MS441 R C-M M-Tronic Review and Mods

[inthewoodsagain]

Wha chu' talkin' bout?!

I HIGHLY recommend an overpowered saw for each and every use!

Yes you guys have it all but over here we have HSE and liable laws so officially we are not allowed any bar bigger than a 25" on a 441 or 460!! It is thanks to this fantastic forum and the select few of you "modders" that we over here get more for our £££££££££'s. Brillant website and keep up the good work - all of you

 

[Slamm]

Totaly agree. It rings all the bells for me and thats why we now have 8. We no longer have any 460's just 441cm. I had to order the oiler kits and clutch housing and large double bump spikes as they are not the norm in the Uk. They run Stihl 20" to 30" ES bars, RCS chain and are fuelled on Stihl Ultra oil and Super unleaded fuel. We do mod the exhaust but it is the original one and we also bought a high- spec tacho. I still find it amazing how it "learns" as I put some crap petrol in one of them today and it came true - just a bit less power but still ran sweet. You get what you pay for and I have never complained about my profit margins just fed up with clearing up after the "wanabies!" Jon

Precisely. I'm switching over to the M-Tronics, but they will all me modded first. I just don't see any benefits from having the regular carb anymore. For little to no more outlay of money, I have a truly "live", management system that rides along for free and always keeps my saw running at peak performance regardless of any other variables that can and do arise from time to time.

I'm interested in if the fuel mileage increases or stays the same or is even noticed as a difference compared to the regular carbed models, that I have.

I'm selling my regular carbed 441's to cutters in Wisconsin, shsssssh'd they don't know about the M-Tronics, LOL, and I'm not telling them ........ yet, LOL.

Sam

 

[blsnelling]

I'm disappointed that the 461s we've heard of do not have the M-Tronic carb. Hopefully when they make it to production, they'll have it. I hope the 661 will have it as well. I'm all for it.

 

[Slamm]

I'm disappointed that the 461s we've heard of do not have the M-Tronic carb. Hopefully when they make it to production, they'll have it. I hope the 661 will have it as well. I'm all for it.

I was hopeful for the 461, but its pretty for sure going to be a rubber mounted saw and my wussy hands/wrist, probably won't be able to handle the vibrations. I might still get one for the kicks or to compare, but just don't see the 7ish cc difference as going to be worth owning a different lineup than the few 441 M-Tronics, as that is just more economical for me. If in fact, it doesn't have the M-Tronics, then that is a total killer for the 461 in my opinion, there is likely no way it will beat the modded 441 M-Tronics at that point, and if it does it will be minor. With any luck they will follow a design similar to the 361's cylinder design as that is a really good one, as its not going to be a strato like the 441 design.

Wonder if it is going to be lighter or heavier than the 441, that might be a positive for the 461 if it is lighter, but it would need to get down to the 440's weight bracket to make it noticeable, but I remember being at Jeremy's and we handed each other 440/460 hybrids and the 441 back and forth with eyes closed and neither could figure out which was which based on blind "weight" check.

Just really don't understand the whole 461 thought process? 7cc difference is almost redundant. The Dolmar is such a big whoop around here and it is 8ish cc's bigger and it can walk away from it, so from a CC's point of view, you might as well go to the next size 90cc and make a difference, but obviously there is sales/marketing research ideas and theories, behind this redundancy and it must make sense from that point of view.

Sam

 

[inthewoodsagain]

Precisely. I'm switching over to the M-Tronics, but they will all me modded first. I just don't see any benefits from having the regular carb anymore. For little to no more outlay of money, I have a truly "live", management system that rides along for free and always keeps my saw running at peak performance regardless of any other variables that can and do arise from time to time.

I'm interested in if the fuel mileage increases or stays the same or is even noticed as a difference compared to the regular carbed models, that I have.

I'm selling my regular carbed 441's to cutters in Wisconsin, shsssssh'd they don't know about the M-Tronics, LOL, and I'm not telling them ........ yet, LOL.

Sam

Hi Sam. we still have 4 Ms 280i saws and they are running 20" bars on 325" chain. Over here they are officially not allowed this bar as 18" is "the max". These are used daily all year round and, as with all our saws it is 1 man 1 saw etc. For parts, backup etc etc, I would not hesitate in buying Stihl. Personaly dealer network is crucial and in the Uk, Stihl has it and, as we have tried the rest, we were always let down by the most simple of part availiability but no probs wih Stihl. I should add that we have now 30 plus items of there product but 5 years ago you would see nothing but "orange"!!! - too much washing machine and fridges if you know what I mean! Stihl all the way. Jon

 

[inthewoodsagain]

Update:

Thanks to the help of NorthEast Stihl which I was on the phone with for another 30 minutes today, the MS441RCM-25 was activated today for all dealers served by NorthEast Stihl. Any dealer in the NE can order this saw via their typical web-based ordering procedures - it now shows up under the search. NES does not stock this saw but I understand they will source the saw in about a week and will ship it to the dealer in the second week. So it's about a two week turn around time

Also, the DRP on this saw is $950.00. My local dealer was able to work with me and I purchased the saw for a fair price under DRP. Now that this saw is active, and there are no additional shipping charges involved - it's a little easier to figure out a fair price for all.

