Tippmann 98 level 99

[Dauntless152]

OK I need a good simple project. I have an old Tippmann 98 custom laying around and it needs an overhaul. Did everyone give me an idea of what are the some of the best upgrades would be? I don’t wanna make it electronic, and I loath response triggers, but I wanna make it an efficient, smooth, amazing piece of machinery Post your upgrade suggestions.

[BenoitOWN]

A good barrel only, the rest won’t do much of a difference since you don’t want any trigger assist.

[Fubarius]

On one of my A5 based builds (so not identical but pretty darn close to a 98) I has some great success with a low force build. Not a common build, and some attempts by others in the past have been unsuccessful, but can be quite rewarding. The idea is similar to a low pressure build, but pressure is a second or third concern instead of the first. The main goal is to get the main spring as light as possible while maintaining velocity. So high flow valve, maybe higher flow power tube, lighter valve spring, possibly a volumizer, but then a rear velocity adjuster and the lightest main spring you can find. The lighter the main spring the easier the trigger pull, the gentler it is on paint (will stop on a half fed ball instead of chopping), and the smoother the shot. Even with a full weight hammer its more of a dull thud instead of a sharp crack.

I got my valving flowing enough to be well above 300 fps with the lightest possible main spring, and had to add a reg to get down to safe velocity.

[glaman5266]

This is similar to my high volume Spyder build. High flow valve, more volume, lighter springs, polished hammer. Basically you get some of the low pressure benefits without actually going low pressure/regulating it. It's all done via spring combos & volume as opposed to regulation. This was a nice compromise for me, as I don't always like slapping regulators on stuff.

[Myrkul]

I do this to all my 98s. Lightest main spring possible, RVA, and Polished internals.

[Trbo323]

Cram an automag in the shells, smoother, quieter, more efficient all in one.

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[glaman5266]

As BenoitOWN said, there's not much you can straight-up buy these days to boost performance aside from a different barrel or trigger upgrades. There used to be a lot of parts you could buy, but the vast majority of them are no longer available, at least that I've seen. The only internal parts that I think could be beneficial to a specific build would be the JCS gold power tube (removes velocity adjustment, requires a RVA) and a lighter hammer. I haven't seen a gold power tube in many years, new or used. If you don't like the right feed you could look for a Rufus Dawg centerfeed kit.

EDIT: Not sure how old your 98 is, but I've read that the Platinums were re-engineered in a way that they no longer accept some of the older upgrades like the LP kits.

As for DIY stuff, there's a number of things you could do. A trigger job & internal polishing are simple things you could do & I'd argue those are the best "upgrades" for the buck. Once you polish the internals (hammer, linkage rod & clamshells, NOT the plastic bolt) you *might need a weaker hammer spring. I'm not 100% sure how a trigger job on a 98 is done, but you could start with adding nylon washers to the sides of the trigger (over the trigger pin) to take out any side/side slop. Maybe swap the trigger return spring for a softer one. I can't remember how chunky the 98 trigger is, but if you want a more rounded trigger you could file down the outer edges of the face (I just did this with my Pro Carbine).

[Trbo323]

there's not much you can straight-up buy these days to boost performance aside from a different barrel or trigger upgrades. There used to be a lot of parts you could buy, but the vast majority of them are no longer available, at least that I've seen.

A ton, perhaps even a majority of the "upgrades" for the 98 do very little to nothing anyway. You are paying for the ability to brag to your friends and write it down on a "mods" list. If I remember right it was cockrrpunk who sat down and decided to actually test the bolts. There was around a dozen at the time (early 2000s) and he found that the majority were actually worse than stock. The stock bolt was actually one of the better ones out there

People buy into manufacturers claims way too hard these days. They buy something, slap it on and get an elimination their first game with it. Well therefore it must be this new ASA that gave me better accuracy! Confirmation bias is a thing

for DIY stuff, there's a number of things you could do. A trigger job & internal polishing are simple things you could do & I'd argue those are the best "upgrades" for the buck. Once you polish the internals (hammer, linkage rod & clamshells, NOT the plastic bolt) you *might need a weaker hammer spring. I'm not 100% sure how a trigger job on a 98 is done, but you could start with adding nylon washers to the sides of the trigger (over the trigger pin) to take out any side/side slop.

I'll agree to this. Polishing is one of the better upgrades in general you can do. If you already have the materials it's free as well. Unless the hammer has damage/corrosion, I usually just touch it up, don't bother with a full on super polish. They are some kind of hardened steel (ever tried drilling one? I fried 2 drill bits before giving up) so it will wear the aluminum faster than the other way around and they are pretty smooth from the factory (plated?)

The off the self stuff is fairly run of the mill, and unless you want to do something to the trigger is going to feel like a heavy mechanical. You could look into doing a pnu-trigger if you really wanted to. I've seen it done but that's not going to be simple at all especially with the somewhat limited space in the grip frame



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[bobthebot]

Tracking down one of the old LP kits will allow you to add a regulator and make the gun shoot marginally more smoothly and consistently. You could also try to piece together an ebolt kit and spend huge amounts of time and money making one of the worst electro guns ever Why you would want to do this to a 98 I do not know. Trying to make a Tippmann shoot smoothly is like upgrading the handling of a tractor.

A large part of the appeal of Tippmanns for me (and imo most people who like them) is the fact that they are silly looking and heavy and loud and vibrate like a paint shaker. The upgrades I would recommend are some custom painted shells (the flashier the better), a shorty barrel with threading for muzzle devices (CP makes one), and a Lapco Dishka Thunder barrel tip.

