A lot of chainsaw owners have the same question: do aftermarket parts make a saw better, or do they mostly make it louder and more expensive? That question came up again with the Stihl MS 362, especially because West Coast Saw parts get mentioned so often by people who run these saws hard.

Main Street Mower finally put that question to the test with about $400 worth of West Coast Saw parts on an MS 362. The short answer is simple: some of these upgrades make immediate sense, one adds a little performance, and one adds a lot more noise than power.

Chip and Stu have covered plenty of chainsaw content over the years, and West Coast Saw kept coming up in the comments. They admitted they were skeptical about aftermarket parts, especially on a saw they already like in stock form.

So they reached out to West Coast Saw. Samantha connected them with owners Lauren and Gordy, and West Coast Saw sent over a full upgrade kit for their Stihl MS 362. The parts were provided at no cost, but the review was not paid, and they made it clear they could say whatever they honestly thought.

That matters, because the whole point of this test was to answer real owner questions. Does the air filter install easily? Do you need the West Coast sprocket cover? Can you run the dogs with the stock cover? Does the Bark Box make the saw louder? Does the extra hardware make the saw much heavier? And most of all, what do these parts really change?

The company story also gives helpful context. According to West Coast Saw's background, Gordy moved to Washington, bought property with big trees, and needed a serious saw. He found a used Stihl 066, rebuilt it, and approached it the same way he had tuned dirt bikes and quads growing up. That explains a lot about the brand. The parts feel rooted in a dirt bike-inspired performance kit mindset, not just cosmetic add-ons.

West Coast Saw now sells well beyond the Pacific Northwest, with dealers in places like New Zealand, and the parts discussed here are made in the USA. For anyone comparing the base saw before upgrades, the Stihl MS 362 at Main Street Mower is the saw used in this test.

The kit covered several of the most talked-about West Coast Saw parts for the MS 362. Some pieces aim at durability and handling, while others chase airflow, filtration, and a small bump in performance.

These were the key items in the box:

• A replacement sprocket cover made from 6061 T6 aircraft aluminum, with captured bar nuts, a larger design for chip management, and an extra-large polyurethane chip deflector
• A set of Shorty dogs, which West Coast Saw recommended for East Coast use instead of the bigger versions built for huge bark and large timber
• A chain catch with a replaceable, non-metal contact surface
• The Bark Box muffler upgrade, made from 304 stainless steel and fitted with a spark arrestor
• A foam air filter system with filter oil and a hose clamp
• Extra screws, chain guide wear parts, stickers, and small West Coast Saw screwdrivers

The first impression was that the parts looked well-made. The cover in particular stood out. It had visible machining marks, captured nuts like the factory piece, and a solid fit and finish. It also felt lighter than expected in the hand, which matters because aluminum upgrades can sometimes feel bulky before they even go on the saw.

Another useful detail came up right away. If your stock sprocket cover needs replacement anyway, this West Coast Saw cover is roughly the same money as buying another stock cover. That makes it easier to justify as an upgrade instead of a luxury buy.

Before any parts went on, the MS 362 weighed 16.91 pounds in factory form. After the full install, it came in at 18.11 pounds.

Here is the weight change in simple terms:

That is a noticeable increase on paper, but it is not as heavy as the pile of parts might suggest.

Out of everything in the kit, these parts came across as the easiest to understand. They offer practical benefits before you ever make a cut.

One of the most useful discoveries was that the West Coast Saw dogs fit on the factory sprocket cover. That means you do not need to buy the full cover if your main goal is adding better dogs.

The stock MS 362 only comes with one dog. Many users prefer dogs on both sides of the bar, and the West Coast Saw Shorty set gives you that. Even though these are the smaller East Coast version, they are still clearly longer than the stock dogs.

That extra length matters when you are trying to bite into the wood and pivot the saw with more control. In plain terms, they grab better. Chip and Stu both saw that as a real upgrade, not a style piece.

The chain catch might be one of the least flashy parts in the box, but it may be one of the smartest. On a derailed chain, the catch helps stop the chain from coming back toward your arm. The stock chain catch does that too, of course, but it also tends to get chewed up, and when a thrown chain slaps into it, the chain itself can take damage.

The West Coast Saw version pairs with the dog and posts into it. That gives the chain a more defined place to stop. It also uses a replaceable material that should be easier on the chain than a hard metal hit.

If a chain derails, the chain catch is one of those parts you hope never matters. When it does matter, you want the best version you can get.

That detail alone made the setup feel more purposeful than decorative.

The West Coast Saw cover adds a few small improvements that together make sense. It is stronger than the stock piece, keeps captured nuts in place, offers more room for chip flow, and gives extra space for walking the chain back without fully removing the cover.

That wider shape may also make cleanup easier if a saw packs full of chips in certain woods. The polyurethane deflector is a wear item, and the replaceable guide pieces are too, which is a nice touch on a part that takes abuse.

There was another reason this upgrade felt timely on the test saw. The factory cover had already lost some of its small wear pieces, including the chip deflector and chain guide inserts. So in that case, the stock part was already showing the kind of aging that makes a better replacement easier to justify.

The Bark Box is the part most people associate with West Coast Saw, and it is also the part that changed the saw's personality the most.

On this MS 362, no manual carb tuning was needed because the saw is M-Tronic. West Coast Saw notes that carbureted saws would need fuel adjustment after this kind of muffler change. That is an important point. On the M-Tronic saw, the install stayed simple.

The stock muffler cover is basically closed off compared with the Bark Box. Once removed, it becomes clear what the West Coast Saw part is doing. It opens a second exhaust path, increases flow, and uses a stainless housing with a built-in spark arrestor.

