stihl 311/391

[STIHLFULLSKIP]

just wondering if anyone here has seen or heard anything of these new saws yet?  my dealer told me he thinks it will be alot easier to sell a 13lb/4.6hp/391 for 500.00,than a 13lb/4.6hp/362 for 700.00

[windthrown]

They are not out here in the states yet. They are out in full force in Europe though. The German Stihl site has the specs. Heavier than the replacement saws, and less power (in both cases). At least for the Euro models, and the US ones will likely be different. They are both strato engine saws. In Germany they are both more expensive than the replacement models. 

[ladylake]

Wait and see which one gets through the log the fastest, too me it seems like Stihl overrates thier high profit homeowners saws quite a bit.   Steve

[windthrown]

In my experience, the 1127 saws are some of the better 'homeowner' saws out there. I have owned a 290 and a 310 and run the snot out of them to cut a lot of wood. A lot of pros run them here, and road crews, and county crews, and forestry crews. Now the 1123 saws, I have owned a lot of them all as well. Underpowered, high vibration, and a PITA to work on. I called the 210 the 'wood massager'. I replaced them all with the 026s that I have now. The 211 is better than the 210, actually. Lighter and a tad more power. That's the direction that saws should go in. But that is the one and only Stihl strato to date that has a better power to weight ratio.

I cannot see the 311 and 391 having more weight and/or less power. They are already considered by many as the boat-anchor line of Stihl saws. I blew the 310 and 290 open with a muffler mod and a carb tweek and they run way way way better. The 290 is supposedly the last saw that they will change over for EPA compliance, as it is their best selling saw. 

[ladylake]

Some day someone will explain why the 3.2 hp MS260 and the 3.8 hp MS290 cut at about the same speed. Steve

[STIHLFULLSKIP]

only thing i could say,is that 260/16" may pull a few more rpm in the wood,than say a 290/20". both of those saws are popular around here,with that combo. but i do agree the 290/310/390,while not impressive,is a good solid,reliable workhorse. i wish i had a nickle for everyone stihl has sold. 

[nmurph]

Some day someone will explain why the 3.2 hp MS260 and the 3.8 hp MS290 cut at about the same speed. Steve

i would like to see this. i have MM 026 and a MM 310 and it's not even close. actually my 310 will cut very close to my stock 357 or 361.

[ladylake]

 I haven't run a 56cc 290 yet that will cut as fast as my 50cc CS510 Echo yet, some are close and some are real dogs, must need tuning. I let a guy with a 290 run my CS510 last fall, he never put it down all day and is now looking to buy one. Some people say the 290 cuts a little faster and some say the 260 cuts a little faster so I think they're close in cutting speed but not in HP. I'd take a 260 any day over a 290 due to the wieght.   Steve

[STIHLFULLSKIP]

ms260 pro is a nice saw,but i would like to try a new cs530 echo.

[windthrown]

Some day someone will explain why the 3.2 hp MS260 and the 3.8 hp MS290 cut at about the same speed. Steve

Speed is relative here, depending on wood size.

260 has a lot higher revs: 14k
290 has low revs: 12.5k

290 has a more torque, the 260 has higher revs. The 290 will run a 20 inch bar no problemo. 290 will buck bigger stuff. 260 will limb faster, and is a lot lighter. I have owned both and used both a lot. I wondered why my muffler modified 310 would not cut cookies as fast as my stock 361, same bar and chain, same log, timed cuts. They have similar torque, both 60cc saws.

Answer: 361 revs 1k higher than the 310. Faster chain speed, faster cuts. 361 wins.

[ladylake]

When these saws are tested for hp they all run around 9500 rpm at max power, no load RPM has nothing to do with how fast they cut, and HP is HP and being equal they should cut the same. It's not hard for me to believe that Stihl would overrate the Hp on thier high profit, low cost MS290 too increase sales.   Steve

[nmurph]

When these saws are tested for hp they all run around 9500 rpm at max power, no load RPM has nothing to do with how fast they cut, and HP is HP and being equal they should cut the same. It's not hard for me to believe that Stihl would overrate the Hp on thier high profit, low cost MS290 too increase sales.   Steve

i agree that HP is HP and that peak rpm has nothing to do with the cutting speed of a saw. the ratings of the 290 series HAS been independently tested and verified. the one dowfall of this series is that their torque curve is relatively narrow as compared to the 361. but for cookie cutting, a MM 361 will hang with a 361/357 (stock, of course).

[ladylake]

MMurph

I think you meant a MM310 in your last post, far as independant testing I don't trust that one bit, they could be sent a ringer or bought off as there's hugh money to be made selling high profit saws .   I think Pro saws with a closed port design have a wider power band than the open port homeowner saws and don't need to be kept at that perfect RPM to cut good. No load RPM's don't mean much either, I have a 80cc saw that seems to turn about 1/2 the RPM of my 85cc saw yet with a chain to take advantage of the torque they are almost dead even with the 85cc cutting a second or so faster in big wood.   Steve

[nmurph]

you are correct, i meant to say MM 310. i don't understand why you would accept one set of data from a manufacturer and not another? what is to prevent them from sending a ringer in any category? and by its very nature, independent testing doesn't accept models sent by a manufacturer. from what i understand these tests were performed with examples blind-purchased from dealers. i have also run my 310 (stock) against my 359 (stock) and they are pretty much even.

[STIHLFULLSKIP]

there are 4 new ms391's on ebay right now for 570.00 ea.