There are a variety of bushings out there, and this article will teach you which bushings need to be used in which cases. The type of bushings you use wil depend on what your setup is, and greatly on what your AEG’s FPS is. Below are three things you should know about airsoft bushings and bearings in order to use the correct ones with your gearbox.
1. Plastic Airsoft Bushings Can’t Be Used In High FPS Setups.
Should you replace your plastic bushings? The answer to that question all depends on how fast your AEG shoots. Generally, if your AEG shoots less than 340FPS, stock plastic bushings will work fine. Even though they will work in lower FPS setups, plastic bushings will fail much earlier than metal bushings.
2. Airsoft Ball Bearing Bushings Will Increase Performance But At The Price Of Decreased Reliablity
If you want durablity, you should go with standard metal bushings because they last longer. On the other hand, ball bearing bushings will increase the performance of your AEG but at the same time, decrease it’s reliablity.
Because Ball bearing bushings decrease the friction in your gearbox, they will increase your ROF slightly. However, bearings are more likely to fail than bushings. It is not recommended to use 6mm ball bearing bushings with a AEGs that shoot over 350 FPS.
If you are looking for maximum performance you should go with bearings. But if you want reliabilty, bushings are the better choice.
The next point will discuss when you can use ball bearing bushings in high FPS setups.
3. 7mm And 8mm Airsoft Bearings Are Needed For Higher FPS Setups
Airsoft bushings have three main sizes, 6mm, 7mm, and 8mm. To use ball bearing bushings in high FPS setups, you will need to use a 7mm or 8mm gearbox.
As stated before, using 6mm ball bearing bushings in a gearbox that has an FPS of greater than 350 is not recommended. If you want to use ball bearing bushings in a gearbox that goes 350-450 FPS, you should use a 7mm gearbox. To use ball bearing bushings in an FPS setup of less than 530 FPS, it is recommended to use an 8mm gearbox.
Even though you can use ball bearings in these high FPS setups, you gun will not be as reliable with ball bearing bushings compared to standard metal bushings. We recommend using standard metal bushings in high FPS setups.
These 3 things will help you to pick the correct type of bushings for your gearbox setup. Be sure to bookmark this post, so you can comeback whenever you may need this information again. If you want to learn more about upgrading your airsoft gun, read airsoft part reviews, and recieve other information related to airsoft, be sure to sign up for our email list below (we keep these emails to ourselves, we never sell, trade, or give them away).
