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Tokyo Marui MP5A5 High Cycle


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The Tokyo Marui MP5A5 High Cycle version was released a year or so ago. I know a few people are curious about it but there aren't very many reviews on it. And so, I decided to jot down some info about it.

 

The Tokyo Marui MP5A5 High Cycle is essentially a Tokyo Marui MP5A5 high grade. The Both guns are identical in every way externally...save for the "High Cycle" sticker on the HC version. Aside from that, what differentiates the two will be found internally.

 

The gearbox of the High Cycle version is black in color (as opposed to the grayish pot metal used on stock Marui gearboxes). I might be wrong but I believe the metal used on the HC gearbox is different in terms of chemical composition. The black version 2 gearbox coloring is reminiscent of the TM M14 gearbox's coloring as well as those used by the TM Recoil Shock AK's.

 

The HC gearbox comes standard with metal bushings (yes, that's right! Metal Bushings!). The gear set used is different than the standard ratio gear set. I am thinking that the ratio would probably be at a 14:1 (stock ratio is 18:1) which I believe means that for every 14 times the motor pinion gear turns, the piston cycles once. Also, the piston and the sector gear has been short stroked by three teeth. The piston's second to the last tooth has been shaved down. Another thing that's of note is that the Angle of Engagement has been adjusted so as to prevent premature engagement between the piston teeth and the sector gear teeth.

 

Going back to the gear set, the gears are made of the typical Tokyo Marui Gear set metal which normally withstands up to a 9.6v mini battery with acceptable reliability. Same metals are used on the bevel and spur gear. The gear that comes in contact with the spur gear (of the sector gear) however is different to the softer metal used by the sector gear. This was done to increase the sector gear's durability. The bevel gear is designed similar to the bevel gears used in the TM AEG Recoil Shock Series (as does the anti-reversal latch).

 

The sector gear does not have a sector chip installed to help with feeding.

 

The gear set has very minimal play and spins freely. Upon further inspection, the clearance between the gears are at an optimal setting. Shimming is excellent out of the box.

 

What Marui has done however is use a different tappet plate which is identical (if not the same as the ones used in the Marui MP5J).

 

The stock spring that the HC gearbox comes with is no longer attached to the lead nut that the piston head attaches to. The stock spring is tapered. Contrary to a Systema Upgraded Irregular pitch spring's recommended installation of having the tighter coils being placed towards the spring guide...the Marui's stock irregular pitch spring's tighter coils are oriented towards the piston side.

 

The stock piston as mentioned earlier has been short stroked by 3 teeth. The piston head is NOT ported.

 

Marui has changed the Air Nozzle on the TM MP5A5 High cycle. The porting on it is now smaller than those used my th TM MP5 (non high-cycle) series. Smaller porting means more material is used on the air nozzle (decreasing air flow unfortunately) which makes sense as it is designed so it holds up with loading BBs quicker than the non HC version. In short, the air nozzle has more material which unfortunately decreases air flow, but increases the durability/reliability of the air nozzle.

 

The Marui EG-3000 High Cycle Motor obviously is faster than an EG-1000 motor. Unlike aftermarket high-speed motors which have super strong magnets, the EG-3000's magnets are not as strong. I'm sure torque has been sacrificed in favor of speed when they made the motor.

 

 

That's it folks. That's the nitty-gritty on the Marui MP5A5 High Cycle AEG. I suspect similar changes on the parts I noted on the High Cycle versions of the AK47 Custon, G3 SAS, and M4 CRW AEG's. IMO, the high cycle series is not really innovative. Marui simply look what high speed tuners has been doing the past few years and applied the concept into production guns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not yet chronoed my TM MP5A5 High Cycle as a friend of mine has my XCORTECH 3200 shooting chronograph. Currently, I have removed the fuse assembly, switched to deans plugs, and am using a 7.4v 1600mah 45C (70 Amp discharge) LiPo on my MP5A5 HC. I have re-lubed the gear set as well as the piston head o-ring with Silicone Grease.

