings?"

i know everyone says the gaurder clear is the way to go, and i have on in my m4, but its too soft for 400fps is it not?

as for hardness of rubber, is there an FPS range that is best for soft, medium, and hard?

Oh, sorry, my bad, missed the word different in your question. Some buckings are better than others, but everyone has their preference, and depending on your setup, some buckings will work better than others. Guarder clears are nice, I use a lot of them and they work well for me with H nubs and SCS', but they are not all that durable, so at 400fps they might not last too long. My plan was to buy only PDI W hop in the future, and stop using H nubs and SCS. But ask a different person and they might give you a completely different opinion.

Note that there have been a lot of reports recently that guarder clear rubbers quality has gone down the drain.

As for hardness of rubbers, my understanding is that extra-soft is good for < 300fps, soft for 300-350fps, medium for 350-400fps and hard for > 400fps. Again, opinions will differ from person to person. Keep in mind that different manufacturers will have different hardness levels and that they might not be directly comparable (some manufacturer's medium hardness is another's soft hardness).

Originally Posted by bareass

as for the length, the barrel is going from a ~400 (not sure the exact length off hand) to a 590. both are matched to a full seal cylinder, which is stock on the gun. that is something i made sure of before i bought the gun.

Going from 400mm to 590mm will probably not make a noticeable difference in accuracy, however it will increase your FPS, so take it into account when choosing your spring strength.

[bareass]

Thanks for the info... if anyone has anything to add, please do.

i will be also going from the stock 6.04 to a madbull 6.03. and for the spring difference, i will be using the stock spring. which is again, why i want to have the swapable barrels. my f2000with the stock barrel is adjustable from 350 to ~410 fps... the added barrel length and precision will bring my low end above 350.

[ThunderCactus]

SCS with guarder black or ARS rubber would work great.
guarder clear is too soft for above 350fps.
Nobodies ever REALLY concerned with getting an accurate 200ft shot in CQB, so the performance drop really won't be noticeable at lower FPS.

Use .28g at 380-400fps, and .25s or .20s indoors depending on your engagement range.
Obviously your hop setting will need to be adjusted for FPS, ammo weight etc

[bareass]

again. cqb fields will be using the original hop up, with probably a guarder clear, and the stock barrel. probably using .25, cause i'm not a fan of .20s... that hop up will be geared tward indoor with the hop set to fly as straight as possible.. distance is not a concern here.

wide open fields, or woods i will be using the second hop up, and the longer barrel with the gun set to ~400. this is where i'm looking to get as much accurate range as possible. the f2000 already has very good range out of the box. but there is never too much!!

i'm building this gun to be a do all... cqb, assault, long distance, ect. with out the suppressor, i can pull a door open with the gun in high ready, and looking down the sights. with the suppressor its about as long as an M4!