Snellerized MS261

[SCHallenger]

I decided to give my 261 a "physical" today & thought the findings might be of interest.
Brad gave it the "full treatment" (squish tightened which increased compression from 165 to 190, timing advanced, ported, louvered MM, & bottom ring removal) a few mos. ago, & I have recently been able to run about 10 tanks through it using VP 94 with Motul 710@ 40:1.
Here are the results:
The compression is now 205!
The piston still shows horizontal machine marks
There is a nice film of oil on the piston, ring, empty lower ring groove, & muffler interior
The tach was reading 14,800 after cutting with the full length of the 18in. bar, & this tune sounded good.
There was one strange finding during a refueling break. When I opened the cap to refill the bar oil tank, the remaining oil in the tank looked like milk?!? Close examination showed this to be only on the surface, but what the heck caused this?? I dumped the oil & flushed the tank with a little pre-mix & refilled it. After a few more cuts, I opened the cap to see if it looked milky again. It was normal. I was using Husqvarna bar oil. Any ideas?

 

[HarleyT]

Water in the tank....

 

[earlthegoat2]

Brad pulled one the rings off. Interesting. I guess he really feels that is a performance gain but he himself said 2 rings could increase longevity......hmmm.

Sorry to kind and f hijack but I have been pondering the ring thread.

 

[SCHallenger]

Water in the tank....

That's exactly what it looked like, but where did it come from? Condensation? I usually clean the saw & re-fill both tanks before I "put it to bed". Maybe I left the tanks 1/2 empty the last time I used it 2 wks ago. That does seem like the most logical explanation. Thanks for your input!

 

[Andyshine77]

Air bubbles can form from the engines vibration. Obviously a bunch of moisture can really make it look milky as well..

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[HarleyT]

Brad pulled one the rings off. Interesting. I guess he really feels that is a performance gain but he himself said 2 rings could increase longevity......hmmm.

Sorry to kind and f hijack but I have been pondering the ring thread.

You should see what he does to butterfies!!!

 

[SCHallenger]

Brad pulled one the rings off. Interesting. I guess he really feels that is a performance gain but he himself said 2 rings could increase longevity......hmmm.

Sorry to kind and f hijack but I have been pondering the ring thread.

Yes, I was looking at the ring thread too & debated whether to post there or start a new thread. I thought the big compression increase was interesting. It was unexpected. I forgot to mention that the Strato was gutted & that the exhaust port also had a nice film of oil. I'm really curious as to what Brad thinks of the compression increase. I hope he chimes in here.

 

[Andyshine77]

Motul, even the 710 leaves a thick film of oil, that can give you a good bump in comparison. The ring seating helps as well, you'll normally see a bump in comparison when the ring starts to seat.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[SCHallenger]

Motul, even the 710 leaves a thick film of oil, that can give you a good bump in comparison. The ring seating helps as well, you'll normally see a bump in comparison when the ring starts to seat.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I suspected that might be the case. The saw was already broken in when Brad got it. It had about 35 tanks through it, but it had originally been run on Ultra @ 50:1. When I last talked to him, he said he was curious about the Motul 710, also saying that he had some but had not yet tried it. For my part, I'm liking what I see.

 

[Andyshine77]

I suspected that might be the case. The saw was already broken in when Brad got it. It had about 35 tanks through it, but it had originally been run on Ultra @ 50:1. When I last talked to him, he said he was curious about the Motul 710, also saying that he had some but had not yet tried it. For my part, I'm liking what I see.

It's really good oil for two cycles, I've run a bunch of it in all my equipment. I didn't care for it in my 4mix engines, it did coat the valve train really well and I saw less wear, but made them run sluggish. Ultra just seems to work really well in 4mix engines.

 

[blsnelling]

Good to hear, Stayner. I suspect that theres some amount of bedding in that happens after the ports have been worked over. As much as we try to make the edges of the ports nice, there's no replacement for run time.

Single ring vs two. I see no reason to run the second ring. The performance gains from dropping it are not to be ignored. As far as longevity, I don't think it's something the average user will ever notice. The top ring sees most of the wear, so only when it is shot is the bottom ring going to make much difference. We're talking hundreds of hours here. IMHO, if the top ring is worn that much, I'd rather go back in there and replace it, and or the whole piston.

