Stihl M Tronics

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xman23

Minister of Fire
Oct 7, 2008
2,631
Lackawaxen PA
I watched Stihl's video about there electronic fuel control. I saw this on You Tube and read the comments. Not many good things were said about it. Stihl's had this for some time, correct? You wouldn't buy a car without it today. So how different could a single piston saw be.

What's your experience with it?
 
I had a choice when I bought my 261. I chose to go without electronic addons because I didn't want the potential problems. And I just bought a 1962 GMC truck without it so that line of reason is out the window...
 
Depending on who you talk with, it's on the 3rd or 4th gen of it, and 5th gen of software. Had problems with my 362 cm, but they got it dialed in eventually. Buddy had issues with his too, but this was 4 years ago or so.

I think it's good now, and wouldn't be afraid. It's all going that way eventually they have told me.
 
How old were the comments.
Many actually like the computer controls now.
Luddites resist change.
 
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How old were the comments.
Many actually like the computer controls now.
Luddites resist change.

I took a look again. Some are within a year or two. If there on the 5 generation it sounds like they have pissed off guys with saws that didn't run as expected. Have they been upgrading all the old version saws for free?

Any one know where the power comes from to run this? Is there a battery and a charging system?
 
Electronics on ANYTHING can be (and usually is ) a nightmare. Most of the new heavy equipment I work on is coming through with it and if anything goes wrong it contact the dealer time. They will get to when they can since they are swamped with others with the same problems.

Give me old school anytime!
 
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Electronics on ANYTHING can be (and usually is ) a nightmare. Most of the new heavy equipment I work on is coming through with it and if anything goes wrong it contact the dealer time. They will get to when they can since they are swamped with others with the same problems.

Give me old school anytime!

I can't argue with this. I only have carb'ed saws currently, but wouldn't hesitate to buy a new Stihl, like the 462 CM if the opportunity calls for it.
 
Electronics are for people who don't work on their own stuff. If you do work on your own stuff you need to buy expensive tools to deal with the electronics.
 
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Electronics are for people who don't work on their own stuff. If you do work on your own stuff you need to buy expensive tools to deal with the electronics.

I would love to get some nice diag equipment since I learned how to use it a bit in school. Unfortunately it costs way too much for using on your own stuff. I think soon we will see much cheaper diag stuff with tablets and operating systems getting so cheap.
 
Once the end user has the ability to alter the computer stuff, it gets way better. There is obviously the potential for issues, but everything is at your own risk.
 
As a designer of electronic controls, I have dealt with the issues of creating digital controls to replace mechanical controls and logic. Every year the components to do this has gotten more robust, making the job easier. Even for large company's like Stihl this can be a challenge. Like in your car and many other products we now take for granted, it will add a level of performance that can't be done any other way.

Agreed, our saw engines don't need to do anything more than start easily, idle, accelerate to high speed and produce a lot of power, efficiently and reliably . If not now, someday M tronics should become a reliable product that does all of things our saw does now, even better. When will we know they believe they are there? When they build only M tronics versions. They maybe there now, or not, but from what I read, they need to get there reputation back. Until then M tronics saws are beta test sites.
 
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As a designer of electronic controls, I have dealt with the issues of creating digital controls to replace mechanical controls and logic. Every year the components to do this has gotten more robust, making the job easier. Even for large company's like Stihl this can be a challenge. Like in your car and many other products we now take for granted, it will add a level of performance that can't be done any other way.

Agreed, our saw engines don't need to do anything more than start easily, idle, accelerate to high speed and produce a lot of power, efficiently and reliably . If not now, someday M tronics should become a reliable product that does all of things our saw does now, even better. When will we know they believe there there? When they build only M tronics versions. They maybe there now, or not, but from what I read, they need to get there reputation back. Until then M tronics saws are beta test sites.

Once the MS 461 is phased out, no idea if their are plans to do that or not, all pro saws below the MS 880 will be mtronic. It really has become a proven platform. Just as the Auto Tune has for husky. Most bugs have been worked out.
 
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Once the MS 461 is phased out, no idea if their are plans to do that or not, all pro saws below the MS 880 will be mtronic. It really has become a proven platform. Just as the Auto Tune has for husky. Most bugs have been worked out.