So that's it - I have the first one on order in the NorthEast - very exciting. I have this cluster of 6" maple trees in the back yard that I really need to cut down. I hope this saw is big enough to do the job

View attachment 198357

-Greg

Hi, just to let you know that Retail in uk is £830 plus 20% tax with 20" bar, Dollar at the moment is £1 - $1.65 Why is it cheaper in the US????!!!

 

[Slamm]

Hi Sam. we still have 4 Ms 280i saws and they are running 20" bars on 325" chain. Over here they are officially not allowed this bar as 18" is "the max". These are used daily all year round and, as with all our saws it is 1 man 1 saw etc. For parts, backup etc etc, I would not hesitate in buying Stihl. Personaly dealer network is crucial and in the Uk, Stihl has it and, as we have tried the rest, we were always let down by the most simple of part availiability but no probs wih Stihl. I should add that we have now 30 plus items of there product but 5 years ago you would see nothing but "orange"!!! - too much washing machine and fridges if you know what I mean! Stihl all the way. Jon

I know what you mean, its seems to me that the "more expensive" Stihl ends up being cheaper for me in the long run, and quite honestly, I can get my Stihl stuff cheaper than other saws, so I have the best of all worlds. I don't have half the problems of others with same amount of saws in service. We smash and break parts, from normal logging abuse, (I don't or wouldn't blame Husky or Stihl for that kinda stuff), but things actually failing or wearing out on our modded Stihl saws, is far and few between.

Sam

 

[inthewoodsagain]

Precisely. I'm switching over to the M-Tronics, but they will all me modded first. I just don't see any benefits from having the regular carb anymore. For little to no more outlay of money, I have a truly "live", management system that rides along for free and always keeps my saw running at peak performance regardless of any other variables that can and do arise from time to time.

I'm interested in if the fuel mileage increases or stays the same or is even noticed as a difference compared to the regular carbed models, that I have.

I'm selling my regular carbed 441's to cutters in Wisconsin, shsssssh'd they don't know about the M-Tronics, LOL, and I'm not telling them ........ yet, LOL.

Sam

Hi Sam, not sure if you have them there yet but we also have 8 x FS460 cem brush cutters. They are m-tronic and replaced fs500's, again fantastic and learn!. Jon

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

Get me the broken one and I could probably fab something up for you that would match, or just weld the old one.

I am seriously thinking about getting one of these new fangled computer saws from my man Cale!

It would make a nice wedding present for Kim.

 

[Officer's Match]

It would make a nice wedding present for Kim.

Indeed. Mrs. OM once got a Dolmar for mother's day. :redface:

 

[BlackAdder]

Totaly agree. It rings all the bells for me and thats why we now have 8. We no longer have any 460's just 441cm. I had to order the oiler kits and clutch housing and large double bump spikes as they are not the norm in the Uk. They run Stihl 20" to 30" ES bars, RCS chain and are fuelled on Stihl Ultra oil and Super unleaded fuel. We do mod the exhaust but it is the original one and we also bought a high- spec tacho. I still find it amazing how it "learns" as I put some crap petrol in one of them today and it came true - just a bit less power but still ran sweet. You get what you pay for and I have never complained about my profit margins just fed up with clearing up after the "wanabies!" Jon

What do you use the Tacho for? Is there something to adjust the tune with on the 441cms?

 

[the westspartan]

It would make a nice wedding present for Kim.

In that case she may be more interested in an MS 880 for milling the big stuff! LOL

 

[j.williams]

Did a MM last week and finally took the time to take a couple pics.

View attachment 199001View attachment 199002

 

[mdavlee]

That muffler mod looks good. Is it real loud like that?

Andre you got the muffler modded yet?

 

[FATGUY]

That muffler mod looks good. Is it real loud like that?

Andre you got the muffler modded yet?

my bad, still sitting on my desk @ the shop....

 

[Slamm]

I have to check one of the newer modded 441's that Terry sent to Wisconsin, it has a big hole in the muffler bigger than that pipe and the ones on my saw, and that is a strong saw. The guy that owns it has run 3 of 4 of my modded saws for 10+ hours per day and for weeks, and both Terry and him thinks his is pretty strong, only difference is bigger hole in muffler.

If it was modded, I'd say you could get more power out of about 1/8" larger dia. hole, but in stock form, it is likely you are at the correct size.

Looks good, I'd like it out the side a little more, but your at a good angle for working. It'll blow the leafs up on low hanging branches, LOL.

Sam

 

[Andyshine77]

my bad, still sitting on my desk @ the shop....

:msp_ohmy: I'll have it tomorrow everyone.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

In that case she may be more interested in an MS 880 for milling the big stuff! LOL

Gotta get me one. I could SO use a big ole milling saw.

One day..... One day.........

 

[Stihlman441]

Sorry people dont like the tube muff mod looks like an after thought,why cant ya open up the original port the deflector is big enough.If you loose the spark screen so be it there isnt one on the tube modd.

 

[FATGUY]

Gotta get me one. I could SO use a big ole milling saw.

One day..... One day.........

well before that, you'll have to pony up one more ticket for the raffle saw. You might as well do it already as you know the Husky's gonna get thumped. It's gonna be so sweet winning a Stihl on a ticket a Husky fanboy bought.:tongue2::hmm3grin2orange: