PCP's Adjusting vs Tuning?

[napairgunner]

There are lots of discussions about tuning your gun but what does that really mean? Would "adjusting" be a better word to use in some cases do you think? You tune a piano of course because it plays a tune and assume the term "tuning" originates from the idea of piano tuners which is an actual job of course.

With PCP air rifles it seems that tuning would be more related to adding after market parts to allow the rifle to do something other than what the built in adjustments allow it to do. In spring guns tuning almost always refers to after market springs and guides to make it shoot smoother or with more power. With PCP's what is the consensus here of the difference (if there is one) of adjusting vs tuning?

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I adjust my PCPs at home and I send them away to professionals to tune them.

 

[Nsboost]

There are lots of discussions about tuning your gun but what does that really mean? Would "adjusting" be a better word to use in some cases do you think? You tune a piano of course because it plays a tune and assume the term "tuning" originates from the idea of piano tuners which is an actual job of course.

With PCP air rifles it seems that tuning would be more related to adding after market parts to allow the rifle to do something other than what the built in adjustments allow it to do. In spring guns tuning almost always refers to after market springs and guides to make it shoot smoother or with more power. With PCP's what is the consensus here of the difference (if there is one) of adjusting vs tuning?

Well... When I tune my race car... I'm just adjusting the fuel and timing maps to produce the most power or to get it to stick to a given surface.

When you tune your air gun.. you are just adjusting pressure/hammer to achieve a low SD... Then you adjust the projectile speed from there till you find where it groups the best. Essentially you're tuning harmonics.

You don't need a "professional" to tell you the gun shoots well and gets good efficiency from the air available.

 

[elh0102]

This is probably just semantics, but I think many people "adjust" their rifle by simply playing with HST to find a certain, or most accurate velocity. And that's kind of step one. At that point, the balance of reg set point and hammer tension can be "tuned" to give the most efficient air consumption to support that certain velocity. You should then have a tune that offers the most shots at a consistent velocity, and is often quieter also. That's been my experience.

 

[ram2jeep]

I like how this is worded, in relation to your question: “Tuning is a process which involves a series of adjustments each followed by an evaluation. It's what you do when you don't have an exact formula for how much to adjust something for a desired effect, or when there are complex interactions between parameters.”

 

[60Aviator]

ram2jeep is on it!
A definition of tuning: The adjustment of a system or circuit to secure optimum performance.

 

[Chukar60]

Kind of splittin hairs ain’t we?

 

[ctshooter]

Kind of splittin hairs ain’t we?

I would tend to agree with you based on this analogy:

You have a guitar that doesn't sound right. You twist a knob to simply loosen or tighten a metal wire to produce a different frequency when plucked. This is called 'tuning' the guitar, not adjusting.

 

[MikeVV]

Yeah !
Pretty synonymous actually.
You HAVE to to do one, to accomplish the other...right ?

That is, unless your wife's named Samantha and she can twitch her nose (upper lip) and make it happen magically !

Mike

 

[Motorhead]

A VERY misused term meaning different things to different folks.

TUNE generally is just fine tuning something to become in a better state of tune.
TUNED for many includes modifications / alteration with the above 'Tuning"

So 3 terms of the same word ... Tune, Tuned, Tuning that when used out of correct context can be very misleading

 

[Bigragu]

A VERY misused term meaning different things to different folks.

TUNE generally is just fine tuning something to become in a better state of tune.
TUNED for many includes modifications / alteration with the above 'Tuning"

So 3 terms of the same word ... Tune, Tuned, Tuning that when used out of correct context can be very misleading

What?? Confused, sir.

I took your description as the past, present, and future of the word Tune

But you are correct, it is a word thrown around a lot in this arena. There’s modification, re engineering, and just downright doing a repair and it’s called a tune by some.
Just an example, In my mind, this is who I would call a “tuner”

 

[Motorhead]

With that I do agree ...
As one who uses Lathes, Milling Machines to alter, fabricate, and manufacture purpose built parts for a "Tuning" project or R&D, yup very relatable

 

[Vetmx]

I make adjustments to the gun to tune it to the projectile I’m shooting. I make stuff on my lathe to do modifications to the gun. Then I have to make adjustments again to try and see if they helped me achieve a better state of tune. At least that’s how I look at it.

 

[dizzums]

sometimes .. alot of guns do indeed 'tune' though using the given adjustments .. way i see it well tuned is well balanced and most efficient ..

 

[elh0102]

The term has significantly different meanings when comparing air guns to firearms. With air guns, you're working almost exclusively with the rifle to achieve your goal. With firearms, a large part of "tuning" is the construction of precision ammunition. The centerfire rifle itself is a relatively simple piece of equipment, but "simple" should not be taken to mean unimportant. Obviously, the rifle is critical, but a machinist of even modest talent can chamber and fit a premium barrel and action to an acceptable level of precision for BR competition. But in terms of "tuning", it is the assembly of truly precision hand loaded ammunition, matched to a specific rifle, that separates the highest level of preparation/tuning from the lower levels. The variables involved in that task are many, and books have been written on the complexities. As air gun shooters, we can take our precision air rifle, get it tuned to our liking with the best pellet, and then go shoot. With a CF rifle, there is no "best" ammo, and you are constantly trying to make it, the tuning never ends.

 

[Fate]

ram2jeep posted the definition.

Motorhead describes that definition in the hands of a professional airgun Tuner.

Relative to a PCP airgun, adjusting, if there is an external control, is done with any control that alters only one variable, like power.

Adjusting is what one does to a rifle scope, although two or three adjustments are available there is no interaction among them.

Tuning is tuning. But to reach the pinnacle of any “tuning” endeavor requires successfully melding the interactive refinement of an infinite number of variables into one finite perfection. It’s a goal always waiting to be achieved but never realized. Fanatics get lost in tuning, seeking an impossible final, perfect, tune.

I personally tune most things one way or another. Seriously learned first in electronics (profession) and later automobiles (racing, e.g.) especially their ECUs, but I leave little that I acquire unchanged. The definition ram2jeep posted is intrinsic to all.

 

[Bigragu]

Then there’s also tuning to this degree-

“I’m gonna have to tune my brother in law in the head”
“ that loudmouth, I’ll have to tune him out”

Last but not least, theres “Looney Tunes”

 

[Motorhead]

Then there’s also tuning to this degree-

“I’m gonna have to tune my brother in law in the head”
“ that loudmouth, I’ll have to tune him out”

Last but not least, theres “Looney Tunes”

Like this best !!!

Lol .. you can TUNE a Piano & tune a Car, tune an airgun or tune a Guitar.
You CAN'T tune-a-fish or tune a Tree, tune a river or stream of your pee

 

[rcs9250]

Last but not least, theres “Looney Tunes”

Let’s refrain from getting into politics.

 

[JimD]

Because PCPs have either the fill pressure or the regulator pressure + the hammer blow on the valve to adjust and get to work together, I think what we should do is tune our rifles. Not think about adjusting one parameter independent of the other. The transfer port is another variable and it does affect the regulator performance so maybe it's more like 3. In a inter-related system like this, I think the best way to adjust is to tune. Don't just tweak something, take the time to adjust the other parameters too to get the system working well. It always bugs me a little to hear people talk about changing hammer spring tension to adjust velocity. I'm sure it can be done and on my unregulated Prod I do it too. But on a regulated gun I think the regulator is the coarse or big adjustment for velocity and the hammer spring needs to be changed when the regulator is changed to find it's new sweet spot.