toothpastedog
08-14-2004, 02:27 PM
There seems to be a lot of confusion about internal weight now-a-days, so I hope this post will help clear all of it up.
First, one should know what his or her internals weight is. You can find out from the Impulse FAQ (http://www.kamworld.net/paintball/ImpulseFAQ_Upgrades.html#U22). Also, if you know your internal weight in grams, the conversion factor is 1 gram to every 15.43236 grains, just because I will talk about internal weigh in grains because that is what I am more familiar with. You will notice on the Impulse FAQ section about internal weights, they do not list how much the valve in the impulse actually weighs; well, that is because you don’t need to know. Never factor the weight of the actual valve into the equation when you are trying to balance your internals.
Now, what weight should your internals weigh?
-Well, if you read all of the Impulse FAQ, you would know that Craig/FOM suggests that your internals weigh no more than 1300grains and no less than 1100 grains. Well this very is true (strangely enough), but it is really only true for the stock boards (non-vision and vision), and for the stock valve. With a stock impulse, or any impulse with a stock board and valve, you don’t want to have internals that way any less than 1100 because the stock valve, which is held shut by 100-200psi and the force of a spring, won’t be hit with enough force to open it. Since your valve won’t be open enough less air will get to the paintball making your velocity drop drastically. Then again, an internal weight with a stock valve and board over 1300 (even though the stock impulse’s internals weigh 1526 grains) will make you gun have a lot more kick than it “needs” to have (which is why the stock impulse have more kick than upgraded ones even when their dwell and input(s) are set correctly).
Why have I kept on specifying about an impulse with stock valve this and stock board that?
-Well, because the stock boards (vision and non vision) don’t take advantage of lighter internals (because, in theory, the lighter the internals, the less time it take them to cycle, which means the gun would shoot faster with lighter internals). The WAS Equalizer board actually is programmed to “see” (it “sees” the bolt move back and forth through the use of it’s breach sensor setup and times the gun to shoot as fast as it take your internals to cycle), how fast you gun can shoot and then automatically program it accordingly. With lighter internals, the WAS board actually shoot the gun faster than with heavier or stock internals. With a WAS board, I have found that a stubby bolt, Titanium bolt pin (I don’t suggest delrin bolt pins because they can sometimes break in half), Silk Shot ram (even though it weights like 25 grains more than the stock, it has a much slicker finish that lets it move faster, make the gun more efficient, and reduces fsdo), and the lightest hammer you can find (I normally just suggest the stock hammer just because it is one of the lightest there are and will work quite well for the job).
Okay, now I get the lighter internals part, but what about the stock valve part?
-Well, the stock valve has a very big, and very un-aero dynamic face, which is held shut/sealed by 100-200psi of opposing pressure as well as a pretty strong spring. Even with the spring removed, just that 100-200psi of force holding the valve shut makes it relatively hard to open it. That has a couple repercussions. First, if you use an lpr, your output to the solenoid cannot be anything less than about 65psi (which is still enough force to make the bolt chop, something an lpr setup is meant to help reduce) because anything less wouldn’t give the hammer enough force to hit, and open, the valve. It also means that your internals cannot weigh less than 1100 or else there won’t be enough force/mass hitting the valve to get it open enough for enough air to reach/shoot the paintball. So, with a valve that has a much small and more aero dynamic face as well as a lighter spring holding it shut, that valve will be able to work with internals that weight 100-300 less grains that your normal 1100-1300 suggested internal weight. That valve that I was just describing, it is called the Impulse R.I.P. High Flow Angled Port Valve (http://www.newdesignz.com/Impulse_5.htm) made by New Designz.
So, the best total internal weight (only, as usual, taking into account the ram, hammer, pin, and bolt) for any impulse with a stock valve, and/or any stock vision or non-vision board is about 1200 grains (or any where from 1100-1300grains).
The best total internal weight (only, as usual, taking into account the ram, hammer, pin, and bolt) for any impulse with a rip valve and/or any stock vision or non-vision board is ay where from 1000-1200 grain.
The best total internal weight (only, as usual, taking into account the ram, hammer, pin, and bolt) for any impulse with a WAS board, and any valve is about 900-1100 grains, with as much weight centered on the hammer and ram (meaning find the lightest bolt and bolt pin you can find while still using a relatively light hammer like the stock hammer).
Just as a note, NO TWO IMPULSES ACT THE SAME. This being said, what I have just describe as the “prefect” internal weights, might not be exactly correct for you impulse. You might need to fool around with the weights a little, and find out what fits your impulse best (which is one of the reasons the margins between the suggested grains were normally about 200grains). Don’t take everything I have said as concrete for you and your gun, but do use it as a guide line when trying to find the best internal setup for you impulse. Good luck, and don’t shoot yourself in the foot!
Another note, all the internal weights I have been talking about are for perfectly fine tuning your impulse. You do not need to do this to have a gun/ an impulse that amazes you as far as its performance is concerned. Anything from 1100-1600 will work fine on any impulse. Don’t worry about getting the internal weight perfect, it is the last thing you should worry about-just stick to worrying about tuning your lpr, dwell, and input pressure for now ;).
UPDATE:
Why does a brass hammer increase your velocity?
-Well, the brass hammer doesn't actually do anything no its own except lowering the max cps the gun can do. how ever, to get that heavier hammer to move fast like the lighter stock one, you need to increase the pressure driving it. that means that it will hit the valve harder; thus opening it more and letting more air out. so yous see, the brass hammer=velocity increase is kinda of a allusion, it is the increase in velocity that really does it.
