Enlarging factory exhaust hole with die grinder?

[Stihl dude]

Will I increase the performance of my saw if I enlarge the factory exhaust hole?
I was thinking of doing it with a die grinder.

Will my saw burn out?
How big should I go?
Has anyone done this before?

Is too much too much ? I already have a West coast saw bark box on it

Cheers

 

[Mad Professor]

Do a search, then come back stating what sort of saw you have.

 

[ballisticdoughnut]

If your looking for better performance porting would be the next step. You already have a bark box don’t mess with it.

 

[mendoman]

I removed my bark box and did exactly that…expanded my stock exhaust hole size, about double or triple. I didn’t like all the chips blowing into my face from the bark box.
The enlarged hole does seem to compete with the bark box as far as airflow goes, it is still a heck of a lot quieter than a bark box.
Be careful not to go too big. On my ms462cm if you grind out too much I think the chain brake handle could melt from exhaust. It gets past the deflector built into the muffler.
Main reason for me is to lower that exhaust temp a bit, and let it breath.