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KWA KM4A1 Carbine detailed review.


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I wrote this at my areas airsoft forum, reposting for your conveinence :) :

 

The KWA m4 is one of the newer AEGs out there.

KWA1.jpg

 

LOOKS: Very realistic M4. Everything that should be metal is metal, and what should be plastic plastic. Not much different from CA m4s in terms of layout. The bolt actually opens up the hop-up chamber though, unlike CA's. Also, KWA's logo is where the Armalite logo is on CAs. The carbine stock is 6 position.

KWA2.jpg

 

SPECS: Here is some info and Specs from evike.com

 

"The KWA KM4A1 Carbine is the first production AEG engineered specifically

for the unparalleled performance of today’s advanced battery technology –

Lithium Polymer (LiPo). LiPo batteries provide higher capacity and superior

performance surpassing the more common Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh)

batteries. However, this powerful battery requires the highest quality of internal

components. To handle the extra power of LiPo batteries, the KM4A1 is

equipped with a reinforced metal gearbox utilizing KWA’s exclusive 8 and 9 mm

ball bearing bushing combination and case hardened, precision metal gear sets.

Heavy duty springs and high-torque motors are matched for optimum results.

High-grade metal alloy are used for the production of the upper and lower receivers." Notes I am adding, this gun boasts a 8mm gearbox, reinforced gears and a stock M120 spring as well.

 

"Overall Length = 33.75" (30.5" when stock is fully retracted)

Inner Barrel Length = 15.5"

Inner Barrel Diameter = 6.05mm +/- .03mm

Hop-Up: Adjustable

Magazine Capacity = 350 Rounds

Caliber = 6mm BB

Weight= 6.5 pounds"

 

To unlock the full potential of this weapon, I purchased a Li-Po battery:

LI-POBATTERY.jpg

Its 11.1V/1800 mah, and its slightly smaller than a normal small type battery.

It comes with a smart charger, so you dont have to worry about charge time.

NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY USE THE CHARGER THAT COMES WITH THE Li-Po BATTERY!!!! THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!! Do NOT overdo it with this battery. Yes it is Li-Po capable, but if you lay on the full auto for a long time, you will start frying wires, or worse.

 

Firing: This is why this gun is the next generation of AEG.

Using a Madbull Chrono, we came up with these results:

~390-400 fps range

1034rpm. This is slightly less than evike's claim of 20+ rpm. The battery might of not have been fully charged either.

 

When I first got it, I was target firing in the back. All I have to say is wow. The .20 bbs were not very accurate, but the .25 bbs I used shot quite accurately. The hop-up adjusted to where I wanted right away, making the bbs go slightly up then back down. Nailing a tree ~150ft no problem with airtime to spare.

After using this gun in several matches, it has not dissapointed. It has performed superbly. Only problem Ive had is one bb jam. Accurate, powerful, and most importantly, reliable.

 

Price: $300. Li-Po $90= $390

 

KWA3.jpg

 

 

NOTE: I want to the point out the difference between this m4 and the kwa m4 cqb, besides the shorter barrel. The CQB shoots 350fps(m110 spring) instead of 400(m120 spring), but has a higher ROF.

 

PRO/CON list:

 

PROS:

Super Strengthened Internals

Li-Po ready

INSANE Rof with Li-po

Stock M120 spring

You dont really need to upgrade this gun. At all.

High quality Construction

One of the, if not THE, best gun for the price range

 

CONS:

I personally think m4s batteries are a pain in the !$@ to get in, but yeah thats me.

$300 is high price for many.

The Li-Po costs a whopping $90. But is you can afford it, its worth every penny.

DONT OVER DO IT with the Li-Po battery! you will pay the consequences!

No trademarks other than KWA ones, but thats customary for KWA

.20 bbs without a tightbore are not super accurate. .25s are dead on though.

 

CONCLUSION: Most amazing gun I've ever gotten my hands on. Period. Criticize me if you wish, but I think this gun blows Classic Army out of the water. You would need to pay much more $$$ for other high ends in the price range to match this gun. And, the only problem I've ever had is 1 bb jam. The weapon, as long as you got the wallet and utilize its Li-Po readiness, is nearly flawless.

 

10/10. I would give it a 20/10 if I could.

Dont believe me? Get one for yourself. Any questions post up or pm.

Edited by CSC Maverick
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Great review, i think i'm one of very few people in the UK to own one. I went to the shop to buy a ca but came away with this! So so pleased i did. I've left mine stock, just added a barrel mounted torch. Just a quick question...what rails are you running on the foregrip? How do they attach and where can i purchase some? Also is there much movement through them via the vertical foregrip? thanks-Hugh

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All KWA M4 series open up like the TM does. Two piece hopup design. The nozzle is especially design for the to piece as it's have a guide notch that ensure perfect seal every time it inserted into the chamber.