I am looking at at new saw. I just didn't know where this was at, and doing the research, well it looks like they had issues. I hope that they did the right thing for anyone who had problems. I might wait and see what happens in the next year or so.
 
I am looking at at new saw. I just didn't know where this was at, and doing the research, well it looks like they had issues. I hope that they did the right thing for anyone who had problems. I might wait and see what happens in the next year or so.

They had issues 4-5 years ago. They are worked out now.
 
They had issues 4-5 years ago. They are worked out now.

I would believe this to be true for the most part. My dealer has told me they have fewer repairs and issues with the new ones than they did with the carb'd units in the past. Very few problems with them now.
 
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Being a fan of old school stuff it pains me to admit that the 661 and 441 I currently own will walk off and leave any non mtronic STIHL I have ever owned. This includes a 660, 440 and 044. I have ran the guts out of these two saws and had zero problems apart from dropping a tree on one of them. They start easy and run like there’s a tiny man with an even tinier orange screw driver inside it adjusting the carb perfectly for any situation you encounter. When my non mtronic 261 dies one day I will replace it with a computerized equivalent.
 
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I watched Stihl's video about there electronic fuel control. I saw this on You Tube and read the comments. Not many good things were said about it. Stihl's had this for some time, correct? You wouldn't buy a car without it today. So how different could a single piston saw be.

What's your experience with it?
I don't own any newer saws, but not because I have anything against them, I'm just a little cheap. Most I know who own new M-Tronics swear they'll never go back to the older saws, not unlike my feelings toward carbureted cars for daily use.
 
I have a 2017 Stihl 261C-M with the Mtronics. I've owned a 170, 180, 250, 260 PRO and now the 261C-M with the M-tronics. I will never go back to a regular saw. This saw cuts like butter and always starts. I highly recommend it. Parts for them are cheap in case any of the electronics ever go bad. Worst case, just convert it back to regular carb and cut adjustment holes in the top cover.
 
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I’ve had my 362 now for A little over a year. Starts great. Runs great. Throttle response is instant. I usually cut with a friend of mine and he is still running his grandpas 028AV. Now I’m a fan of old stuff, it’s nostalgic and all that but that saw is a dog. It feels like I could have watched a 3 hour western waiting for that saw to wind up. I’m still skeptical about the longevity in all this electronic stuff but time will tell. I hope my 362 is still cutting wood in 40 years like my buddies 028 is cutting now. I hope all this technology doesn’t turn already expensive saws into more expensive saws. When dirt bikes started going fuel injection the price jumped up quite a bit. Now they are stupid expensive with all the fancy electric start, efi, selectable fuel maps, etc.
 
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I'm a Husky guy but I have 3 computer carb saws and will never buy another saw without one. They constantly adjust the mixture and they 1) burn way less fuel 2) are always tuned perfectly. We aren't talking about super-complicated stuff here. People who have trouble with auto tune saws aren't usually having problems with the carb, though they automatically blame it.

I also have 4 good saws with carbs and it's annoying that the carbs need tuned every time so they stay at home.
 
Love the m-tronics. Last year I bought a 261 50cc and I just took delivery of the new 462 74cc.

After running both saws for a while I sent them to mastermind work saws in TN, for mod work. They were fine stock. I’m still waiting on the 462 but the 261 i I received back is like a whole new animal. It’s my understanding that the guys modding the saws like the m-tronic as it adjust even after the mods(porting, timing advance, more compression muffler mods, ect).





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Love the m-tronics. Last year I bought a 261 50cc and I just took delivery of the new 462 74cc.

After running both saws for a while I sent them to mastermind work saws in TN, for mod work. They were fine stock. I’m still waiting on the 462 but the 261 i I received back is like a whole new animal. It’s my understanding that the guys modding the saws like the m-tronic as it adjust even after the mods(porting, timing advance, more compression muffler mods, ect).

I'd be interested in some more feedback and review on your 462 and the mod work you had done. Keep us posted if you get the chance. Also, if you can share or PM me, interested in how pricey mastermind is for a good woods porting these days.
 
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