MS201T Upgrade Kit Installed

[blsnelling]

A customer sent in a newish, but broken in MS201T and the new upgrade kit from Stihl. This particular saw ran very well for a stock saw. Honestly, I wish I knew more about what this kit is supposed to do. It made almost no difference in this particular saw. I then proceeded to mod the saw as I do all other 201s, advancing the ignition 8° and modding the muffler. The gains were the same as what I'm getting with other 201Ts. I really don't get what this kit is changing. It seems to me to behave the same as without it.

New carb linkage

Old and new linkages beside each other.

Old and new flywheels.

The new one is on top. I tried to line up the keys. Looks like it may be advanced a little.

 

[blsnelling]

Stock, but broken in.


Upgrade kit


Upgrade kit and Snellerized

 

[blsnelling]

Here's another brand new 201T that I did today. This saw does not have the kit. Both saws made about the same gains with the Snellerized mods, with the broken in saw being about 1 second faster, both before and after.

Brand new


Snellerized

 

[blsnelling]

I will also add that the new 201s seem to be running significantly better than they used to. Both of the saws above ran quite well for stock saws. I'm still getting almost 20% gains with the mods I do to them though.

 

[bryanr2]

So it looks like a guy is still better off just buying one thru you and paying $50 for your mods. How much does that kit cost a feller?

 

[XSKIER]

Thanks for sharing the results of the update kit. Do you feel that the new carb linkage makes the throttle response quicker?

How are the warm starts?

 

[jar1zx]

This post is a nice find. I have ran 20t's to ms200t's. The 201t I bought 1 year ago does not get used much.
My ms200 is getting some age, would be real nice if the 201 can be woke up.

 

[blsnelling]

So it looks like a guy is still better off just buying one thru you and paying $50 for your mods. How much does that kit cost a feller?

Either with or without the kit, both saws are seeing the same gains from my mods. Eventually, I understand that all of the new 201s will have the kit installed.

Thanks for sharing the results of the update kit. Do you feel that the new carb linkage makes the throttle response quicker?

How are the warm starts?

I've not heard of complaints with warm starts. Starts fine from all of my experience and feedback.

This post is a nice find. I have ran 20t's to ms200t's. The 201t I bought 1 year ago does not get used much.
My ms200 is getting some age, would be real nice if the 201 can be woke up.

I see anywhere from 20%-40% gains from these simple mods that I do. At their worst, these saws were almost unusable. The latest ones are much better, as seen in the ones I did today. When I'm done with them, the will out perform a 200T with the spark screen removed, which is how most guys muffler modded them. BTW, I leave the screen in place on the 201s.

 

[blsnelling]

I understand that this test was a sample size of one. But, it has sure left me scratching me head what it's supposed to accomplish. Now, if you took one of the earlier saws that really ran poorly, installed this kit, and it ran like the newer ones are...that would have been good. However, this kit made no real difference on this saw.

 

[XSKIER]

It's great to see a well reputed builder posting impressive gains on a saw again. All of the boo hoo warm start, and which junky 40cc saw should I buy? threads have gotten stale...

 

[blsnelling]

It has gotten awful quiet around here!

 

[Stihl 041S]

Hey Brad !!!!

 

[cutforfun]

Did you shave the key on the flywheel the same amount on both saws? New flywheel and old. The first saw looked OK in stock form

 

[blsnelling]

Hey Brad !!!!

Hey Rob!

Did you shave the key on the flywheel the same amount on both saws? New flywheel and old. The first saw looked OK in stock form

Yes. I installed the kit on the first saw and tested. I then modded both saws with the same ignition timing advance and muffler mod.

 

[CR888]

Hey Brad, l'm giving the new Snellerized ms261 a run in some 18-24" dry gum....3 tanks so far she's going good! Got a 20" Total b/c ATM just to see how capable the mods have made it. You fix these little 201's well...just a few little tweaks turns them into a respectable saw.

 

[blsnelling]

Hey Brad, l'm giving the new Snellerized ms261 a run in some 18-24" dry gum....3 tanks so far she's going good! Got a 20" Total b/c ATM just to see how capable the mods have made it. You fix these little 201's well...just a few little tweaks turns them into a respectable saw.

Glad to hear that it arrived safely.

 

[Stihl n Wood]

Thanks for the post brad. I was about to buy the kit, although mine is already done the way I learned from you. Well all 201s I do... I really couldn't imagine mine being anymore of a little beast. I also have a muff modded t540 and really feel there pretty much equals. I go back and forth daily with brands. Im interested in seeing stihl incorporate the mtronics into a top handle though. I feel its going to change the game for stihl altogether....we'll see...

 

[blsnelling]

Thanks for the post brad. I was about to buy the kit, although mine is already done the way I learned from you. Well all 201s I do... I really couldn't imagine mine being anymore of a little beast. I also have a muff modded t540 and really feel there pretty much equals. I go back and forth daily with brands. Im interested in seeing stihl incorporate the mtronics into a top handle though. I feel its going to change the game for stihl altogether....we'll see...

Go for it. I'd love to see some more examples. BTW, how much is the kit?

 

[Stihl n Wood]

The kits supposed to increase the rev limiter from 13,600 to 14,000 or 14,100 supposedly? Also bigger carb for faster throttle response. But all new 201t's made from February 24th of this year already have the kit installed. I priced the kit out at my local dealer at $138.00... if you have both saws, can you see where they stand rev wise? From your vids the saw before and after sounds like its revving a tad higher. But that's all I see. Cut times seem relatively equal.

 

[LowVolt]

Well that is disappointing for stihl, great news for Brad. Keep on keeping on buddy.