New 346XP

[arborterra]

I picked up a new 346XP today and before I take it apart I thought maybe I would ask a question or two. I have modded a few saws with good success. 2 262XPs. 1 385XP. 1 338XP cali. and a few others. The latest was a 346XP that had been run with no mix oil & was badly scarred, both piston & cylinder. I thuoght it would be good to experiment with so I smoothed every thing out nice, put a new ring in it, went a little crazy with the porting & opend up the muffler and now it runs great & hasn't blown anything after 3 mos. of hard use. Ran so nice I thought I would try a new one. My first question is should
I break it in first or port it fresh so it breaks in with the porting ? The only ones I've done have been older saws. I want to up the compression a little and I know how to check the squish. I thuoght maybe some one might know what it is stock and what would be reasonable for a saw that will be worked on a regular basis. Any other tips or things to watch out for would also be appreciated. Any advice ? It is non E Tech.

 

[J.Walker]

346xp

Have you run a 346xp stock before? Was there a big gain in performance with your mods?
I have a stock 346 that I would like to have ported some day. Just wondering how you feel it worked out?

 

[tawilson]

Here's some video's of before and after 346 modding, in case you haven't seen them.
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=40385

 

[arborterra]

Yes, I have seen the video, liked it and saved it. Yes I have run two stock 346s. I bought them new to send out with the crews, one got ran over with the bucket truck & the other got ran without mix oil and that is the one that
I fixed up. They ran great stock. I don't have any scientific test results or even a tach but I know how to tune a saw. It now seems to have quite a bit more power & is more fun to cut with. I hope it doesn't blow apart anytime soon that is why I bought a new one, so I could start with a fresh saw.

 

[manual]

Yes you can start with a freash saw.
I have rebuilt saws, new bearings, cylinder, and piston. That would pretty much be a new saw.
Most people like to run there saws and break them in then go ahead and mod them to see what gains are made.
I would say it's your choice.

 

[klickitatsacket]

here's a video of bookerdogs modified 346xp. It is running stock 33lp safety chain as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HvY0Ext9cM

 

[arborterra]

I just wanted to thank every one for the input. I will start working on the saw soon.