WIP: Upgrading Your Tokyo Marui Glock

[e-luder]

Originally Posted by turok_t

What do you think about the AIP hammer set for TM G17 and G18C?

This set is decent replacement, or is the only, as it contains reinforced parts made out of steel. I have both for the 18c and the 17. But having said that, they tend to be harder/heavier to move than the stock hammer assembly. Because of their material, they need to a good amount of initial break in period and grease to facilitate a strong cohesion and cooperation.

The G17's set didn't behave any differently than the stock set. The only real difference is the contact bearing on the hammer is much smoother than the stock one. It requires very good lubrication to get the slide to glide along and for the ball bearing to 'spin' fluently. Also, that bearing tends to come loose so be careful and check regularly if it's seated properly.

Compared to the GunsModify's zero hammer, I think that AIP's work better since it mimics the original Tokyo Marui hammer design. Gunsmodify had to sacrifice the ball bearing mechanism to get that extra millimeter off to get the hammer sit flush to the frame.

The G18's set requires a bit more fight to get into place inside the housing. On the one that i bought, some of the pins didn't fit the holes right. The sear is ok but again you'll need to lube because of the finish. As opposed to the slightly smoother texture of Shooter's Design stainless steel one, AIP's has a bit of a rougher finish meaning initially, the sear will be rougher to break in where are SD's can just drop and it will marry with other parts seemlessly. It's a sear. It's supposed to get worn, right?

Also, the hammer springs on these two sets are not enhanced hammers. They are not 150% strength but is the stock strength. Both of the valve knockers may need a of fiddling to get it to sit right. It was typically problematic to get into place on the 17 because the measurement was a micro milometer off.

[hattrick]

Add,
-flared magwell
-rubber hogue grip
-lanyard attachment
-g17 custom rear grip thingy
-SD proper marking mag baseplates

-Very well done. - alex

[p.phresh]

Good read and very informative... especially the effort towards metal slides and barrel compatibility.

There's another reason you'll want to upgrade to a steel or metal mag-catch. Constant reloading of the mags will cause the plastic part to deteriorate and fail. This in turn reduces gas efficiency when the space between the gas output port and the loading nozzle increases and not delivering all the gas to the BB and BBU. The use of a larger/extended mag will only speed up this deterioration in stock plastic parts.


I also wanted to add my experience with the 5ku steel sights and the Silverback slide mounted dot sight on my G17:

- 5ku Steel Night Sights: fit in my Shooter's Design slide with some minor filing (which is quite common when you're trying to fit metal sights on a metal slide), and held the BBU in place perfectly (provided you didn't only file down one side of the rear sight to fit).

- Silverback slide mounted optics: fits with very minor filing to fit (literally a minute or less of filing to get it to fit). It should be noted that the adapter is made to fit real-steel docter sights and docter sight clones. I had to file down the front nubs on top to make it fit my NCStar Dot Sight.



And also my other experience with other parts:
- Real steel Magloc thumbrest: Fits, no modification to the part or gun is necessary. All included hardware was included to make it fit, directly from the manufacturer. Due to TM's design being slightly wider than its real steel counterpart, the thumbrest is stretched a little bit so it doesn't sit flat against the back of the grip. You can add something in between the thumbrest and the grip to keep it completely stable. I added 2 small layers of velcro to get it to sit perfectly without movement.

- This thumbrest will help with gun control during consecutive shots and will help you place your hand on the grip consistently in the same place, which will help muscle memory and accuracy. Only drawback... when you use a 1911, you'll place your thumb on the safety. lol


- Magpul Speedplates: Perfect replacement part for the mag base plates. Ensures faster and positive reloads and helps to protect your mag if it hits the ground. Only issue is gassing up the mag while these are on... nearly impossible. I suggest disabling the baseplate locking feature so it can slide down so the input valve can be easily accessed.

