I noticed the more compression the more heat the saw generates. The tune tends to creep around more too compared to one with less compression. This is just what i noticed with two 395’s with more than 200lb compared to a stock one or even the 394 I have here with a base gasket delete. Maybe smaller saws can handle more compression?
Bingo
It all comes down to physics. Compression adds energy in the form of heat to the combustion chamber. We have all felt a compressor tank get warm after it fills and then get cool upon emptying. Also how refrigeration works.
But energy is never created, it only can change forms. So it takes energy to make the heat from compression.
One wants the charge that’s in the combustion chamber to have the fullest fastest burn possible. Preheating it (compression) helps that. Too much and you will get detonation (so perfect that it will fire before you want it to).
So you have to figure out if the parasitic losses of compression are overcome by the power increases.
The higher the compression, the more heat the cylinder will generate. The high compression saws definitely get hotter and don’t hold tune as well as lower compression. The OEM know that, but they also have those tiny muffler outlets that maintain heat as well. Higher compression also slows down max rpm and spoolup.
Small bores like more because they tend to have much more cooling area vs bore size. If you put an 036 and 044 jug on a bench they are indistinguishable at quick glance.
This is also why it’s easier for a cold saw to fire without the decomp pressed in.
The point is that, like all else, it has to be matched to what one wants in a saw. There is no perfect combo. I tailor it to what the end user has in mind for the saw.