FEATURE
MCX DREM BUILD
option fitted.
The work is not yet done
though! Moving onto the
compression side, we’ll be
installing a new CYMA FMR
piston, Lonex POM ported
piston head, Lonex double
O-ring aluminium cylinder
head and a 70D Air-Pad for
AOE correction. The main
goal here is to replace the
OEM components with
more durable aftermarket
analogs and improve the FPS
consistency – a
key facet of
maintaining
tight groups
and accuracy.
While
CYMA is not
especially known for being “high
end” (and even “mid-tier” might
be debatable), their FMR pistons
are a true diamond in the rough.
I have not yet managed to break
one of these in all the years I have
been using them. I’ve even had
one outlast a Siegetek DSG sector
on a 70 RPS build! Truly amazing
pistons. These require
some preparation
before use, however.
The flimsy piston
head and heavy
weight they come
equipped with out
of the packaging
will be discarded.
The rack is
removed from
the piston body
and will have
the 2nd from
last tooth
removed
for
AOE
correction
and three teeth
removed up front for
the short stroking modification. Lastly,
the rack will be epoxied in place and
the piston body “swiss-cheesed”
for some weight reduction.
The Lonex
POM piston
head will be
installed with
the bearings
removed for
further weight
reduction.
On the Lonex double O-ring
aluminium cylinder head, the stock
rubber pad is removed and
replaced with a 3/16″ 70D
Gen. 2 Air Pad. These are a
superior grade material to
the more common Sorbo
pads and do not take on a
set over time either. They’ve
well-proven themselves to
stand up to the rigors of even
the most aggressive builds.
VFC tappet plates are
somewhat infamous for
being brittle and prematurely
breaking. The newest type
are moderately improved,
but still benefit from a high
quality tappet plate that’s not
going to break anytime soon.
My preference is for the ASG
Ultimate series tappet plates
as they have excellent quality
control, fit and finish and also
secure most air
nozzles quite
well.
Now that
we are done
configuring
the gearbox,
we can
lubricate the
components
with Super Lube synthetic
grease, taking care not to over-
lubricate for the sake of the
optical sensors on the TITAN
and close the shell up!
FAST IS FINE BUT
ACCURACY IS
FINAL
The final component of
the Wolf Mod upgrade
will be to upgrade
the barrel and hop up
components.
I’ve largely
switched all custom
builds entirely
over to Lambda
One barrels. These
are 6.01 diameter
bores made from
cold forged SUS304
stainless steel and
finished out to
within 1 micron
of straightness.
Surprisingly, they
are equivalent in
cost to Prometheus but with a much-
improved hop up window cut and have
demonstrably superior accuracy and are
daresay (sacrilege!) on par with the top tier
PDI and EdGI offerings.
A quality barrel is only as good as the
work done on the hop up side, however, so
that’s where an R-Hop installation comes
into play. An R-Hop is a handmade contact
patch that fits into the hop up window of
the inner barrel and provides a dramatic
increase in surface area contact with the
BB. You will see a marked improvement in
range with an R-Hop, especially when used
in conjunction with heavyweight BBs. The
best part is an R-Hop will last indefinitely. I
have personal examples well in excess of a
decade of use without fail.
An R-Hop requires that one take a
conventional bucking and “flat hop” it.
This consists of removing the inner mound
via careful sanding to obtain a perfectly
flat surface. Here the excellent Prometheus
purple bucking steps in for modification.
The Prometheus purple is also a great
choice for an all-weather bucking; that is
to say, it does well in both hot and cold
climates.
AND FINALLY
The last component will be to upgrade the
hop up chamber. By design, the MCX will
only accept a rotary style chamber, but the
available options pare down significantly
due to a restriction on the height of the
hop up arm area. Some MCX owners
have also remarked that the MCX is a bit
unforgiving on magazine selection, which
is partly due to the feed nozzle height on
the VFC hop up chamber. Owing to all of
the above, we will be using the MAXX ME
Pro rotary hop up chamber. The MAXX
chamber has a CNC milled construction
and uses a true “top down center” style
hop up arm assembly. It is, in fact, purpose
built with R-Hops in mind. Thus, it is a
perfect accompaniment to this setup. AA
SPECIFICATIONS
Lambda One 6.01 SUS3034 stainless steel inner barrel
MAXX ME Pro rotary hop up chamber
Prometheus purple bucking
R-Hop w/M-Nub
Lonex double O-ring aluminium cylinder head
3/16″ 70D Gen. 2 Air Pad
Lonex POM ported piston head
CYMA FMR piston, AOE corrected and swiss-cheesed
ASG Ultimate tappet plate
SHS 13.65:1 ratio gearset, short stroked 3 teeth
Retro Arms 9mm bushings
ASG Infinity 22k Neodymium motor
Gate TITAN Advanced (front wired)
www.airsoft-action.online
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