First, one should know what his or her internals weight is. You can find out from the Impulse FAQ (http://www.kamworld.net/paintball/ImpulseFAQ_Upgrades.html#U22). Also, if you know your internal weight in grams, the conversion factor is 1 gram to every 15.43236 grains, just because I will talk about internal weigh in grains because that is what I am more familiar with. You will notice on the Impulse FAQ section about internal weights, they do not list how much the valve in the impulse actually weighs; well, that is because you don’t need to know. Never factor the weight of the actual valve into the equation when you are trying to balance your internals.
Now, what weight should your internals weigh?
-Well, if you read all of the Impulse FAQ, you would know that Craig/FOM suggests that your internals weigh no more than 1300grains and no less than 1100 grains. Well this very is true (strangely enough), but it is really only true for the stock boards (non-vision and vision), and for the stock valve. With a stock impulse, or any impulse with a stock board and valve, you don’t want to have internals that way any less than 1100 because the stock valve, which is held shut by 100-200psi and the force of a spring, won’t be hit with enough force to open it. Since your valve won’t be open enough less air will get to the paintball making your velocity drop drastically. Then again, an internal weight with a stock valve and board over 1300 (even though the stock impulse’s internals weigh 1526 grains) will make you gun have a lot more kick than it “needs” to have (which is why the stock impulse have more kick than upgraded ones even when their dwell and input(s) are set correctly).
Why have I kept on specifying about an impulse with stock valve this and stock board that?
-Well, because the stock boards (vision and non vision) don’t take advantage of lighter internals (because, in theory, the lighter the internals, the less time it take them to cycle, which means the gun would shoot faster with lighter internals). The WAS Equalizer board actually is programmed to “see” (it “sees” the bolt move back and forth through the use of it’s breach sensor setup and times the gun to shoot as fast as it take your internals to cycle), how fast you gun can shoot and then automatically program it accordingly. With lighter internals, the WAS board actually shoot the gun faster than with heavier or stock internals. With a WAS board, I have found that a stubby bolt, Titanium bolt pin (I don’t suggest delrin bolt pins because they can sometimes break in half), Silk Shot ram (even though it weights like 25 grains more than the stock, it has a much slicker finish that lets it move faster, make the gun more efficient, and reduces fsdo), and the lightest hammer you can find (I normally just suggest the stock hammer just because it is one of the lightest there are and will work quite well for the job).
Okay, now I get the lighter internals part, but what about the stock valve part?
-Well, the stock valve has a very big, and very un-aero dynamic face, which is held shut/sealed by 100-200psi of opposing pressure as well as a pretty strong spring. Even with the spring removed, just that 100-200psi of force holding the valve shut makes it relatively hard to open it. That has a couple repercussions. First, if you use an lpr, your output to the solenoid cannot be anything less than about 65psi (which is still enough force to make the bolt chop, something an lpr setup is meant to help reduce) because anything less wouldn’t give the hammer enough force to hit, and open, the valve. It also means that your internals cannot weigh less than 1100 or else there won’t be enough force/mass hitting the valve to get it open enough for enough air to reach/shoot the paintball. So, with a valve that has a much small and more aero dynamic face as well as a lighter spring holding it shut, that valve will be able to work with internals that weight 100-300 less grains that your normal 1100-1300 suggested internal weight. That valve that I was just describing, it is called the Impulse R.I.P. High Flow Angled Port Valve (http://www.newdesignz.com/Impulse_5.htm) made by New Designz.
So, the best total internal weight (only, as usual, taking into account the ram, hammer, pin, and bolt) for any impulse with a stock valve, and/or any stock vision or non-vision board is about 1200 grains (or any where from 1100-1300grains).
The best total internal weight (only, as usual, taking into account the ram, hammer, pin, and bolt) for any impulse with a rip valve and/or any stock vision or non-vision board is ay where from 1000-1200 grain.
The best total internal weight (only, as usual, taking into account the ram, hammer, pin, and bolt) for any impulse with a WAS board, and any valve is about 900-1100 grains, with as much weight centered on the hammer and ram (meaning find the lightest bolt and bolt pin you can find while still using a relatively light hammer like the stock hammer).
Just as a note, NO TWO IMPULSES ACT THE SAME. This being said, what I have just describe as the “prefect” internal weights, might not be exactly correct for you impulse. You might need to fool around with the weights a little, and find out what fits your impulse best (which is one of the reasons the margins between the suggested grains were normally about 200grains). Don’t take everything I have said as concrete for you and your gun, but do use it as a guide line when trying to find the best internal setup for you impulse. Good luck, and don’t shoot yourself in the foot!
Another note, all the internal weights I have been talking about are for perfectly fine tuning your impulse. You do not need to do this to have a gun/ an impulse that amazes you as far as its performance is concerned. Anything from 1100-1600 will work fine on any impulse. Don’t worry about getting the internal weight perfect, it is the last thing you should worry about-just stick to worrying about tuning your lpr, dwell, and input pressure for now ;).
UPDATE:
Why does a brass hammer increase your velocity?
-Well, the brass hammer doesn't actually do anything no its own except lowering the max cps the gun can do. how ever, to get that heavier hammer to move fast like the lighter stock one, you need to increase the pressure driving it. that means that it will hit the valve harder; thus opening it more and letting more air out. so yous see, the brass hammer=velocity increase is kinda of a allusion, it is the increase in velocity that really does it.