Stihltech sounds like he would be a unique individual if he operated in my area, and I applaud him for having a can-do personal attitude and a customer satisfaction driven professional ethic. Even while he adapts to corporate bandaid engineering forced by feel good environmentalism. Technology will make for better small engines, no question. But now we are back in an equivalent of the 1980 automotive engine situation, so to speak. With 1960s engine blocks and their heavy emissions, trying to mitigate it with a mess of unreliable vacuum pumps, actuated valves and hoses. With the onboard computer processor still around the corner, just an engineer's dream to free us from that problematic bridge technology.
If an engine receives no "metal" upgrades, but intentional lean running conditions and elevated restrictive exhaust temperatures cause temperatures in the ring belt to rise beyond original design, there is likely going to be a reduction in service life. (Quote from Stihl 2003: "STIHL 2-cycle oils are formulated to meet the high temperatures and lean running conditions of CARB certified engines." Is that not a de facto admission that the balance between regulation, performance, and service life is admittedly off?)
My local Stihl guys, and every single one of them is otherwise a great person to deal with, hold the same line in the sand and recite the same well practiced script - "there is nothing wrong with that saw", "these fixed carbs are the best I've ever seen in 30 years", "your guys must not know how to _________ " (fill in the blank: clean, start, maintain, fuel, carry, run, sharpen, hold, look at) that saw", none of which are true.
The dealers know where their bread is buttered, and have been coached how best to cover their master's tracks. Primarily though, they are simply terrified to do anything to a carburetor to make it run well. I guess I don't hold this against them, since I don't sign their paychecks and I am the rare, picky, annoying guy who actually knows how a saw should run, and will attempt to get things done correctly.
I love my classic machines built for performance alone. But I do agree that enginneering will catch up with the new green paradigm for machines, and they will be all the better for it, efficient and reliable. Just in time for the Gandhi-esque, anti-engine, anti-tree-destruction crowd to finally cry and whine their way to the banning of such activities completely.