With a 15C battery probably not, with a 25C battery, yes.

I'm not trying to be deliberately obtuse with you, it's just that there are minor variances here and there and I would LOVE to conclusively say "do this, this and that" and you'll be golden. Often I find myself trying to find that middle ground between not really having to do much work and getting maximum performance for our clients and to be honest it's not really a favourable spot as there's credibility and liability involved. That and we're not exactly in the pursuit of a "just good enough" setup. I'm way more comfortable and knowledgeable fielding questions about how to build a balls-to-the-wall gun than answering questions like "what exactly do I NOT have to do to get something that's half-decent"?

As far as I can tell, no pre-engagement with current setup (7.4VDC LiPo 25-50C 1200mAh).

I assume that it would be pretty noticeable if I was getting pre-engagement.

Doh, the 11.1VDC LiPo I have is 1200mAh 25-50C.

I am thinking I'll get the Lonex A2 motor now and run on a 7.4VDC LiPo (as I am concerned about my stock motor).

Then once I feel like opening my gearbox again I can swiss-cheese the piston, remove the piston head bearings and run my 11.1 LiPo.

Believe the Lonex A2 should be good for both scenarios?

If you're limiting ROF by lowering the C rating, what you're doing is forcibly starving the motor of amperage, and not drawing enough amperage out of the lipo. That's called over-current draw and it's a good way to wreck a lipo.

Just get a battery upgrade bro. Swiss cheesing and removing bearings are not necessary. Pre-engagement really only happens when you get a jam in your barrel or you're getting feeding problems. I have 30 RPS setups doing anywhere from 300FPS to 450FPS, one of my guns ran a M90 spring, lonex piston without swiss cheesing and aluminum piston head with bearings at 30 RPS and no pre-engagement happened.

Went with the Lonex A2 on a 7.4LiPo and all is great. Faster trigger response and higher ROF.