should I put money into my mag??

[fancynapkin]

I am going to buy a mag because its in my price range, but I am kind of clueless on how I will upgrade it. first of all, I notice that most people end up buying different guns when they already own "tricked" mags. why is this? if it put money into a 68 mag, will it even be worth it if I will eventually buy a new gun? the upgrades for mags are extremely expensive. 300$ for a new valve? a valve is a piece of metal with springs in it. people usually say that you need to get an x-valve, an intellifeed trigger frame, a lvl 10, and a ult in order for it to "keep up". this will probally cost around 500$.

should I just buy a lvl 10 and call it quits? or is it worth the money to upgrade it fully? it just seems that automags always end up on ebay even after all the upgrading, which scares me. Will I eventually want to buy a new gun?

[Big_Chops]

its worth the money upgrading imo. instead of buying everything new you could just pick up a fully loaded gun in the markers forum

[frost]

money into a mag great idea i never feel sorry about upgrade my mag

[Quiet]

What you need to realise is that people love to upgrade their stuff. I had a mag, I spent the time and money to upgrade it and when I finished, I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately I didn't have room to upgrade anymore, so I traded it up to buy another marker, a cocker. Now my cocker is getting close to where I want it, I'll be looking for something else (I'm thinking mag again, I can't wait to try out all those ULE parts). Hopefully I'll have the money so that I won't have to sell the cocker to finance it.

I guess what I'm saying is that what you are finding has less to do with the marker and more to do with the owners

Q

[dinger]

thats one of the reasons im thinking about not getting a mag...

expensive [sorry AGD :(] upgrades
and air hog :o

[golfy1486]

yea they r expensive but with the right equipment they rip like nother

[acepaintbller]

ya sure since you spent so much on it make it better!

[Toranaga]

Not really, I could get reasonably high BPS on my powerfeed mag before I did anything to it (bought it used for $160).

[LockNLoad]

I'm in the same boat as you. I want to shorten and lighten my trigger pull, but can't afford the XValve and ULT.

I have mixed emotions on the subject, and am looking for suggestions.

[speedballjunky]

a stock pwr feed mag with a lvl 10 is a great investment in my opinion.

[Dayspring]

I wouldn't call it expensive...

The Valve is the single most important part of the gun. Think of a Shocker or Matrix. Without that valve/bolt, the gun won't work. The only difference with us is that we have an integrated regulator on ours.

Think of it in terms of a cocker. You can buy a stock cocker. That's fine and dandy. Want better performance/smoother performance? You have to start upgrading all those parts. Guess what. You'll hit the $225 Xvalve upgrade price and then some with what you spend on the cocker. And that's not even Eblading it...

Xvalve is a single drop-in part. Done. Other guns- it's a series of upgrades.

[FragTek]

Go for it man... Upgrade the hell out of it, you definately won't regret it in the longrun, it will be one of those types of guns that you won't want to get rid of. At least that's what happened to me :) I wouldn't sell my E-Mag to God Himself. (Sorry God!) :)

[scribe]

whoa man im in the same boat. i have a micromag myself. all i want to nkow is, how would my mag compare if i shot it side by side with let's say...a matrix, after putting in an x-valve with intelliframe, ule body, ult, etc etc. but see, i wont ever know until i actually do it...so that's why i decided im nto giong to. i'm going to put a level 10 in, and maybe an intelliframe, and i ... am done.

i'm actually thinking of just saving a little more and buying a viking, 03 shocker, or a matrix.

[Dayspring]

There's your problem right there. You're comparing a mechanical marker to an electronic one. Apples and oranges.

When it comes to mechanical markers, an Xvalved mag rules the roost. Fastest mechanical marker. Period.

Will it compete with electros? Yes. Can it stay up with the increasing rates of fire? To a point.

[abarnhar]

My number one reason for returning to mags: Durability

Electros are horribly fragile inside. You get water in there, it's fried. You pull a little hard on the wiring harness when you're swaping your 9v, it's snapped. You get grease or dirt in your solenoid, you're out $60.

AGD recommends that you can clean most mags (without electronics) by immersing them in a tub of water and firing them. When I'm out playing rec or senario or even at the local speed field, I want that kind of durability in my hand.

The upgrades are great and pricey. But, once you have constructed a mag that fits you and your style, you'll have something you're truly proud of and a marker you can carry onto your field in any condition.

[Dayspring]

You don't want to dunk the mag in water and THEN fire. That'll blow water EVERYWHERE.

Dunk it a few times, take it out and THEN fire it. ;) (that way you don't get water in the valve. )

[scribe]

i was wondering if i could do that. so after i play, i could've just dunked my mag into a tub of water to clean it? it has to be gassed up tho right? so i dunk my tank and everything into it? will that clean the bolt and spring and stuff inside?

and can i do the asme wtih like spyders?

[Dayspring]

Yes, you want to have the gun gassed up.

As for dunking the tank, no need.Just the gun will do.

A precaution though- take out the frame screw and put some grease on it (threads mostly). This will protect it from rust. (It's alloy steel, not stainless and will get a rust coating)

[Dbl_Edge]

Ok, for starters, the xvalve comes with Lvl 10 and is only 225 when you trade in your old valve. That being said, you can find an old mag on this forum and upgrade like so:

Old powerfeed mag: $160
Xvalve: $225
Y-grip, or Igrip: $120
ULE Body: $150

there you have it. That is a basic 'tricked' mag... about $500. All mechanical, plays all the time, and can practically shoot underwater. And an extr $45 for the ULE trigger kit to get one of the lightest Mech. triggers on the market, and you're set. You won't ever have to upgrade a single thing again. Will you want to, prolly (if you're like most of us). now this may seem expensive and dumb, but look at the only other high-end mech marker out there: the cocker. You can easily buy an aftermarket-company edition cocker for $900 or more. And even after THAT people will always put other parts on it, in the quest to find the best arrangement or the most personal/one-of-a-kind setup.

Short answer: Yes.

Jake

[scribe]

if you get an x-valve, dont u need adjustable nitrogen tank? or a preset like the one i have (850 psi) is fine?

i was thinking of just gettin lvl 10, but looking at all this stuff on putting it together and making it work right is scaring me. the x-valve has it already in it and all set to go?

[abarnhar]

Preset is fine. You tune the LX using shims inside the powertube, not by pressure from the tank.

[Dayspring]

Actually, you tune the Level 10 with different oring carriers as well as shims (I have YET to use one).

And with ANY level 10 setup, you WILL need to do some tuning with it. Relatively simple.