MS460 With 325, 28" Bar

[mcain]

To begin with, I research prior to purchasing most anything. It was my understanding that a 325 chain would cut faster and with less vibration than a 375 chain. I just purchased a 28", 325 Cannon Superbar on ebay for my stock MS460 but failed to check the options for a rim sprocket. After the fact, I discovered I failed in my research and the only rim sprocket option is a 9 tooth.

The Stihl sprocket I purchased is the same outside diameter as as their 375 8 tooth, but I am concerned about a reduction in performance. I am in the process of dual porting the muffler and I will primarily be cutting oak. The ebay seller gave me the option to return the 325 bar and purchase the same bar in a 375, but said the 325 9 pin sprocket will work very well with this 28" bar. The 375 bar would give me the option to run either a 7 or 8 tooth rim sprocket. I think I should take him up on the offer but wanted to get guidance from others. Thank you for your help!

 

[fastLeo151]

.325 on a 460 is very very silly.

 

[Jimmy in NC]

.325 on a 460 is very very silly.

I agree. That would be a lot of cutters to keep sharp.

 

[nmurph]

Definitely get the 3/8".

 

[deepsouth]

I'm newish to saws but 3/8 all the way for a good sized saw and a 28" bar.

Cutter size - lots of small cutters is so much more work, and they will lose their edge quicker.

Chain choice and sharpness and evenness (all teeth equal size/sharpness) and correct raker height will give you smoothness.

 

[T0RN4D0]

28" full comp .325 chain would should be very good if you really enjoy sharpening. Did you look at chains yet, I'd like to know how much DL for it, should be over a 100.
Otherwise go for the 3/8.

Anyways i'd take the offer and go for 3/8, 7 pin and consider half skip if you plan on burying that bar in oak a lot.

 

[barney34]

325

i have a couple of cutters that run 372 xpws ported with both 20 and 24 inch bars using a 325 9 tooth square ground set up.
i always thought they were crazy till i tryed the last saw i did for them and i gotta say i was very impressed. i wold worry about chain breakage on a 28 inch bar ?

 

[madhatte]

Don't be so fast to dismiss the .325" on a longer bar. I know I was... until I ran that 660 the Oregon engineers brought to the OR Cascades GTG. Cut smooth as butter. Was a full-chisel, full-comp chain on I think a 32" bar? Somebody help me here, I don't remember the details. All I know for sure is that it really changed my opinion about that "useless" .325" chain. Don't know that I'll be changing my ordinary line-up (it's awful nice to just spin everything off a single reel) But I'll sure not be making fun of anybody who advocates the stuff.

 

[mcain]

Thank you everyone for your input. I decided to exchange the 325 for a 375 and furthermore standardize on 375 for my 026, 361 and 460. This is a fantastic forum and website!

 

[Anthony_Va.]

.325 is only faster when it's on a saw that dont have the kahunas to pull .375.

I like .325 on a 50cc saw, but I'll take 3/8th on anything 60cc or bigger. JMO

 

[splitpost]

.325 is fast and couple it to a strong saw and a big sprocket you guys don't know what your missing

 

[MCW]

I've got a 24" Tsumura on my ported and pop upped 7900 which I swapped over to .325" from 3/8". It's running a 9 pin Stihl rim as well.
I wouldn't want to try it on a longer bar than that as chip clearance could possibly be a problem with the narrower kerf but I can say one thing, it was NO WHERE near as bad as I thought and cut very nicely. It was equally as fast as 3/8" while being smoother to boot (not that vibes etc really worry me).
Problem is it goes blunt too quickly and with about 11 more DL than a 3/8" 24" bar the extra time sharpening wasn't efficient. After all this 7900 will run an 8 pin 3/8" chain on a 24" easily as well.
The following video is this saw with 24" .325" semi chisel while felling hardwoods. As you can see it cuts well...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/itX-YEhTJ3I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Slamm]

I'm against .325 for the cutter life. There aren't any positive attributes that .325 has that can overcome its shortened cutting and cutter life.

Sam

 

[T0RN4D0]

To each their own and i know it can work good. But for my kind of cutting with plenty of dirty wood and cutting close to the ground its not the route i'd want to go. If you know you're gonna keep it out of dirt then go ahead. You might want to try a picco chain, they're supper smooth and make a nice thin cut. :]

For chain maintenance and longetivity bigger cutters are better, period. Some more exotic combinations work for specific conditions but you have to know what you're doing- what you're trying to achieve and what you're sacrificing for that. Your average user is better off with 3/8 in the situation mcain described.

 

[Termite]

MCW, why did you cut the stumps so high? I know you have a reason.

 

[T0RN4D0]

This topic explains a lot if you wanna read 50 pages of it: http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/191377.htm

If think hes trying to chop down ####loads of them fast, and the contractor wants them to grow back?

 

[blsnelling]

Why is everyone so quick to dismiss .325 chain? Get the right chain, just like 3/8, and it's very good. You end up with more cutters in the wood, do how is it going to be so slow?

 

[blsnelling]

I'm not saying it's the best choice here, but don't be so quick to dismiss it.

 

[Trx250r180]

wouldnt you end up with a lot of chain stretch with .325 on a 70cc saw ? and a long bar ?

 

[nmurph]

I have tried 3/8 on MM 026's and didn't like it. That saw definitely needs .325.