The stick it self isn't as bad as everyone seems to think, however there are some issues. That binding comes from the plastic mounting plate. If you disassemble one you will see a groove which causes the stick to "hang" in a position until enough force pulls it out of the groove then you also feel the carriage bolt hit the metal restrictor plate. With out replacing the plastic mounting plate or modifying it there is little that can be done. You could eliminate the groove by "plastic welding" new plastic in there and sanding it back smooth or get some model car putty at a hobby shop.
If you have some white grease and some time you might be able to bring it to a level your ok with. They didn't apply grease on the carriage bolt (or not good enough) and it just doesn't move as smoothly as it could. A slightly heavier spring would likely help eliminate the "hang" for the most part, however I didn't have one around to try. If you attempt this or disassemble any plastic items the first thing to know is how to reassemble with out stripping the plastic threads. It's pretty easy but seems weird, when you put the screws in turn backwards slowly until you hear/feel a click. This should be the start of the threads where if you lightly tighten it will go in easy. If it doesn't then try again. Tightening the screws should only be finger tight, meaning that you hold onto the screwdriver with the tips of your fingers and once they slip your done. Having the proper size screwdrivers helps too. If your worried about stripping screws then also have a tray where you can lay out which hole each screw came from as the tolerance of the screws might affect stripping.
To do this you will need needle nose pliers to replace an e-clip, a small flat head or tweezers to take it off, a small Phillips and a large flat head (I can't remember the sizes) plus white grease and paper towels. (Don't get grease on the out side of the stick or the printed letters)
Remove the four rubber feet and remove the 5 screws (Phillips) on the bottom. Attempt to remove the ball (large flat head and your hand), these are glued in so while I didn't have any issue some have the correct size flat head is important. It is still possible to apply grease with out removing the ball, however it will be annoying. Remove all eight screws (Phillips) holding the joystick assembly together. Remove the metal restrictor plate and pull the switches away from the plastic mounting plate so you can further disassemble. Remove e-clip with small screwdriver or tweezers and be careful as the assembly will fly apart if you don't hold onto it. Now apply grease to the carriage bolt, the inside of the sleeves and any other place where contact is made. Ensure smooth operation and re-assemble using the pliers to replace the e-clip. When screwing the joystick assembly back together it will likely be easier to screw the restrictor plate to the mounting plate then screw the restrictor plate to the stick case. There are two unused holes in the metal plate that raised nubs from the mounting plate will poke through. As long as you watch that these poke through everything should be aligned. I suggest ensuring that all screws are partially in before doing any tightening. Just because I had one taken apart I removed the two button assemblys as well and applied white grease to the sides of the plastic on the buttons. After reassembling ensure everything works smoothly before replacing the bottom, then I used the controller for a little bit and cleaned any excess grease from the buttons. If your rubber feet don't want to stick back on then you can heat them up a little with a hair dryer before sticking them back on.
While this will not make any stick perfect it will likely be a noticeable improvement. Take note of how the buttons feel before and after. You should notice a more significant change on the stick especially if you compare how it feels when you pull it up before and after the grease. I'm not sure what weight the springs are to suggest a change but likely if your really concered you would attempt to replace the parts with Sanwa or Semitsu anyways. The thing to keep in mind is almost all $50 sticks suck out of the box (the Age Tec Dreamcast stick might be a slight exception) and need to be modded. A stick that feels good will likely run close to $200 so I really don't see how you can complain on this one.
Didn't know how to describe it.
