Direct impingement is a form of gas operated cycling. In general terms, ARs come in two patterns and two operating systemâAR-15 and AR-10, either direct impingement or piston driven. Gas Piston Technology â How do the new piston technologies work? In the context of direct impingement versus piston operation, it all boils down to this. On a piston gun or gas-impingement, the case is being extracted while the suppressor is still under pressure. Silencer Saturday: AR15 Gas Regulation . There are two AR-15 gas system types, but the prevailing type is the direct impingement system (DI). When you add a suppressor, I think it makes little difference what type of gas system your rifle uses, it is going to get very dirty! Many piston systems offer adjustable gas features which let you decrease the amount of gas fed into the system for suppressor use, or increase the amount of gas for adverse conditions. View Profile View Forum Posts View Articles Senior Member Join Date Jan 2007 Posts 1,116 Feedback Score 16 (100%) An adjustable gas block on a DI gun + suppressor is ⦠Direct impingement is the typical method of cycling an AR and routes exhaust gas from a port in the barrel directly into the bolt carrier group. I personally have always shot DI and that is what i will probably stick with. However, as the years went by, shooters demanded for a more compact version of this rifle. Direct Impingement vs Gas Piston. This ⦠Direct Impingement. Direct Impingement vs Piston. Hereâs where potential fighting words start. The carrier is adjustable through the ejection port and can fine tune the systemâs gassing issues for the ⦠A suppressor works by slowing down the gas through a series of baffles. Carbine length, mid-length, and then rifle length. I guess if you dont like cleaning guns, the piston gun would be the way to go. This article is not a direct impingement vs. piston driven operating system debate and does not discuss piston guns at all. So without further ado, we're going to go ahead and get it started off with this SR-15 from Knight's Armament. Direct Impingement and Gas Piston are two methods of gas-operation that provide energy to operate auto loading firearms. There is a key difference though; the gas is not directed to the bolt face. Rather than a âgas jet bashing motionâ the operation is a more gentle expansion in a cylinder that results in movement. This is a hotly-debated topic among AR-15 owners. Adjustable gas blocks can mitigate that as well though. This was accomplished by their flagship product the Bootleg Adjustable Bolt Carrier Group. Krnkaâs early design, further improved on and perfected by Hiram Maxim and John Browning, led to todayâs gas operating systems. Piston vs Direct Impingement AR15 Testing One of the things I have always wondered was how two identical AR15s would run with the only difference being that one is a direct impingement (DI) system and the other, a piston system. most piston systems will not without digging into the guts of the thing to remove the piston parts. If i was setting up a suppressor host in the old days(5 years ago) i would say hands down go with piston. It can be helpful to know some of the basics of how these operating systems work and the differences between them before making a decision. Curious about the differences between direct impingement vs. gas piston? Discussion in 'Firearms Chat' started by Biggsly, May 31 , 2014. Noveske: O.k., but what you’re not paying attention to is that all that crap comes back through the chamber, not the gas tube. The bolt itself is a piston.