The TJD Speeder Cocker Ram: Best Ram on the Market
The TJD Ram
You have a lot of choices when it comes to rams for your Autococker. A lot. Inception Designs makes a fantastic ram. Freeflow and Shocktech also make good rams. Dye is entering the market, and there are still a ton of very, very good WGP rams floating out there for your builds. So why would you jump into the ram market? For TJD, it appears that it's because he thought of a better way to do things.
Cocker Ram 101
The ram on an autococker is pretty simple. Most consist of a ram shaft and bumper, a base, and a cylindrical tube. When your cocker is cocked, the pressure is going into the back barb, pushing against the bumper in on the ram shaft and pushing it against the opposite end of the ram (the far end of the cylinder). This holds your back block up near your body, closing your bolt.
When you pull the trigger, you fire (yay!) and you flip your three way. When you do that, you switch your pressure going from your LPR, through your three way, and into your ram. That pressure is now going into the front of the cylinder, kicking your ram shaft back to the base, pumping your back block back, and moving your bolt back far enough to allow a ball to feed.
Then, when your trigger is released and goes back, your air pressure goes back to the original positions. This slams your back block back into the original location, and closes the bolt
Cocker Ram 101
The ram on an autococker is pretty simple. Most consist of a ram shaft and bumper, a base, and a cylindrical tube. When your cocker is cocked, the pressure is going into the back barb, pushing against the bumper in on the ram shaft and pushing it against the opposite end of the ram (the far end of the cylinder). This holds your back block up near your body, closing your bolt.
When you pull the trigger, you fire (yay!) and you flip your three way. When you do that, you switch your pressure going from your LPR, through your three way, and into your ram. That pressure is now going into the front of the cylinder, kicking your ram shaft back to the base, pumping your back block back, and moving your bolt back far enough to allow a ball to feed.
Then, when your trigger is released and goes back, your air pressure goes back to the original positions. This slams your back block back into the original location, and closes the bolt
Simple, clean milling that can all be anodized
What makes the TJD ram different?
So a couple paragraphs back, I said that TJD thought of a better way to do things. You're probably asking what that meant, since it just looks like a nice ram. Well, let me cover that.
The first thing that you'll notice is that the whole ram is aluminum on the outside, like several other high-end rams. That means that you can anodize the tube and end cap, and match it to your current pnuematics. I was told that these will be coming in dust and gloss black, which covers a lot of the spectrum. If that doesn't match for you, contact an anodizer, and fix the problem.
The other things that you'll notice as different than most will come on the cylinder. There are dual options for your barbs on the cylinder, either side mounting or in the end, and all barbs are 10/32, as god intended them to be. The other nice touch is that he added flats to the cylinder so that you have something to grip when taking it apart or putting it back together. This should help keep the occasional moron from feeling the need to grab them with vice grips or channel locks and scratching the living crap out of them while trying to service the ram. It's a small but very smart touch.
The last thing that you'll notice is the diameter. It's a pretty standard ram diameter, as opposed to the oversized that you get with Inception. We'll be back to this in a second.
So a couple paragraphs back, I said that TJD thought of a better way to do things. You're probably asking what that meant, since it just looks like a nice ram. Well, let me cover that.
The first thing that you'll notice is that the whole ram is aluminum on the outside, like several other high-end rams. That means that you can anodize the tube and end cap, and match it to your current pnuematics. I was told that these will be coming in dust and gloss black, which covers a lot of the spectrum. If that doesn't match for you, contact an anodizer, and fix the problem.
The other things that you'll notice as different than most will come on the cylinder. There are dual options for your barbs on the cylinder, either side mounting or in the end, and all barbs are 10/32, as god intended them to be. The other nice touch is that he added flats to the cylinder so that you have something to grip when taking it apart or putting it back together. This should help keep the occasional moron from feeling the need to grab them with vice grips or channel locks and scratching the living crap out of them while trying to service the ram. It's a small but very smart touch.
The last thing that you'll notice is the diameter. It's a pretty standard ram diameter, as opposed to the oversized that you get with Inception. We'll be back to this in a second.
And here's the shaft
The next thing you'll notice is that it's packing a thick shaft with tool flats. That's really convenient for screwing these puppies into pump rods, and also matches modern rods in thickness. This set up should look familiar to a lot of you. It's basically the same as Inception's newest ram. It's not groundbreaking, but it's a damn good way to do things.
Remember a couple of paragraphs ago when I mentioned that it's a pretty average diameter? You should. It wasn't that long ago. I mean, really, what's wrong with you? Anyway, because it uses that larger ram shaft and a pretty standard ram volume diameter, you'll need to run at a higher pressure than most rams. There's just less space in there.
The question is, "Does that really matter?" I would argue that it really doesn't matter a whole lot. You can still set it up to pinch paint. And being able to lower your LPR pressure too low can lead to some user error for newer players.
Some newer players using the most recent version of the Inception Ram may set it up while dry firing at a lower pressure and they'll think that they're good. The ram recocks the gun, and dry fires just fine. But when they add paint, they'll get a ton of blowback. What gives?
Well, they're setting the LPR too low. The back pressure of the ball firing will push the back against the bolt, moving it backwards, and causing that blowback. The LPR isn't sending enough pressure to the ram to keep the back block in place and fight through that force from the shot. You can't see the problem when dry firing, but it bites you in the ass when you add paint. Not a big deal, but frustrating to young pups who don't know better.
