I have an AR that I am sloooowly putting together. I have all the pieces except the gas system at this point. I have fired ARs for the last 20 years and since they have all been government models, they are always DI. For those that have piston set ups, are they that much better, and if so, what about the cleaning? Everything thing that I have seen says that since the piston forces the gas out from the top of the barrel that the chamber stays much cleaner than the DI system.

In your opinion, do you think that its worth the $315.00 on a gas piston conversion, or is it just as good to save and go with DI? Thanks.

If you are building a normal length AR then just stick to DI. I have both, the only reason I have piston is because it functions better on my 7.5" SBR. It does stay clean and keeps the very hot gases away from the bolt since the pistol length gas system with DI is harder on the rifle

Really? 60 views and one opinion?

DI is the way to go.

More accuracy potential
Proven system
No worry of carrier tilt and abnormal wear, that you have with piston.
Less parts to break
Normal available parts

The ar reciever/gun was designed around gas, stick with it. You can get adjustable gas blocks that do the same as piston guns and their valves.

I like my DI. Piston sys has not been worked out completely

You asked for those that have pistons. Apparently there are 59 people that saw the thread that did not have piston setups.

I don't have a piston AR. Yes, pistons run cooler so less cleaning inside the gun. But now you are cleaning outside the gun more and all that junk ends up right in front of your optics. There are people that run 500-1000 rounds in a DI AR15 without cleaning the gun. The gun was designed for DI. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Just my opinion.

I appreciate the input- just really surprised with all of the folks that have ARs that more don't have favorable opinions of piston rigs. I was certain that most folks would rather a piston than a DI system at least for the cleaning aspect/ less need to lubricate the bolt during operation.

The piston system is a solution looking for a problem. The DI system has worked since the early 60's.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I have a 6.8 DI and a 5.56 piston...

The piston is barrel heavy compared to a similar rifle without the piston. It stays cleaner inside, and I've had zero problems with it. But I don't go out and shoot thousands of rounds through either gun.

I don't think I would spend an extra $300+ to buy a piston setup if I were building an upper.

Just my .02

I have a Ruger SR 556 E model. Heavier, yes. Accurate, yes. Reliable, so far. Cleaner and cooler running with less lube needed in the chamber/bcg area, MOST definitely.

I like it so far. Ruger seems to have figured out the "carrier tilt" issue.

I (and most other guys) run DI in 3gun. I've put about 600 rounds through mine since I've cleaned it last. I have yet to see a piston AR make it through a match.

What kind of failures are you seeing happen with the piston rifles?

Stick with DI. No way the piston is worth $300+

DI

I would have to agree with most others here. There are some small benefits of the piston, but the question is...Are the small benefits worth the $300. Most think not. Also, if you are putting together a carbine, middy, or rifle length, there's just not enough value in the piston to warrant the purchase.