OK, I haven't updated this in awhile, so here goes:

The SuperMAX motors are out, this is not really news. But I installed my first one today, and it came in a 2008 Version Up Kit from Jugglez. They are easy to spot, the have a grey pinion gear, and a shiny silver endbell that's aluminum. They do not fit into Prime CNC'd lowers, and must be filed down on the bearing housing just a hair. Not all Prime bodies are this tight, but it was a known issue. The motors fit fine in a stock lower.

The new motors incorporate the published mods for the older 490 from the factory, so they should be trouble-free.

And a note on installing the 2008 kits. You must change the trigger as well, as the 2007 trigger contacts are about 1/8" longer than on the 2008, and you could damage your switch if you try to force the EL-001 (main) board in without changing the trigger.

Also, if you have a 2006-2007 Gen 3-3.5 MAX, and you have an electroics failure, the main board is not hard to get (I have 1-2 usually), but the EL-003 (switch) board is not easy to find, and if you do, it can be upwards of $200 USD. In this case, it's best to get the VUK for $350-$400 USD, and you get a motor and more stable electronics with the option to get a mini-board to replace the EL-003 if you want to do LiPo.

Now with 2008 guns, if you damage the control cable (EL-004) that runs between your EL-001 and EL-003, you best try to repair it. They are currently not available anywhere, and if it's totally destroyed, you can manufacture a new one from 2 x 2007 EL-004. I've done it before and seems to work fine.

I'll post up some more updates as I think of them.

Anyone have any experience with Madbull .30s in their ptw? I was using KSC .30s for the past 6months and had great success with but airsoftparts is no longer selling KSC's and they have a deal on Madbull right now so interested to hear what others think of them in their PTW. I am going to need to make an order pretty soon.

Here ya go. Thanks for the support guys!
I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Has systema solved the weak spring for the bolt catch in the super max?

Is that spring stronger than the previous generations?

Nope, same old spring.

Hell, I just went to my local hardware store and found a replacement though. I've disabled the bolt stop completely. I've also disabled it for a lot of customers who I've built guns for too. Most people would rather have it disabled then to have the gun stop firing on a half empty magazine and go "wtf?" and get shot before they figure out what happened. :p

Not sure if this question should go here or not...

I'm no historical expert or know-it-all when it comes to PTWs...so any help is appreciated.

Regarding the PTW hopup rubber roller. I took a hopup apart yesterday and it had an older clear 'skinny' roller on it. The clear rubber would rotate/revolve around the bar and was torn. I took that out.

Question though. Should a replacement rubber rotate...or should it be fixed in place and not move (if that's possible)? If it does revolve around the bar, should it be "free" or really stiff in doing so?

To me...it would make sense if the rubber did not rotate...or at least didn't rotate very freely...as that would impart the most spin with the least application.

What I did was to use a black rubber cushion on the hopup cage bar...then a red rubber over that. It seems to work, but it rotates kind of easily. Have not tested longer distances. Hopup doesn't need to be on much....but again, I haven't shot past 35ft.

Tys

The roller shouldn't move.

The modified hop-up makes use of this with the addition of a thicker silicone rubber to increase deformation of the roller to allow more consistancy shot-to-shot.

Torn rollers should be replaced.

All the aftermarket units I've seen apply this principal as well. Some however have had this portion fail to remain fixed, and the result was poor performance. I had 4 of the EA adjusters give out on me in this fashion, but Steve says the issue is fixed now, last I spoke with him.

Gotcha...thank you.

So, in principle:
- the material used should be sturdy enough to take the repeated forces of pressing against/riding the BBs
- the material should be "sticky" enough to be able to grip the BB
- the material or combinations of the layers of the roller should be such that it does not rotate on the bar

Is the "roller" (that shouldn't roll) chemically fixed to the bar (i.e. glued)? Or is it solely a friction/mechanical fit (super tight fit)?

Edit...likewise re. the cushions that are used between the cage and the barrel...the stiffer the material the more force it'll apply and the softer/squidgyer the material the "easier" the force it'll apply to the BB, right?

Thanks again,

Tys

The roller is fixed basically by friction, tolerances notwithstanding. When I did the hop-up mod, I put Crazy Glue inside to ensure it bonded as well as possible to the pin, as an extra precaution. Seemed to work well.

The stiffer the adjusters are, the better, as long as they do move and their stiffness is not stronger than the structural integrity of the cage. Otherwise, the cage will break if you try adjusting it too much. The stock adjusters seemed to be the best out of the all the others I tried.

Has anybody had any luck disassembling a factory assembled piston head from the piston body?

I purchased an M130 cylinder not too long ago, and on the FIRST shot I ran on it, the sector gear ripped the first tooth right off the piston rack and also split the rails on the piston that held the rack in place.

Fast forward a couple of months and I finally have a replacement piston and tooth rack in hand - however, when I attempted to unscrew the piston head (I have the newer version that has a Philips head on the inside and an allen key on the Piston head side), I was met with a huge amount of resistance.

I am almost at the point of a stripped Philips head because of this - anybody had luck in disassembling this?

I feel bummed that this practically brand new piston head will have to be trashed because I can't take it apart.

Brian, you need to apply heat (microtorch of some form) to that screw inside the piston head to release the Loc-tite.

Make sure you use Crazy Glue on the rack gear when you assemble it. A nice photo and explanation is in the Gen 3 VUK pdf on the Systema website.

How am I going to get a torch in there? Would I have to find a way to smash the piston to pieces so that I can access the screw?

I'd find a screwdriver to sacrifice, get it in the slots and put the torch on it.

Would transfering heat via a soldering iron tip (i.e. a longer copper tip on my 60W soldering iron) work? (I'm guessing it'd be the same as jamming in a screwdriver and putting the torch to that).

Tys

I am thinking Brian that one of those butane powered microtorches would fit down inside the piston to reach the screw. However it would be a "one shot" sort of deal as the piston itself would start to melt pretty quick...