ported 359 vs stock 372

can a average woods ported 359 realy run with a 372 in big 24" plus wood wearing a 24" bar. ??

my ported 359 feels strong, so far i havent felt at all over bared with a 24" bar in big wood, biggest ive cut is 34" fell and bucked i actualy did this before porting.

now shes ported, widend the intake and exhaust and cleanned up the transfers and it runs very good. im thinking im going to go alitler wider on intake and also open up the rubber intake boot this time get rid of the funky oblong intake shape.

i think wideing out to the into the boot will bring good gains, when doing it the first time i widend inside and blended back down to the same as the rubber intake boot shape. is this makeing any since?, i almost need to tear it down and get some pics up here.
shes also running gasketless now. noticably more compression.
what do you guys think

anyways thats what im thinking. i like the 372 so i think ill try and make the 359 run like one.

thanks

Evan

There's no replacement for displacement.

true, but i think 60cc with enough top in may give it run for its money.

Then run a ported 372 against it. ha ha ha ha ha ha

Evan said:

true, but i think 60cc with enough top in may give it run for its money.

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Not in 24" wood. Guys have already tried it.

The 372 will smoke a 60cc saw over 20'' nuff said!!! I own a 361 and think it is a good saw for firewood, BUT,I do not see the point in 20''+ hardwood going to firewood use!!! Get 70cc saw if you plan on 20''+ wood!!!

Stihl here said:

I have run 372xp stock to a ms361 muffler mod and I will take the 361 for firewood, Thank you!!! 70cc saws are for production IMO. Sorry but for firewood dutys 60cc is almost overkill IMO!!!

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Nope, don't agree, what are you cutting??? 20" and less???? When I cut up a 40" Doug Fir, I don't want no stinking 60cc ms361.

Stihl here said:

I have run 372xp stock to a ms361 muffler mod and I will take the 361 for firewood, Thank you!!! 70cc saws are for production IMO. Sorry but for firewood duty, 60cc is almost overkill for the average homeowner IMO!!!

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I dunno about that statement.

1lb of additional weight is the only penalty for having the grunt to buck big trunks quickly, and more mass to deal with the heat of the longer cuts means better durability. Durability means fewer repairs and longer intervals between new saws.

The middle weights will do it all, but at the cost of speed on the bigger stuff, and effort on the little stuff.

If ya gotta tweak the saw for more juice, at a certain point, ya just need a bigger saw unless you simply enjoy the academic exercise.

There is great fun in making a mouse roar, don't get me wrong, but day in day out, no fuss, beat on it with honest hard use and keeping repairs to a minimum... it's better to be overbuilt to a degree.

There is a reason so many old 046, 044, 371, and some others are still strong and cutting firewood after 15 years+.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

Given the option to run my ported 359 or a bone stock 372 in wood under 20" i'd grab the 359. Over 20 inches i'd pick a different saw. 066 or 088:greenchainsaw:

have a brand new 372 here so if I get a chance I'l run it against my 359 just for fun. But I already know the 359 take a stock 395 in 12-14 inch wood.

im cutn sof woods.

saw is used for work, i dont cut fire wood or have a fire place, only buckn i do is to make big stuff smaller to get it out of yards that equipment cant get to, havent done enough tree jobs to justafy a bigger saw. but when i do itl be bigger than the 372 whereing a 32" bar.

most the problem trees around here are big willows.

yeah i like tinkering, when its all said and done ill have a bigger saw and screaming 359 limber

lookin forward to the 359 against the 372 report, though i also know my 359 isnt quite like timberwolfs.

thanks guys i was lookin for the real world opions and you gave em to em. just like theres no replacement for displacement.

Evan

Willow is funny wood especially when green. While it is soft, it really seems to soak up a lot of the saws power. If you want to run a 32” bar in willow, you might want to get a little higher on the food chain than a husky 372xp. I would recommend a 390xp or a ms660, especially if you intend to rip down large chucks of wood. Just some thoughts…

i was thinkn 385 390 390. leave it alone exscept for a muffler mod. stihl dealer has an 084 and 088 both with long bars, wants 650 for the 84 and 800 for the 88, both very rough lookin saws.

but man the 372 does look good. light weight good power. local dealer has one for 840 i think.


timberwolf what do you think about opening up the 359s intake more??

Intake can be opened up some, how much depends on the rest of the mods, but it can be widened out quite a bit and lowered a little.

The weight to power is terrible on a 359.

Arguably the worst in the whole line up so its got a lot to overcome just to get to the same p/w ratio as a 372 and its only about a pound lighter.

I doubt it will ever run with one but who knows and would it be reliable lots of things to consider?

Kansas

Evan said:

lookin forward to the 359 against the 372 report, though i also know my 359 isnt quite like timberwolfs.
Evan

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That is a bit of an understatement. Nobody's 359 is like Timberwolf's. :chainsawguy:

The weight to power is terrible on a 359.

Arguably the worst in the whole line up so its got a lot to overcome just to get to the same p/w ratio as a 372 and its only about a pound lighter.

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Stock yes, 359 is brutal, I cut with it stock for a single tank of gas and had to deal with the muffler.

Ported though the 359 is one of the biggest gainers. I'm talking a solid ported work saw cutting twice as fast as stock. Next big plus is it's about the easiest saw to port, nice wide skirt piston, thick base, single ring, and removable transfer covers.

My beef with the 359 is the outboard clutch. Maybe too the ignition switch it's a bit flakey same quality as the 357 xp though.

timberwolf said:

Ported though the 359 is one of the biggest gainers. I'm talking a solid ported work saw cutting twice as fast as stock. Next big plus is it's about the easiest saw to port, nice wide skirt piston, thick base, single ring, and removable transfer covers.

My beef with the 359 is the outboard clutch. Maybe too the ignition switch it's a bit flakey same quality as the 357 xp though.

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Thats good to know I may be asking you for tips later

My (like new) 359 just sits in a box I have only used it once or twice myself, it only goes out when I have help w/o saws and thats rarely.

I been thinking about selling or tuning it just for something to give me a reason to use it otherwise its the last saw I grab since I got the super light weight in comparison and almost as powerfull NE346.

Btw I agree about the outboard clutch my 345 and 346 have it also sucks but what can you do its one of those things.

Kansas

timberwolf.

should i leave the intake floor alone since ive already raised the roof alittle. i screwd up and raised the roof.

is hte combination of raised roof and lowerd floor bad.

i dont think im going to widen much more if any, i think im going to widen mainly out towards the intake boot. right now the boot is much narrower then at the cylinder wall.

do you possibly have any pics handy of you intake after grinding so i can get a better idea on what youve done.

ill do a search and see what i come up with.

i dont think im working tomorrow so the 359 will go under the knife again.

ive done all im going to do with the transfers. ive cleanned all casting lines and polished, tomorrow ill see if i can get some pix up of the transfers and see what you think, if i can get the dang camera to focus that close.

screw it im gona start tearn it down now.;


thanks
Evan

Here are some pic snapped when I was doing the first porting. None of these were final finish and I did go back into the saw to make some adjustments (find another 10%).

Also the 372 I'll put it up against.

Just the way I do things, but the top of the intake and bottom of the exhaust are the very last places I touch on a saw mod and only once I am happy with everything else and have no plans of adjusting squish or looking for more compression.

exhaust and modded muffler, sorry pics are turning out horrible