Sorbothane cylinder head pad, supplied with a protective shield. It simply glues onto the cylinder head, improving the reliability of your AEG in two ways:
- Prevents gearbox shell from cracking by absorbing excess shock energy.
- Increases piston durability by correcting the angle of engagement (AOE).
Made by Airlab in the UK.
Sorbothane is a visco-elastic polyurethane with excellent shock absorption, shape retention and sound dampening properties. It is made in a variety of hardnesses, 70D being the best mix of shape retention and shock absorption. It is probably the most cost-effective upgrade you can buy for your AEG.
The pad comes with the protective shield pre-installed. The pad is 8mm thick in total, which should give you perfect AOE in most guns.
Airlab sorbo pads are manufactured using purpose-built equipment designed and made in-house. Dealer enquiries welcome.
Click here for installation instructions.
More information on how it works:
Protects gearbox shell
Version 2 gearboxes are prone to breakages at the front corners of the cylinder window - an inherent weak point. This is caused by excessive shock transfer from repeated piston impacts, especially in upgraded guns. When the piston slams into the cylinder head at the end of each stroke, that energy is transferred through the cylinder head and into the gearbox shell. Over time small cracks begin to form, getting worse and worse until the front of the gearbox breaks off. Firing an AEG in cold weather can worsen the effect.
Sorbothane makes this problem trivial to overcome because of it's visco-elastic properties. Under a shock load it actually behaves like a liquid, absorbing most of the energy and using it to deform, and create a small amount of heat. This way it vastly reduces the transfer of energy, only allowing a safe amount to be absorbed by the gearbox shell. It then quickly returns to it's original shape, allowing the piston to rest in the correct position before the next round is fired.
Increases piston lifespan
These cylinder head buffers overcome another design flaw found in most AEGs - The angle of engagement (AOE). AOE refers to the angle at which the sector gear engages the piston. In stock AEGs, the piston comes to rest too far forward in the cylinder. This means that when the piston is engaged by the sector gear, all the energy in the gear (which can be a lot!) is transferred to the very tip of the piston tooth. This is a very small area, so all that energy becomes highly concentrated. As each round is fired the piston will suffer this enormous force, greatly reducing its lifespan. In upgraded guns, poor AOE can cause failure after just a few dozen rounds. Or even worse after a few thousand rounds, by which time you're in the middle of a skirmish.
The solution is to stop the piston slightly further back by about 6.3mm. This changes the AOE so that the full faces of the two teeth make contact as they engage. This spreads the force over as large an area as possible, reducing that concentration of energy to a safe level. Pistons last significantly longer when set to the correct AOE, helping to make your AEG much more reliable.
This Sorbothane pad with protective shield is the perfect thickness to correctly set the AOE in most AEGs.
Highly durable
Sorbothane is perfect for absorbing shock, but it is soft and has low abrasion resistance. A piston head slamming into it dozens of times per second will take its toll, and over time unprotected Sorbothane will deteriorate. Loose pieces of Sorbothane can make their way into the barrel causing a catastrophic jam, one of the quickest ways to destroy an AEG's internals..
A tough shield of harder polyurethane is supplied with the Sorbothane pad to protect it from the piston head. This polyurethane has excellent abrasion resistance, is incredibly durable and in an AEG will remain undamaged indefinitely. Even after prolonged periods of use they virtually look like new. The shield adheres extremely well to the Sorbothane, making the pad an immensely durable product.
Full installation instructions are available here.
Please select the correct pad for your gearbox type. This list is not exhaustive:
V2/3 is for M4/M16, G36, AK, MP5, G3, M249, Aug, UMP and other AEGs. Also compatible with sniper rifles.
V6 is for Thompson M1A1, P90.
