Tuning Power FX Wildcat MK3 too low ?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
ladwict

ladwict

Member
Aug 10, 2020
349
72
Holland, Netherlands
I have a Wildcat MK3 compact in .22 . When I check the FX website ( and of most dealers) I find that this rifle should be able to create 55 joules (40.5 fpe). I have tried every setting possible with many sorts and weight of ammunition but with a max recommended reg pressure of 160 bar ( higher and your guarantee will get lost according to FX website) and the power knob on “7” I cannot reach that power. Not even close. ! get max around 43 joules. ( appr. 32 ffpe)

Is there anyone here who can tell me what could be the case ? I am well experienced in setting up and tuning a pcp so there is most likely nothing from my side I have overseen in my particular attempt to get the advertised power output. 
Thanks for your input !
 
Try reducing the regulator pressure. My Wildcat starts to loose power at about 145 bar. To much pressure for the hammer. Also you could order a heavier hammer ( 13 gram ) from FX.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reaction. I indeed tried lowering and upping reg pressure. Lower than 150 speed went down , higher than 150 speed went down as well. This tells me that 150 bar was indeed max re setting for max power in combi with standard hammer weight. My point is by the way not that you cannot obtain advertised max power by installing all kind of aftermarket stuff but it should do that as the advertisement suggests out of the box right ?
 
Upvote 0
Is your hammer spring screw on max?

Do you know what hammer weight you got?

B
Click to expand...

Yes tuned “on the knee” at 150 bar reg setting !

hammer weight I have not checked but as you can read in my earlier reply it is heavy enough to open the 145-150 bar-ish reg pressure valve. I don’t want to go higher in reg pressure so a heavier hammer weight is not preferable /needed in my case.
Thanks anyway for your reaction !
 
Upvote 0
 



Just to show the advertised power for the FX Wildcat MK3 as per below screen shot direct from FX Website . 
Anyone achieving those straight out of the box without all sorts of aftermarket parts installed ?

984E342E-6F12-4BEA-8EA1-54E0D7D9917D.1616932917.png

 
Upvote 0
I have noticed on my last 2 FX purchases that the guns seem to be coming from the factory in a pretty low power state of tune. However to date I have been able to bring them up to the power I want through HS and reg adjustments. But sometimes it seems to take a lot of hammer spring increase.

Before making a purchase I also compare the specifications for a gun as listed on the FX web site, with those listed on Utah Airguns web site. UA may be the largest FX dealer in the U.S., and they have an in-depth understanding of FX guns. I feel (with no actual evidence) that UA provides data of a 'real world' tune as compared to FX web site specs which show the maximum which could possibly be obtained (and if you shot the gun in that state of tune, you would probably be breaking internal components in 6 months). Here is the date for the WCIII Compact shown on their web site, which translates to a power of ~33 FPE in .22 cal:

Wildcat Cmpact Specs UA.1616937315.jpg


Finally, I have a WCIII Compact in .22 cal which I purchased used from UA (so I don't know how they originally tuned it, or how the first owner may have tuned it). I have only chrono tested it with 15.89's to date and with the HS wheel set on 7 it is giving me 30 FPE (of course the power might be a little higher with a heavier pellet). On my gun the regulator is only set at ~125-130 (hard to tell with the coarse OEM FX gauges).

I know that you've attempted to tune your gun to its maximum power and that you know what you are doing, but have you tried lowering the regulator pressure (maybe to ~130) and then significantly increasing the hammer spring adjustment screw? Sometimes, in my experience (somewhat limited) I have found adjusting FX guns to be a little counter-intuitive, where they shoot with more power at lower reg/higher hammer spring settings with the OEM hammer weight.
 
Upvote 0
Then sorry no help here, definitely something wrong, my Maverick with 120bar on the regulator and PW on #6 (I think my PW screw is on max) is shooting 25.4gr at 800fps (36fpe)

Still thinking hammer weight.

B
Click to expand...

Thanks again B. Your Maverick has nice Power plenum creating that additional power standard. Actually the Maverick delivers what the WC M3 was promised to do as well....


 
Upvote 0
...According to my findings FX is overrating the max. Power output with approx 25% in their specs. I could take 5% but with 25% I suggest something is very wrong with my Wildcat or with the FX specs.... Just want to find out what assumption is correct 😏
Click to expand...

I love my FX guns (so maybe I'm an FX fanboy), but I don't always like how FX the company seems to operate. So I guess I wouldn't find it all that surprising if they were overstating their specifications.

