Not sure I'm comfortable with you siding with me, lol. You've come across in this thread as a real jackass. I'm not calling bwalker out, just asking for something other than repetitive regurgitation of the same thing over and over.
Alot can be determined by the attitude a person exhibits on a forum like this. I've got alot of respect for other dealers that have been members in the past or currently. When Lakeside used to be on here, I eagerly read whatever he had to say - it was full of knowledge and you could tell he was well versed and really brought alot of helpful information to the table. Spike60 as well - he holds his tongue 95% of the time, and when he does speak it is very respectful and very knowledgeable. I like TLandrum as well. Those are the kind of guys I like to deal with. I like stihl products and think they are a good company, but if you were my dealer posting the stuff you do on here, I would consider changing dealers. Good dealers should be posting useful information to the multitudes, leaking upcoming products, have patience with those that may not understand something and be willing to break technical information down if needed. Not chest pounding, talking about how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they have made on the back of Stihl. My words here are probably wasted, and are just my opinion.
I don't like to see the arguing between Windthrown and Snelling - I've got alot of respect for both of these guys. Even though I've not modified a saw, I have a basic understanding of the timing, blowdown, etc. that is discussed. For this reason I can see why Snelling and Randy Evans both say it's a traditional saw as it is not a solid departure from traditional design like the strato design. If I degreed the saws myself I'm inclined that I would believe what I saw considering that Stihl IS guilty of rebadging old technology as something new. In Windthrown's defense, obviously Stihl has tweaked something to make this engine more efficient that requires the flow diverter, but the tweaking is so minor that it's not clearly evident and doesn't add up. I'd say the truth is somewhere between and I'd just like the guys to get along. None of THESE guys have lost any of my respect, not that my respect was worth anything to start with.
Waylan