My 201 is an early model & has had the H needle "unlimited", the muff modded, & the timing advanced courtesy of Brad Snelling. The original coil was rev limited to 13,200-13,300 which made tuning a pain. Stihl recently came out with an "upgrade kit" which consisted of a flywheel (supposedly with a 4deg. advance), a carb, & a coil which is limited to 14,000. I only wanted the coil, but the whole kit was $89.95 & the coil, alone, was $95, so I bought the kit. After the coil & flywheel were installed, I fired it up. The throttle response did not seem as snappy as it had been with the "Snellerized" flywheel, so I switched back to that one & did some testing. The questions I had were: 1). Is the new coil limited at 14,000, 2). How is the new flywheel going to perform, 3). What RPMs were being produced at idle & at WOT after a) warm up, b) 3 cuts in 6in. wood, c) 1-3 cuts in 12in. wood.
Here are the results:
Snellerized flywheel & new coil:
idle after 90sec. 3400
after blipping 3400
max at WOT 13,700
after 3 cuts in 6in. wood Beyond the limiter
New flywheel & new coil:
idle after 90sec. 3170
after blipping 3170
max at WOT 13,800
after 3 cuts in 6in. wood Beyond the limiter
After exceeding the limiter in 6in. wood, there was no point in doing the WOT RPM test in the 12in. wood, so I decided to check RPMs in the wood instead.
Snellerized flywheel & new coil: 12,200
New flywheel & new coil: 11,100
Notes: It was easy to verify that the new coil is limited at 14,000 as advertised.
There are enough variables in the "in the wood" tests to make these numbers less than scientific, especially since I was cutting with my left hand (I'm right handed) & holding the tach in my right.
After doing the tests using the Snellerized flywheel first & the new flywheel second, I re-installed the Snellerized flywheel to recheck my impressions on throttle response & torque in the 12in. wood. It clearly had a snappier response & more guts.
I am glad that I have the new coil. While fine tuning in the wood is still necessary, I find it much easier to "sneak up on" the limiter & have a very small adjustment left to get an optimum tune. Having a reference point at WOT (13,700) before the saw has reached max operating temp by being placed in wood
is also a worthwhile benefit to my way of thinking.
FWIW, I started this thread yesterday & got halfway through it before being "interrupted" by "preparations" for a colonoscopy this AM. I thought it best to wait until today to finish it, so I did not disappear after posting. My head is now clear as well as other parts of me. The results were perfect. Man, did breakfast taste good!!
Here are the results:
Snellerized flywheel & new coil:
idle after 90sec. 3400
after blipping 3400
max at WOT 13,700
after 3 cuts in 6in. wood Beyond the limiter
New flywheel & new coil:
idle after 90sec. 3170
after blipping 3170
max at WOT 13,800
after 3 cuts in 6in. wood Beyond the limiter
After exceeding the limiter in 6in. wood, there was no point in doing the WOT RPM test in the 12in. wood, so I decided to check RPMs in the wood instead.
Snellerized flywheel & new coil: 12,200
New flywheel & new coil: 11,100
Notes: It was easy to verify that the new coil is limited at 14,000 as advertised.
There are enough variables in the "in the wood" tests to make these numbers less than scientific, especially since I was cutting with my left hand (I'm right handed) & holding the tach in my right.
After doing the tests using the Snellerized flywheel first & the new flywheel second, I re-installed the Snellerized flywheel to recheck my impressions on throttle response & torque in the 12in. wood. It clearly had a snappier response & more guts.
I am glad that I have the new coil. While fine tuning in the wood is still necessary, I find it much easier to "sneak up on" the limiter & have a very small adjustment left to get an optimum tune. Having a reference point at WOT (13,700) before the saw has reached max operating temp by being placed in wood
is also a worthwhile benefit to my way of thinking.
FWIW, I started this thread yesterday & got halfway through it before being "interrupted" by "preparations" for a colonoscopy this AM. I thought it best to wait until today to finish it, so I did not disappear after posting. My head is now clear as well as other parts of me. The results were perfect. Man, did breakfast taste good!!
