Hey i was told to set my timing to 16 degrees, apparently its prime timing. could someone help me out. havnt done a lot of timing myself and car doesnt seem to have the balls it should. thanks.
chalk the timing marks underneath, start the car, pull the SPOUT out (it's the shunt plug in the harness of the distributor)
then attach to plug wire #1 w/ your gun and shoot the timing marks.....
oh yeah, b4 you start go to sears and buy a 1/2" dist. wrench for $8.95 and make your life real EZ.
anyway..loosen the 1/2" hold down bolt, and turn the dist. while you shoot the marks...go to BTDC...ATDC only goes to 10* i think so you tell which way to go.
each little mark is 2*
lock it down when it's good, put the SPOUT back in in your done
make sure you use premium when you do it beyond 12* and listen for knock and read your plugs...you don't always hear spark-knock
Timing is best set on a dyno, and with my car its set at 18*. The car didnt ping at 20 but made slightly less power! More timing doesnt always mean more power!
25th is right on about losing power with more timing (before detonation). dynos tell us things our butts cant.
there is no magic number (as the original post implied). things like deposits, C.R., cooling system condition, ambient temps, A/F, and tons more all play into what timing one can run.
each car is different and has to be played with. while some get great results, i dont like to run more than 15* (on 87 octane) on mine (which will be different than yours).