Husky vs stihl hp rateings.

I know this is going to start a **** storm , but I have noticed some shenanigans with the way the oems rate there saws. Stihl use the sae or BHP method while husky appears to use the DIN(german) method. Sae Hp will always be lower for the same engine than DIN Hp. When using the same rating method like KW to compare a husky and a stihl the stihl comes out ahead in some models. For example a 044 is rated at 5.36 bhp and a 372 is rated at 5.4 din hp. In KW's the stihl o44 is rated at 4.0 while the husky is rated at 3.9.

Not familiar with how the saw makers arrive at their figures but in some applications ratings have been made WITHOUT fans or air cleaners and only over a brief period before temperatures rise. This figure looks good on paper.

Frank

If I remember right 746 watts (or .746Kw) equals one horsepower. Using this, Stihls numbers match up because 4.0Kw equals 5.36HP. Huskys numbers are a bit overstated, as 3.9Kw equals 5.23HP as compared to the 5.4HP Husky claims. Maybe running without a fan & air cleaner is worth the extra .17HP?

Hi Ben, that`s an interesting point you make and I can`t say that there couldn`t be some Tomfoolery going on with the numbers but it could also be something as simple as Husky rounded down on their Kw rating and Stihl may have rounded up. You know how long some numbers can get and the induced error you may come up with when reducing to, say, three significant digits in a factor. That should be a simple task, but many people, even engineers, seem to have trouble with it. At any rate, although many people seem to memorize the published data and subsequent comparisons down to fractions of a horsepower, we all know that little discrepancies like this don`t mean anything, it`s all in how they cut in the real world. I don`t think that we would find much argument for making the statement that these saws are nearly identical performers, although I do give a very slight advantage to the 372 based on observations of quite a few, but there again, that is a subjective statement that may not hold up in the controlled conditions of a lab. Not to entirely discount any possibility that Husky is involved in any conspiracies, but I think their`s are mostly aimed at the dealers, and Stihl, well they are German so we know that there must be at least a few conspiracies at work in their offices. LOL. Russ

Russ, I find it just atouch shadey in my book. Especially since stihl advertises bhp and husky just says hp. If they advertised DIN hp it would be fine. Also dont you find it kind of ironic that a german compant rates there saws with a us standard and swedish company uses a german standard.

I believe that most European manufacturers use the DIN (roughly translated the Duetch Institute of Normalcy,right?)unit of measure.

Also there is probably as much cheating SAE to SAE as anything.

mbopp,
Maybe they used the HP rating to calculate Kw, in which case they understated the Kw output. Haha.
I'm inclined to agree with Russ. The ratings get you in the ballpark in your decision making process.

I am aware of two competitive makes of 50cc saws where one is rated at 4.0 hp and the other at 3.1 hp and they cut neck and neck. (both European saws)

I'm waitin on about a 9.0lb saw dry weight, 18 inch lite weight bar, about 3.5 hp, about 46cc, 135000 no load speed, pro durability, about the size of a 41 Husky. (stock saw, I mean),under $375 retail.

Tony, Stihl uses BHP and labels there figures as such. I would really like to get my hands on a super accurate load cell dyno and see what these saws really make.
BTW I am waiting for a 10lb 6.5hp saw. How long do you think I will wait?

well while everyone is waiting for their light weight high horse power saws why don't we just set Gypo up with his own saw building company.....no, really think about it, he claims what was it,oh yea, 72hp out of his 088KD!!!!!!LOL

howdy Ben - I see you have started stirring the $hit again with this type of argument LOL. We had this talk here some time ago and the consensus we came to was that they all lie about the hp ratings. What system they really use to measure the hp is really inconsequential considering amount they falsely increase their hp ratings. I base this on walkers saw shops' test on some huskies & stihls. 346xp is supposed to make 3.4hp if I remember correctly and the 260 is supposed to make 3.5hp. Now if I have my eyesight somewhat functional it looks to me from their graph that the husky puts out 2.55hp stock and the stihl puts out 2.26hp stock. Now I know that the dyno (some type of land sea dyno? that was agreed by the experts here to be quite accurate) seems to make complete liars of both manufacturers by showing that they lie up to about 50%. Now I really do doubt that the European DIN hp system of measurement apparently used by Stihl accounts for that much so I wont even bother to check what unit of measurement Husky uses.:angel:

Otto,
Where the ???? you been, boy? A quick trip to Finland or something? This place was getting boring while you were away.
Nice avatar, by the way.