 

[SCHallenger]

The performance I'm feeling is outstanding!! It is everything I had hoped for & maybe a bit more! I let my cutting partner, a very experienced & knowledgeable firewooder, make a couple of cuts with it. It left him just blinking & shaking his head!

 

[Dave27483]

Good to hear, Stayner. I suspect that theres some amount of bedding in that happens after the ports have been worked over. As much as we try to make the edges of the ports nice, there's no replacement for run time.

Single ring vs two. I see no reason to run the second ring. The performance gains from dropping it are not to be ignored. As far as longevity, I don't think it's something the average user will ever notice. The top ring sees most of the wear, so only when it is shot is the bottom ring going to make much difference. We're talking hundreds of hours here. IMHO, if the top ring is worn that much, I'd rather go back in there and replace it, and or the whole piston.

So you can potentially do this to any saw brad? Ms460??

 

[CR888]

I have a standard carb strato gutted MS261 Bradley ported. I put 2 new cabers rings in at around 100+ hrs, not cause it needed them it had good compression around 180-190. But I run mineral oil and gave it a strip down maintenence clean so I stuck new rings in it. I run that saw often and its definitely one of my favourites, goes hard.

 

[stihlaficionado]

I love mine..

The performance I'm feeling is outstanding!! It is everything I had hoped for & maybe a bit more! I let my cutting partner, a very experienced & knowledgeable firewooder, make a couple of cuts with it. It left him just blinking & shaking his head!

I've let my arborist friend cut with mime & he also was impressed.

 

[SCHallenger]

I have a standard carb strato gutted MS261 Bradley ported. I put 2 new cabers rings in at around 100+ hrs, not cause it needed them it had good compression around 180-190. But I run mineral oil and gave it a strip down maintenence clean so I stuck new rings in it. I run that saw often and its definitely one of my favourites, goes hard.

Do you run 3/8 or .325?

 

[CR888]

Do you run 3/8 or .325?

Both. I bought about 50 loops of Stihl RM .325/063 off a US dealer for about $6 per loop (not popular size there and the were a funny link count like 74dl) so they were hard for him to sell. But I have breaker/spinner and adjusted them to 16"/18" loops. I also run full size 3/8 063 too which it handles well. I find turning 15k+ it is a bit tough on Picco chain, it gets a beating when it hits some of the hardest wood on earth, but if I was in the US I'd run PS for sure maybe with an 8pin. I pretty much only use semi chisel chain, sadley that is what works best. Its morning here, about to do a removal with the MS261 in about half an hour!

 

[SCHallenger]

Wow!! $6 per loop is a killer price. That almost merits a "You Suck"!!
I have been running .325 RS/063 on an 18in. bar. We do have some woods that can probably come pretty close to your mean stuff. One of our harder offerings is Honey Locust when dry. Shagbark Hickory & curly Sugar Maple can be a good test, but they will degrade in a fairly short time. Honey Locust (and probably Black Locust too) do not degrade. They are so durable, they are sometimes used for fence posts, & when they have been allowed to dry for several years you think you are cutting glass! Well, not quite, but they are nasty & not suitable for full chisel chain.
Thanks for your input & thoughts on the different combinations.

 

[Stihlman441]

Both. I bought about 50 loops of Stihl RM .325/063 off a US dealer for about $6 per loop (not popular size there and the were a funny link count like 74dl) so they were hard for him to sell. But I have breaker/spinner and adjusted them to 16"/18" loops. I also run full size 3/8 063 too which it handles well. I find turning 15k+ it is a bit tough on Picco chain, it gets a beating when it hits some of the hardest wood on earth, but if I was in the US I'd run PS for sure maybe with an 8pin. I pretty much only use semi chisel chain, sadley that is what works best. Its morning here, about to do a removal with the MS261 in about half an hour!

Ha there champ
If you wish to get rid of some of those .325 .063 loops let me know.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[CR888]

Ha there champ
If you wish to get rid of some of those .325 .063 loops let me know.
Cheers
Andrew

I have gone through about 15 or so, I don't think I will EVER get Stihl chain at that price again. It was the old school RM without safety ramps. If you use N1 Carlton lopro Andrew (you like Carlton) an EBay seller is selling once used never been sharpened 55dl loops for about $5-6 delivered. I bought 40 loops for around $220! Its semi 3/8 050, so pole saws and top handles are good to go for a while. You should try some Typhoon brand 3/8 063 off eBay, I bet you would like it and the price too.