The welds and finish looked excellent in person. So did the overall fit. Once installed, the saw looked more aggressive, and the side profile changed in a way that matched the rest of the upgraded setup.

The sound change was immediate. The saw had a much throatier note, closer to the dirt bike comparison that came up earlier in the video. It felt sharper on throttle, too.

The Bark Box gave the MS 362 a little more speed, but it also made the saw far louder.

That tradeoff shaped the final opinion of the whole test.

This was the part that felt most foreign if you come from stock chainsaw maintenance and not from motocross or off-road equipment. West Coast Saw uses an oiled foam filter, and that means the filter media has to be saturated and then squeezed out before use.

The idea is simple. The oil makes the foam sticky so it traps dirt more effectively. That is common on dirt bikes, where filters see fine dust constantly.

Before oiling, the new foam filter felt open and easy to breathe through. After oiling, it still flowed, but with more resistance than when dry. That is expected. The goal is filtration, not dry, unrestricted airflow.

Installation on this particular MS 362 was easier than expected. Some versions of the saw may require removing screws from behind and plugging old holes. This serial range did not. The stock filter piece popped off by releasing the tabs, and the new West Coast Saw filter mounted over the intake with a hose clamp.

The oiling process followed West Coast Saw's own guidance:

1. Pour filter oil into a container.
2. Work the foam into the oil until it is fully coated.
3. Squeeze out the excess until the filter is saturated but not dripping.
4. Install the filter and tighten the clamp so the seal is secure.

That process is messy, and there is no way around it. Still, the final fit inspired confidence. The hose clamp made the seal feel tighter and more secure than the stock twist-on setup.

Main Street Mower also raised the right long-term questions. How often does this filter need cleaning? Is the gain mainly better engine protection, or is there a power benefit too? The video did not try to overstate the answer. The filtration setup seems better for saw health, especially if maintained properly, but the power gain from the filter alone was unclear.

West Coast Saw showed the filter being cleaned with Bel-Ray filter cleaner, and the hosts noted dish soap might also work, though that part was more of a practical thought than a tested claim. Either way, it is a reusable system if you keep up with it.

After the parts were installed, Chip ran through the M-Tronic reset process. It is quick and worth knowing even if you never touch aftermarket parts.

The reset went like this: squeeze both triggers, move the saw to the triangle or choke position, let it idle for 30 seconds, then hold it at wide-open throttle for 30 seconds. Once the pitch changes, the reset is done.

That startup told the story before the first cut. The saw sounded louder right away, and not by a small amount. It also felt peppier on throttle response, though sound alone can make a machine feel faster than it is.

Still, this was not subtle. The Bark Box changed the saw's presence in a big way.

The cut test was limited, and Main Street Mower was clear about that. This was one log, a few cuts, and very hard material. The wood was dry, dense oak, which is not forgiving.

Even with that small sample, they got usable numbers.

The takeaway is modest but fair. The Bark Box produced a small performance gain. It did not transform the MS 362 into a different class of saw, but it did trim a little time off the cut.

That lines up with the seat-of-the-pants feel, too. The saw felt a bit more eager, but the change was not huge. Nobody came away from this test saying an upgraded 362 replaces a bigger saw like the 500i.

The handling upgrades may have been easier to notice than the speed gain. The dogs grabbed wood better, the chain catch felt smarter, and the larger cover seemed likely to make chip clearing easier in messy cuts.

The best part of this test was how balanced the reaction stayed. The parts were not dismissed, but they were not treated like miracle upgrades either.

The dogs got some of the strongest praise. They fit the stock cover, improve bite, and feel worthwhile on their own. That may be the easiest recommendation in the whole kit.

The chain catch also earned respect because it adds a better safety setup and may be easier on the chain if things go wrong. The sprocket cover made more sense once installed, especially on a saw with worn stock wear parts. If someone already needs a new cover, stepping up to the West Coast version looks reasonable.

The air filter felt like a good fit for dirty work and long-term engine care. It asks more of the owner because you have to oil and clean it, but the fit and sealing looked good. If you are disciplined with maintenance, this system could be one of the more useful upgrades over time.

The Bark Box is where opinions will split. It added a little speed and a lot of attitude. It also made the saw much louder. Main Street Mower measured roughly a 10 dB increase, which is a major jump in perceived loudness. Without hearing protection, that difference is hard to ignore.

That led to one of the most honest conclusions in the video. If you always wear earmuffs, the Bark Box may be an easy yes because you get a bit more response and a lot more sound. If you often grab a saw for a quick cut without full hearing protection, the extra noise may be a deal breaker.

There was also no false promise about power. An upgraded 362 is still a 362. If your goal is 500i performance, the better answer is still buying a 500i.

For readers who want to compare more gear from the shop, Main Street Mower also has a collection of Chip and Stu's favorite equipment and the full Main Street Mower online store.

The West Coast Saw upgrade gave the Stihl MS 362 better hardware, better filtration options, and a little more edge, but it did not turn the saw into something it is not. The biggest wins were the dogs, the smarter chain catch, and the improved cover. The Bark Box added fun and a slight bump in cut speed, but it also brought a big jump in noise.

That made the final verdict pretty clear. Main Street Mower came away as bigger fans of West Coast Saw than they were before, and they are keeping the parts on their shared saw. The upgrades looked good in the box, but they made more sense once they were bolted on and used.

If you like to tune your saw, wear hearing protection, and want parts that feel thoughtfully made, this setup has a lot to like. If your only goal is a huge power jump, the first day with this kit says you should keep your expectations in check.

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