All of that is saying that there is a floor to the lowest pressure that you can or should use. So, if you can set the ram to pinch, is it going to matter if the pressure is a little lower? Not a ton. But yes, the Inception Ram can go lower due to having more internal volume, and I did need to note that.
Remember a couple of paragraphs ago when I mentioned that it's a pretty average diameter? You should. It wasn't that long ago. I mean, really, what's wrong with you? Anyway, because it uses that larger ram shaft and a pretty standard ram volume diameter, you'll need to run at a higher pressure than most rams. There's just less space in there.
The question is, "Does that really matter?" I would argue that it really doesn't matter a whole lot. You can still set it up to pinch paint. And being able to lower your LPR pressure too low can lead to some user error for newer players.
Some newer players using the most recent version of the Inception Ram may set it up while dry firing at a lower pressure and they'll think that they're good. The ram recocks the gun, and dry fires just fine. But when they add paint, they'll get a ton of blowback. What gives?
Well, they're setting the LPR too low. The back pressure of the ball firing will push the back against the bolt, moving it backwards, and causing that blowback. The LPR isn't sending enough pressure to the ram to keep the back block in place and fight through that force from the shot. You can't see the problem when dry firing, but it bites you in the ass when you add paint. Not a big deal, but frustrating to young pups who don't know better.
All of that is saying that there is a floor to the lowest pressure that you can or should use. So, if you can set the ram to pinch, is it going to matter if the pressure is a little lower? Not a ton. But yes, the Inception Ram can go lower due to having more internal volume, and I did need to note that.
Opened up
So why is it better than any other ram out there? Open it up. The ram bumper looks very similar to the WGP, and isn't all that different from anything else out there. It slides well, and is very smooth.
But that brass insert in the base should catch your attention. What exactly is going on there? This is one of the reasons why this ram is special, and the most user-friendly on the market
But that brass insert in the base should catch your attention. What exactly is going on there? This is one of the reasons why this ram is special, and the most user-friendly on the market
Hexed insert for easy removal
That brass insert is threaded in, and hexed for easy removal and replacement. The brass insert screws in easily, and is heavily vented at the point of the barb. It has several circular ports wrapping around the piece, allowing for easy airflow into the ram.
This piece also is what holds the o-ring that seals the ram shaft into place. That means that you can easily remove the o-ring if you want to anodize the ram, or if it gets a nick, or the ram shaft is damaged and starts to tear that o-ring. If you were to wear that o-ring out, just unscrew that brass piece, pull the o-ring, and replace it. Easy peasey.
No other ram on the market does anything like this. Almost every other ram, if it's serviceable, needs a tiny o-ring pick to reach in and pull that tiny o-ring out of the smallest diameter of the base or for you to take a heat torch to the tiny base. It's awkward at best, and can be extremely frustrating to get that o-ring in or out.
It also means that you can service the entire ram on-gun, without ever taking the base off your marker. You can't do that with any other ram on the market. You can get to every single seal on this puppy and not have to mess with your base. That's a level of ease and access literally no other ram has or has had in the past, and makes it the most user friendly ram developed.
Conclusion
So, to recap, why is this the best ram out there? Let's go through the positives. The ram shaft is user friendly. The ram can all be anodized. It has, by far, the most user friendly, serviceable base. Because of this base, you can actually service the entire ram without taking the base off the front block, and getting it ready for ano takes about 10 seconds. The ram cylinder is user friendly and has flats to use for wrenching so you don't leave idiot marks. It uses 10/32, high flow barbs. The only downside, and it's a small one, is that it runs at a slightly higher pressure.
I've been told that the cost is likely to be around $60. This isn't out of line with other high-end rams. With everything that you're getting, I really would put this at the top of the heap of new autococker rams. It's very well thought out, with great features with the end user in mind.
This piece also is what holds the o-ring that seals the ram shaft into place. That means that you can easily remove the o-ring if you want to anodize the ram, or if it gets a nick, or the ram shaft is damaged and starts to tear that o-ring. If you were to wear that o-ring out, just unscrew that brass piece, pull the o-ring, and replace it. Easy peasey.
No other ram on the market does anything like this. Almost every other ram, if it's serviceable, needs a tiny o-ring pick to reach in and pull that tiny o-ring out of the smallest diameter of the base or for you to take a heat torch to the tiny base. It's awkward at best, and can be extremely frustrating to get that o-ring in or out.
It also means that you can service the entire ram on-gun, without ever taking the base off your marker. You can't do that with any other ram on the market. You can get to every single seal on this puppy and not have to mess with your base. That's a level of ease and access literally no other ram has or has had in the past, and makes it the most user friendly ram developed.
Conclusion
So, to recap, why is this the best ram out there? Let's go through the positives. The ram shaft is user friendly. The ram can all be anodized. It has, by far, the most user friendly, serviceable base. Because of this base, you can actually service the entire ram without taking the base off the front block, and getting it ready for ano takes about 10 seconds. The ram cylinder is user friendly and has flats to use for wrenching so you don't leave idiot marks. It uses 10/32, high flow barbs. The only downside, and it's a small one, is that it runs at a slightly higher pressure.
I've been told that the cost is likely to be around $60. This isn't out of line with other high-end rams. With everything that you're getting, I really would put this at the top of the heap of new autococker rams. It's very well thought out, with great features with the end user in mind.