Well boys and beavers,
I really don't care what the HP rating are,just how the bar performs in the cut.
I'am also a bit conservative about the use of the word "believe".
Why should I give more consideration to Walker's HP ratings compared to Stihl or Husky.You have companys that want to sell saws and those who want to sell mods.
Consider the motives of them all,"YOUR MONEY".

Otto, Not that it has anything to do with this post, but I dont put much faith in walkers dyno numbers or most anyone elses for that matter. Getting accurate, repeatable dyno numbers is very tough to do. Anybody who has built snowmobile or bike motors can attest to the fact that dyno numbers can and are manipulated. To see what I am talking about go over to the sae site and type in dyno in the search function. It is mindblowing to see how much money it takes to build a accurate dyno. BTW Husky uses din and stihl uses bhp. All things being equal din reads higher tan bhp. When yuo compare the rated hp of a husky372 and a stihl o44 in kw the stihl has more power.

Hi Doug - you like the Tony Montana eh? LOL just been really busy and am trying to catch up.

Ben - yeah, I didnt claim the dyno tests as perfect, but I doubt they are 50% off, dont you? Besides, the magnitude of the exaggeration of hp numbers is so ridiculous anyway by the manufacturers that I would trust the walkers figures more than I would either of the manufacturers. Afterall they are both a Stihl and a Husky dealer right? They dont care.

Give you another example - 044 makes more hp than 372 and a 260 makes more hp than a 346 by the figures given by the manufacturers. Not arguing that hp is directly related to cutting speed, but the 372 and 346 are faster than the 044 and the 346. So it seems that the 044 does not have more power.

PS. I am sure that the 044 makes more power with muffler mods than a stock 372. Why dont you get a dual port muffler for the 372 and see the difference - there is an even bigger margin in favour of the 372.

Otto, walkers is ahusky dealer. They can also get you stihls, but they are not a dealer. Is this a source of bias? I doubt it, but it could be.
We really do not know if the346 is faSTER THan the 260 or the 372 is faster tyhan the 044. Peole have given there opinions, myself included, but really that doesnt mean a thing. Trying to time cuts with ahuman operator is apiss poor way to validate performance. In reality the small differance if any is meaningless. Its more of a pissing match than anything else.BTW I not going to mod the muffler on the 372 as husky does not sell a dual port and I dont want o hack up the stock piece because I may be selling it. when I do my little test they will both be stock.

Originally posted by bwalker
Trying to time cuts with ahuman operator is apiss poor way to validate performance. In reality the small differance if any is meaningless. Its more of a pissing match than anything else.BTW I not going to mod the muffler on the 372 as husky does not sell a dual port and I dont want o hack up the stock piece because I may be selling it. when I do my little test they will both be stock.

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I guess its does not measure performance at all - I guess thats why there are so many saw races and posted times. If it cuts quicker than another in the same environment (no it does not need to be a lab) - it has better performance. If that is not correct I will consider taking performance enhancers to improve my cut times while sawing as I can get by with a smaller saw. Besides - the difference of the 2 saws is big enough to notice by a saw user of average experience - so its not as "minute" as you claim. Yeah its a pissing match, but so what? so is having anything else around a bunch of guys.

Dont you think your muffler policy is the same kind of nitpicking you demonstrated by stating that on the stihl and husky hp ratings there is supposedly some effect on the way one measures less than 10hp. What does the difference come out to be SAE hp vs. DIN hp??? not worth a crap maybe? You can get an extra dual port muffler from walkers, dennis and others for your 372 for sure. Is this the sticking point (non OEM) or cant you sleep at night knowing that the 372 is faster than the 044 You could always sell the 372 and have the 044 be the fastest 71cc saw in your domain. Its a good idea that you will run both stock when you do a second test since if you have both mufflers modded the gap is larger yet again.