How much difference will 5* make?

moneypit94

Active Member
May 23, 2003
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Macomb, IL
After my stock balancer crapped out on me and i put a romac on I had noticed it was off the mark when i checked it with a timing light... I had not touched the distributor during install. I didn't think much about it because it even said in the instructions that the numbers may not line up with the stock pointer.

Today i decided to find out where 0 was actually at on it.. So i got my piston stop bolt that i have and put it in the #1 cylinder... I turned it all the way to the right till it hit, marked it, and then turned it all the way to the left to where it hit. and marked it..

To my amazement it was exactly 51 degrees both ways from 0... The Romac Was DEAD on...

So anyways i retimed it right after that to 10 degrees... It was at 5 degrees (had to advance it 5 more)..
My question is should i get it retuned? It was supposed to be at 10 degrees when i had it tuned and obvously it wasn't.. Am i running the risk of detonation?

Also what kinda difference could this make in power... Could this finally put me over the 500 mark with a good tune? (at 482 now)...
 
I don't mean to invade money's thread, but lemme throw in a question instead of posting a whole new thread.

What is a good number to advance my timing to? I have a 1994 GT bone stock except for a cold air kit. Also, what kind of power gains will I see with the advanced timing?