~60cc shootout 962 Efco vs 361 Stihl vs 036 Stihl

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timberwolf

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So far the 361 is the lightest and highest reving but slowest cutting (best time of 5 cuts).

962 Efco 13.5 lb 3.56 seconds
Stihl 036 13.4 lb 3.41 seconds
Stihl 361 13.0 lb 3.68 seconds
 
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Yep the 361 does sport more plastic, handle and pull start, no more nice elasto-start.

Mostly I find the torque the disapointment with the 361 most noticable when running one right after the other, it certainly does take a lighter hand to keep it up in the power band.

Efco has a little thin plastic cover over the kill switch and plastic primer bulb is pretty cheep, I can see thoes being a problem over the long haul. Also I am not a fan of the outboard clutch, PITA to change bar and chain or sprockets.
 
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Yep the 361 does sport more plastic, handle and pull start, no more nice elasto-start.

Mostly I find the torque the disapointment with the 361 most noticable when running one right after the other, it certainly does take a lighter hand to keep it up in the power band.

on a side note...how is the world is there three bone stock saws over a TW's place at the same time....

"houston...we have a problem"...
 
not too surprising, I always favored the 360 to the 361. Just felt better to me probably the handle is where the most weight is traded off. That handle on the 361 is not too tough looking for me.

no experience with the 362 yet... (really liked Spikes 562 though...)

The 362 will out gun a 361 pretty easily, and a Dolmar 6400 would eat them all.
 
It doesn't surprise me on the performance of the Efco. The 156 I have run for almost 3 season is so close to the 361 in performance it's not funny. I haven't timed cuts but the 156 is really close. Both saws are MM and well broke in.lol

It will be real interesting in how they do after modding. Look forward to the results.
Thank you for the post!
 
None of the saws appear to have any significant amount of time on them. 036 maybe a couple tanks.
 
I was surprized to see the newer style piston in an 036, must have been right near when they came out with the 360.

Casting looked nice all around.

I think this muffler cover was made by a guy here on the site, will put it on. I'd rather the outlets be a little shorter and bigger and pointed to the side, but each to their own. As the saw will be built for torque chaising top end with a larger outlet area is less importaint anyway.

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Nice thread T-wolf! We have a 360 and 361 at work, the 360 is faster and has a nice powerband. It seems you test proves that.

However, as you probably know, the mm does wonders for the 361. My personal 361 is as fast as my 262xp.

Can't wait to see the end results!
 
Nice comparison, I perfer the 036 myself, bought mine in 92 or 93 and have had 3 361's and all 3 are gone. Like mentioned, the 361 needs a muffler job to run right. Never ran the efco but seems to do pretty good.
 
So far the 361 is the lightest and highest reving but slowest cutting (best time of 5 cuts).

962 Efco 13.5 lb 3.56 seconds
Stihl 036 13.4 lb 3.41 seconds
Stihl 361 13.0 lb 3.68 seconds

Curious - which has the best average of the five cuts (or better yet throw out the highs and lows and which has the better average of three cuts)? I have a 036Pro and get the itch from time to time (actually everytime I visit my Stihl dealer) to get a new saw although there is nothing wrong with my old saw. Ron
 
I look forward to seeing the aftermath of the port work with these three. Another awesome T-Wolf thread.

With only a 2/10 sec. spread between the three, it's really hard to say right now that either are faster than the other two. I'll stick with the 361. I think the porting will really make her shine.
 
i wish there was a 262 thrown into the mix. you see so much about them not leaving much on the table as far as porting goes. it would be interesting to see a master have his way with one.
 
Where's the Dolmar 6400? :(



Me likey Dolmars. :)


Out of the three you're testing, I would get the Efco. They're one of my more favorite brands... I am not saying Stihls or Huskys or other well made saws are bad, I just prefer the Efco. I can't wait to see the results of the port work! :blob2:
 
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