Timing/Ignition Questions??

[Mustang_Geezer]

Anyone know a good weblink that has to do with setting up optimal timing??

The questions I was looking at was,
1.) Good base timing setting??
2.) Total degrees advance at what RPM's??
3.) Distributor advance spring changes??

I just installed my MSD 6A today and fiddled around with my plug gaps. It seems to like around .048 gap the best. Anything over .055 and it starts to miss and a couple of my electrodes got bent from hitting the piston I would presume......

Tommorow I'm going to install my crane adjustable vacuum advance unit. I have a dialback timing light and am well aware on how the duraspark distro works and can be setup by changing the advance slot and spring changes

Any thoughts : :idea:

Later,

Doug

 

[addo]

Doug,

You might find some useful general info on settings from my post in hardcore "The Last Word on Timing?". Although it is written about GM 202 sixes, it is pretty applicable to the Ford 200 and DII ignition.

Adam.

 

[65coupei6]

Are you using stock plugs or colder plugs? I am guessing with your compression you have colder plugs. If not I would start there before messing with the timing.

 

[Mustang_Geezer]

Adam,

Thanks, I'll take a look at your topic!

Marco,

I dont think that they are colder than stock. I just bought new set of Accell U grove plugs and they just cross referenced them from the stock ones I believe.

Thanks,

Doug

 

[66200i6]

I remember reading a whole section in Dr. Jacobs book about a procedure for timing the engine to the car. It has to do with the use of a stopwatch, tape recorder and marking off your tach. All of this and multiple runs down the same road. If anyone is interested I will try to summarize and post it here.

Ric.

 

[MandarinaRacing]

Doug, that's really weird. I just finnished installing my MSD 6A today, I gapped the plugs at .056 and they worked just fine. As a matter of fact it's great, like night and day. MSD recommends that anything below 10.5:1 CR gap should be .050-.060. That gap you're running sounds more like an 11:1 CR....or for nitrous.....are you using the squezze and haven't told us :nono:

Alex

 

[65coupei6]

Doug: When you run a higher compression than stock you need a colder plug. A higher compression usually means your engine will produce more heat. Plugs take heat away from the engine. Using a colder plug than stock will help with pinging and/or detonation. Also a copper plug is better than those other plugs for removing heat from an engine.

I always use NGK plugs. NGK use's a higher number for colder plugs. I know you just bought the U grooves but when I find the number of the plug I am running I will post it.

I am running a .040 gap with the MSD 6A and Duraspark. I didn't notice any difference when going up to a .045

 

[Mustang_Geezer]

Ric,
Sure, I'd like to take a look at that if you get a chance to put it up here!

Alex,
I thought it was somewhere around 10:1 or 10.5:1....I have the combustion chamber specs around here somewhere and the actual compression ratio I had figured...Maybe its on my website somewhere...I'll have to take a look

Mine starts a lot easier now! Just bump the key and it fires right up! No more cranking to get it running. Did you notice a difference on yours after you installed it?? Also no more slight miss over 5500 RPM's either!

Marco,
One thing that is probably helping me is that I'm still running that Holley water injection unit with a water/alcohol mix. Let me know what the plug number is. I can try a set of those out also...I'm always changing somthing on this thing!

Later,

Doug

 

[MandarinaRacing]

Doug....one word.....SMOOOOOOTH....that's how it feels now, no roughness, no vibration, ho hessitation, no misses, the mag articles weren't kidding 'bout this one....very happy indeed.
Let me know how it turned out for you.

Alex

 

[MustangSix]

Optimal advance is not always maximum advance.

If you dial in too much, the engine will knock. You can back off a little to stop the knock, but the combustion pressure may be fighting the rise of the piston, causing a loss of power.

Best way is on a dyno or with lots of road time. Try this:

Advance until you hear knock. Back off until it stops and note the timing. Then continue to back off until you can detect a loss of power. Somewhere between there and "no Knock" position is the best static timing.

I'm guessing that your engine needs 30-32 degrees total @ 3000 and above, and likes 15-18 @ idle, with maybe as much as 36-38 at part throttle cruise.

this stuff is so easy when you have EFI!

 

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with Doug. That is how I timed mine, and it really works. Mine takes a little more at idle though. It is dialed at about 20 deg, but with the way the centrifigal is set up I get about 32 deg total. Works great.



Bill

 

[Mustang_Geezer]

Thanks for Jack the tips!!

I advanced it just a bit more today and seat of the pants, says it likes it!!

Next weekends project is going to be recurving the distro and adding my crane vacuum advance kit I bought last summer....then I can start all over adjusting it again

I did find some good Duraspark links on my own website I forgot about

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2000 ... ndex.shtml
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/1999 ... ndex.shtml
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2000 ... ndex.shtml

Thanks,

Doug

 

[Anonymous]

Doug:

A word about plugs: almost all of the so-named "Hot-U" type plugs, from Accel, AC, Nippon Denso/NGK, etc.,etc. use the old-time hot-rodders' trick of extending the electrodes. This makes them reach further into the combustion chamber to try and get the spark into the center of the charge a little further.

The heat range of a given plug can be judged by the length of the insulator's tip from the end of the wire to the base of the ceramic where it seals against the inside of the fitting. The LENGTH of the plug is always the same (they call this the REACH), but the electrodes may be EXTENDED or NORMAL or, for cars like road racers, they are RETRACTED further inside. These differences let the user select the heat range he needs regardless of the space in the combustion chamber.

When I built roadracer motorcycles, the RETRACTED reach plugs often had to be used because we milled the heads to death and then added domes to the piston tops. We still used the same heat range as the touring engines, but with retracted electrodes to clear the pistons.

Hope this helps!