 

------------------------

 

Edit:

 

TM MP5A5 High Cycle

*Relubed Gears and Piston Head O-ring. Everything else is stock*

Battery: Hyperion 7.4v 1600mah 45C Lipo

BB's used Bioval .20g BBs (non tracer)

Chrono used:

ROF: 26.72-27.89 RPS

FPS: varies...as low as 228 FPS with .20g BBs. Mostly in the neighborhood of 250-60's.

 

*Hop has been set for Bioval .20g Tracer BB's

 

Issues: Aside from the varying FPS, the gun started shooting 2 round bursts (approximately 8 times) shortly after shooting it on full auto. After a little bit of shooting on the semi-auto mode, the gun's semi-auto function returned to normal.

 

I haven't had extensive experience with the burst shooting on semi auto. Not sure if its a one time occurrance or something to be expected with the gun when put through the same shooting conditions.

 

Another thing to consider is that I am running a high amp battery which probably affects the cycling (thus the fluctuations on the FPS reading and burst firing on semi after shooting on full auto).

 

 

 

***As with previous reviews, I apologize for the unorganized nature of my writing as it goes back and forth subjects. Writing is not my super strong point but I do believe that I have covered what's important in writing a review - content.

Edited by sacairsoftsn00py
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Sometimes the TM MP5A5 High Cycle chronoes in the neighborhood of 230's with .20g BBs. Other times the gun chronoes in the neighborhood of 260's.

 

I have had zero incidence where I chronoed somewhere around 240 FPS.

 

Most of the time its 227-233 OR 257-265 FPS with Bioval .20g BBs.

 

I don't have any real explanation for the either-or FPS readings. So I said to myself, "well, if it fluctuates by as much as 38 FPS, then I should see accuracy issues". Being that it's past 10PM already, the only way I'll be able to tell whether or not I have accuracy issues as a result of the FPS fluctuation without having to wait until tomorrow would be to shoot it with tracer rounds.

 

The TM MP5A5 HC has had its hop set for Bioval .20g Tracer BBs from before I chronoed the gun with the regular BBs. So I proceeded to load the 400rd Drum Mag up with the said tracer rounds and attached my Tokyo Marui Gen II Tracer unit.

 

I squeezed off between 80-100 rounds on semi auto and found that ALL the BBs flew pretty much the same distance and followed the same trajectory WITH EVERY trigger pull.

 

Despite the chrono readings, the gun has shown no ill effects from the FPS variation in terms of visual range and accuracy.

 

This FPS-Range variance puzzles me. My chrono is fine. The bag of Bioval .20g (non tracer) bbs and Bioval .20g Tracer bbs have not had another brand of bbs (let alone another batch of Bioval .20g BBs) dropped in it. I am however satisfied with the range/accuracy results from when I'm shooting semi auto. All the BBs seem to fly the same velocity. Though it bugs me, this is something I should let go and leave be as I will no doubt be pulling my hair off of the top of my head before I ever figure it out.

 

It sucks that nobody will probably ever report the said incidence (with regard to the FPS going from the 230 FPS range to 260 FPS range) and will regard the said low velocity readings as "fluke" from the chrono as the effect is virtually non existent with the observed shot trajectory/distance.

 

For those wondering what the range is like, I would say that it's the typical Tokyo Marui range of maximum effective ranges up to 180 Feet with .20g BBs. If people can't feel shots at that distance, just switch to full auto and they'll know they've been hit when you rain BB's their way. :P

 

This concludes my report. :P

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Great job 'Snoop!

 

in regards to the burst shots in semi, it's from your battery's high burst rating, basically on a fresh charge, it will over-volt the system in semi, causing the burst. 3cell 11.1V packs with lower burst ratings will cause this as well after being charged too. it happens on normal AEG's too.

 

the fps variance is by the fact that the gears and piston are short stroked from normal piston and gear sets. add that the piston head is flat with no ports on the front, that will cause more turbulence in the air cylinder during cycling, it could be the bb's partly too.

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Question now is whether or not having a taper cylinder or a silent head set would help with the FPS consistency as those supposedly reduce the air turbulence...

 

The spring is constant....so is the release point of the piston so it really should not matter if the piston is half cocked or at rest when the motor turns over right? I mean, the piston goes forward and travels the same distance from the release point (last tooth of the sector gear) to where it eventually stops (the piston head).

