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Posted: 9/8/2026 5:09:01 PM EDT
| I have Superlative parts I am considering using to build a upper but I see that a purpose built piston upper will have a steel sleeve installed for wear. What should be my path forward with this? |
| Sorry if I'm misstating the question. The action rod passes through the hole in the receiver where the gas tube normally lives and because it reciprocates there may be wear-steel on aluminum. This box of parts that the piston parts came in had an unknown history and i would use it in a different receiver anyway. I want to avoid building something that will eat itself. Ive seen other designs that use bushings. How big of a problem could that be? One reciever I'm considering is an Aero enhanced which has a lot of metal there. |
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I have been running Superlative Arms piston systems in my 3 AR's for several months. If I didn't tell you that they were piston conversions, you would never know. I don't see the need for a steel sleeve in the upper. I did install the steel insert for the piston rod into my uppers but I agree that it is not necessary. I would recommend one upgrade to minimize wear in the upper receiver: install a POF roller cam pin. They are $26 and are a simple drop-in install because there is no carrier gas key to remove. Also, makes the action even smoother. Also, the rear of the SA piston carrier is beveled which eliminated wear in the rear of the upper. A piston conversion is the way to go if you run a suppressor. Even without a suppressor, you get less gas to the face with a piston AR than an unsuppressed DI AR. |
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Originally Posted By Inverted_Polarity: I have been running Superlative Arms piston systems in my 3 AR's for several months. If I didn't tell you that they were piston conversions, you would never know. I don't see the need for a steel sleeve in the upper. I did install the steel insert for the piston rod into my uppers but I agree that it is not necessary. I would recommend one upgrade to minimize wear in the upper receiver: install a POF roller cam pin. They are $26 and are a simple drop-in install because there is no carrier gas key to remove. Also, makes the action even smoother. Also, the rear of the SA piston carrier is beveled which eliminated wear in the rear of the upper. A piston conversion is the way to go if you run a suppressor. Even without a suppressor, you get less gas to the face with a piston AR than an unsuppressed DI AR. I could turn down the gas one notch on my SA kit with the POF pin and removing the gas rings. If one's building an AR (rather than replacing existing BCG and gas system components), there is no downside to a piston, plus less gas with a suppressor. |
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