You could also look into:
-hop up rubbers
-hop up units


And also a quick question:
Does anyone know if the piston head/cup for the hi-capa/1911 will fit the G17? And same with the floating valve?

[e-luder]

Originally Posted by p.phresh

There's another reason you'll want to upgrade to a steel or metal mag-catch. Constant reloading of the mags will cause the plastic part to deteriorate and fail. This in turn reduces gas efficiency when the space between the gas output port and the loading nozzle increases and not delivering all the gas to the BB and BBU. The use of a larger/extended mag will only speed up this deterioration in stock plastic parts.

While this i find to be true, its also worth noting that the metal based/steel based magazine catch can alternatively were down the magazine catch groove on your magazine. And thus causes the same effect as described above. The reason why the magazine catch is made of plastic is because its easier and more maliable when in contact with the magazine than the the aforementioned upgrade parts. Which means it will preserve that groove much longer.

And also a quick question:
Does anyone know if the piston head/cup for the hi-capa/1911 will fit the G17?

There are piston head sets that accomodate both hi-capa/ 1911 and G17's. Element makes one but its more geared towards the hi-capa rather than the G17 as the O-ring provides a tighter seal than ones made specifically for the G17 muzzle. Sorry I can't comment on the floating valve as I have not tried this experiment.

[e-luder]

Originally Posted by Freeze

You missed one upgrade. This:

!?
What...in the hell?
Do these give you auto-aim and immortality?

[slink182]

Originally Posted by e-luder

!?
What...in the hell?
Do these give you auto-aim and immortality?

Not quite. They give you the following abilities:

+1 to charisma (only with other Homeboys)
-5 to Intelligence
Ability to wear ballcap sideways and not properly seated

[Antigen]

Wow, extremely informative post, wish I had found this earlier! I have invested/acquired almost all of my chosen upgrades for my TM 18c, but I am hoping someone can help me locate the one final part I need. Here is what I have for upgrades so far: PGC slide, Guarder 150% hammer spring & enhanced loading muzzle, and Guarder steel night sights. The last elusive/important upgrade that I want to get is the Guarder reinforced frame, the stronger plastic frame and metal threading/fitting is a must in my mind. I have tried ordering from ehobby asia but hit a wall and could not recieve them, I am going through dispute issues currently but I was hoping that someone could refer me to somebody within Canada who sells them or could aqcuire them for me. Any help/information would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[e-luder]

Originally Posted by Antigen

Wow, extremely informative post, wish I had found this earlier! I have invested/acquired almost all of my chosen upgrades for my TM 18c, but I am hoping someone can help me locate the one final part I need. Here is what I have for upgrades so far: PGC slide, Guarder 150% hammer spring & enhanced loading muzzle, and Guarder steel night sights. The last elusive/important upgrade that I want to get is the Guarder reinforced frame, the stronger plastic frame and metal threading/fitting is a must in my mind. I have tried ordering from ehobby asia but hit a wall and could not recieve them, I am going through dispute issues currently but I was hoping that someone could refer me to somebody within Canada who sells them or could aqcuire them for me. Any help/information would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

lower frames are illegal to import. get age verified and i'll tell you where you can get one.

[turok_t]

Here is my experience with the AIP upgrades for both the G17 and G18C. G17 on the left and G18C on the right:



The G18C was a drop in fit with no modifications required. The G17 was a bit more tricky (for me at least).

First the AIP hammer bearing was slightly larger than the stock as shown below. As such, when i pulled the slide back, I felt a bit more resistance as the bearing was larger to be pulled down. However, Im using a guarder slide which may be sitting lower compared to the stock slide. In the end, I modified a bit off the blow back housing to reduce the resistance to accomodate the larger bearing. Now I can feel little to no resistance when racking the slide back.




The second issue with the AIP G17 upgrade parts was the sear. As shown below, the raised tabs that the trigger disengages and releases the hammer. A close inspection at both parts reveal that the stock sear has a ramp while the AIP counterpart is rounded. This resulted in a harder trigger pull as the trigger stirrup had to negotiate over the rounded edge as opposed to the ramp. This was a easy fix though.