 

Now that I think about it however, do you think its possible that the non ported piston sucks up (vacuum effect) some air when its being half cocked after a full cycle? If thats the case then having a Mosfet with Active Breaking should help as having it would ensure your piston will always have the same starting point and prevent the vacuum effect from happening. Then again the vacuum effect might not even be true for this setup as the gun does have a short barrel.

 

Regardles, the fun shoots consistently in terms of range and accuracy/trajectory in EVERY shot. Its just the FPS readings that show qualitative/quantitative difference. I'm sure I will see some if I did a groupings test on the gun from a set distance. Still, eyeballing bbs to judge the quality of shots do not show a major difference due to the fluctuation in bb velocity.

 

Ah...the technical side of airsoft. LOL!

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mostly with the stock piston head, it's the o-ring that might be wobbling around a bit to not make a perfect seal during the cycling in full-auto.(due to the solid piston head face)

it still seals good enough to get the shot, but you will see it on the crono.

a vented piston head should do the trick. if you are keeping it fairly stock as is, try a Guarder Polycarb Piston Head. (the red one) it's light weight, and won't slow down piston stroke speed like the aluminum ones (slightly lower velocity readings, but better durability with AL)

vents keep the o-ring more stable on the forward stroke for sealing, and on the back stroke, helps to let in more air faster into the cylinder.

you should see a more consistent fps range after this.

 

and for the bioval's, I've noticed a little more variance on the QC for the BB's, try a bag of Excel .20's, that's what I always use for testing, very consistent QC and performance.

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I might try those bioval .27g bbs instead. Those should solve any bb weight/size consistency factor as they are arguably the best bb around...fps will be low but the shot per shot consistency would yield tighter readings.

 

I will try a ported piston head next time out. I'm thinking...Area 1000 polycarb/duracon piston head (no bearings to keep things as light as possible). I would probably lose 10 fps if i did that from loosing the pre-compressed state from the original setting. I'll see how things go. Right now, I'm perfectly happy with the range/ trajectory of bbs with every shot.

 

It'll just be a matter of how much the fact that the FPS does vary by as much as 30 plus will bug me and having spare time to head out to the shop. :P

 

Thanks Gf808 :P

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nice review, i believe theres already and aftermarket piston out there from this from promy i think which is vented, definatly a must have, could be a worth while upgrade since id have to increase the spring, for me personally.

 

Maybe a piston head, tight bore barrel, maybe you claw it closer to stock tm powers.

 

love the idea of these just a shame its plastic externals.

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Also, its the old school Marui Plastic.

 

I'm really liking the Nylon Fiber that G&G and CA uses on their AEG's...the non ABS plastic one. A heavier weight polymer would make the MP5 feel a little bit nicer.

 

Oh well, you never really know what TM will cook up next. I like the design that CA uses for their hop/metal bodies on their B&T 5 lineup but do not like how heavy their B&T 5's are let alone the tolerances. They are just poo. Otherwise, I'd stick the Marui gearbox in there.

 

Got a bit off topic there.

 

Anyhow, Prometheus released a ported piston. They go for $32 from ehobbyasia. I have seen broken stock Marui gear sets on high speed set ups. I'm not 100% confident on putting more strain on the gear set with the speed the gun is shooting with my 7.4v lipo. Come to think of it, a stiffer spring will slow down the ROF some. Plenty of if's then's and but's.

 

I'll put a stiffer spring (Probably a Guarder SP100) and Prometheus Piston Head if/when an aftermarket High Cycle (probably a 14:1 ratio) gear set comes out. Until then, I'll keep take down to a minimum by not opening her up until what I want is on hand.

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just did a MP5 HC for someone.

guarder polycarb vented pison head, PDI 140% spring, Kong Power 7.4V 1800mah 26C lipo pack.

.20g Excel cronos at 320-324fps, and nice and fast. :D

 

did a SAS HC with similar set up, PDI150%, on 11.1V pack, same velocity, but 32rds/sec. BEAST.

only bad part of that is that you will start to get wear and tear on the pison and gear set at 11V power. can't sustain fire too long too, it's a burst gun. ;)

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