My dyno numbers

Those are some nice #'s for those modifications. I'd be perfectly happy with that. My buddies car has the same setup but shorties and he put down 206. You must of gained extra hp with the LT's and the 18 degrees timing. Thats seems high doesn't it? His is at 14 degrees. Long as it doesn't ping i guess.

I've read that the highest you should go (safely) on a stock motor is 18 degrees of timing. And thats rec. for the drag strip only. On a daily street driven stang, you want to stay at 14 degrees or below. Now if your gonna step it up to 20 degrees timing, well as long as it doesn't ping is the only concern! But i'm not sure that you will see/feel any gains by upping the timing on your n/a setup anymore. Run your car on corn fuel and you'll be able to take advantage of the 105 octane!

I hope it wasn't an earlier post by me that led you to set timing so high. Do not bump base timing over 18*. In fact, if you are running stock heads, your timing light and timing marks are correct, the spout connector is out, and you are otherwise measuring properly, 18* is about 4* more than you should want it to be.

Furthermore, it is not one of those things that you can keep getting more power by adding more timing(advancing it). There is a "just right" place where retarding will hurt power and advancing will not help. According to a little reading I've done that occurs when the cylinder pressure is at it's peak right at 10* ATDC. I don't think that is a certainty under any conditions, but at 18* base timing, plus your computer's 16* advance at WOT higher in the rpm band, you're very likely to detonate and damage your engine.

Bottom line: do NOT advance your timing beyond 18*. I've done it before, but I was running AFR 165s, which have chambers that are much more efficient and much less likely to cause detonation.

Chris

Anything over 210hp on a mostly stock engine (especially stock heads/cam/intake) is really good, considering they were rated at 225hp.

Given the equal drivers, beating both of those cars wouldn't surprise me in the least. Your car should be quite a bit lighter than either of them. Your hp numbers don't surprise me at all. It wasn't rare to see a speed density car ('87-88) make 200 rwhp on the dyno without any go-fast parts and only a "ten-minute tune-up."

Buddy, I've been playing with 5.0s for a long time. It's not a question, it's a fact: 18* timing is too much on the stock e7 heads. Not all gas is the same grade. Temperature, humidity, load, and long engine running durations can all have an impact on detonation. You're not always necessarily going to hear detonation. Although, you would lose power if you were getting detonation, and your car seems to be strong...

I'm all for getting the most from your combo, but 18* is too much for me. I don't think you'd lose anything dropping to 16* and maybe only a very little dropping to 14*. If your car is detonating, the first sign would be lower EGTs a slight loss in power (on a dyno), and the "ping" would not yet be audible without something like a stethoscope. If you go up to 20*, you're making a mistake. Fortunately, the 5.0s take detonation pretty well in stock form because of their forged pistons, and low v.e. You're more likely to blow a head gasket than damage anything, but why risk it in the first place? If you choose to, I'm hoping the best for you.

Chris

I run 18 degrees... if it makes the most there then leave it, so long as it doesn't ping...