 

Also a correction on the KWA M4 CQB. It actually have a m120 spring. Why is it shooting around 350 fps is because the cylinder have a larger and normal vent. so it get less air push into the chamber. KWA did this because if they use a weaker spring. The stenile strength of the spring will not hold up the fast compression hence it will break the spring prematurely.

 

 

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QUOTE (hugh_b @ Apr 12 2008, 11:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Great review, i think i'm one of very few people in the UK to own one. I went to the shop to buy a ca but came away with this! So so pleased i did. I've left mine stock, just added a barrel mounted torch. Just a quick question...what rails are you running on the foregrip? How do they attach and where can i purchase some? Also is there much movement through them via the vertical foregrip? thanks-Hugh

 

Not much. I got mine at Cool Stuff( The local areas retailer, which Im also on their team). But Im sure you can get them anywhere online. They wobble a little bit. Unfortunately, it feels like its wobbling a lot when I have my G&P m203 attached, so im saving for a rail system. There is an easy easy fix to stop some of the shaking: Cut a little bit of rubber and put it between the rail and the handguard.

 

 

All KWA M4 series open up like the TM does. Two piece hopup design. The nozzle is especially design for the to piece as it's have a guide notch that ensure perfect seal every time it inserted into the chamber.

 

Also a correction on the KWA M4 CQB. It actually have a m120 spring. Why is it shooting around 350 fps is because the cylinder have a larger and normal vent. so it get less air push into the chamber. KWA did this because if they use a weaker spring. The stenile strength of the spring will not hold up the fast compression hence it will break the spring prematurely.

 

Ok. I got my info off of evike about the spring. I dont have the CQB version, so I just based it off of info I found. I cant edit the post, but thanks for posting that info up.

Edited by CSC Maverick
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Great review. I own one and I agree with everything u said.

Tho, upgrade potential is still a lil unknown. One of my free floats didnt work but the utg ris fit. I also think that some of their internal parts differ from after market upgrades, so replacing will be kinda of hard, though i dont see why you would have to!

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are other brands of mag compatible? ie Classic army. MAG, TM etc...

Does it use a standard AEG motor or is it a high torque/hi speed etc..

 

looks sweet, im thinking of getting something a little different for my next AEG, so any further compatibility reveiws you can give would be great, as all my current M4 based aeg's are CA.

 

Jim.

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Jim, its a high torque motor, just checked KWA's website. Also, Im pretty sure most mags work. I bought 2 additional Dboy high caps off my friend, and I haven't had a problem with them

 

Here's a data sheet about the gun from KWA's website:

http://www.kwausa.com/downloads/KM4A1_datasheet.pdf

Edited by CSC Maverick
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ok so that is your "detailed" review?

oh man..in the last time i often see such reviews..i mean no offense but you quoted the specs from the manufacturer, said "yeah it looks good and has a nice feel, shoots ok bla bla"... and thats it basically

no good pictures, didn't open it up (you cant even say how it opens)

no long time reliability...nothing...

 

don't be too angry with me thats just my 2 cents on the review thing i see in the last time...

maybe detailed has a different meaning for me than for you :lol:

Edited by -FIDO-
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ok so that is your "detailed" review?

oh man..in the last time i often see such reviews..i mean no offense but you quoted the specs from the manufacturer, said "yeah it looks good and has a nice feel, shoots ok bla bla"... and thats it basically

no good pictures, didn't open it up (you cant even say how it opens)

no long time reliability...nothing...

 

don't be too angry with me thats just my 2 cents on the review thing i see in the last time...

maybe detailed has a different meaning for me than for you :lol:

 

As the old saying goes "got nothing nice to say then say nothing at all". You are entitled to your own opinion but this guy has posted this review up as a favour for us and this is how you respond :waggle:

 

Personally I thought it was a great review.

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i didn't say that to offend him

its just not a complete review in my eyes...

go and compare it to some others here and see how a review should look like

and this isn't just for him, everybody should read some reviews from far east for example

and THEN write one...just to know on what to focus and so on..

just saying yeah its good and shoots straight isn't a review even if you don't like what i say..its true and you know it

so maybe he will think about what i said and improve the next time

and again: this is constructive criticism ;)

Edited by -FIDO-
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just saying yeah its good and shoots straight isn't a review even if you don't like what i say..its true and you know it

so maybe he will think about what i said and improve the next time

 

You obviously have not even read the review, he has lised the pro's, cons, FPS, RPM, quality performance and more.

 

Yes Fareasts reviews are great and this is good asell, sadly it seems not so in your mind...

 

I am leaving this discussion now, all I wanted to do was to point out he is doing us a favour by posting it, if you don't like it don't post!

