Airsoft Springs and Spring Guide – Everything you Need to Know

Generally, most of the stock spring guides are made of plastic with no ball bearings, that’s why the Spring Guide is the number one thing to upgrade in your AEG gearbox by using a metal-made spring guide having a ball bearing.

In this article, we will be covering all the basic info you need to know about spring guides and how much spring has to do with your airsoft gun’s FPS.

Let’s get started!

What is Airsoft Spring Guide?

As the name suggests; the spring guide sits at the rear of the gearbox and underneath the spring to prevent it from bending and turning on itself inside the gearbox.

There are two things you should know about spring guides if you are going to purchase one.

• Number one is its build material; Metal is clearly stronger than plastic so the metal-made spring guides along with a ball bearing are the tough and the best ones. The ball bearing at the base of a spring guide keeps the spring turning on itself instead of storing unnecessary tension inside.
• The second thing you need to know about spring guides is their version that they should be used for: there are different spring guides out there in the market used in different versions of gearboxes. So if you have a version 3 airsoft gun, you will need to buy a version 3 spring guide for that, and so on.

For example, M4, M16, and SCAR have version 2 gearboxes while AK and G36 have version 3, etc., etc.

 

Read: Best Spring Airsoft Bolt Action Sniper Rifles – Top 7 Guns Reviewed

 

How important is a metal spring guide?

In AEG, even a strong plastic-made spring guide could break because of all the stresses created by spring. Or the plastic one would eventually break with time even if it performs well at the start.

It’s not compulsory to replace it with a metal one but it is recommended once you have opened up the gearbox as the spring guide is one of the easiest and cheapest parts to upgrade.

 

Airsoft Springs FPS Guide

Before you upgrade the spring for your airsoft gun, you will need to consider upgrading other parts inside the gearbox first. Spring plays a major role in changing the velocity of your airsoft gun.

The ball bearing spring guides help with the tension generated from the expansion and contraction of the spring, it also helps avoid piston breakage and improve the spring’s lifecycle.

 

 

Do you need a scope for your airsoft sniper? Best Airsoft Sniper Scopes 2022 – 7 Amazing Scopes Reviewed

 

Process for changing the Spring

Changing the spring depends on the type of gearbox and the gun itself, it is different for different gearbox designs. Most of the modern airsoft guns have a pretty simple spring changing system where the spring can be removed or added from the back of the gun, and you won’t need to mess around with the gearbox.

The old version 2 gearbox guns generally require dismantling the gearbox first and then you would be able to change the spring.

We have attached a video for changing the spring of an airsoft rifle. However, you can check out YouTube for specific video tutorials.

What to do if you don’t get the right FPS?

The first thing you should keep in mind is that not all the springs are created exactly the same, and the second thing is that the FPS changes with time and use.

Now if you want to achieve somewhere close to your desired FPS:

• Purchase a higher FPS spring
• Take a cutter and cut down a coil from the spring
• Sand it down to make the sharp edges smooth
• Now, your spring should give a high FPS

 

Also Read: Best Cheap Airsoft Snipers 2022 – $40 to $200 [Top Rifles]

 

Where to buy?

You can buy an airsoft spring guide or your desired spring at any airsoft store in your vicinity or order from online platforms such as Amazon or Airsoft Station etc.

 

Conclusion

There you have it, a complete guide on airsoft springs and airsoft spring guides. We hope that we answered all your questions in this post? If so, please share it with your airsoft buddies.

Do you have any questions? Please ask them in the comments below

Happy Shooting 🙂