Longest bar on a Stihl MS390?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I have had 4 MS390s and I remember one that would do 165 lb compression. I put a 25" bar with a full skip Stihl non safety chain on it. Maybe not a logging saw, but for occasional use I thought it did fine. I couldn't tell much difference from a MS440 unless you really leaned into it. Very little difference in a MS390 and MS361 as I have had several of both and even the specs says so. Probably the one with the best chain will cut the best.
Finally after reading this thread I found a post that wasn't BS and made sense! Sad part is I couldn't give a ship less about stihl or the saw in question but have owned alot of them and wouldn't dream of selling one off with out the MM and retune
 
I have had my ms390 for about 10 years. I have ported it and it runs great with a muffler mod. I absolutely love it.
It runs a full comp 28” bar and has no trouble at all pulling it. I am looking for a 32-36” just for the occasional big tree that the 28” won’t do.(and yes, I’m cutting from both sides). I did mod the oiler, it was pretty sad in stock form. If you have any questions or want to chat, just let me know.
 
Finally after reading this thread I found a post that wasn't BS and made sense! Sad part is I couldn't give a ship less about stihl or the saw in question but have owned alot of them and wouldn't dream of selling one off with out the MM and retune

Well you sir are very arrogant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well you sir are very arrogant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not hardly...there is alot of good guys on here that can vouch for that,,just sick of all the hogwash that alot of newer members post that is just nonsense.
So you sir need to move on to a subject you actually know about and that subject is not me obviously!
 
Not hardly...there is alot of good guys on here that can vouch for that,,just sick of all the hogwash that alot of newer members post that is just nonsense.
So you sir need to move on to a subject you actually know about and that subject is not me obviously!

Agree to disagree, no I have no previous knowledge of you or the people you know. However my first impression is not that of anything but arrogance. Unfortunately that’s your first impression I got. The need to respond or correct many peoples comments and add your .02. In any case carry on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Agree to disagree, no I have no previous knowledge of you or the people you know. However my first impression is not that of anything but arrogance. Unfortunately that’s your first impression I got. The need to respond or correct many peoples comments and add your .02. In any case carry on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And with all of your posts in this thread what would make you any less arrogant? Just had to throw that out there for ya. I'm moving on for ya now so go ahead with your next post...
 
Chiming in, the 3 MS390's and 039's I've owned all pulled 24" bars with pro chain with no problems, after the mufflers were opened up. That made a huge difference in the amount of perceived "torque". The 390's could keep up with any of my 440's in all but the biggest of wood. Not much difference IMHO. Filters suck compared to the 440's, but with care and attention, the cheaper saws did well.
 
I've got an old 039 that does perfectly fine w/ 25" b&c. Many have mentioned fixed oilers? Did they downgrade on later models?? I have opened up the muffler as much as practical while maintaining the spark shield. Also the old carb is fully adjustable H&L. I have no delusions of going head to head with a 440 or 460 just cut firewood and remove storm damage. As mentioned previously oil is a major concern so even if it could pull longer skip it may be at the expense of getting toasty
 
The ms 390 has a good oiler, but it doesn’t oil enough for bars over 20”. It’s an easy mod.
A modded ms390 can easily keep up with the bigger pro saws. Give it a sharp chain and watch it happen.
The ms390 is no slouch. I have had plenty of people come over to me while cutting trees in town and ask what saw I’m running and how much it cost.
A lot of people are apparently drawn to the sound of a ported saw eating hardwood. Possibly because they have never heard it before and are used to a boggy saw trying to cut with a dull chain.
 
'If' you do a muff mod the sky is the limit! I'd start with a 50" & work up from there. We're talking Stihl's biggest farm saw they sell. Find a Magnum sticker and a 'Farm Boss' decal for the bar and fear no evil, large old growth will fall over at the sight of you. Contact Piltz for correct sprocket & dawgs.
OR...
Put a 20" B/C on it and get some work done that'll benefit both you & your saw.
**** yeah! Why?? Murica that's why!!!!
 
I forgot to mention, I am running a 28" bar on my ported ms390. It's a gas hog, but it pulls it in hardwood. I would not go any longer than that. My oiler is modded to oil that long of a bar. The ms390 is really at home with a 20" bar in stock form, and maybe a 24" when muffler modded. Mine is 15 years old with untold hours and it still gets it done. I don't use it much anymore because I have my ported 350 for most of my cutting needs.
 
I forgot to mention, I am running a 28" bar on my ported ms390. It's a gas hog, but it pulls it in hardwood. I would not go any longer than that. My oiler is modded to oil that long of a bar. The ms390 is really at home with a 20" bar in stock form, and maybe a 24" when muffler modded. Mine is 15 years old with untold hours and it still gets it done. I don't use it much anymore because I have my ported 350 for most of my cutting needs.
Explain "oiler midified" to oil a long bar.....the OEM oil pump is already adjustable.......wheres the improvement you have designed and apply??
 

Latest posts

Back
Top