paulmoore

Ok, now that I started thinking about my distributor, I am questioning the advance springs that are in it. When I first got it (MSD Pro Billet # 8361) I took the cap off and checked the springs and bushings. One of the guys at the shop that I work at is a veteran bracket racer, and has a big block 454 Chevelle that runs 10's in the 1/4 mile. With his help, the distributor was set up so that full advance came in at 1900 RPM. I believe we used the 2 lightest springs and bushings to achieve that setting. Anyway, I"m curious to know if that is going to work well on the street, or was that a drag only setup? Coupled with my base timing of 10*, I would have had my full 36* of advance at about 1900-2100 RPM. Is that too quick of an advance rate? What would that do to the engine? Detonation, hesitation, lack of power? As I have been looking for more information on the subject, it seems that the majority of people are running full ignition advance at about 3200 RPM, and do so at a controlled rate. Would this be a more beneficial setting to use for the street? Any thoughts/suggestion/opnions are welcome. Thanks in advance(pun intended!), Paul Moore

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

the main problem with really early advance like that, is it starts very early, probably like 800RPM? So your idle may hunt due to it starting the advance curve, that'll speed up the idle, which will pull more advance, then it'll drop off, etc. May feel like a vacuum leak.... At least that's what i've heard.

If your vacuum advance is still on, and your mechanical maxes out, you may have too much advance while the engine is still loaded, and it may ping. Basically whatever suits your driving style etc is best. Try it out, and if you notice any pinging go to a light and mid spring (what you hear most people doing), and try that. Good luck