How much power is bumping the timing really worth?

[99FiveOh]

I think I might know why I'm getting away with a higher timing setting. I discovered today that my fan comes on full blast all the time, even with my A/C off and the car ice cold it's on constantly. This tells me the computer can't see how hot the engine is and thus isn't making any timing/fuel adjustments.

I will confirm this by checking the codes, but other than the ECT failing, I'm not sure what could cause the fan to run all the time like that. Unless the relay is stuck.

 

[HISSIN50]

If the ECT was open, the fan should run at low speed.

 

[99FiveOh]

perhaps it is at low speed. I'll kick the A/C on tomorrow and see if it spins up to a higher speed.

 

[revhead347]

Kurt, did you have alum heads in mind when you noted that?

Yeah, I ran it up to 18 degrees without pinging on my Fox with Iron Windsor Jrs. It actually ran better at 16 degrees, but the point is it didn't detonate. It's going to be different on every car, but with an iron head, 12 to 14 degrees shouldn't be an issue. That is with 93 octane of course.

Kurt

 

[HISSIN50]

Yeah, I ran it up to 18 degrees without pinging on my Fox with Iron Windsor Jrs. It actually ran better at 16 degrees, but the point is it didn't detonate. It's going to be different on every car, but with an iron head, 12 to 14 degrees shouldn't be an issue. That is with 93 octane of course.

Kurt

Gotcha. I didn't know 93 octane and different heads (without 100K worth of carbon in the chambers) were assumed when you originally said that. Otherwise, 18* on stock heads in a hot climate could be too much.

 

[99FiveOh]

Yes, E7's in the FL heat is ping sauce. Not to mention when you add in all the carbon on top of the pistons and in the chambers, the crud they call gasoline these days and the fact that T4MO computers are loaded with the crappiest strategies ever, it makes pinging all to commonplace.

 

[revhead347]

When I had my Windsor Jr's I was living in Ft. Lauderdale which is always 10 degrees hotter than J-ville.

Kurt

 

[VibrantRedGT]

When I had my Windsor Jr's I was living in Ft. Lauderdale which is always 10 degrees hotter than J-ville.

Kurt

When I went on that Racing Shop vacation in Mooresville, N.C. the entire week ranged from 100-106 degrees. Even at 8PM it was 100 degrees with zero wind. At least here in S. Florida there is a breeze when it's hot. We drove home from N.C. and the further we went South it began to get cooler and cooler, now that's weird. Back on Friday to 93 degrees, ahhh...much better.

 

[revhead347]

I lived in Florida for 20 years, and the heat down there is just miserable. I know the heat in most of the south is just as bad, but at least here in Atlanta we have that 1000 ft. of elevation that keeps the moisture down.

Kurt

 

[texmirage]

I may be wrong on this but here is my thoughts on this.(keep in mind i'm sortaq new to 5.0's)
"generally" yes it will make a difference. If you are looking for gains on your car it all depends on that its set at now. if its low then yes but there is a chance its is already where it needs to be. then you will not see much gain.

 

[99FiveOh]

It was set to factory because I just did a freshening up on this motor before dropping it into my 99 Mustang. So now it's set to 12.5* and the car is so much better now. The throttle is "right now" with the new timing setting.

 

[texmirage]

I'm sorry I just reread the title. You were looking for how much you can get.

 

[revhead347]

Push it up to 14 and see what happens.

 

[99FiveOh]

I was out running around today and it pinged like all of a sudden then disappeared. I don't know what that was about but boy was it ever hot out there today. The gauge was slowly creeping into the far right of the gauge so I dropped the top and roasted a little to give the A/C a rest.

Once I did that I could beat the snot out of the car and no hint of detonation period! And the car felt like a rocket with the air off too!