ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

[Capitano_Tomtom]

Hi guys, I know these kinds of questions get thrown around the forum loads but none had the info I was after and I'm not one to hijack threads.

I currently have an ICS M4 sport line I picked up cheap and have so far placed a 455mm 6.03 madbull v2 in, a TM hop rubber and the upgraded ICS upper gearbox with the oversize cylinder and M120. She's currently outputting around 400fps on a 0.2 and is surprisingly accurate for an AEG.

However the hop doesn't seem to be having the greatest of effects, probably due to it being a soft rubber?

Therefore can anyone advise on a decent hard hop rubber to use? Wouldn't mind having it up to 500fps (yes both my locals allow it) but I also don't want to have to spend silly money with gears and MOSFET.

I can place in an M130 to give me another 30-40fps but want to look after the lower GB. I reckon the air seal is pretty good too.


Currently running a stock lower GB fine, the ICS Infinity motor is more than capable on a 9.6v NI-mh. (not interested in lipos at the moment, would prefer other methods.

Can anyone also advise on any replacement hop units they may have been have to shoehorn in? (yes I'm aware that ICS love to be unique, but I also know people have done it in the past)

Cheers for any help,
Tom

[westywesty84]

Re: ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

Ideally you want to be using something like a madbull red (i think) hop. And if your wanting to run 500fps, then you really need a set of high torque gears and a Systema Magnum (Or equivelent, cant rememebr what there called though).

As for hop unit im not too sure...ill have a little search an see if i come up with anything.

Why do you want to avoid lipo mate?

[Capitano_Tomtom]

I was leaning towards the MB reds, but a lot of people say good things about firefly hard rubbers too.

Yeah, something along the lines of an SHS high torque motor with 36:1 gears would be fine.

Im reluctant to use lipos mainly because I don't know enough about them and I have plenty of NI-mh batteries that work fine. The charger is an old 1997 ripmax pro-peak and it's fine, still on the first fuse, so I'm reluctant to replace them when they give me exactly what I need. Trigger response is still okay, which is what I think people choose lipos for. (correct me if I'm wrong please)

Is a MOSFET with AB crucial to a 500fps AEG? The ICS has a working forward assist so is this necessary really?

I've heard of prowin chambers fitting, I'm not adverse to a bit of DIY, but it would be getting the feeding spot on.

[wookie]

Re: ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

surely you must have to lock it to semi if your running 500fps? in which case you will need a programmable mosfet, i know everyone is buying raptors at the moment (including myself). And i wouldnt advise running 500fps on the stock gears and motor.

[westywesty84]

Re: ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

ill check out prowin for ya mate.

Theres not a lot to know about lipo, ICS actively market there stuff that they can take 11.1 comfortably, a MOSFET and 11.1 lipo, and high torque motor, youll get much better trigger response. Neccessary...running 9.6 nimh, not really, funning higher voltage...i would just to protect your contacts. there also very beneficial because you get a lot of power in such a small package!!

[Capitano_Tomtom]

Apologies, yes she is locked to semi, I was just attempting to mark that it's internals are designed for AEG use and not single high-powered shots.

I'll have to read up on mosfets then, I'm not too bothered about fancy feature, just the AB so I can prolong the rifles life.

It would appear the next step is fortifying the lower gearbox to protect it from the upper then.

In all honestly I would be happy with it only at 400fps but I'd imagine an extra 100fps will make a nice difference and will make me a bit more competitive against born & bred sniper rifles, hence the looking into a better performing hop unit. Some slate the ICS ones, others praise them loads. Might as well check some others out.

Yeah, I have looked into pros & cons of lipos and there are far more pros than cons but it's just looking at it critically and deciding if it will make a big difference in the area I'm concerned in; range & accuracy, so would rather drop that £50 from a charger & battery into other parts

[wookie]

Re: ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

the only other hop up chamber you can use the madbull ultimate, but you have to fill down some of the bits on it, i think there was a thread on here a while ago about how to do it. If your wanting a hop rubber, Firefly. Get the hard one if your using 400fps+. Great hop rubbers.

[Caveira]

Re: ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

Sell what battery kit you've already got and you'll get back most (if not all) of the cost of switching to lipos. When I made the move I ended up by about a fiver.

I'd personaly avoid an AB mosfet in that configuration. There's a hell of a lot of current flowing back through the motor as it gets stopped, and no full auto function (as it's already locked) to risk semi/pre-cocking the next shot. Just use the forward assist to take the strain off the spring in case it does over spin a little. If you go for a higher voltage battery, then a mosfet could help you prevent trigger contact damage, but that's a fix it when it finally gets broken issue in my mind. I've been running 11.1v lipos for over a year and there's no damage yet that I've seen.

To give you an idea, my DMR M14 is locked to semi, running at an average 424fps, with a high torque motor, bearing piston head, upgraded piston and o-rings and spring guide. It's fitted with a madbull black python TB and a harder madbull hop rubber. Deans and 11.1v lipo for power. No mosfet. The trigger response is fantastic and I'm hitting the tree I'm aiming for at GZW's range at around 60m, so man-sized target hits.

[Capitano_Tomtom]

Re: ICS M4 DMR advice (half completed!)

The madbull hop may be a possibility, especially if I have an MB barrel in there.
Glad to hear a reccomendation for Firefly, heard a lot of good things about them.

@Caveira, cheers for all the info, helps to put it into perspective better, especially the fact you can comment after using them for a year, much apreciated. Wasn't aware of such a good resale value on the batteries to offset the cost of a lipo either, very tempting.
Although, as good as they sound I think its more of a secondary upgrade as I'm primarily after increasing range & accuracy so the hop area is my main concern currently.