dhill0413

I have worked up the motivation to once again type my upgrade thread...and here goes...

For either the A-5 or the 98c, you'll need either Compressed Air(N2, CA, Hpa...all pretty much the same) or Co2. Co2 is what most people use, so I'll start there.

Co2:
To make Co2 as effective and frost free as possible, here are a few things youll want to get. An expansion chamber will give the Co2 more time and space to expand, thereby keeping liquid co2 out of the gun. For the 98c, you WILL NEED a vertical adapter to put on an expansion chamber, which cost about $20. A good X-chamber is the ACI 4 and 6 stage chambers,and beyond that i do not have any exceptional chambers to recommend. Regulators, like the Palmer's Stabilizer, will help regulate the pressure, but cost about $90 or so. The Palmers is the best regulator for co2 you can buy, and is worth it if you are serious about keeping your co2 under control. Anti-syphon tubes are one of the most effective ways of keeping liquid out of your gun. These can be installed at your local proshop(I dont recommend doing it yourself.) To save time, bring your gun setup to the shop with you, as they will need the ASA you use to figure out how to install the anti-syphon. Remote lines are another way of reducing liquid, but only if you are compfortable will the tank on your back or around your waist. If you dont want to buy any of these, simply running your tank at an angle(with the valve at the highest point) will help reduce liquid and spikes in velocity.

Compressed Air:
For Tippmann guns, you will need a red, or HIGH output tank for your tippmann. Some good, low-cost tanks are made by Crossfire and PMI. Make sure it is a HIGH pressure output tank. After that, thats all you need to run a nitro tank on your tippmann. A regulator will help with some efficiency, but is not in my opinion worth the money. If you are interested in increasing efficiency, a regulator could help. As with the co2, the Palmers Stabilizer is a good reg for nitro, but again is not necessary with tippmanns.

The Tippmann Low-Pressure Kit is a way to make your tippmann into a low pressure gun. The only real advantage to it is that you can use brittler paint, but other then that I advise against getting this upgrade, simply because it is a waste of money.

Barrels:
In my opinion, the first thing anyone that has recently bought a tippmann should do is buy a new barrel. Tippmann stock barrels are good for little more than a paperweight. Here are a few very good mid-priced barrels: Custom Products 1-piece, J&J ceramic, Lapco Bigshot, and the Smart Parts Teardrop. While the first three are just as good as barrels twice their price, the Teardrop is at the lower end of these, and i would personally recommend getting the CP or the Lapco barrel.
If you'd like to spend a little more, you can get a bigger name brand, but you wont get much better than a CP or Bigshot. Some upper range barrels that are worth the price are the Smart Parts All-American, along with the Dye Boomstick and Ultralite. Even higher prices can bring you a barrel kit, but for most of us, this isnt necessary. In case you plan on going pro with your tippmann, get an Evil pipe kit, Empire barrel kit, Smart Parts Freak Kit, or one of many other barrel kits available. Just remember this, it doesnt matter how much your barrel costs, what determines accuracy is paint to barrel match.
Some of the flatline fanatics probably noticed i didnt say a word about the flatline. That's because the Flatline is not like other barrels. It puts backspin on the paintballs, giving them a very flat trajectory and creating a much farther range than other paintballs. This is a very good choice if you play woodsball, but in speedball and more tournament oriented games, i would suggest against the flatline, simply because other barrels can give you better accuracy in those closer distances.


Drop Forwards:
There are an incredulous amount of drop forwards on the market right now, so i will address them in general. Since tippmanns are long guns, a drop forward is a nice thing to have on any tippmann. Now, for the 98c, you will need an additional elbow hose connection to make the drop forward work with your setup. With the A-5, you will need the Grip Adaptor Block($10-15) that is specifically for the A-5, and you will again need another elbow connection.


Hoppers:
This section is for the 98c only, because the A-5 comes with the Cyclone feeder which is as good a hopper as youll need for the A-5. Two good gravity hoppers are the Empire Reloader and the 12V Revolution. Both are capable of 11-12 bps sustained, and are similar in durability. The Empire is sound activated and rotates every time the gun is fired, whereas the Revolution has a sensor that senses when there is a gap in the feed neck, and will rotate accordingly. Maybe those 2 hoppers can't keep up with your 98c, in this case, you should look into a Egg hopper or a Halo B or an Empire Reloader B...all of which are capable of feeding over 17bps and some up to 21bps.


Firepower:
The easiest and cheapest way to get a few more bps out of your gun is to invest in a double trigger. They're only $20-25 and make your gun more compfortable and allow you to pull the trigger a little faster.

One of kits here is needed if you wish to make your Tippmann into a high firing machine. The Response Trigger is made for both the A-5 and 98c. This upgrade uses excess gas to reset the trigger, and when you sweetspot it, you can unleash full-auto bursts of 14-15bps.
The E-grip is an electronic sear-tripping upgrade for the A-5. It has an adjustable rate of fire(up to 15bps) and has different firing modes(Semi auto, 3shot burst, full-auto, response, and turbo)
The E-bolt is a fully electropneumatic upgrade for the 98c. It costs over $200 and you are better off spending the money elsewhere. However, if you are bent on buying one, the kit by Ballistic Sports is much better than the Tippmann e-bolt and i would suggest getting the BS E-bolt. The E-bolt has all the firing modes of the e-grip.


Well...thats it for now. There are always more upgrades, but i listed and explained the ones most people would like to get and the ones that are most beneficial. Stocks, sights, and other upgrades are available to those that want them, but in here is the crucial upgrades that anyone with a tippmann should consider.

I'll leave this thread open to questions...please no flaming, this is a safe haven for any/all newbie questions about upgrades, and im sure Brian(Lord Headley) will delete anyones posts that include flaming.

Ask away...

-Dan

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2k2 LCD C&C
Cocker Owner #21....Green 2k2
Model 98