[Leo Greer]

What do you mean ? Are you saying that there are MP5s that are M4 HopUp compatible ? And as for build I'd summerize it as compact DMR, with ocassional full auto on top of it. Want a M170 or M180 spring in there, that's like over 600fps measured with .2s but I will be blasting .36bbs.

The Maxx is an M4 hop unit. I’m saying to find an HK rifle that you like that also takes M4 units. They’re much easier to work on and replace than a lot of the proprietary stuff out there for specific models.

For an M170-180 you’re looking at some serious work and investment. I hesitate to even try and recommend parts, since they’re almost guaranteed to break sooner rather than later, so there’s no real good suggestion here. At that point, on a full stroke setup, you’re breaking the “upgrade” V2 gearboxes, you’re breaking your piston, you’re shattering your piston head, you’re breaking your tappet plate, stuff like that. Oh, and very possibly your bushings as well. Spring guide too. Basically anything that even comes into contact with the spring’s energy upon release.

In summary, we can probably sniff out a parts list that‘ll at least fire it once or twice, but on that third shot there will be no guarantees. The most I‘ve ever used past 1000 rounds was an M160, and that was a terrible idea.

 

[Leo Greer]

I’ll also point out that higher FPS can actually negatively affect accuracy (In certain scenarios). The BB is flying much faster, and experiences exponentially larger air resistance as it flies. Thus more propensity for deviation. The most accurate replica I’ve ever built only did 2j, which I feel is a very good sweet spot for AEG DMRs, since you can still be free with your choice of parts. Or at least, freer than when you go past an M130 spring.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Airsoft has vague to no tolerance specs, with different companies doing different things, and those companies rarely sticking to the same sizes. The trouble with MAXX is that while they do make the best hop chambers, they are the only guys with tight tolerances, which is good if every manufacturer follows those dimensions well, but they don't, so you will have varying luck with compatibility due to this. People are too hard on MAXX, as they removed a lot of looseness and all that in a lot of guns, and really most of the problems come from there being no hard standards, and batches from most companies varying a bit. It's pretty much impossible to make a chamber or really any part that is the best thing possible, while remaining compatible with everything. With minor DIY stuff you can make a lot of chambers at good as a MAXX, with maybe half an hour and $5 in stuff you may already have.

Pretty irritating if you come from "building" Glocks, ARs, 1911s, or anything else where "significant modification" is a little sanding or filing, or may simply involve racking or shooting the gun a few hundred times to wear in high spots. Part of the "fun" of airsoft, I'm sure we'd come to miss it if this was ever fixed.

 

[Leo Greer]

Just so y’all know, it’s not my intent to rag on Maxx. There’s nothing wrong with the parts themselves for the most part (certain batches of hop units have been known to have tolerance issues on the feed tubes, causing issues). As SS pointed out, tolerances are absolutely everywhere, so when parts have tight tolerances, they start to exclude other parts from the list of compatibles. For example, Prometheus makes a perfect TM spec hop unit that works great… but only if everything else is TM spec, which it’s almost never, unless you have a TM or a true G&P. Then they make their general spec unit, which works everywhere, mostly. You see what I mean?

The kicker for me is that I can take a hop unit that costs way less, and through some work I can make it just as good as the Maxx at hopping BBs without the compatibility issues. Or as many issues.

The features like BB retention and the clear window are cool though.

I’ll add that I actually use their nozzles, a cylinder head from them, and one of their hop units which functions great.

 

[SiliconeSword]

The MAXX chambers should be cheaper imo, especially seeing as they're $80 now. The window thing is just for a tracer unit, but it doesn't charge the BBs in your barrel or the first one ready to be shot, so you have to shoot it two times before you get beams. Also drains your main battery, and involves more money and irritating wiring, just better to get a real tracer unit from AliExpress or something for less money.
BB retention, I can take it or leave it. If it knocked off $10-20 I'd ditch it, as you'll never drop that much money in BBs on the ground just from dropping magazines, and it's really unnecessary. Mine fell off twice, and I've had to re glue it both times. If that fell off at a field, you're out however much you spent on the chamber.
The nubs and arms are fine, but it's better to have a pivoting arm with an affixed nub than a TDC style nub for some reason. If they got rid of those features and charged $30-40 I'd be happy, but I'm not gonna recommend the chamber to anybody really, as it requires as much work to make it function properly as any other chamber.

Like mentioned, you're better off modifying a chamber a little bit, and you'll be able to get as good of performance as the MAXX when it's performing at it's best.

The only feature on the MAXX that I really like is the barrel C clip, as it's machined Delrin and provides a very secure lock up compared to all other clips out there. It's not a deal breaker though, you can work around that if you are gentle when you assemble your gun.

 

[Doctor Jest]

Yes to all of the above in short, you've saved me much time typing

 

[airsoftbatbat]

Found this somewhere. Maybe it'll work. 😅

1. Obtain a full metal gearbox AEG with an adjustable hop-up. 2. Replace the stock barrel with a tight-bore barrel. 3. Replace the stock hop-up bucking with a higher-quality bucking. 4. Upgrade the gearbox internals with a reinforced piston, hardened gears, and a reinforced spring. 5. Change the buffer tube to a stubby one and install a crane stock. 6. Install an MP5-style mock suppressor and flash hider. 7. Install a low-profile gas block and rail system. 8. Install a high-torque motor and a better battery. 9. Add a custom paint job and MP5 markings.

