Here ya go....read thru this thread. http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/ppq/67674-metal-guide-rods-spring-one.html

 

Thanks for the reply! though they said nothing about the weight of the spring. Found a nice guide rod tho!

 

I just performed what OF calls a ******* test on the factory rod+spring for my PPQ 45 yesterday using an accurate kitchen scale and I reached the 11lb limit with approx. 2/3" compression. I am not familiar with the Q5 spring but I suspect it's the same on both models. My best guess at this time is the spring is closer to 15lb.

 

I assume so as well, I might buy few factory springs and play around with it. Thanks!

 

Buy a SS guide rod and springs from Wilson Combat......soooooo easy to change the springs on these guide rods. You'll need to call the factory and make sure they send you a guide rod 'without' the 'red loctite'. Request NO loctite and finger tight.

https://ssguiderods.com/

They use a Wilson Combat 17 lb. spring on their PPQ guide rods. You can pick up some 15 and 13 pound springs from Wilson Combat. Happy testing.

 

Buy a SS guide rod and springs from Wilson Combat......soooooo easy to change the springs on these guide rods. You'll need to call the factory and make sure they send you a guide rod 'without' the 'red loctite'. Request NO loctite and finger tight.

https://ssguiderods.com/

They use a 17 lb. spring on their PPQ guide rods. You can pick up some 15 and 13 pound springs from Wilson Combat. Happy testing.

Sweet, thanks! will be looking into it!

 

IMHO; 17lb is too weak, and slams the slide stop.

What do you mean by "slide stop"? Are you talking about the slide release, or the "slide stop" that you must depress to take the slide off of the frame when field stripping?

Either way, how would a weak recoil spring have a negative effect on this slide stop?

I found that the DPM does not throw the brass like the standard spring but I don't recall what the total combined spring rate is.

If it doesn't sling the brass as far, then this must mean that the slide is not moving to the rear as fast as it is with the stock spring installed when the brass hits the ejector. In effect, this means that this recoil reduction guide rod performs the same function as a heavier recoil spring, at least in this last section of travel.

For reliability reasons, I'd rather go with a recoil spring on the lighter side than on the heavier side, as a lighter recoil spring is more likely to function reliably with weak loads, a weak grip, and/or shooting in awkward positions, all of which are possibilities in a defensive encounter.

There is a limit to how light you would want to go though. Keep in mind that there is a striker spring in the pistol that pushes the slide in the opposite direction as the slide is returning to battery. This is one reason why recoil springs for striker fired pistols are generally heavier than recoil springs for hammer fired pistols. Also keep in mind that a lighter recoil spring means that the slide will move faster to the rear, and all of the springs need to keep up. The mag springs need to push the bullet in the upward direction fast enough so that the slide does not "outrun" the cartridge when feeding, and the extractor and extractor spring will be getting more of a workout. Lighter recoil springs should increase frame battering in the rearward direction of slide travel as well.

The manufacturers put these springs with these spring rates in there for a reason, and they tuned each spring rate to function with one another. I'd rather leave the pistol stock. In my opinion, there are far too many people on this forum that feel otherwise, especially in regards to defensive pistols. What, exactly, are you guys trying to gain here, and what exactly are you using these pistols for, if you don't mind me asking?

 

What do you mean by "slide stop"? Are you talking about the slide release, or the "slide stop" that you must depress to take the slide off of the frame when field stripping?

Either way, how would a weak recoil spring have a negative effect on this slide stop?......

I was referring to the slides rear travel limit hard stop (chamber open). The way brass is launched 5yds tells me the slide velocity is extremely high during the last .2" of travel. It even overthrows brass limp wristed.

It's always been my understanding that when brass is overthrown due to high slide velocity, a stiffer spring is in order (with shooting session verification of proper function).

 

Personally, I'd just stick with the stock spring. It came that way from the factory and there don't seem to be durability issues with the design. If there are in the future then Walther should take care of it, and the pistol should be more reliable with the stock spring.

 

Personally, I'd just stick with the stock spring. It came that way from the factory and there don't seem to be durability issues with the design. If there are in the future then Walther should take care of it, and the pistol should be more reliable with the stock spring.

My concern is the excessive round count (3k rounds per yr) of 230 gr I'm putting thru a gun Walther designed to reliably feed 180gr while limp wristed.

I would not be surprised if Walther refused warranty service if they saw an unworn plastic guide rod ass'y in a well worn gun. That's why I'm considering more R' spring pressure.

 

I really don't think there is much cause for concern here. 3k rounds a year is really not that much, and if the PPQ couldn't handle that, I'd move on to another design.

As far as the concern over service, I doubt Walther would refuse service because of how the recoil spring looked. If someone here ever has that experience, I hope they will let us know.

Most .45 shooters I've run into run a steady diet of 230gr bullets through their pistols. I have to imagine that Walther knows this. Many pistol designs out there are undersprung in regards to the recoil spring. Glock pistols come to mind immediately. This will not stop a pistol from being durable enough to take whatever most people will throw at it, and it usually helps with reliability.

 

I guess my mindset of overslung brass = shorter firearm life is not as big an issue as I thought.

Thanks Balance.

 

Normally I wouldn't have an issue with playing around with different recoil spring weights, as it usually doesn't result in a safety issue, but we've had a few reports of people putting aftermarket recoil reduction guide rods in PPQ pistols that resulted in the bottom of the breechface setting a round off due to a failure to feed, which more that likely was the result of a heavy recoil spring.

On most things firearm related, I usually lean towards safety.

 

we've had a few reports of people putting aftermarket recoil reduction guide rods in PPQ pistols that resulted in the bottom of the breechface setting a round off due to a failure to feed, which more that likely was the result of a heavy recoil spring.

Do you recall the thread with that info....I missed that completely.

 

Do you recall the thread with that info....I missed that completely.

I'm sorry but I don't. The last thread on this was a few years ago.

If I'm remembering right, there were three reports of this on this forum. It wasn't until the second thread that I thought to ask if the OP on that thread installed any aftermarket parts on the pistol, and the OP stated that he installed a recoil reduction guide rod. In the third thread on this topic, the OP there stated the same. It is possible that all three happened with an aftermarket recoil reduction guide rod. I believe all three were on 4" .40S&W PPQ pistols.

I know I made replies to all three threads on this forum. I'm really not in the mood to search through a few thousand posts to find them though. Maybe another member who remembers these threads can be more helpful here. I'm not having luck using the search function.