Bignoize

That gold barrel is Titanium Nitrided, a case-hardening process that results in the characteristic gold color. The barrel is one of the best things about the STI DVC line. Changing that is like buying a Ferrari and replacing the engine with a small block Chevy engine. Nothing against small block Chevys but you’d be essentially ripping the soul of the gun out and replacing it with something (that’s likely to be) inferior.

I'm new to this forum but find it infinitely valuable so...thank you all. I have been dialing in my DVC Open and experiencing all the usual issues, except for the cracked comp. However it's clear to me how STI has subtly changed the comp design to eliminate (or reduce) cracking at the top of the rear side ports. If you look at Bdh821's photo, you'll see that the round end of the oval-shaped side port intersects the upper machine line running the length of the comp. This creates a stress riser (machinists and mechanical engineers can weigh in). In the new design, the side ports are lower by, say, a millimeter, but enough to reduce/eliminate that stress riser. I'm not sure if anyone from STI can confirm this, but surely their machining tolerances are such that this distance on the newer comps is deliberate. I checked and I have the older-style comp so...I've got my fingers crossed awaiting the dreaded crack.