What to expect from a ported saw?

[sawmikaze]

Plenty loud. Even with ear protection. Loud means horse power rite lol

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And stickers.

 

[Greg Newman]

You know how it goes..lol..we've gotten the "look"

Lol. Or the peepers, that peep around the corner every 30 seconds.

 

[sawmikaze]

Lol. Or the peepers, that peep around the corner every 30 seconds.

The chipper is way louder than the saws..

But there's Karen's in every neighborhood in America..

We've gotten looks so dirty from people (especially when we have to hold traffic up) they could melt steel..

 

[Sierra_rider]

Funny how they'll walk around the corner of their house and stare at you with a sour puss face with their hands on their hips.

Had a lady one time come over from 5 houses down upset about the loud saws. She was chewing out one of my employees about all the loud noise. I seen her come over but I was way up in the tree couldn't hear her going on. I thought she just wanted an estimate. He just laughed at her. I told him he should have started a saw and pissed revved it at her lol.

One of my guys had something similar when we were out clearing burned/dead firs out away from the trails at a local park. All of my falling saws are obnoxiously loud and my guys would block the trail when I'd be dropping trees. Anyway, some lady was complaining to my guys that my saw was triggering her anxiety. Apparently her mental disorder is my problem.

 

[davidwyby]

And even then, only the peak numbers read the speed. A lot of other handling and forgiving aspects don’t show up on the dyno unless one learns a pattern and can decipher it

Totally different dyno is what I have in mind…think chassis dyno vs. engine dyno. I wouldn’t build another std dyno, there are plenty around.

 

[davidwyby]

I’d say my XS 346 would outwork a stock 60cc. I don’t have any stock 60cc saws to compare, haha. I have heard of XS 346s cleaning house in 50cc class and in the top three in 60cc class at GTGs…

Might be faster than a stock 70cc with a short bar…but the 70cc might walk it if you put a bigger rim and more aggressive chain on it. Start going to longer bars and the little saw won’t do it, at least not as a work saw.

Long bar is a CC thing, hotrodding can only get you so far.

It’s like building a muscle car. All the components from the cam to the tires have to work together just right for it to be fast…but fast won’t pull a semi trailer.


4runner V6 has more peak hp than the V8, but it’s not “stronger” or faster…

 

[davidwyby]

Felling I prefer a slower gruntier low rpm saw. Dropping limbs off of trees n stuff that speed comes in handy sometimes.

 

[davidwyby]

The chipper is way louder than the saws..

But there's Karen's in every neighborhood in America..

We've gotten looks so dirty from people (especially when we have to hold traffic up) they could melt steel..

I don’t mind my loud saws (with ear pro of course). I hate the constant roar of the 4 stroke Honda in the lift. Someday I’m gonna put a muffler off a Tahoe on it.

 

[Nutball]

People think you're going home sooner in the tree removal business if your saw cuts 30% faster...

You aren't.

You are if you have to load all the wood by hand, and cut up the brush in a trailer or pickup bed. I used to have a 2 saw plan: 27cc top handle, and a 90cc with 20" bar for quickly dicing up logs and cutting down a brush pile. Once I started working with a mini skid for loading, I realized there's just about no good reason for a ported saw in residential tree work.

I had to dice and load by hand this 3-5 ton log. 42" bar for bucking, then 20" bar for dicing into 40lb blocks.

 

[Red97]

Totally different dyno is what I have in mind…think chassis dyno vs. engine dyno. I wouldn’t build another std dyno, there are plenty around.

Very interested to see this.

Please post some updates as you start working on it.

 

[sawmikaze]

I don’t mind my loud saws (with ear pro of course). I hate the constant roar of the 4 stroke Honda in the lift. Someday I’m gonna put a muffler off a Tahoe on it.

I don't mind them either..but mine aren't STUPID loud, most of mine just have the stock port opened up bigger..I have a few that really crack but mostly use those ones for firewood, I always wear my protos or some type of hearing protection, the only time I don't is when I'm felling, I wanna hear every snap, crackle and pop.

 

[MustangMike]

My saw is a stihl ms400 at 67cc, the echo 620 at 60. I thought the 620 would be way better but inwas kinda surprised.

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The 400s are known to be very strong even in stock form, but the porters also like them. Although it is based on a 362 frame, the transfer ports have significant improvements.

The only fair comparison would be to compare the ported saw to how it ran before it was ported, it is not fair to compare it to a larger saw with a more modern design.

For example, if you get a 5.0 Mustang from the 80s to run like a new one now, you have done a heck of a lot of work to it, and it will not get the same gas mileage. The technology just was not there. The new Mustangs have overhead cam heads, multiple valves, and VCT, etc. The new stock 5.0 engines have as much power as the old "built" 7.0 liter big blocks.

 

[isaaccarlson]

To answer the original question....

