Stihl 500i, Stock & Zipped vs Psy-Ko Makita 6421/7900 vs Torque Monster 181/281xp

Filmed in September 2020.
There seems to be a lot of hype centered around the Stihl® 500i. They do run good for a stock saw. They rip once zipped. A bit of a fuel hog though. Spongy feel due to the mushy soft spring mounts. Not a saw for the type of faller that is knocking the undercut out with the dawgs…
In the previous saw test video we watched the 6421/7900 hybrid and 500i trade fastest times. Here we see the Makita is faster in both. This is the result of a few factors. I had taken it out into the bush for some falling, it had been used more in some saw test videos, and I altered the intake air flow characteristics with a change of the 1st K&N filter design. The 500i was sporting the original HD2 air filter & rain cover. We have seen the louvers in the rain cover. They allow for the most air flow of any cover to date so it is actually pretty even there.
I had yammered on back in March about my 281 winning against the Torque Monster 481 in a saw-off session. I had also proclaimed that my 481 would be winning over the 500i before I had seen the internals and based on what I knew about the 462. I had assumed that the 500i was similar in design to the 462 there.
The caveat here is that the 281 being in the “standard” Psy-Ko trim. My “patented” “Torque Tweak” does not necessarily increase speed in a saw-off or race type application. It is geared toward adding noticeable lowend grunt so that the operator can pull a long bar with authority. As we watched the 281 being able to leverage the several hundred pound log up and over while still posting the 2nd fastest time coming up.
The three zipped saws are all in the Psy-Ko level so it is pretty even there. They are all tuned toward torque to function better in a work type application as well. Again, this is not necessarily a method I would use to increase the timed run in a cookie saw-off session.
Bore, stroke, and displacement numbers:
Stihl® 500i 54mm x 34.6mm for 79.24cc
Makita® 6421/7900 Hybrid 52mm x 37mm for 78.57cc
Husqvarna® 181se/281xp 52mm x 38mm for 80.70cc
Looking at the timed runs:
Stock 500i high idle at 13,500 went 11.93 down, 10.97 (cut out) up, and 11.46 up
Psy-ko 6421/7900 high idle at 13,560 went 9.94 down and 9.50 up
Psy-Ko 500i high idle at 13,670 went 10.23 down and 10.46 up
Psy-Ko 181/281 high idle at 13,800 went 10.17 down and 10 flat up while leveraging the test log
I this session, the “little saw” that could, actually did! We watched the Makita 6421/7900, with the least amount of run time and nowhere near broken in, posted the lowest times. On the other side of that, and it was decisive, the 181/281 clearly showed the most lowend grunt of the group.
I am well pleased with how Makita project came out. I missed the times by just a bit in my guessing as we watched the 6421/7900 actually win. Unfortunately, it is really hard to tell through the computer monitor how a saw feels while it is working. The time disparity between the stock 500i and the zipped saws would continue to increase as the length of the guide bar became longer.
I’m currently available for custom saw modifications. Please shoot me an email if you are interested.
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Thanks for watching.