Paintball

[4G010H3R0]

Originally Posted by Phoenix01

This is really good to know. I would really like to pick up the techt bolt for my freaked TPX but didn't know if it would play nice with the inserts. Also, when you upgraded the bolt did you leave the stock spring in or are you using one from the TechT spring kit?

well Ill be honest. The smaller inserts have changed the shaped of my bolt tip a bit. The first case I put through it made a weird "squaking" noise. I just made sure to lube it all the time. It stopped eventually though and now its always ready to rock. Bolt never gets stuck or anything.

Im still using the stock spring. I did switch to the techt springs for a bit but could never get them to work properly. I got chops when I used them but that could be due to user error. I was sick of taking the tpx apart so just got rid of the springs.

Originally Posted by PistolRogue

For more cheap/effective TPX mods, see the link in my sig. Ultimately though, if you want a pistol that's reliable across pretty much any field paint you can feed it- I have to say to look for a Zeus. I honestly cannot recall over the past 3 years having ever chopped a ball with mine.

Well my "Now" TPX is still one I got from you with a few tweaks. Ive only broke paint inside the breach once.. and that was in the heavy rain and to be fair the paint literally dimpled after the first game I brought it out.(you could make a snow man with them)

I will agree with you on the zeus tho. Shot quite a bit through one and I dont recall any chops but then again it hasnt seen half the action my TPX has or an 50'th the action my T8 has.

[kospauste]

Does anyone have any advice for tuning with the TechT bolt in a TiPX and stock spring? I installed one in my gun and it breaks paint 1 out of every three shots. I switched paint brands, still the same issue. Swapped back in the stock bolt and the breaking improved to about one in every three magazines. I've checked velocity, Co2 consistency and I use a Lapco .687 TPX barrel.

The one odd thing is that the oring that seats into the breach block to act as a bumper for the bolt gets caught in the spring after firing. Would removing that cause an operational issue?

[Venarius]

Did you lower your velocity at chrono AFTER installing TechT bolt?. I've read fps jumps up about 50 fps when switching to the [lighter] tech t bolt. If your shooting 330 instead of 280 fps, that would be causing your breaks right there.

Another tip I've learned with my TiPX... the longer the balls sit in the mag, the more likely they'll be to break. I load all 4 of my mags in the beginning of the day, and then if I haven't used them by mid-day, I re-load the mags with fresh paintballs. This lowered breaks for me.

I have an MRX bolt on order, so we'll see how it compares when I get it.

[4G010H3R0]

Originally Posted by kospauste

Does anyone have any advice for tuning with the TechT bolt in a TiPX and stock spring? I installed one in my gun and it breaks paint 1 out of every three shots. I switched paint brands, still the same issue. Swapped back in the stock bolt and the breaking improved to about one in every three magazines. I've checked velocity, Co2 consistency and I use a Lapco .687 TPX barrel.

The one odd thing is that the oring that seats into the breach block to act as a bumper for the bolt gets caught in the spring after firing. Would removing that cause an operational issue?

are you 100% that is a TPX barrel? does it say TPX on it? Ive read that Barrels that are not for the TPX sometimes cause issues(not entirely sure why but have read that somewhere.)
I wouldnt remove that bumper. I actually milled my block a bit so the O-ring sits deeper and glued mine into place to prevent it from moving around. Its there till I tear it off.

Originally Posted by Venarius

Did you lower your velocity at chrono AFTER installing TechT bolt?. I've read fps jumps up about 50 fps when switching to the [lighter] tech t bolt. If your shooting 330 instead of 280 fps, that would be causing your breaks right there.

Another tip I've learned with my TiPX... the longer the balls sit in the mag, the more likely they'll be to break. I load all 4 of my mags in the beginning of the day, and then if I haven't used them by mid-day, I re-load the mags with fresh paintballs. This lowered breaks for me.

I have an MRX bolt on order, so we'll see how it compares when I get it.

Well to be fair the TPX can handle FPS over 550. Ive shot 3 or 4 mags through mine doing well over 500fps and still didnt break paint(in the barrel or marker itself but it did break on target-which was a tree not a person).
I shoot only higher end stuff(graffiti and up). I never break paint in my breech when I buy quality/new paint but when I buy "crap" paint it will break and often(in the marker). So I stopped buying it
I dont think Ive ever had a "bouce" on someone with my TPX either I missed or I got you. Now when I first got my T8 I used "rec ball entry" paint and I got bounces galore.


Like said before though I dont load more then the mags I will need for each game because the mags still do "compress" the paint and if its hot or wet it will ruin the balls in the mag. Made this mistake at a big game a few months ago.

14 mags all loaded. It rained for about 10 minutes. All of the paint was stuck together. 12 strings of paint caterpillars.

[Venarius]

Ive read that Barrels that are not for the TPX sometimes cause issues (not entirely sure why but have read that somewhere.)

