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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • 2.3L (N/A & Turbo) Tech

Best timing for a 86 2.3L engine

  • Thread starter Thread starter stangracer79
  • Start date Start date Sep 6, 2004

stangracer79

Founding Member
Oct 3, 2001
226
0
0
grande prairie alberta canada
Sep 6, 2004
#1
  • Sep 6, 2004
  • #1
What is the best timing for these 2.3L engines. I want get the best performance out of my little Mustang!
 

stangracer79

Founding Member
Oct 3, 2001
226
0
0
grande prairie alberta canada
Sep 6, 2004
#2
  • Sep 6, 2004
  • #2
I guess you guys dont know what the time is on your engines!
 
G

G-90

New Member
Feb 20, 2004
80
0
0
Sep 6, 2004
#3
  • Sep 6, 2004
  • #3
This would depend on a few things.
First, the condition and tune of your engine.
The altitude where you live/mainly drive.
And how much you want to pay for higher octane fuel.

Put the highest octane you want to run and crank the timing past 12 deg.

You might be able to run 14-16 deg?
 

bhuff30

Founding Member
Dec 11, 2001
6,037
35
129
Olathe KS
Sep 6, 2004
#4
  • Sep 6, 2004
  • #4
figure it out for yourself. It varies by engine. I am running 7*, but I am nowhere near stock and the computer I am using adds a bunch of timing compared to stock.
 

stangracer79

Founding Member
Oct 3, 2001
226
0
0
grande prairie alberta canada
Sep 6, 2004
#5
  • Sep 6, 2004
  • #5
well i shoulda said for stock motor tuning. oops!
 

mr_woodster

Active Member
Jul 28, 2003
1,314
0
36
Riverside, CA
Sep 6, 2004
#6
  • Sep 6, 2004
  • #6
10 degree is "stock" for a "stock" motor. sometimes u can pull off 12 degree's...like bhuff said, its individually differnt.
 

JamesBaumann

Member
Nov 26, 2003
624
0
16
Vancouver Island
Sep 7, 2004
#7
  • Sep 7, 2004
  • #7
10* is base timing. But some people like to run it all the way up to 16* advanced. It just depends on the motor. But you don't want to advance it too far, or else you will get detonation and loss of power. Be very careful not to detonate it.

1986, is that a carbed engine? I thought in 86 EFI was optional, with the rest being carbed. If it is carbed, then I'm not exactly sure.

If you have a Haynes or a Chiltons manual then it will tell you what base timing on your car is. Then fiddle around with it from there.
 

bhuff30

Founding Member
Dec 11, 2001
6,037
35
129
Olathe KS
Sep 7, 2004
#8
  • Sep 7, 2004
  • #8
you can lose power before it ever detonates. This is actually very common with low compression NA engines like the 2.3 or 5.0.
 
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