I've got as many buddies on this site that are Stihl guys as I do Husky and Jonny guys, so truthfully, I'm not enjoying this thread too much. (But I'm sure glad that it's not a Husky cylinder that's in question.) But I do have a few points I want to make.
That cylinder is an embarassment, and the real hard-core Stihl guys that are trying to defend it by saying it would run OK, sound at best evasive, and at worse, just plain silly. There are a lot of Stihl guys on the other hand that are not too biased to call it as they see it. If this was Husky cylinder I would just cringe. I would not really be surprised to see stuff like this cropping up on some of the less expensive homeowner saws, regardless of brand. But on a pro saw, that costs more, but is outperformed by it's chief competitors, anyone with an open mind has to say, "Hey, wait a minute!" It may run, but for how long? I can't conceive of something like that holdng up like all of the 031's and 028's that are still out there.
A lot of conclusions are being drawn based on that cylinder. There are apparently some other examples, but whether this can be considered indicative of Stihl's current definition of "pro quality" is a question that cannot be answered based on just a few examples.
The real smoking gun, if there is one, hasn't been found yet. And that is the answer to this question: Has Stihl decided to source P&C manufacturing, including for some of their pro saws, to China? Yes or no. (A lot of companies are doing this crap now a days, and they try to smooth over the negative reaction to the word China, by saying, "But it's our factory". BULLCRAP!!!)
If the answer is no, and I hope it is, then there are probably just a few bad cylinders out there and they need to tighten up a bit on their quality control. I just can't picture a company like Stihl accepting quality like that. I get aftermarket P&C sets, (Forester), that look way better than that thing on Brad's bench.
If the answer is yes, then IMO it is a huge blunder on their part, and they are in the process of blowing it big time. If the answer is yes, then how do they justify the premium pricing? If they have decided to go that route, then it is a classic, short term gain approach akin to the short sighted nonsense that ruined both McCulloch and Homelite.
And one more thought: We Husky and Jonny guys shouldn't gloat over this because if Stihl gets away with it, we could be next.