 

Good review CSC :)

 

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Look im not no airsoft mechanic... and not the best at disassembling guns. I got a general understanding of it, but usually dont try it myself. Therefore, I incorporated as much info as possible without stripping the gun. If you insist I can get Accuracy tests for you. I posted this before on other forums, and the reviews there were maybe a paragraph, hence the phrase "detailed". But hey, everyone got their own opinion, right?

Edited by CSC Maverick
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Ok to answer the magazine quesitons. My kwa has little metal ridges along the magwell so quite alot of mags dont fit. I bought some used mag brand mids and they fit, but my new mag mids didnt. I had to file down the side of the mags. my gnps didnt fit either and if i got them in it would take about a minute to take out since it was so tight. I didnt want to file it since it was metal. The hicap it comes with tho is great. Holds alot and you can wind it before you put it in the gun.

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I've opened up the gearbox on a KWA that's owned by a friend of mine. From what I remember, it's got very good parts (other than the solid non ported piston head, unless that's by design) and the gearbox seems reenforced and machined. The shell is VERY good and uses an extra 2 screws to secure it. Our team's gun tech was there too and said he wondered how it could be shooting so well with such a bad seal. I guess it's got a bad seal but I wouldn't personally know, I just threw in a weak spring and closed it up. Also, no problems fitting a G&P front set to it, now its bar none the best M4 I've ever felt, seen, touched in my life. For the price, that includes Systema.

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  • 1 year later...

QUOTE (hugh_b @ Apr 12 2008, 11:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Great review, i think i'm one of very few people in the UK to own one. I went to the shop to buy a ca but came away with this! So so pleased i did. I've left mine stock, just added a barrel mounted torch. Just a quick question...what rails are you running on the foregrip? How do they attach and where can i purchase some? Also is there much movement through them via the vertical foregrip? thanks-Hugh

 

I have just bought a KWA KM4A1 CQB and I have to say it is superior to my Classic Army M15A4 in every respect. It has a superb quality finish and performance, making my C.A. look ancient.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've had mine since November 2007, from Airsoft GI(Last one they had at that time, it was a sale). It chrono'd at ~395-FPS at the time.

 

I ran into a few problems, some minor, some a bit bigger but nothing major(in my opinion!). I will explain every problem to the best of my ability.

 

Problems:

-Stripped Piston

-Wobbly Front End

-Piston O-Ring(I'll explain this one)

-Broken trigger

-Hop-Up problems...

 

To start it off, I ran into a problem with the piston, well, it stripped. I had been using it for quite some time, lots of rounds through it. I got it in Nov. '07 and the piston stripped in July '08. I replaced it with a G&P White piston, just looked at it two or three weeks ago, only a minimal amount of wear to it, great piston!

 

I have had problems with the front end wobbling, I thought it was simply the barrel at first but it was actually the piece under the Delta-Ring that sits in the receiver and connects to the barrel. I was told that if I replace it with a King Arms part, the wobbling would stop, however, I haven't bee able to find that specific part.

 

One day the gun just stopped working, something was stuck and would not move! I opened up the gearbox and upon checking everything, it seemed okay, until I attempted to pull out the piston... The O-Ring around the piston head had come out of its groove, it had about 1/4th of it out and sitting between the tip of the piston between the piston itself and the piston head and pushing against the cylinder. I removed it carefully and to my amazement, the O-Ring was not damaged at all! However, I would like to upgrade the piston head to a vented one, though I haven't had a problem with it for all these years but this one.

 

Yes, the trigger broke off, right where it enters the body. I cant say that is it truly weak, however, I do not pull on the trigger, I squeeze it. It served well for years but broke in the early summer of '09. I replaced it with a MadBull steel trigger, I had to file down the top a bit to make it fit. This is truly a nice little part!

 

Now to the Hop-Up, it's a two piece design, all plastic but alright. At first it would double feed when shooting in semi, on auto it shot smoothly, I sent it to KWA and they supposedly fixed it. It still double fed for a little while, but vanished quickly and I've never had it happen since. After the bucking wore out, spring of '09, I replaced it with a FireFly H-Bucking. The result was amazing! Since I paired it with a MadBull 6.03mm teflon coated tightbore barrel, I could hit targets much farther than I needed it to do. Remember, I had already had the AEG for a few years, the tension of the spring must have let go quite a bit, I'd imagine it to be around 350-FPS. I then had a perfect set up for my needs. However, I recently decided to invest in the 3rd Gen. MadBull Black tightbore barrel, also 6.03mm. A new problem arose, I could not get it to fit, there was no way to get it in with the FireFly bucking. After trying lots of different lubrications, it still refused to work, so, out of frustration, I tried extra virgin olive oil. IT WORKED!!! But because of my previous attempts to put it in left two tears in the bucking, right where the nub presses down on it, this made the H shape useless and it appears to be working just like the standard bump like shape, even though it is sitting correctly.

