Expand the life of a CA M15A4 Carbine

[codfish25]

I'm fairly new to the sport of airsoft and im very close to buying a CA M15A4 Carbine (Full Metal). I hear really good things about the external full metal body, but i also hear that the internals are not so great.
I've done some research and people have had their's for 1-2 years (stock gun) without any promblems.
Well what i want to know is what would i have to upgrade for a longer life span of the rifle? And im not the richest guy in the world, so best for the buck.

[amano999]

I money is a issue, just run the AEG stock. Fix it when it actually breaks down.

Depends on how heavy you are on the trigger too.

[EagleDriver]

The newer CA "proline" series (versus the metal sportline series) has upgraded internals and should last you a good while.

[Donster]

If you are on a budget but want to upgrade your gun, here is what you need:

Modify piston
Modify piston head
ARS V.2 cylinder head w/ attached sorbo padm
Modify air nozzle
Modify spring guide

This will give your gun longevity and better performance. however, it is only a basic upgrade. To really go the rest of the way, you will need to put in a tightbore and depending on how its shooting, either a new spring and/or hop-up rubber. for me, i left the hop-up rubber stock in my TM M14. it works great. if yours works fine, dont get rid of it. if it sucks, then replace it.

[codfish25]

Thank you very much everyone

[m102404]

If you're completely daunted by watching mechbox.com...don't do anything.

If you're adventurous...check the shimming of the gears.

Otherwise...don't mess with it until you're through a couple of bags of bbs or a season of gaming. Nothing to do with the # of bbs..just gives you a cooling off period so you don't "fix" something that doesn't need fixing...

[ThunderCactus]

shim the gears, buy a systema piston and a tappet plate. Those are the 2 most common things to break in CA M15s and it'll run you about 35$