Re: My LWRC piston self destruction!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EricCarrtmann</div><div class="ubbcode-body">LWRC claims the M6A2 is a self regulating gas system, and I am finding this to be a lie.
My LWRC M6A2 only has about 600 rounds through it and am having the same problem you are, only not as extreme (about 300 of those 600 are suppressed). My piston-return-spring is getting mashed like yours. However, my cup is still in one piece. My spring is getting mashed on the opposite end (the non cup side). I used a pair of pliers to bend it back, but have not took her back out shooting yet. We'll see how long this last.
I would post on the LWRC forums, but I was banned from that place for posting HK-Mag art (PMag juice is very strong over there).
I decided to just buy 4 springs and keep an eye on it ($30 shipped).
Just as with you, the mashed spring did not affect operation for me. The gun was still flawless, but then again, my mashed spring was no where near as bad as yours.
It just sucks that parts are showing signs of breakage after only 600 rounds. Also, the big thing: The gas system is not "self regulating" like LWRC claims.
I really do like the rifle and the LWRC barrel is the finest AR barrel I have ever owned, even beats out my Noveske.
Piston-AR's in general are not as robust as the fanbois say they are. Heck I don't even shoot 10,000 rounds a week like everyone on the LWRC forum does. Just 600 rounds since I have owned this gun, and already it has a part that is malformed. If I did not inspect it, it probably could have gone to 1500 rounds easily, but 1500 rounds is still too low for a battle gun to be breaking.
DI-AR's are the way to go. My Noveske is at about 4000 rounds now and not one hiccup or signs of harshness (only the occasional LPS when shooting Wolf). My 2 AR10's are about 2000 rounds each, and they too have been flawless and has not shown any signs of premature wear.
The LWRC has signs of Harshness everywhere. Here are my notes:
1) The piston springs mashing when running suppressed. All it took was 300 rounds suppressed to put 2 coils out of whacked.
2) The bottom of buffer tube getting shaved off due to carrier tilt. This does not seem to be a problem now as the tilt has ceased. Stopped at about the 200 round point. I am thinking the buffer is now shaved enough now so the carrier can easily ramp inside the buffer tube.
3) System runs just as dirty as a DI AR when suppressed. Hell it seems to run even dirtier (if that's possible).
4) Piston system overheats and corrodes easy. I myself liberally lube all the piston parts, but the lube dries out pretty fast, much faster than the bolt on a DI-AR. The piston parts turn green pretty easily. Don't let this fool you, this is corrosion from over heating.
5) The H2 buffer getting a lot of little hammer marks from the carrier slamming it all the time.
Positives of LWRC:
1) CHF Nitrided barrel is the best I have ever owned on a gas gun.
2) One piece carrier seems to work as advertise, no signs of harshness.
3) Stock trigger is the best stock AR trigger I have had to date (though I did replace it with a Giselle SSA).
4) That coating they put on the one piece carrier seems to keep the parts slicker. Though I don't think it's needed as Mobil-1 is always slick as long as it does not dry up.
Speculating:
So far all the metal rods are straight and seem to be holding up, but I have my doubts how long they could last. The piston area seems to run really hot once you put more rounds through it, I am thinking if I ran the system in heavy dosage of say 1000 rounds in one rapid fire outing, the rods would probably start warping and springs stretch some more due to the built up heat. I do run my guns harsh, but like I said, only have about 600 rounds through this gun, so it does not have the history to back up that it can stand to long term abuse.
My conclusion is I am done with Piston-ARs and the LWRC M6A2 will be my only Piston AR. I am going back to DI and not looking back. I have never had problems with DI AR's as long as I keep them wet with Mobil-1. No carbon buildup ever with Mobil-1, and the weapon cleans up nice. Just wiped down with paper towls and swab the tight areas with a q-tip, and relube and it's good as new. That is all it takes, 5 minutes on average, and 10 minutes tops. </div></div>
Your right Not a self regulated gas system, it just bleeds off gas after a pre determined movement, thats why a good system will have different gas settings.
And yes it is gonna be plenty dirty suppressed because its over gassed its opening the bolt too early while there is still considerable pressure in the barrel, also this condition puts extra stress on your extractor, so make sure your extractor spring is good and also an o-ring to help it out.
what I would do is run the heaviest buffer weight like a H3 and get a heavy buffer spring when you are runnin your can, you will see a big difference, what buffer are you runnin now ??
