UTG APS2 Gen 5

"Also, if the spring is upgraded, im assuming that on a cheap rifle like this EVERYTHING will need to be upgraded."

Yeah, just to make sure, I would go ahead and upgrade everything. While it might hold up for alittle while without upgrades, you will never know for how long. If you do not have the cash to upgrade every vital piece at one time, just upgrade a few things like a tightbore barrel, hop up chamber, bucking, piston, etc. Then as you get more money you can get the other internal pieces to allow you to safely use a upgraded spring.

"I am 99.9% sure its not Maruzen APS2 compatible but cannot confirm that."
A friend of mine was going to get the generation five also, and I called evike to ask if maruzen parts were compatible. He said they were... but I would make sure someone here has actually tried some parts first. Also, I called airsoftatlanta and they also said that every part was compatible. Whether or not they are right I do not know. I just wanted to give you some of the info that I have been given.

Hope this helps somewhat

Fuzzy

The compatibility is kind of a hit and miss, It depends on the part.

I have a Utg/Well APS2 Clone rifle and I enjoy using it, You may have seen it in the gallery. http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/phpBB/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1104 I know it looks weird but it works.

I have upgraded it with a power up kit that UTG makes and it works good you just need to buy the grease for installing it. I did not have to upgrade the trigger box but you will probably need to. The trigger box on your model is prone to breaking. He may be able to put this upgrade in if the cylinder diameters are the same. Here is my review on it

http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/phpBB/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1104

A zero trigger would be needed to handle a power upgrade but that should be the one most expensive part in the build.

The other mods he can do are making barrel spacers with duct tape or foam, and polish the inner barrel.

Also, he should get a new sling for it. The stock slings are junk.

That should get his gun working wonderfully and that is all he should do. I recommend this because it is a clone rifle and it would be better to spend a small amount of money and get to know the take down procedure and the process of upgrading without spending all sorts of money and the zero trigger could be moved to his next rifle when he outgrows it and wants a high-end model to upgrade. There is no point in throwing 300 dollars into one of those guns. But they do perform good when you tune them up correctly and for a beginner it is good enough. And I base this on the experience with my rifle. I'm sort of the Sniper Rifle Technician in my group, I work on a lot of my friends APS2 clones. I know his rifle is a little different than an L96 aps2 clone but the inexpensive upgrades are compatible, like the UTG shadow ops aps2 upgrade I believe.