Thinking of buying a Stihl 362 cm but am a little hesitant about the mtronics. My concern is the longevity of the electronics ( do they tend to need replacement, are they costly to replace). Any thoughts appreciated.
Stihl 362 cm
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I've got 2 saws with auto adjust carbs. A Jonsered and also a Stihl. No problems with the auto tune on the Johnny or mtronic on the Stihl. But I haven't had either saw that long to be able to give an opinion on long term. I wouldn't think it would be to costly to replace the electronics if ever needed. You could always check on parts prices if you were concerned.
My Jonsered was ported, high compression piston, and muffler modded and the auto tune responded well adjusting settings as it's supposed to with the higher output mods. Still working as advertised.
If you would rather not have an auto tune saw, and your looking at buying a new pro 60cc saw, you might want to consider a Dolmar 6100. Just as high quality as the 362, just as strong running, and it's an old fashioned non auto adjusting carb saw.
If your willing to buy used and you just have to have an orange and white saw , and don't want mtronic, try to find a nice clean 036. Good durable saws.
Otherwise new 60cc pro saws from Stihl, Jonsered, Husky will all have auto tune / mtronic set up. Mine as well get used to it because all saws will eventually have it.
My Jonsered was ported, high compression piston, and muffler modded and the auto tune responded well adjusting settings as it's supposed to with the higher output mods. Still working as advertised.
If you would rather not have an auto tune saw, and your looking at buying a new pro 60cc saw, you might want to consider a Dolmar 6100. Just as high quality as the 362, just as strong running, and it's an old fashioned non auto adjusting carb saw.
If your willing to buy used and you just have to have an orange and white saw , and don't want mtronic, try to find a nice clean 036. Good durable saws.
Otherwise new 60cc pro saws from Stihl, Jonsered, Husky will all have auto tune / mtronic set up. Mine as well get used to it because all saws will eventually have it.
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Thanks for the input. I may just end up going with the 461 and solve the problem, although at 50 y/o the added weight may become an issue. I really just don't want to sink $800 into a saw and end up having to replace it in less than10 years because of a failed microchip.
I understand that.
If a 60cc saw is what your after, and you want new , and non auto tune, I say again take a good look at the Dolmar 6100.
It's made in Germany and one heck of a pro saw. Easily every match to a 362 possibly even a stronger runner. No auto tune . I'm guessing at or under $600 new. So a little less money than the 362 which are selling near me for $700. Dolmars always been a great value. Dolmars been making saws and 2 stroke engines longer than Stihl.
And no I'm not pushing any brand. I've run a 6100 a fair bit. But I don't own one. Infact I don't even own a Dolmar. I just know in the 60cc class of pro saws it's hard to beat for the price and doesn't have the auto tuned thing that your looking to avoid. My buddy has one in his tree service fleet and I've spent several hours running the 6100 and it's a great saw.
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Roundgunner
Feeling the Heat
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
This past spring a local tree service asked my help with a 441C-M that wasn't running right. That's the one and only M-Tronic / Autotune saw I've worked on, so my experience isn't very broad. The problem with that one turned out to be the ~$20 solenoid valve that takes the place of the mixture screws. From what I read at the time, that's the most common failure point on M-Tronic saws, and it's not really all that common. The more expensive part of the system, which does contain the chip you're worried about, seems to be quite robust.
My only complaint, to the extent that I have one, is that it's more difficult to diagnose failures in a computer-controlled carburetion system, for the simple reason that a broken electronic module usually looks just like a functioning one. This makes you more dependent on troubleshooting flowcharts, or special diagnostic software, or trips to the dealer, or anecdotes on forums. That's not likely to be an issue very often, and the tradeoff is that the saw runs really well almost all the time, without your having to mess with adjustments. You might be the exceptional user who's good at tuning his own saws and thus doesn't get all that much benefit from having it done for you automatically, but an awful lot of operators, both professional and casual, don't understand how to make those adjustments, and keep making do with poorly-tuned conventional equipment for months or years because they don't want to pay a service charge.
My only complaint, to the extent that I have one, is that it's more difficult to diagnose failures in a computer-controlled carburetion system, for the simple reason that a broken electronic module usually looks just like a functioning one. This makes you more dependent on troubleshooting flowcharts, or special diagnostic software, or trips to the dealer, or anecdotes on forums. That's not likely to be an issue very often, and the tradeoff is that the saw runs really well almost all the time, without your having to mess with adjustments. You might be the exceptional user who's good at tuning his own saws and thus doesn't get all that much benefit from having it done for you automatically, but an awful lot of operators, both professional and casual, don't understand how to make those adjustments, and keep making do with poorly-tuned conventional equipment for months or years because they don't want to pay a service charge.
Mike Fromme
Burning Hunk
You make some great points. As much as I would like to avoid an autotune system, I do find the hands off element appealing. In a perfect world microprocessers would be bullet proof, but it's not a perfect world. I think what I need to do is get with a Stihl dealer and see what the actual replacement cost would be.
Adding to the mix, I've been reading good things about Echo saws ( stratos) in terms of their reliability and ease of starting. I have a Echo weed eater which is over 10 years old and the thing has never once given me a problem. Lots to consider.
I love my 362, as well. Light enough and will take a 24" bar with no problems and scream with a 20" bar. I haven't had mine that long either, but I bought mine very lightly used (one tree bucked) with lots of extras for $600 to add to my 271. Only time will tell, but I love it so far. Happy Thanksgiving and Good Luck!
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HitzerHillbilly
Feeling the Heat
I have a 201TC-M, so far I like it! But I've only run a few tanks of gas through it. Stihl also makes saws now with an intellicarb, which is not m-tronic. Might be something worth looking into. My new 180 has that.
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
Intellicarb has been around a loooooong time. It's nothing even remotely like M-tronic, and in fact doesn't seem to do much at all.
HitzerHillbilly
Feeling the Heat
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
From Stihl's website: "IntelliCarb™ Compensating Carburetor measures air on clean side of air filter and adjusts metering diaphragm in carburetor. Keeps RPM levels even when filter begins to clog."
So maybe if you let your air filter get very dirty, it staves off the inevitable richening of the mixture and keeps the RPMs up awhile longer. If your filter is kept clean then it does nothing.
So maybe if you let your air filter get very dirty, it staves off the inevitable richening of the mixture and keeps the RPMs up awhile longer. If your filter is kept clean then it does nothing.
StihlKicking
Feeling the Heat
I have one Mtronic saw. I have only had it about 6 months so I cannot testify to the longevity of the system. I will tell you that I love the performance and ease of use of the saw. Based on performance, ease of start and the fact I never have to tune it, I wish all my saws were mtronic.
they've got the electronic saws pretty figured out now. We've used 2 of them, and only had a problem with the early version of one saw. Only thing we see is it hunts and pecks a little trying to find idle sometimes, but they've been very good saws. You won't dislike it.
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