 

 

 

I did replace the weak spring. It shot hard to begin with but the spring wasn't that dense, impressive. I replaced it with a MadBull M110, I also have an M120 but chose against it. This Sunday was the first time I used it with that spring, it worked very well at first. Shot at a slower rate but higher velocity, I run with a 9.6v 1200mAh. After the third game, it jammed. I took out the mag as I saw no BB's flying, it was loaded so I looked into the feeding nozzle, shot a few times, saw some BB move back and forth. I tilted it back in the right way and shot again, the BB's fell out and it suddenly locked up! I could hear that the motor wanted to move but nothing happened.

 

When I opened it all up, I checked the barrel--nothing in it.... I checked out the gearbox, the piston had been locked back and wouldn't move, I pushed the anti-reversal latch back to release the piston, problem solved. Now I just need a way to prevent it from happening again. I'll clean the barrel again and look into newer buckings that fit the tight Hop-Up. But the gearbox... I want to gat a lipo, then there would be more power to pull the spring, also get a vented piston head, that could increase the air seal. Furthermore, my fuse popped, which I can simply replace, but with a stronger lipo i need a stronger fuse, then the only problem would be, would it safely opperate with a lipo and a M110 without the risk of anothe lock up?

 

All in all, I'm pleased with it, I understand that there must be better AEG's out there now, especially externally but I cant argue for the price I got it for, which is still cheaper than it is now on ASGI, thought they do have the next generations of that line of products. I've heard that they only get better and better, and I've just run into quite a bit of problems with this one, too bad for me but what am I supposed to do? Buy more parts :P

 

I think I'll update some more of this later on. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, I probably know whatever it may be.

 

Thanks.

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I believe that it is, though the KWA is modeled after the Tokyo Marui, so there might be more parts to switch out than just the body.

 

If I had the money, I would buy a G&P body and barrel assembly. Not that the KWA's are bad but the barrel is a two piece(I believe) and will loosen up and wobble a bit. The body can only fit a two piece Hop-Up and I would really like a one piece instead, but you would have to get an aftermarket receiver for it as the body splits like the real one and does not pull forward like the G&P's or similar, making it impossible to use a one piece without breaking the inner barrel/Hop-Up/air nozzle.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The M4 seems to have completely ditched on me, finally. The compression sucks, therefore the velocity is horrible.

 

I noticed that the G&P piston had worn at the little hole where the nub from the piston head enters, making the piston head able to twist slightly. Because of that, the screw from the piston head kept working itself loose so that ultimately the piston head would separate completely from the piston. I changed out the G&P piston with a MadBull piston with 7 metal teeth. I'm not really disappointed in the G&P piston for the damage as it could have been prevented with some threadlocker on the screw, to keep it from unscrewing itself. Outstanding piston non-the-less.

I also decided to drill four holes into my piston head, to create a vented piston head for better air-seal. After those parts modified and installed, I took it out to the field and it sounded real smooth, however, the velocity lacked tremendously! The accuracy from the partly torn bucking was rubbish, an all around mess in performance. Honestly, the BB's touched the ground in less than 20 meters...

 

What I have in mind is to add a professionally made vented piston head, perhaps one that is designed to quiet the system. Add a teflon coated cylinder and a double seal cylinder head, all of which being Systema. However, that is around 90USD and that's a steep price for three little pars, no matter how great the quality is, so my second option is the Modify set, that includes an extra "reinforced" piston which is a nice addition to the parts bin. A piston & head, cylinder & head for around 60USD, and some reviews say that it's all good quality except that the O-ring is too small.

I will also need a new Hop-Up bucking, thinking about a Deep-Fire H bucking as I've heard it's thin or maybe the newer KWA H buckings and an H-nub. I will also rewire the electrical system to the rear and get a 11.1 LiPoly battery with Deans connectors. Because the LiPoly battery will increase the rate of fire so much, I will add a stiffer spring to keep it at a reasonable ROF as well as add more velocity to the AEG, and I think that I will use a Madbull M120 or maybe just the M110. That's it for the upgrades so far, if anyone has any coments feel free to do so.

 

List of parts/upgrades:

-Cylinder(Teflon coated)

-Cylinder Head(Double sealed)

-Piston Head(Vented)

-H-Bucking

-H-Nub

-LiPoly Battery(Charger+Safety bag)

-M120/M110 Spring(Already on hand)

-Rewiring the system to the rear.

-Rubber Butt Pad

 

And that is about it for the gun, though I want a few other bits to complete the gun(Killflash for my ACOG, BUIS, repaint the gun). After all that it should be performing beautifully, so the only problem is which brands to buy from as I don't want to sacrifice quality but I am trying to spend as little cash as I possibly can, but no extreme short cuts on my part!

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