List of Mods for a 562xp?

[Dieseltwitch]

I don't know what it is about messing with a chain saw. I want to see what "modifications" I can do to my saw to give it that little bit more snap and maybe even get back to a full chain at 10,000'

I've heard of a woods ports. Just cleaning up the intake and exh ports. and the muffler mods I'm not sure about but I'm guessing its just cleaning out the guts of the muffler. Any others? Whats involved in a full porting of a cylinder for these?

[danbuendgen]

Everyone I know that has a ported saw says they don't last as long. More power yes, but supposedly cuts the life of the saw in half. And porting a saw is half the cost (or more) then a new saw... I know a few guys that do the muffler mods with them, but I never have. Not sure how much the autotune can compensate opening up the muffler too much so I don't mess with it. For the price of a new saw, I just keep them stock. If you need more power, get a bigger saw. I have 3 years on my 3 562s and I have had no issues with them yet, knock on wood! I feel like if you keep the chain sharp they cut hardwood impressively. My 562 can keep up with a 372 pretty well, especially considering the size and weight of the power head.

Also, shouldn't the autotune keep it running good at high elevations?

[John Mc]

Everyone I know that has a ported saw says they don't last as long. More power yes, but supposedly cuts the life of the saw in half.

Maybe if it's race ported, or if the job was poorly done.

[Dieseltwitch]

If you need more power, get a bigger saw. I have 3 years on my 3 562s and I have had no issues with them yet, knock on wood! I feel like if you keep the chain sharp they cut hardwood impressively. My 562 can keep up with a 372 pretty well, especially considering the size and weight of the power head.

Also, shouldn't the autotune keep it running good at high elevations?

Thats why i want more power out of a smaller saw. weight. hucking a saw around at 10,000'+ all day make you want to cut every pound you can!

As for the autotune. that just keeps it running good but you still lose power. 3-5% per 1,000' above sea level

So for me I'm down to somewhere about 60% of the power i would have if i was at sea level.

[Ada Shaker]

Everyone I know that has a ported saw says they don't last as long. More power yes, but supposedly cuts the life of the saw in half.

Maybe if it's race ported, or if the job was poorly done.

The laws of physics state otherwise. You pound on a piece of steel hard enough and it will eventually succumb to fatigue. Pound on it with a bigger mallet, and it will succumb sooner.
Any additional torque/revs on any motor causes overloading and will reduce its life expectancy. 
I don't know what you call doing the job properly as it's a fairly vague term but there would have to be upgrades on just about every component on that saw to do the job properly, everything from bearings/housings to pistons/rings etc... may as well just build a new saw IMHO to do a 100% job. It would be best just to buy a v8 motor car to have the grunt you need than trying to mod a 6 cylinder to do the same job in my opinion. But there are those that like their frisky saws like their are those that like their frisky cars, and there are those that like to drag/race them. Theres nothing like a stihl 320 out cutting pops stihl 440 and then braging on about it IMHO.

[weimedog]

Mods on the 562 need to thought about a little more than some of the older saws typical for folks to mess around with. Two mods that I wouldn't be afraid to suggest are first buying a new "vented" cover or cutting yours to approximate the new ones. Second is one already talked about here, Holman Tree did a thread opening the muffler under the spark arrestor screen to reduce a little back pressure. Also lets a little more heat out. Both of those will actually add a little life to those saws. Also depending on what you cut, matching a bar and chain to your cutting world along with getting good at sharpening a chain can add more real world performance than some of the most expensive internal mods.

More than that requires money.....other reliability upgrades include moving the older 5 screw cases to 6 screw later versions and older cylinders to the new ones....and in some cases the carbs to the new el48's but I've pretty much come to the conclusion if things are working for you with those parts groups leave them alone!

And then the internal mod concepts. Most have to do with compression and timing....not something I would recommend taking on without some machine shop capabilities and skills. The tight fit & complexity of the major parts like the cylinder to the cases make these more intricate than with prior generation saws.  And there are a couple of "for real" builders who have engineered builds that are worth spending bucks on for those who must have modded saws. One who hails from the Pacific North West and frequents these threads. I certainly don't recommend doing to this series of saws things I would certainly suggest on saw series like 372's or 350's and other older generation saws for the typical weekend worrier mechanical type.

That's my humble opinion.

[danbuendgen]

Two mods that I wouldn't be afraid to suggest are first buying a new "vented" cover or cutting yours to approximate the new ones. Second is one already talked about here, Holman Tree did a thread opening the muffler under the spark arrestor screen to reduce a little back pressure. Also lets a little more heat out. Both of those will actually add a little life to those saws.

