Timing question

Setting the timing:
Paint the mark on the harmonic balancer with paint -choose 10 degrees BTC or 14 degrees BTC or something else if you have NO2 or other power adder. I try to paint TDC red, 10 degrees BTC white and 14 degrees BTC blue.

10 degrees BTC is towards the drivers side marks.

Note: setting the timing beyond the 10 degree mark will give you a little more low speed acceleration. BUT you will need to run 93 octane to avoid pinging and engine damage. Pinging is very hard to hear at full throttle, so it could be present and you would not hear it.

Simplified diagram of what it looks like. Not all the marks are shown for ease of viewing.

ATC ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '!' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' BTC
---------------- > Direction of Rotation as viewed standing in front of the engine.

The ' is 2 degrees.
The ! is TDC
The ' is 10 degrees BTC
Set the timing 5 marks BTC. Or if you prefer, 5 marks towards the driver's side to get 10 degrees.

To get 14 degrees, set it 7 marks BTC. Or if you prefer, 7 marks towards the driver's side to get 14 degrees.

The paint marks you make are your friends if you do it correctly. They are much easier to see that the marks machined into the harmonic balancer hub.

At this point hook up all the wires, get out the timing light. Connect timing light up to battery & #1 spark plug. Then start the engine.

Remove the SPOUT connector (do a search if you want a picture of the SPOUT connector) It is the 2 pin rectangular plug on the distributor wiring harness. Only the EFI Mustang engines have a SPOUT. If yours is not EFI, check for a SPOUT: if you don’t find one, skip any instructions regarding the SPOUT
Warning: there are only two places the SPOUT should be when you time the engine. The first place is in your pocket while you are setting the timing and the second is back in the harness when you finish. The little bugger is too easy to lose and too hard to find a replacement.

Start engine, loosen distributor hold down with a 1/2" universal socket. Shine the timing light on the marks and turn the distributor until the mark lines up with the edge of the timing pointer. Tighten down the distributor hold down bolt, Replace the SPOUT connector and you are done.

The HO firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8.
Non HO firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

Mine very much likes anything 12* to 14*...
87/T5 car.
I'm too cheap to run anything but 87 octane.
If you can't get to 14* on a manual tranny without ping, you should probably make sure your cooling system is in top order, your thermostat rating is lower than stock, and your spark plug heat range is no hotter than stock.

I run a 160* stat, and it works well, but I am in Florida. Different climates might prefer a 180*, and some people swear by the 180*. IMO either will work, but the cooler the engine, the less chance for preignition from advanced timing or increased compression.

You can play with spark plug heat ranges too. Never go above stock rating, but try one step lower, and if your plugs don't foul, you are fine.

Carbon build up in the engine (piston tops/chambers) pretty much gaurantee ping too.

My oldest son likes the ragged edge, and is one of those that runs 18* advance, and he uses regular too.
I have heard his engine ping on occaision when he had 19# injectors, but never since he went to 24#.

mikestang63 said:

If you plan on running 87, run 10 degrees. That is what the factory set it for. If you want to play with the timing, start at 14 and do a few WOT in 2nd and listen for pinging. If you hear any, back it down to 12 and repeat.

http://www.muscularmustangs.com/timing.php

You may need to adjust your base idle and TPS after you change the timing.

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I like to get going down the road until 5th gear, then let the car slow down, still in gear, until the engine lugs a bit when you accellerate.
When you mash the gas in 5th, at a low rpm, if you are going to ping anytime, it seems to me that would be the time.
Since you are lower rpm, you can hear it over your engine, that is why I like doing it this way.
I might have it all wrong, but this seems to work...

Keep in mind that there is also detonation occurring before you can hear it.

gearheadboy said:

Keep in mind that there is also detonation occurring before you can hear it.

Click to expand...

That is what scares me about having a performance exhaust and trying to hear detonation at high rpm.