[Dauntless152]

So mainly what I’m gonna do is definitely a barrel, definitely a new ASA, possibly mill off the sites so it’s flatter on top, possibly get a Rufus dog center feed kit if I can find one. Polishing internals, hammers all corroded, so I had to clean that, new D10, rear velocity, adjuster, spring kit, possibly a lighter spring in the valve and hammer, matte black finish. Macroline setup, possibly gas through grip.

[BenoitOWN]

If you do want internal upgrade in the TechT department let me know I can sell them.

Rufus center feed go for high $$ now a day about 100$… you won’t get feeding issue. Even my Halo B back in the day kept up with RT.

[Brokeass_baller]

I really like the Techt stuff. I've had great luck with the Zero Kick hammer, light valve spring, and respringing the hammer. I don't know about their anti-chop bolt though. We all modded our bolts the same way back in the day, and results were mixed. Techt may have figured out the right spring for it. I don't know. Their stuff is good quality, so it might be worth a try if you have extra money.

I also love the Techt Cyclone stuff. Start off with squishy paddles. Eventually, the stock rod and ratchet will break. Once that happens, THEN spend the money on the upgrades. You won't see much performance benefit. Just durability.

And a really easy way to lighten up the trigger pull: remove the sear spring altogether. Put the stock trigger spring under the sear, and then use a clicky pen spring under the trigger.

Lightly polish the inside of the body where the hammer rides.

That's pretty much all you need to do, in my opinion, without going absolutely nuts with it.

[glaman5266]

I also would think twice about a Tech-T bolt. I think it was Myrkul who had a huge thread involving testing & troubleshooting with their bolt & it was pretty much garbage. I’m on mobile right now so I won’t post a link, but run a search on here & you’ll probably find it.

The stock bolt is one of the best bolts. Don’t fix what isn’t broken.

[Myrkul]

Yah, The Tech-T superbolt is absolute trash. Stock bolt is much better. I did a big write up on PBN a few years ago about it.

https://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=5965929&page=2

[Brokeass_baller]

Thanks for the link

[glaman5266]

A ton, perhaps even a majority of the "upgrades" for the 98 do very little to nothing anyway. You are paying for the ability to brag to your friends and write it down on a "mods" list. If I remember right it was cockrrpunk who sat down and decided to actually test the bolts. There was around a dozen at the time (early 2000s) and he found that the majority were actually worse than stock. The stock bolt was actually one of the better ones out there

People buy into manufacturers claims way too hard these days. They buy something, slap it on and get an elimination their first game with it. Well therefore it must be this new ASA that gave me better accuracy! Confirmation bias is a thing

Oh, I completely agree. I specifically mentioned the gold power tube, lightened hammer & Rufus Dawg kits because they could actually give performance increases, however slight & by whatever metric. Barrels & LP kits too. But yes- most of it does nothing or next to it. The DIY stuff along with a good barrel makes the biggest difference IMO.

[Myrkul]

As for DIY stuff, there's a number of things you could do. A trigger job & internal polishing are simple things you could do & I'd argue those are the best "upgrades" for the buck. Once you polish the internals (hammer, linkage rod & clamshells, NOT the plastic bolt) you *might need a weaker hammer spring. I'm not 100% sure how a trigger job on a 98 is done, but you could start with adding nylon washers to the sides of the trigger (over the trigger pin) to take out any side/side slop. Maybe swap the trigger return spring for a softer one. I can't remember how chunky the 98 trigger is, but if you want a more rounded trigger you could file down the outer edges of the face (I just did this with my Pro Carbine).

For 98 trigger jobs, You can replace one of trigger pins with a slightly thicker one made from chopping a drill bit. Unfortunately its been to long and I don't remember the size or which pin, but it was a really common mod on Model98.org back in the day. I'd go to a hardware store and try to eye ball it. Obviously replace the trigger return spring with one from a clicky pen. Since you aren't going to use an R/T you should be able to tap the R/T hole for a 1/4-28 set screw to act as a rear trigger stop. The other DIY mods I've found to be good on 98s are porting the feed neck to vent blow back gas, and wrap an "o" ring around the feed neck to eliminate hopper wobble.



I also disassemble the valve and drop a weaker valve spring in (if you have any of the old 68 carbine CVX valves, they use a smaller front cap on the valve, you can swap one in to increase valve volume). And, as everyone else has said, a weaker drive spring and RVA are a must.

I've also started modifying all my bolts to handle smaller paint by having KCCockerDoc cut a ramp on the similar to the planet eclipse cure bolt. I haven't actually tested them in 98s yet, but they've completely eliminate paint breaks in my Spyders, B2ks, Impulse, and Prolite, so I'm really confident they'll work well in 98s too.

[Redragoon]

The only thing I think ever mattered for my 98s were a good cleaning, new springs, and a well adjusted RT trigger.
Scares some electro players when they think they are charging a rental gun that suddenly kicks out 10-15bps.
Any decent force feed hopper keeps it from chopping paint. Mine actually has the Tippmann (Spyder Fasta) loader on it most of the time.
It's been a solid marker than I can loan out without worrying.

Flatline or Apex barrel is fun for woods with a stock trigger.

[Chappy]

Polish the halves. Polish the internals. Polish the barrel bore. Get an RVA and a spring kit and tune it up. Then be done, otherwise you're pissing in the wind. Unless you want to change the ergonomics, or make it look cool. Nothing wrong with that.