50cc Saw and Chain Shootout

[PB]

I've got to tell you, I've never seen a man put down a whole bottle of beer like Nik did!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Porter or stout? Man you weren't messing around fatguy! That is impressive, and even more so with a heavy beer.

 

[mowoodchopper]

It was a great time and all of the saws were very close.

We could sit and debate for a month about saws and chains.
The 346 was faster with .325 chain than my 5100.
But my 5100 was faster with 3/8ths than it was with .325 by half a second.
The 5100 was the only saw in the contest without a muffler mod.
The 346 we tested is a SCREAMER!!!

I guess the bottom line is:

They are all great saws but of the 3, I'll keep my 5100.


Bowtechmadman,

The 4000 was 1 second slower than the 361.

The 4000 had a well used but fairly sharp chain, and the 361 had one brand new out of the box today.

:agree2: The results do not suprise me! The 346 was faster with small chain, It is a high rpm screamer, the 260 which I know from exp has no torque! It almost kept up with small chain but put on the big stuff and it fell on its face!
The 346 I also think would have slowed considerably with the big chain as I dont believe it has the torque either. So it comes down to 260= nice handling but under power a bit still an exc saw though. 346 nicest handling and fastest with 325 chain = an exc limbing saw! 5100 not as fast and not quite as nimble but with big chain and for a firewood saw it is still my choice!

I may have not gave the 346 its due by saying limbing saw, it would be great for firewood too!

 

[FATGUY]

If I'm not mistaken, we forgot to race the 5100 and the 346ne in the bigger wood. I honestly think the bigger wood would have closed the gap... I've seen that saw with a 20" bar buried in hardwood. (see July Indiana gtg) The 260 was slower, but I honestly think it feels much lighter (the scale determined they were much closer than we thought). All 3 saws are awesome. In the real world, it just comes to preference. As far as the 357 goes, I'd like to see what it'll run like after a few more tanks of gas.....

 

[FATGUY]

Porter or stout? Man you weren't messing around fatguy! That is impressive, and even more so with a heavy beer.

Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale. (local micro brewery, REALLY good beer) and Haufbrauhaus Maibock (my absolute favorite Haufbrau bottled beer)

 

[Turkeyslayer]

As far as the 357 goes, I'd like to see what it'll run like after a few more tanks of gas.....

I am quite impressed it held its own against the 361, while not even broken in. I know when I first ran my 2156, I wasnt that overly impressed. But after 10-15 tanks thru it it REALLY wakes up

 

[blsnelling]

I am quite impressed it held its own against the 361, while not even broken in. I know when I first ran my 2156, I wasnt that overly impressed. But after 10-15 tanks thru it it REALLY wakes up

I found it odd that it was slower than the 361 in the smaller wood but dead even in the bigger stuff. That's the opposite of what you normally hear. The proof's in the pudding.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale. (local micro brewery, REALLY good beer) and Haufbrauhaus Maibock (my absolute favorite Haufbrau bottled beer)

What, no good old Blue or Canadian. Or how about Sleeman or Moosehead

 

[Turkeyslayer]

I found it odd that it was slower than the 361 in the smaller wood but dead even in the bigger stuff. That's the opposite of what you normally hear. The proof's in the pudding.

That is a little odd

 

[gink595]

not as fast and not quite as nimble but with big chain and for a firewood saw it is still my choice!

But I think the 5100 was the only true show room stock saw there in that class of saws, it would need a muffler mod to fairly compare. I know what a muffler mod did for my 024 so I can imagine what it did for the 346. But correct me if I'm wrong

 

[FATGUY]

What, no good old Blue or Canadian. Or how about Sleeman or Moosehead

The Blue they sell here is not the Blue from back home. That was my beer for years.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

The Blue they sell here is not the Blue from back home. That was my beer for years.

I'm a Blue man myself

 

[FATGUY]

But I think the 5100 was the only true show room stock saw there in that class of saws, it would need a muffler mod to fairly compare. I know what a muffler mod did for my 024 so I can imagine what it did for the 346. But correct me if I'm wrong

you're spot on Frank:agree2:
BTW the 260 was bone stock as well

 

[mowoodchopper]

But I think the 5100 was the only true show room stock saw there in that class of saws, it would need a muffler mod to fairly compare. I know what a muffler mod did for my 024 so I can imagine what it did for the 346. But correct me if I'm wrong

#1 I did think of that to, which just makes the 5100 more impressive in my book, cause like you said a muff mod really makes a diff IMO. I have never ran a 5100 without a muff mod so I dont know how they run stock, mine is a monster!

 

[Jtheo]

The Blue they sell here is not the Blue from back home. That was my beer for years.

Hey, that 3 second beer put a big smile on my face. And then you did it again. Too cool.

 

[Andyshine77]

The little husky saws really wake up with a good muffler mod. I have no doubt the 5100 would likely pull away from the other two in bigger wood.

 

[SawTroll]

But I think the 5100 was the only true show room stock saw there in that class of saws, it would need a muffler mod to fairly compare. I know what a muffler mod did for my 024 so I can imagine what it did for the 346. But correct me if I'm wrong

I tend to agree, but I believe the OE346xp also was stock - and that one also beat the Dolmar with .325..........

 

[FATGUY]

There is such a small margin between all the saws that in real world conditions, it's negligble. (to my surprise the same thing could be said about the 357 vs the 361) I could argue that the weight savings in the 026 would make it the better saw. Or I could say the throttle response and high rpm of the 346ne makes it the saw to beat. By the same token I could say the av and grunt of the 5100 make it the champ. Fact of the matter is, they're all too close to have a true victor and we all agreed invariably that it all comes down to preference. Me, I like 'em all and would be proud to have either of the 2 I don't have.

 

[blsnelling]

I tend to agree, but I believe the OE346xp also was stock - and that one also beat the Dolmar with .325..........

That is correct.

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

I agree with Carl and Frank, what a CROCK!

The guy cutting with the 346 was cheating!!! LOL.

Everyone else was cutting the diamond (the long road) whereas he was pulling his chainsaw up right after the plunge and cut the square for an easier cut and a few 10ths I'm sure. If he would have cut the diamond too, no way would it have been as fast. Times are closer than they appear.

Muffler mods too....I guess it is true, they have to cheat to beat a 5100:jester:

ps, no one had a 8x8 canyon oak cant

 

[Fastcast]

We had two 026s and one MS260. They were all 44mm versions. One had an aftermarket cylinder. All ran well. For the cut times we used Ericks MS260. It's stock except for a mild muffler mod. The 5100S was stock. The OE 346XP was stock except for a Meteor piston. The NE 346XP was stock except for a muffler mod. All cuts were made in a 10" Poplar square cant. Both 346s and the 5100S ran the same B&C. The chain was Stihl RSC in all times.

.325 Chain

1. NE 346XP / 6.8
2. OE 346XP / 7.2
3. 5100S / 7.8
4. MS260 / 8.1

3/8 Chain
5100S / 7.4 + 0.4 over .325 chain
MS260 / 9.5 - 1.4 from .325 chain
No time on 346XP with 3/8 chain

357XP vs MS361 - The 361 is a well broken in saw and the 357 is in perhaps its 2nd or 3rd tank of fuel. Correct me on these log sizes guys. I didn't get the actual measurements.
8" Cherry Log
MS361 / 6.5
357XP / 7.45
16" Ash
357XP / 8.8 Brad cutting
MS361 / 9.1 Nik cutting
MS361 / 8.7 Brad cutting

390XPG / 6.5
7900 / 6.9?? Fill me in here Andy if you remember. It wasn't written down.

A couple things come to light here for me.
1. Neither the OE or NE 346 XP is only a limbing saw. They both beat out the 5100S in 10" Poplar.
2. The OE 346XP isn't that far behind the NE 346XP and is still faster than the 5100S.
3. The 357XP does not give up in bigger wood when compared to the MS361. Matter of fact, in this test, the 357XP trailed in the smaller 10" Poplar cant and caught up entirely in the larger 16" Ash.
4. The only way to know which chain, 32.5 or 3/8, is faster is to try it on your saw in your wood. The 5100S was faster, the MS260 was slower.
5. Last but certainly not least, all of these saws are great contenders. Pick the one that feals best to you and the one that you can get the best dealer support on. The debating is fun, just like the testing. Bet seriously...get over it already They're all great saws with not enough difference in cut times to make a lick of difference in the real world.

Uh, lets see, the 5100 is the only saw that truly comes stock to the competition ....The 346 doesn't get ran with 3/8th .....The 346 conveniently forgets to be put on the scale. .....10" wood is all we test with.

Looks like lots of fun, good food & drinks and lots of laughs!

An objective shootout of off the shelf 50cc saws....Not hardly!