Depending on how often you use your Intimidator and whether any problems have arisen, will determine the frequency of disassembly, inspection, and tuning. Tuning a Timmy is pretty simple because there are very few adjustments that need to be made.

Before you tune your Intimidator, disassemble and inspect all the components. You are looking for any nicks on the components or in the marker internals that could damage o-rings or prevent the marker from sealing. Blend out any nicks with 800 grit emery cloth. Check the ram for any damage and ensure the ram bumper is in good condition. Replace the ram bumper if necessary.

While you have your Intimidator disassembled, now is a good time to replace all the o-rings and rebuild the LPR and inline regulators. We won't cover how to disassemble or reassemble your Timmy, we are confident you know how to read your manual. If you don't have a manual, visit our manuals page here for one.

The process of tuning will be done in 3 steps (2 if you do not have an adjustable ram cap). 1.) Setting the ram stroke 2.) Setting the LPR pressure and 3.) Setting the valve dwell.

Reassemble and lubricate your Intimidator bearing in mind the above steps.

Step 1: Setting the ram stroke.

This step only applies if you have an adjustable ram cap installed. If you don't, then ensure your ram bumper is in good condition, as this will ensure the bolt and ram do not travel back any farther than they need to.

If you have an adjustable ram cap, then adjust the center set screw to remove any needless travel out of the ram and bolt. Make sure that the bolt still clears the feed tube and allows a paintball to enter the breech.

Note: Ensuring that the ram bumper has not mushroomed or deteriorated is paramount to preventing problems with the solenoid valve. If parts of the ram bumper enter the solenoid, then the valve can get jammed up and not function properly.

Step 2: Setting the LPR pressure.

The Low Pressure Regulator pressure is displayed on the gauge installed on the vertical adapter. It is important that this pressure does not exceed 100 psi. Anything above this can cause low pressure tubing to be blown off the barbs, solenoid problems, higher recoil, pinging sounds, and/or internal damage.

The LPR is adjusted by an allen adjustment screw on the front of the LPR. Turning the screw clockwise will increase the pressure while turning the screw counter-clockwise will decrease the pressure.

The lower you can get the pressure, with the marker reliably re-cocking, the better because there will be less cycling recoil which in turn creates better accuracy. There is no magic number for the optimum pressure, just make some adjustments and see how your marker operates at different settings.

Step 3: Setting the valve dwell.

This will depend on which 4-way solenoid valve is installed in your marker. You will need to open up the trigger frame and look at the solenoid wiring to determine which one you have. There are two wires that come out of the solenoid. If the solenoid has one green and one black wire, then the factory recommended dwell setting is 16 ms. If the solenoid has two black wires, then the factory recommended dwell setting is 8 ms.

Now a little bit about valve dwell. Valve dwell is the amount of time the solenoid holds the valve open allowing air into the bolt. Too little valve dwell and not enough air will be allowed to enter the bolt. Too much valve dwell and you will just be wasting air because the valve will be held open after the paintball has fired.

The factory recommended settings will get you to a starting point but that doesn't mean that your marker is firing at it's most efficient state.

Air-up the marker if it isn't already and head for a chronograph. Set the valve dwell at the factory recommended setting for the solenoid. Fire the marker over a chronograph while adjusting the torpedo inline regulator until it stabilizes at 290 FPS or so, as long as it is consistent.

Now decrease the valve dwell one setting at a time and fire five shots over the chronograph to get a stable FPS. Continue this until you notice a decrease in velocity. When the velocity decreases, increase the valve dwell one setting until the velocity returns to the previous setting. Now your marker is at it's most efficient setting.

Now your marker is tuned and in tip-top shape to tear up the field.