MS441 R C-M M-Tronic Review and Mods

[the westspartan]

Great job Andre!!!!! So what your saying, is that Stihl can do with 70.7cc what it takes Husky 73.?cc to do! Just kidding.:jester: They both look mean. I really can't wait to see what Brad is going to do with that 441. And I REALLY can't wait until mine comes in this week. I have always liked the feel of those 576s, but my preferred local dealer only carries Stihl, and the 441 has proven itself to me over and over again.

The thing that really sold me on the M-tronic carb, at least in theory, is that with milling it should keep optimal tune through the whole cut. As it is now, with the standard carb. You give up a little power with a fat tune, so that at the end of the cut you, when the saw is hot, you are close to right. This obviously leads to fairly extreme heat swings in a day with a lot of milling. I have noticed a lot of what I consider carbon staining, from heat on my piston when I pull the cylinder off. It is nice and smooth but the piston has blackened areas on it down below the rings. It still has good compression. My hope is that the m-tronic set up will alleviate this to some degree.

 

[FATGUY]

Great work Andre! Brad and Dave you guys rock! I can assure you all that both saws are just great and you couldn't go wrong with either one. I was actually quite disapointed when Andre told me he thought the 441 was MUCH stronger. Worst thing that can happen in a comparison like this is a blowout.

 

[Andyshine77]

Dan. Yes carbon staining as you call it, is a good indication the saws running really hard, common with strong running ported saw. No doubt the 441 is a proven saw, and most who run them love them, and the M-tronic makes them even better.

 

[Andyshine77]

Great work Andre! Brad and Dave you guys rock! I can assure you all that both saws are just great and you couldn't go wrong with either one. I was actually quite disapointed when Andre told me he thought the 441 was MUCH stronger. Worst thing that can happen in a comparison like this is a blowout.

Thanks Nik.

I'm still a bit shocked at the outcome, the 576 is a bit of a sleeper.

 

[young]

Thanks to Andyshine77, FATGUY, mdavlee and blsnelling, looks like theres TWO more saws I want now. hahaha

Really thanks guys.

 

[komatsuvarna]

I'm up with a bad headache, and no beer has nothing to do with it.:msp_unsure:

Oh ya, means ya quit too early!:biggrin:

 

[dave k]

Thankyou Nik Brad and Andy, it's great to see the old Andy back with good positive input.
I did'nt care which was fastest it was in my book all about proving the new systems worked and worked well and could be easily altered, in this case a MM, and still work correctly.
Again thanks for your time and of course mdavlee for the Husky !

 

[mdavlee]

Well they stayed close even with the muffler mods. I think it was good one didn't walk away from the other.

You guys are welcome. Didn't want the 441 to get all the glory around here

 

[MacLaren]

Perception is just something else man. It just goes to prove that you have to put a clock on them to really see which is faster. I'm glad the Husky took well to the MM. The Stihl did great. I thought the Husqvarna would be stronger by a wider margin than shown.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

 

[mdavlee]

I just watched the video and I would have guessed from just watching and listening the 441 was stronger. It does have a different sound than the 576. It seems like the 441 is like the 372 with it being louder and all with the 576 is just kinda lumbering along but cutting just as fast.

Now I need to figure out what bar to get for the 576. I sold all my 28" bars except the stihl light. All I have is 24" and a 30" cannon.

 

[woodworkorange]

I think this has been one of the best threads i've seen in ages, and I'd like to thank Andyshine, Fatguy, Blsnelling and Mdavlee for all their effert, time and contributions in making it happen.

Many thanks guys.

 

[MacLaren]

I just watched the video and I would have guessed from just watching and listening the 441 was stronger. It does have a different sound than the 576. It seems like the 441 is like the 372 with it being louder and all with the 576 is just kinda lumbering along but cutting just as fast.

Now I need to figure out what bar to get for the 576. I sold all my 28" bars except the stihl light. All I have is 24" and a 30" cannon.

Remember that PS-7300? Man, you just have to put a clock on them.....

 

[FATGUY]

I just watched the video and I would have guessed from just watching and listening the 441 was stronger. It does have a different sound than the 576. It seems like the 441 is like the 372 with it being louder and all with the 576 is just kinda lumbering along but cutting just as fast.

Now I need to figure out what bar to get for the 576. I sold all my 28" bars except the stihl light. All I have is 24" and a 30" cannon.

just use the light bar, the saw will come back with the spacers

 

[mdavlee]

Thanks Nik, I guess I need to buy another bar for the 660 then. I've been wanting another 32" light weight bar anyway. I guess this will give me a good excuse to get one.

Are any of you guys going to terrys gtg on the 1st?

 

[FATGUY]

gonna try and make it, haven't been to a gtg this year. I'm thinking it's possible that Andre, Brad, Mike and myself may show up.

 

[mdavlee]

If you guys do then you can just bring the 576 down. I'll get Paul or Anthony to pick it up and bring it home. That will save shipping money.

 

[blsnelling]

gonna try and make it, haven't been to a gtg this year. I'm thinking it's possible that Andre, Brad, Mike and myself may show up.

I would love to have you guys ride along. I definately plan on going.

A few comments on the saws.

I really like how you can hear that both are nice and rich at WOT, but then instantly clean out when they hit the wood.

The "shifting gears" of the 441 appears to be totally gone! That really pleases me. That was my only real complaint with the saw.

I'm curious why are the 441 cut times spread across a 3 second range while the Husky is within 1 second? Right there is why the Husky came out ahead I couldn't pick up on the difference myself in watching the vid. Nothing obvious.

Thanks for all the hard work you put into this Andre. I personally know it doesn't just happen by itself. Thanks for paying for the fuel to break in my saw for me How did you end up modding the 576 muffler? Much difference in area compared to the 441?

Bottom line, it looks like both brands have nailed it. Both look like they run flawlessly and very strong. Everyone's a winner here!

 

[mdavlee]

If it wasn't for Andre agreeing to do this there wouldn't have been a comparison between the 2. I know I don't have time to do it with work right now. I know him and Nik need some rep for doing all the work with this.

 

[Andyshine77]

I would love to have you guys ride along. I definately plan on going.

A few comments on the saws.

I really like how you can hear that both are nice and rich at WOT, but then instantly clean out when they hit the wood.

The "shifting gears" of the 441 appears to be totally gone! That really pleases me. That was my only real complaint with the saw.

It's not completely gone, every now and then you can still feel the saw surge.

I'm curious why are the 441 cut times spread across a 3 second range while the Husky is within 1 second? Right there is why the Husky came out ahead I couldn't pick up on the difference myself in watching the vid. Nothing obvious.

I have no idea why a few of the times were that far apart, I swapped saws every three cuts to make as fair as I could.

Thanks for all the hard work you put into this Andre. I personally know it doesn't just happen by itself. Thanks for paying for the fuel to break in my saw for me How did you end up modding the 576 muffler? Much difference in area compared to the 441?

I opened the exhaust about the same as the 441, the can had a baffle and a pipe in it so I couldn't just cut a hole in the side and add a deflector or pipe. I ended up cutting a hole through the top.

Bottom line, it looks like both brands have nailed it. Both look like they run flawlessly and very strong. Everyone's a winner here!

I think both Stihl and Husky did their homework with each system, hopefully the auto tune setup will be offered on more saws in the near future.