40cc Shoot Out

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Great comparison so far! Nice tree you found there for a little "warm up program". Do be carful about your legs!
The problem with the 543XP is is that it is not a AT saw. That sure is a shame because that would be the only contender against the Stihl 241 MT.

A few questions:

1. Is the 420 the catalytic muffler model?

2. If it is the catalytic model could you remove the cat? It is really easy, just take off the muffler and pull both halves of the muffler apart and remove the cat insert.

3. So is that correct that it is still the old 420 model?

4. Could you put all saws on the scale? with and without fuel. with and with out cat. (this is very important for that norweign number cruncher.... ;) )

looking forward to this thread! Hope it evolves as great as it began! But maybe we can still say something like pie in this thread.... :D

Thanks! :msp_thumbsup:

7

No time to weigh them yet. I don't know if it's a cat muffler or not....... :(
 
I see in your signature line that the 420 is MM. The 401 definitely needs a MM and retune to run properly.

A MM may improve the dcs 401. I ran the two side by side and felt the 420 ran at a class above, which seemed to be a significant difference over the 401.

The Makita feels and looks like a well made saw. What kind of rpms would it run at once modded?
 
A MM may improve the dcs 401. I ran the two side by side and felt the 420 ran at a class above, which seemed to be a significant difference over the 401.

The Makita feels and looks like a well made saw. What kind of rpms would it run at once modded?

Nothing to rage above. The saw is alright tuned quite great. Dolmar does a great job at making em run close to perfect as it is.

Modding would help, but I don't think its worth the money and more importantly time.
 
A MM may improve the dcs 401. I ran the two side by side and felt the 420 ran at a class above, which seemed to be a significant difference over the 401.

The Makita feels and looks like a well made saw. What kind of rpms would it run at once modded?

"Out of the box" my 401 was pretty anemic and sluggish. I tuned it full rich to the limiters and it was barely OK. IIRC, spec was 12K or 12.5K max rpm. After MM and retune, my 401 was strongest in the wood when turning 13.5-13.8K rpm with no load. I did nothing else to the saw, so porting remains the same, and the base gasket is intact.

My 540 reacted much the same way with a MM and retune. I didn't put a tach on it, but it definitely is much stronger now that it can breathe. It seems pretty obvious that these earlier saws were strangled to meet emission standards.
 
A MM may improve the dcs 401. I ran the two side by side and felt the 420 ran at a class above, which seemed to be a significant difference over the 401.

The Makita feels and looks like a well made saw. What kind of rpms would it run at once modded?

The 401 etc isn't really comparable to the 420/421 or the MS241, as it is a much lighter saw with a lot less power - more what a 40cc saw really should be (imo)!

Sadly, it also is a much older design, and suffer from it in some ways...
 
I have a 401 kita with a little port work and muffler mod and it was very surprising. Nice saw with good power. My dad loves it.
 
I watched the three videos and wonder if others noticed what I observed.

Though the operator Randy/Mastermind posts the dolmar did the best I seem to notice he stopped blipping the throttle before actually cutting about half way through the stihl video and seemed to cut shorter pieces. I think this body language ought to be some points towards the stihl.

The red max one sounds kind of strange for the first minute doesn't it? Maybe chain noise?

It has been stated all are running good kind of 3/8 low profile chain but does the stihl have a seven tooth sprocket vs six on the others? It seemed to bog a bit easy.
 
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all 3 sound good and its nice to see an old fart like you finally working,,, i bet that 10 minutes of cutting just plain wore your old azz out
 
all 3 sound good and its nice to see an old fart like you finally working,,, i bet that 10 minutes of cutting just plain wore your old azz out

That 10 minutes was just the beginning.........

Almost 3 gallons of fuel to block and noodle that tree. :msp_ohmy:
 
all 3 sound good and its nice to see an old fart like you finally working,,, i bet that 10 minutes of cutting just plain wore your old azz out

You cut Randy deep on that one....on a more serious note I think someone needs to pony up and get one of them little dolmars ported so I can decide if my 421 needs it.
 
You cut Randy deep on that one....on a more serious note I think someone needs to pony up and get one of them little dolmars ported so I can decide if my 421 needs it.

He's a bet wetting midget........pay him no mind. :hmm3grin2orange:



This 420 will be ported in a few days. :msp_thumbup:
 
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