Can you give more details about the vented cover? I have been considering a "light" muffler mod. I would like to hear more about the vented cover though. Not a new one, cutting my stock one. Any pictures?

[weimedog]

[John Mc]

Everyone I know that has a ported saw says they don't last as long. More power yes, but supposedly cuts the life of the saw in half.

Maybe if it's race ported, or if the job was poorly done.

The laws of physics state otherwise. You pound on a piece of steel hard enough and it will eventually succumb to fatigue. Pound on it with a bigger mallet, and it will succumb sooner.
Any additional torque/revs on any motor causes overloading and will reduce its life expectancy...

Actually, I'm fairly familiar with "the laws of physics", having stopped just short of majoring in physics in college (Quantum Mechanics seemed like a bit much to undertake just for the fun of it).

There are some performance mods which can extend the life (as someone else already noted). I'm not into modding saws. The extent of changes I've done myself involves replacing a catalytic muffler with a non-catalytic one (made my Jonsered 2152 run a lot cooler, and gave it a bit more power), and a (rather minimal) muffler mod on another saw. However, if someone did a woods port on a work saw which resulted in cutting the life of the saw in half, as you claimed, I'd be inclined to say that person missed the boat with his mods.

[DelawhereJoe]

Why hasn't anyone come up with a turbo or super charger for saws yet, complete forced air induction and fuel injection. Electric motors have gone crazy with the speeds they can achieve, force feed the saws I say, then they will work at any altitude and have better power.

[Ada Shaker]

Everyone I know that has a ported saw says they don't last as long. More power yes, but supposedly cuts the life of the saw in half.

Maybe if it's race ported, or if the job was poorly done.

The laws of physics state otherwise. You pound on a piece of steel hard enough and it will eventually succumb to fatigue. Pound on it with a bigger mallet, and it will succumb sooner.
Any additional torque/revs on any motor causes overloading and will reduce its life expectancy...

Actually, I'm fairly familiar with "the laws of physics", having stopped just short of majoring in physics in college (Quantum Mechanics seemed like a bit much to undertake just for the fun of it).

There are some performance mods which can extend the life (as someone else already noted). I'm not into modding saws. The extent of changes I've done myself involves replacing a catalytic muffler with a non-catalytic one (made my Jonsered 2152 run a lot cooler, and gave it a bit more power), and a (rather minimal) muffler mod on another saw. However, if someone did a woods port on a work saw which resulted in cutting the life of the saw in half, as you claimed, I'd be inclined to say that person missed the boat with his mods.

I'm not personally familiar with any performance mods to either a saw or motor vehicle that will increase the motors life expectancy, (unless heavily modified that is). You can fit extractors to a motor vehicle and increase the air intake, It'll run a lot faster, breath easier, boost performance, but at a cost, to the rest of the drive train, motors bearings, lifters, etc... Thats why virgin blocks are better sorted for engine builds than something that has already been bored oversized to its limits, and sometimes beyond. One example to this is a mate of mine who rebuilt his engine but cant find a gearbox or diff strong enough to fit behind it. His gone through countless ones, they do work, but when he sticks his boots in, they don't last long. The same sort of thing applies to any motor, increase the rated torque,  speed/revs, etc and you start to effect the load strain on the crank, bearings, pistons, housing etc. It may take the extra load for some time, but in the end it will succumb to fatigue sooner rather than later than if it were stock.  I'm not just referring to helping the saw breath easier as porting does this also, but the harder you run any saw effects its longevity. One only needs to browse through a bearing engineering handbook to see that every type of bearing has a certain life expectacy, that is determined by the type of bearing it is, the loading placed on the bearing, the number of revs it will run at, the enviromental heat it will be running under just to name a few factors that will determine its life expectancy.
The bottom line still remains the same.
Any modification to any motor that has an effect of icreasing torque/revs to the motor has an adverse effect to the rest of the vehicle/saw, in some way.

That isn't to say that there isn't a market for heavily modified saws. As for some, time is money, and a light and frisky saw that runs like some would suggest, a light saber on steroids, can be a god sent. It does however come at a price to the longevity of the saw, which for some, does not even come into the equation. Just buy a new one, mod it to the hilt, and replace it when the time comes.

Those that have to deal with mud wasps should consider how they perform their muffler mods. Obviously not everyone has to deal with these little suckers.