 

[Swollen.D]

Much thanks for the ratio guide link, I'll be bookmarking that.
To be honest, since MP5 seems like a weak choice, I will opt for "G3 Shorty" since it's literally MP5 on steroids. Will have to look into different manufacturers and what type of G3 Shorty they offer, from there I'll look into compatibility for the aftermarket parts. Aftermarket parts are not as expensive for me as it is for you guys since I directly buy from factories in China, SHS parts for example nozzle costs 2.25$ each for me, I can just order 4 different size ones and throw all 4 in and see which is better. Same for SHS cnc HopUp chamber it's just 10$ for me, no biggie if it doesn't fit.
As for spring strength I'm not really sure anymore, looking and the shell of G3 shorty from TM looks weak af. I've been spoiled by KWA's new shells, I had stock ronin t6 for a long while that worked well with M150, no cracks, no issues even without radiusing. But for the G3 I guess something like EMG's strong v2 shell will be required but then again, compatibility is questionable.

 

[Leo Greer]

The KWA 2GX shell that your Ronin probably has is known to be one of, if not the strongest shell available, albeit with some annoying proprietary elements.

You can buy direct from factory here in the USA and over in Britain, but shipping usually eats your savings, even on small items, since it’s usually at least $10 to ship to my location personally.

 

[Leo Greer]

The MAXX chambers should be cheaper imo, especially seeing as they're $80 now. The window thing is just for a tracer unit,

I like the window so I can more easily see what the heck my nozzle is doing.

 

[Swollen.D]

The KWA 2GX shell that your Ronin probably has is known to be one of, if not the strongest shell available, albeit with some annoying proprietary elements.

You can buy direct from factory here in the USA and over in Britain, but shipping usually eats your savings, even on small items, since it’s usually at least $10 to ship to my location personally.

For me it's different, it's about package weight, 1kg of package to ship costs 8$ from china, so when I order bulk of small parts like nozzle piston cylinder and such usually cost bit more than 1$ and I don't have to pay import tax, so parts for me are cheap af.

 

[Doctor Jest]

KWA 2GX - they did reinforce all the usual V2 weak spots so it is better than stock. Other notable choices include the Prowin Ultimate and my personal favourite - the Retroarms. It's made from full aircraft aluminium, it's anodised and the main downside is...of course......the price. For the motor, I'd go for the Warhead Ronin but again.....that's a £170 part.

 

[RonSwanson]

OP didn't mention budget, at higher joules most parts become wear susceptible and likely to fail a lot quicker. Honestly consider how much you are willing to chuck at this as gearboxes will crack. Pistons or gears will need replacing. It becomes a war of attrition against your wallet the higher the joules you aim for.

What's your target power in joules? And what's the initial budget and are you willing to keep replacing parts and at what cost?

 

[SiliconeSword]

2.5J with .48g is pretty solid for a DMR or sniper, and above 3J isn't really too much better. Even if you have .5J less, it may be worth doing so and not breaking nearly as much stuff as quickly.

 

[Doctor Jest]

2.5J with .48g is pretty solid for a DMR or sniper, and above 3J isn't really too much better. Even if you have .5J less, it may be worth doing so and not breaking nearly as much stuff as quickly.

At the risk of appearing to not exert a great deal of effort into some posts - also this!!

The difference downrange between 2.5 and 3j is practically nothing.....25-30 fps difference in velocity nets you absolutely no benefit in travel time, and perhaps a few meters (at best) more range but as pointed out elsewhere (VSR thread?) BBs at certain velocities can become unstable due to increased drag. If the OP absolutely MUST have that much power I would strongly suggest a build that includes a bore-up cylinder and/or leverages joule creep to keep the mainspring strength to an absolute minimum.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Yeah, if power were the goal I'd go for a V2.5 gearbox

 

[Leo Greer]

I’ll go ahead and add, the Retroarms V2 shell has been known to have tolerance issues, most notably in the position of the bushing holes. It would be a really big deal with the amount of power you’re looking at. Maybe not all of the shell versions, but some for sure.

Retroarms Bushing Holes

 

[Doctor Jest]

Could be a one off, could be a persistent issue. As usual it's difficult to be sure and might have been addressed. Oh, the joys of airsoft!

 

[Leo Greer]

According to the word of the tech who originally posted my reference thread, support blew him off, and other techs had the same issues… but as you point out—it’s airsoft, who knows!

And that’s according to this guy’s word. I don’t think he has a reason to lie about it, but people are crazy.

 

[Doctor Jest]

I think his assumption that 40000 sets of gears were destroyed is a bit......inaccurate.....but I understand that he's pissed off - I would be in his situation! There are enough techs weighing in with similar issues to make me believe that at some juncture there was a serious manufacturing problem but my main takeaway is:

Thank you Cthulhu, that I live in the UK, I don't need to worry about super-high power builds The more I look into the logistics, the more I realise that every time I hear a positive comment, or read a positive experience about a product, I generally hear or read something negative. Bloody airsoft!