However sometimes it is just the smallest, simplest things which impact air gun performance. 

Have you tried the old 'tissue over the breech' trick when firing off a round, to ensure you don't have air leakage past a dry or nicked breech seal ring?
 
Upvote 0
O.K., just for giggles (and because I hadn't worked much with this gun since I bought it), I did some light tuning with it this morning. Shot JSB 18.13's through it for the first time. Was making 32 FPE as I had received it. Easily got it up to 34 FPE just working with hammer spring adjuster screw. Recall that my regulator was received by me set at ~125 bar. After any hammer spring adjustment the hammer spring wheel was returned to setting #7 unless otherwise specified in the chart below.

What did I find out?

1) My gun was received in a pretty poor state of tune, based on power and consistency;

2) Just playing with the hammer spring fine tune got me a little more power, and much better consistency.

3) Gun really sucks the air now, giving me just over 2 good magazines (~40 shots) per fill.

4) Now need to start some accuracy testing with the 18.13's on HS=6.

I then recalled that manufacturers normally use the heaviest 'normal' pellet and longest barrel to test their gun's performance. Not the case with barrel length here, as FX actually gives numbers specific to the Compact model of the WC3. But what about pellet weight? Decided to try some JSB 25.39's, and power (keeping the same 'best' tune reached for the 18.1's) suddenly jumped from 34 FPE to 37 FPE. And with further tuning and upping the reg, maybe I could get that power up further towards the FX specified 40 FPE??? Not going there though since I really don't need max power in this gun.

(EDIT: 5 of the 9 values I saw chrono'ing the 25.39's at HS=7 were the highest velocity seen for that pellet - 817 fps. So if only using the 5 highest values, an argument could be made that the gun is already shooting at 38 FPE, and getting pretty darned close to the FX specification.)

Anyway, here are the numbers I recorded this morning. Groups were 9 shots each so I could get 2 groups per mag. Pellets were un-weighed, unsorted. Chrono is the FX pocket wireless chronograph. Ambient temperatures were in the 65 deg F range. I normally don't fill my guns to max pressure especially for chrono work, so starting gun pressures were ~230-235 bar. Regulator at ~125 bar. I found this to be some fun and interesting stuff!

WC3 Tune Chart.1616954743.jpg


P.S.: I don't know whether this makes any difference one way or another, but my gun tested above wears the Huggett shroud instead of the OEM FX shroud.

IMG_1527.1616955452.JPG

 
Upvote 0
Shot count: 10
Low: 993
Hi: 1004
Avg: 999
Spread: 11
STD Dev: 3.8
997
1002
1000
997
1002
1004
995
993
1004
1000



MK III 700 mm barrel. NSA 23 grain slugs. HST 5.5 mm. Reg 140 Power Wheel 7. Sub MOA. 52 FPE. 1caveat: Huma Reg and XL plenum. My AMP leaked and never looked back. 


sold gun recently. Just not my style. But awesome power! 


yeah... No doubt awesome power. The 700 mm barrel, XL Plenum and Huma Reg are the kind of stuff you need boost the cat the way you write !
Click to expand...


 
Upvote 0
Thanks for the post but when I look at your picture I do see you reg needle in a clear “at least” vertical position which indicates a approx. 150 bar setting isn’t it?
Click to expand...

Gun pressure is at 155 bar. Like I said earlier, pretty coarse gauges that FX puts on their guns. Right now in the pic, maybe 130? Fluctuates a little while shooting between mid-way between 100 & 150, and like it shows below. I have not changed the reg pressure on this gun since I purchased it.

IMG_1529.1616970991.JPG

 
Upvote 0
I cannot speak directly to the .22 cal. Wildcat MK3 Compact, but I do have the .25 cal Wildcat MK3 Compact. According to the FX specs, this rifle should achieve a max of 55 Ft. Lbs. In the exact same tune that it had when I received it from Ken Hicks at SPAW the following table reflects the results I get from that gun using the 33.95 grain JSB pellets (unsorted, straight from the tin)

JSB King Heavy 33.95 grain

Power FPS Ft Lbs ES

7 862 56.1 1.4% [2/21/21]

6 860 55.8 1.3% “

5 855 55.2 1.2% “

4 841 53.4 1.9% “

3 817 50.4 1.3% “

Note that my reg is set at just below 150 bar

As you can see, I easily hit the 55 Ft. Lbs that FX advertised. I have found the same to be true for my FX Crowns as well as for my Impact. I think a lot depends on how the vendor set it up, or if they set it up at all.

Chris
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu