New 660, should I mod it?

[woodchucker]

I just traded in my only saw and bought MS660 (wife said I could only have one saw)
I normally cut oak, elm and have been going after the big knotty trunk that the land owner doesn't want to tackle. The biggest I have found since I bought the saw was only 27" and it seemed to go through it pretty good. I can barely remember what is was like to use the MS310 except I think I was there a lot longer.
I have the 20" bar from my old saw and bought a 28" with the new saw.
The questions I have are should I make any mods to it or leave it stock? Am I getting the most out this saw with the two bars I have or should I look at some different sizes?

 

[COLD_IRON]

Brand new? I would break it in and let it do its thing and let the warranty cook off before modding it.

 

[blsnelling]

Mod it. Plenty of saws get modded straight out of the box. You may want to run a tank or two through it though, just to get a feel for it. That way you'll appreciate the difference when you're done modding it.

 

[Slamm]

A well modded 660 is a beautiful thing. I run mine with either a 20" bar for bucking up normal sized logs very, very quickly and a 28" for felling.

Personally, I don't bother with the warranty stuff, just modd the thing and cut quicker for that time period.

At least, muffler modd the thing. The hole in the 660's muffler (factory size) is sized just right to not allow small insects to crawl into the muffler and was not designed for flowing exhaust gases. Open it up and add another port or a factory dual port.

Sam

 

[wendell]

(wife said I could only have one saw)

Man, that :censored:.

Of course, the other day my wife was telling somebody that I had 2 saws. I'm really glad she doesn't pay any attention to what is in the garage!

 

[o8f150]

heck,, i mod mine as soon as i get home with them

 

[saxman]

I had my dealer install the dual port muffler on my MS660 before I took it home. The only other modification I have done is to upgrade the oiler to the high output Australian type since I keep a 36" bar on mine all the time. I don't know how much more power a person would need in a chainsaw, but then again knowing the fine members of AS we always want to push the limit to the edge and sometimes fall off.

Steve

 

[StihlyinEly]

Do you care about a warranty? If not, mod the muff and cut. If you do, cut for a year, and then mod the muff and cut!

Honestly, I think Brad's advice is the best so far. Run several tanks through it so you are familiar with the saw after break in. Then mod the muff and retune. Then revel in the power. If you bought the saw and don't worship at the saw altar but just wanna cut wood, mod it right now and go cut. But if you like to see before-and-after stories, let it settle a bit before modding.

You don't know how much power a muff mod will add to an MS saw until you've run it broken in and unmodded, and then run it after modding.

 

[Slamm]

I don't know how much more power a person would need in a chainsaw, but then again knowing the fine members of AS we always want to push the limit to the edge and sometimes fall off.

Steve

LOL, I have just found my "breaking point", I have a modded 660 here, that me and another veteran and knowledgeable faller have been using and we feel that there is no reason for any more power that what this thing has. In the words of the other guy," It is un-boggable.", and that is a very good thing, LOL.

Sam

 

[Tzed250]

.


I modded mine...


.

 

[StihlyinEly]

I have a modded 660 here. In the words of the other guy," It is un-boggable."

Right. Any saw that is "unboggable" is a saw that hasn't had a too-long bar buried in too-big wood.

Now, I love the power of my modded 660, but let's stay within the bounds a realism, shall we?

 

[Slamm]

Right. Any saw that is "unboggable" is a saw that hasn't had a too-long bar buried in too-big wood.

Now, I love the power of my modded 660, but let's stay within the bounds a realism, shall we?

LOL, we cheat, we use skip chain and 7 tooth, yeah, you can slow it down with a 28" bar in oak, but it is pretty hard to stop it, especially with a sharp chain. Bert, the other faller, had a few trees sit on the bar and he said the chain would still spin, but the bar was pinched. This saw has truly ruined us for any fine handeling of the saws. As you can just slam it up to the dogs and it just keeps spinning the chain, we go whole days of cutting oaks with 28" bars and may get a decent bog about once or twice that day.

Sam

 

[StihlyinEly]

LOL, we cheat, we use skip chain and 7 tooth, yeah, you can slow it down with a 28" bar in oak, but it is pretty hard to stop it, especially with a sharp chain. Bert, the other faller, had a few trees sit on the bar and he said the chain would still spin, but the bar was pinched. This saw has truly ruined us for any fine handeling of the saws. As you can just slam it up to the dogs and it just keeps spinning the chain, we go whole days of cutting oaks with 28" bars and may get a decent bog about once or twice that day.

Sam

A 28-inch bar on a modded 660? Of course ya can't bog that combo unless you're trying to cut concrete, or cut through election-year political rhetioric, but that doesn't mean the saw is "unboggable."

I betcha there are plenty of folks who could bog a modded 660 in 48-inch oak. And that ain't even including the Aussies, who seem to have cornered the last of the real big and hard wood in the world.

Just sayin'.

 

[Slamm]

A 28-inch bar on a modded 660? Of course ya can't bog that combo unless you're trying to cut concrete, or cut through election-year political rhetioric, but that doesn't mean the saw is "unboggable."

I betcha there are plenty of folks who could bog a modded 660 in 48-inch oak. And that ain't even including the Aussies, who seem to have cornered the last of the real big and hard wood in the world.

Just sayin'.

Yeah, we don't know anything about big, hardwood timber cutting. Here are a few pics of just the last few weeks to prove it:
Small White Oak

Small Black Oak

Another Small Oak

Should have let this one grow up some more.

Just saying we have one that runs pretty good for a modded 660 and we have 3 to play with everyday, so we might have a little idea of what we are talking about.

Later,

Sam

 

[StihlyinEly]

Yeah, we don't know anything about big, hardwood timber cutting. Just saying we have one that runs pretty good for a modded 660 and we have 3 to play with everyday, so we might have a little idea of what we are talking about.

Later,

Sam

You cut wood for a living or something?

Yeah, Sam, I know you're out there making your living with saws every day. And I respect that. But when you say a saw is "unboggable," you are wrong. Just. Damn. Wrong.

If you'd have said: "This saw and B/C combo is darn near impossible to bog" I'd have backed that 100%.

 

[Rounder]

Muff mod and max-flow air filter will wake it up a bit for starters.... - Sam

 

[logging22]

Yeah, we don't know anything about big, hardwood timber cutting. Here are a few pics of just the last few weeks to prove it:
Small White Oak

Small Black Oak

Another Small Oak

Should have let this one grow up some more.

Just saying we have one that runs pretty good for a modded 660 and we have 3 to play with everyday, so we might have a little idea of what we are talking about.

Later,

Sam

Nice trees brother.

 

[Slamm]

You cut wood for a living or something?

Yeah, Sam, I know you're out there making your living with saws every day. And I respect that. But when you say a saw is "unboggable," you are wrong. Just. Damn. Wrong.

If you'd have said: "This saw and B/C combo is darn near impossible to bog" I'd have backed that 100%.

Well for god's sake, we honestly can go a full day of cutting and when we get done all we talk about is "Man, I think I only bogged the saw once today." or "I don't think I bogged the saw once today."

I have never ran a saw this powerful before and I run everything modded.

Bert has only run 1 460 and then just 660's and 084's logging in Wisconsin, and he says the same thing after each day of running this saw. We fight over it every morning. Of the three we have the modded Big Bore is the crapper and its a good saw, but it isn't near as fast as this "Killer" 660, I speak of. I'm not sure what my buddy did to it, but it is in another catagory from the other's and they were much faster than a stock 660.

Modded saws are the only way to go if you need production or don't like to work for long periods of time.

MY OPINION,

Sam

 

[rmihalek]

Slamm, your stories and pictures are awesome. It's too bad there was so much criticism on the other thread, but you handled it like an ace. Keep up the good work and please keep posting pictures of your work; it's great stuff.

 

[StihlyinEly]

Well for god's sake, we honestly can go a full day of cutting and when we get done all we talk about is "Man, I think I only bogged the saw once today."

Then that is not an "unboggable" saw, is it?

I'm NOT saying a modded 660 is a POS. It's an utterly powerful and useful tool. I'm just responding to someone who said a saw can't be bogged. You and I both know that's an incorrect statement.