The last issue that was really bizzarre was the fact the the AIP G17 hammer set came with two (2) valve knockers that didn't quite work. I tried installing both of them and they were light striking the magazine valve and the blow back was weak. However, swapping them out with the SD valve knocker worked much better, blowback was more consistent and harder.

[e-luder]

Originally Posted by turok_t

Here is my experience with the AIP upgrades for both the G17 and G18C. G17 on the left and G18C on the right:



The G18C was a drop in fit with no modifications required. The G17 was a bit more tricky (for me at least).

First the AIP hammer bearing was slightly larger than the stock as shown below. As such, when i pulled the slide back, I felt a bit more resistance as the bearing was larger to be pulled down. However, Im using a guarder slide which may be sitting lower compared to the stock slide. In the end, I modified a bit off the blow back housing to reduce the resistance to accomodate the larger bearing. Now I can feel little to no resistance when racking the slide back.




The second issue with the AIP G17 upgrade parts was the sear. As shown below, the raised tabs that the trigger disengages and releases the hammer. A close inspection at both parts reveal that the stock sear has a ramp while the AIP counterpart is rounded. This resulted in a harder trigger pull as the trigger stirrup had to negotiate over the rounded edge as opposed to the ramp. This was a easy fix though.



The last issue that was really bizzarre was the fact the the AIP G17 hammer set came with two (2) valve knockers that didn't quite work. I tried installing both of them and they were light striking the magazine valve and the blow back was weak. However, swapping them out with the SD valve knocker worked much better, blowback was more consistent and harder.

This is very interesting and loving the different perspective.
My hammer bearing wasn't as troublesome. I find that once you grease it up it dramatically increases the fluidity of the blowback. I didn't have to mod anything and didn't cause any wear on my BBU. I found that once greased up, it performed just like the stock bearing. But this is very interesting indeed.

I installed a smaller bearing on my set just to be safe though.

How did you find the G18c's version in terms of performance? Was your knocker troublesome as well?

[turok_t]

The G18C's trigger/hammer set was perfect. Complete drop in and no difficulties/modding needed for the valve knocker..

For the AIP G17 bearing, did you grease up the outside of the bearing or did you use bearing oils for the balls in the bearing?

[e-luder]

Originally Posted by turok_t

The G18C's trigger/hammer set was perfect. Complete drop in and no difficulties/modding needed for the valve knocker..

For the AIP G17 bearing, did you grease up the outside of the bearing or did you use bearing oils for the balls in the bearing?

i had to use oil based lubricants to get inside. the grease that i was using was a bit thick and caused a little friction when the bearing spun. put it a small amount in an eye dropper and off it went.

although i agree with you. that aip bearing is bigger than it needs to. i replaced it with an 8mm bearing to avoid future damage.

[e-luder]

Just Tried the A+ Reaps on the G17.

Yeah. It's ok. Did sorta increase the range but didn't do much for accuracy. The only thing cool about it is that I gained about 15 to 25 additional FPS.

Anybody else?

[p.phresh]

did you use .20g bbs? Does it work with 0.20g bbs?

[e-luder]

i was using my old bag of Excel .25's. Gained about 17 meters from a 20 meter target clearance. Power was boosted from a stock G17 (no upgrades) 275Fps to top out around 306fps on those .25's. I fitted the TK Twist on it gained a few increments on FPS.

Accuracy wise, the thing had a slight improvement and made my groupings tighter maybe around 4-6cm closer to each other from 20 meters with the stock inner barrel. The TK Twist didn't really make a difference based on my observations. Although, others may have a different experience altogether.

and yes it will work with 20s. Tried it but accuracy on .20s is poor at 25 meters. So I switch to 25's. I think they did tests with .20s on youtube if want a better example.