Because the bolt is designed to basically enter the barrel when shooting. Aftermarket barrels not designed with that in mind might extend too far 'past the threads' resulting in the bolt actually slamming metal into barrel end... not good for either. This is also why bores smaller than ~.687 (barrel inserts?) also tend to inflict damage on the marker.

Well to be fair the TPX can handle FPS over 550. Ive shot 3 or 4 mags through mine doing well over 500fps and still didnt break paint.

People notice more breaks when their chronoing high - across the board regardless of paint or marker.

I noted the supposed increase in FPS in a TPX when switching to a lighter [TechT] bolt.

Ergo, make sure you re-chrono after installing bolt.

Paintballs themselves are designed and tested for ~300 fps performance.

Paintballs [if they were] designed to shoot at 500fps will inherently have harder shells [to withstand the increased impact/acceleration reliably], leading to more bounces @ 300 fps.

You can shoot at higher fps, your paint might even survive...

But if your wondering why your breaking paint...

That's the first place I'd look.

[808Jackal]

I got the Tech T bolt matched with the stock barrel as well and shot 316 first few shots. Blew the paint into spray on the 2nd ball. I adjusted the velocity and have been shooting Valken Infinity with lots of success.

Fragile paint is very unhappy in a TPX. Sadly I get a lot of bounces when I really need the eliminations. Played last weekend shot 5 people only took one out. I'm going to try smaller more fragile paint next but I heard that the stock barrel is pretty small as is. Anyone know the bore size?

[kospauste]

100% sure. I appreciate the insight guys. I will pull it apart and try again.



[QUOTE=4G010H3R0;2532600]are you 100% that is a TPX barrel? does it say TPX on it? Ive read that Barrels that are not for the TPX sometimes cause issues(not entirely sure why but have read that somewhere.)
I wouldnt remove that bumper. I actually milled my block a bit so the O-ring sits deeper and glued mine into place to prevent it from moving around. Its there till I tear it off.

[Justus]

Are there any problems using the TechT iFit kit for the TPX? It would be specifically made for the TPX and therefore shouldn't have any problems with small inserts and the bolt, right?

[PistolRogue]

The I-fit kits have a generous lead-in chamfer that keeps the bolt (stock or MRT) from catching even with smaller sizes. The trade-off is they don't have the length of a Freak insert, so efficiency may be somewhat reduced compared to what you could get with a Freak.

[agentSmith]

Originally Posted by kospauste

Does anyone have any advice for tuning with the TechT bolt in a TiPX and stock spring? I installed one in my gun and it breaks paint 1 out of every three shots. I switched paint brands, still the same issue. Swapped back in the stock bolt and the breaking improved to about one in every three magazines. I've checked velocity, Co2 consistency and I use a Lapco .687 TPX barrel.

The one odd thing is that the oring that seats into the breach block to act as a bumper for the bolt gets caught in the spring after firing. Would removing that cause an operational issue?

Yep it would, I'd leave it in there. I'm wondering about the body of your pistol and your spring. There's a flange inside that when the body is together holds that oring pretty well. Are you sure it's not going there as you take the pistol apart or put it together? The only way that oring could come unseated is either the body flange is messed up or the spring is bent slightly and is porpoising the oring out of there. If it's the spring catching, that could also cause your breakage as the return stroke is delayed giving the next ball time to get snugged up against the bolt before having the oring groove of the boltfront dragged over it.
Most breech breaks in a tipx are cause by bolt bounce. The bolt returns to the rear after firing and bounces forward breaking the next ball in as it comes up, the ball then sits in your breech broken waiting for you to pull the trigger to find out you're bummed.
What stops this bounce is 2 things, the spring and the bumper. The original bumpers that were delivered to Tippmann were 'not good'(he said sarcastically). The bumper should absorb shock not magnify it and reflect it in a bounce.
The spring holds the bolt against the bumper. Weaker springs like the TechTs intended to increase efficiency actually increase bolt bounce and have the side effect of causing the bolt to jam forward more often in breaks as they have less strength to push the bolt back out of the breech when it's clogged by shell.

My advice is not a sure thing, but won't cost too much to try. I would go online to TippmannParts and order a new spring and bumper. My bet is that you'll find the spring you get in the mail is longer than the one you have.
There are a couple of home remedies.
IF you're comfortable gently holding the spring you have and stretching it a 1/4" or so, that's something you can try. You could also try coating the bumper on both sides with the Tippmann Grease. That's a warm weather trick, in the cold you may find it works better for a bit then not at all as ice builds up.
The only other culprit I've seen for breakage at the level you describe is a bent trigger pin inside the small block on the side of the valve. You can pull this out and roll it on a smooth flat surface to see if it wobbles any.
While I don't change this pin on a cycle, I do keep spares on hand always. Because I'll pour a case through a tipx in six hours of play rain or shine, I have a problem with shooting the pistol dry. I've literally cleaned all the lube out of a pistol by lunchtime.

I shoot alot and replace both spring and bumper automatically when each tipx reaches the 4 case mark. Remember springs and bumpers are temporary, like wipers on your car, even good ones slowly get compressed and wear out.

Hope that helps!
Rob