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Thread: Objective look at Spike's SAR Rail

  1. #1
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    Lightbulb Objective look at Spike's SAR Rail

    My opinions on what is currently known about this rail...

    Pros:
    - Light titanium barrel nut makes it the lightest quad rail I believe.

    - I don't have the dimensions but I think they're on par with the better rails.

    - QD points

    - Includes ladder rail covers


    Cons:
    - (This is the biggest con for me and I know it upsets some people so I wanted some objective opinions)
    The flange that clamps the rail to the barrel nut is way too far below and snug against the hinge pin. It looks like it would contact the mag well and prevent the rifle from fully shotgunning open and as such may have the same problems that have been mentioned with Troy/VTAC extreme rails.

    - For very little more money I can get a DD Omega X (If all you're looking for is weight savings then this is a moot point)

  2. #2
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    I wouldn't buy anything from Spikes. I've done business with them and wont be doing any more in the future. I'd go with something of known quality. The DD rails are really nice as are Larue. I personally love Larue. If weight was a concern I'd go with a DD Lite Rail.

  3. #3
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    Both the BAR and SAR rails are incredible. I love the profile on the SAR. It's much thinner and very lite. Seekins precision did some job with it's design. I believe you are gonna start to see these rails gain favor in the AR community.

    As far as doing business with Spikes. As I have stated in the past. I have only had great results over the course of many products ordered.
    FFL Dealer
    NRA Pistol and Rifle Instructor

  4. #4
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    The titanium barrel nut alone is enough to turn me off of that product.

    Coming from mountain biking, a sport that has a long history of usage with exotic metals. Titanium and Aluminum do not play nice together. Titanium has a habit of galling and siezing up on threaded interfaces, the larger the threads, the worse the issue is. Aluminum also has this issue to a lesser degree. When dealing with bicycle parts made of titanium (all alloys of it) antisieze is mandatory on any threaded interface, as well as press fit interfaces. Otherwise the part may never come apart again without damage. These are all on parts that do not see any heat cycling like you will find on a firearm.

    Being that the barrel nut sees some of the most intense heatloads on an AR that makes it an even worse location for exotic and tempermental materials. Not to mention the possibility of the antisieze being cooked off of that junction.

    So unless you want to run the risk of having the barrel permanently affixed to the upper reciever, I personally would steer clear of this idea.

    Perhaps there are some aircraft engine techs on here who have a better understanding of Titanium, and I could be wrong. If so please let me know.

  5. #5
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    When I emailed them to ask what wrench fits the barrel nut, the CEO told me to use a "regular old 1 1/8 wrench or adjustable wrench." Seems like a poor suggestion not to use a torque wrench on such a sophisticated barrel nut. A set of crows foot wrenches to fit a torque wrench are not cheap.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by An Undocumented Worker View Post
    The titanium barrel nut alone is enough to turn me off of that product.

    Coming from mountain biking, a sport that has a long history of usage with exotic metals. Titanium and Aluminum do not play nice together. Titanium has a habit of galling and siezing up on threaded interfaces, the larger the threads, the worse the issue is. Aluminum also has this issue to a lesser degree. When dealing with bicycle parts made of titanium (all alloys of it) antisieze is mandatory on any threaded interface, as well as press fit interfaces. Otherwise the part may never come apart again without damage. These are all on parts that do not see any heat cycling like you will find on a firearm.

    Being that the barrel nut sees some of the most intense heatloads on an AR that makes it an even worse location for exotic and tempermental materials. Not to mention the possibility of the antisieze being cooked off of that junction.

    So unless you want to run the risk of having the barrel permanently affixed to the upper reciever, I personally would steer clear of this idea.

    Perhaps there are some aircraft engine techs on here who have a better understanding of Titanium, and I could be wrong. If so please let me know.
    You are supposed to moly your barrel nuts in general. Titanium is actually very dimensionally stable with respect to moderate heat, aluminum is the stuff that will kink itself in direct sunlight. (I've put a lot of dissimilar metal parts in the freezer to unseize them.)

    This is not an endorsement of this product just some info.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by sqwerl View Post
    My opinions on what is currently known about this rail...

    Pros:
    - Light titanium barrel nut makes it the lightest quad rail I believe.

    - I don't have the dimensions but I think they're on par with the better rails.

    - QD points

    - Includes ladder rail covers


    Cons:
    - (This is the biggest con for me and I know it upsets some people so I wanted some objective opinions)
    The flange that clamps the rail to the barrel nut is way too far below and snug against the hinge pin. It looks like it would contact the mag well and prevent the rifle from fully shotgunning open and as such may have the same problems that have been mentioned with Troy/VTAC extreme rails.

    - For very little more money I can get a DD Omega X (If all you're looking for is weight savings then this is a moot point)
    Do you have one?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by An Undocumented Worker View Post
    Perhaps there are some aircraft engine techs on here who have a better understanding of Titanium, and I could be wrong. If so please let me know.
    Not an aircraft tech but have used a lot of Ti hardware when I used to work on race bikes (motorcycles).

    We had Ti fasteners on pretty much everything. Stuff that saw heat and stuff that did not. Stuff that came apart all the time and stuff that never came apart. We never had any issues with the Ti fasteners in aluminum or steel.

    In most cases a barrel nut goes on and stays on. It is not like you take it off every time after you shoot to clean the rifle. Use a good high temp lube and you will not have any issues with the Ti.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    Do you have one?
    I don't.

  10. #10
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    If you are looking for a light weight rail that is high quality, you might want to check out the new one from Centurion Arms. CA stuff is known high quality, no problems there.

    If you are just looking for info on the ST rail, I've got no first hand experience.
    Stick


    Board policy mandates I state that I shoot for BCM. I have also done work for 200 or so manufacturers within the firearm community. I am prior service, a full time LEO, firearm instructor, armorer, TL, martial arts instructor, and all around good guy.

    I also shoot and write for various publications. Let me know if you know cool secrets or have toys worthy of an article...


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