Ported saws will rev higher (some a little, some a lot), run louder, pull a more aggressive chain, get more work done faster, and make your cheeks hurt from smiling.

I have 3 ported saws. 33cc homelite ranger, 50cc husky 350, and 65cc stihl 390. They definitely cut "in a larger class" with appropriately sized bars.

The 33cc cuts at least as good as a stock 50cc.
The 50cc runs like a stock 65-70cc, and the 65cc runs like a stock 80-90cc.

This is not with long bars, this is with stock length bars. The 33cc has a 16 or 18" bar and will happily pull it burried in oak. The 50cc has an 18" bar and will scream with it burried in any hardwood. The 65cc has 20 and 28" bars and pulls the 20 like its not even there, and the 28 puts a little load on it but it just keeps going.

I have a stock 372xp oe and the 50 and 65cc saws will easily keep pace with it. It's going to get ported and wear a long bar for the bigger wood.

The 350 is my go-to saw for most of my cutting, and I really don't need the 372, but I bought it anyway, just to see what the hype was about. The 350 gets all kind of looks and starts a lot of conversations. People usually say "I've got a big (stihl, husqvarna, whatever) and that little thing cuts way faster than mine. What did you do to it?". Sometimes it gets me some porting work, but a lot of times they like what they see but don't want to pay the price to get it.

The noise can be a lot. I wear muffs every time I cut and offer muffs or a warning to anyone close by.

They pull hard. My brother tried my 350 and it almost got away from him because he was not prepared for the amount of pull/push it generates in the cut. He tried a down/up/down and it sucked right in on the down cut and then threw him backwards on the up cut. He never made the last down cut. He just handed it back and said "too much".

Ported saws will kick back much harder than a stock saw, so you have to respect them more. It feels like someone hitting the bar with a sledgehammer when it happens and a stretched chain is a very real possibility. I have to be careful with my 350 because it will stretch a chain about 80% of the time.

They're fun and they cut fast (with a good chain), but they also require you to check the tune every time you run them.

They also run much cooler than a stock saw. That's a huge benefit. I used to hear my ms390 ticking, creaking and making all sorts of noise after shutting it off. My hand also got very warm from the muffler heat. Now that it's ported, it doesn't make my hand hot, no noise, and I can put my hand on the muffler shortly after running it. Porting allows more cool air/fuel into the engine, more airflow over rhe fins, and more heat out the exhaust.

Someone quoted 40% gains up above^. Some saws will easily do that, and you'd expect them to run hotter, but they don't. They usually run about 10-20% cooler than stock. That makes a big difference when you are talking about temps of 350⁰ or more. It is best to let a stock saw cool before setting it in your vehicle, because they get so hot. I am able to load my ported saws as soon as they are shut off and the bar cover is on.

The only downside to ported saws is that you will have a hard time going back to a stock saw. It's like driving a peppy sports car and then getting in a minivan.

I ran my 350 (50cc) before going to look at (and buy) the 372. I ran the 372 and was actually disappointed in the performance. It felt so slow and unresponsive, I almost came home without it. (Which may have been a good thing) The only reason I brought it home was because I had seen ported 372's run and I wanted one. I am blaming the folks here for that, being the group of enablers they are and infecting me with CAD. I now have ~15 chainsaws. I really only need 1. Maybe 2. 3? Anyway, I think I've rambled enough. You should get the idea after all the other posts anyway.

 

[davidwyby]

@isaaccarlson red 372 XS

 

[isaaccarlson]

See? There ya go again! A bunch of enablers!

 

[jakethesnake]

Had a ported 346. Nasty 50cc saw. Would it touch a 70 cc. Lmfao. No

you could bury 18” 325 though and it would pull it fast. I broke a stihl 325 chain with it. Only chain I’ve ever broke. It was filed deep to pull chips. Impressive honestly. But loud. When you get up to 20” wood the torque of the 70cc with a 20” bar made it not close.

I don’t wear muffs. I know I should. But I don’t. I can’t take the noise anymore.

 

[isaaccarlson]

A smaller saw will never keep up with a bigger one in bigger wood, but a smaller one can keep up in smaller wood. That's why I said "with appropriately sized bars" which should have had a disclaimer about wood sizes...

Would I put a 24" bar on my 350? Sure. Will it pull it? Yep. Will it cut as fast as a 70cc saw with the bar buried? Not a chance.

I can cut rounds off of 10-12" red oak fast enough that I can maintain a slow walk along the log. That's as fast as a lot of 70cc saws, and a LOT lighter.

 

[Wolverine]

My 346 before (6.3 sec)

And after being ported (4.3 sec) Same b/c and log but temps were much colder.

 

[isaaccarlson]

This my my ported 350 in 20+" siberian elm. The chain wasn't real great, but it was still cutting.
https://youtube.com/shorts/DB_9jLKG6o0?feature=share

 

[Mastermind]

Echo.....Echo.....Echo