Nice! I’ll do the same on mine. I’m still on the fence about the wrap handle, I’ve been using saws without for a long time, but I could see some advantages.
It is a personal choice, most of my big saws have a full wrap handle and most of my small saws don’t, I don’t use it all the time but it is nice to have when I do
I heard bucking bill say they need atiffer bar springs. He did that to his its flexible as hell he said. Felt like it was going to break. Im sure he did that star spong too but i know stiffer apringes for sure.
the Bark Box Westcoast Saws has for the 500i will up the power also. It would go right where the exhaust cover you took off goes. Great upgrade for power on the 500i Gordy says you would have to increase the fuel a bit on it to adjust for exhaust port upgrades
Bless Very nice video. I own a 462c & these modifications would help the saw tremendously. Plus I’m thinking of buying the 500i with a 32” bar. You could have shown more of the spring modification. Otherwise, the rest was GREAT 👍. Thanks 😊
Yeah, I see now that my wrist blocked a lot of the shot, if you want you can go to the West Coast Saw page and see his video on installing the springs and the bushings
The suspension kit looks like it might be a good option. Mine came with a wrap handle so I'm covered there. The big dawgs look more like bling than anything functional since I don't think it's a very good idea to really dig them in... But I guess that's a matter of individual taste. BTW, I didn't have any trouble removing my dawgs without removing the muffler. Just use a smaller wrench. The clutch cover replacement also sort of seems blingy. And you lose your captive nuts! I was also puzzled by the guide plate replacement. I don't think there's much stress on that part... so the only difference I can think of is that the saw gets heavier with the thicker one. Anyway, thanks for a fun watch!
I hope you like it, the 500 has quickly become one of my favorite saws as it starts real easy and is a lot of power at a light weight, a bark box is in the future for my saws once the warranty expires
Well I am an American. But that being said, it just makes the saw easier to use if the safest place to cut down a tree is on the right side (when facing where the tree is to fall), and I'm a big believer in have it and not need it, than need it and not have it
If you ever tried falling on steep terrain, with one you would never go back, try using a 1/2 wrap and sight for accurate falling, it's just not there for you. 25+ years falling, never had anything less, even today my firewood saw is full wrap.
Did WCS give you any price break getting all the extra parts you did? Where did you get the inner guide plate, can you send me a part number and link where you purchased it? Thank you.
I'm not affliated with WCS in any way, I just like their products as they are good quality. The inner guide plate number is: 1128 664 1001. I get all my parts through my local Stihl dealer, so no link
The suspension kit does not mess with the warranty on the saw. When I talked to the guy at the dealer he told me that porting a saw, putting a muffler mod on, even messing with the air filter could all impact the warranty, but tightening up the suspension with parts from a 661 doesn’t.
Thanks for your video. I am planing to buy a 500i soon, but wonder what you can tell me about/between the 462 since that was another saw I did think about. Thank you for anything you can help me with.
I have both saws and out of the two I grab the 500 first and take the 462 as backup. In ease of starting and power into addition to its light weight my 500 is one of my favorite saws. The 462 is a great saw, but my 500 is my go to. You won’t go wrong with either one you pick
The saw is still new and I run the factory air filters until it needs to be changed, as for the bark box, I put an Egan straight shot on my 462 and didn’t notice enough of an increase to justify the noise level
Are you looking specifically for the 500i or just Stihl saws in general? Stihl does make heated handle saws, marked by a W in the model name, I believe it is a factory only option though, I will ask at my dealer in the next couple days. Specifically Stihl does make a 500iW
@@KuhFladenFREEEIFEL they are soooo comfy! I was logging about a week ago with a saw of a friend of mine, the 500I with heated handle, in the rain. Never been more comfortable in my life running saws haha!
Stihl is so behind husky on spring av that oem has to be thrown away and a after market because Stihl does not understand spring avs yet. Simple mods to make a new saw work is sadly the norm since manufactures are getting cheaper and increase the price you pay for a product.
I believe the parts are still OEM Stihl parts, just off of a 660 or 661, but it helps keep the bar from wobbling when a longer bar is being used. I just wish the parts were on the saw from the start.
Stih L Mfg. needs to stop Skimping on those guide plates. You shouldn't have to spend more money on something that is sub-standard from the factory! Jimbo
Yeah, I'm not sure on all the models, but I know for sure that the 362/462/500 all use the same plate and that it can be replaced with a plate off a 461, I think they use the thinner plate to save on weight
I've been running that "skimpy" plate for most of every work day for over a year now and it still looks stock condition. I believe it was reduced in gauge because it just straight up doesn't need to be any thicker. Many parts on the 500 were reduced in weight relative to older saws and found to be sufficiently strong even for all-day-every-day users.
Just my opinion muffler mods are useless why do it so the saw runs faster its not a race car your cutting wood that's the main reason people do it. Should have used a power tool would have been a lot quicker just saying
adding weight by useless cover, what is wrong with standard cover? is smaler and lighter. full wrap handle is not practical in forestry. dont know how you feel trees in usa but in europe they have to be cut low as possible. good luck with full wrap. its not a rescue saw. dogs take out your bar lenght, you need 2" longer bar to compensate it, just more weight. did you ever worked with a saw full day? useless mods at all
