I’ve had one in my ‘65 496 for the last 3 years. It has worked flawlessly. I really the feature that allows me to lock the ignition from my phone. The only downside is that it’s an inch taller than stock so I’ll need to modify my ignition shielding ( as mentioned earlier ).

 

the tunability of the proggression ignition is amazing. advance can be controlled through the entire range. comparing to regular distributor is rediculous. the app display gives you a complete picture of the current setup at a glance. and then it is easily tunable on the app. try things, change, try things, change. what else does that on an app. it has been out long enough that its reliability is not a question. The support is good, but there should be a web site where different setups can be exchanged and compared.

 

Curuious how you solved the hot start issues. Did you have to load a different timing map from the phone app if the car didn't start?

 

Someone mentioned a proprietary module for this item
What's the cost of a special replacement ?

 

I'm the one who mentioned that. When I called them, they lost me when they mentioned proprietary module so I didn't ask the price. But you can call them for the info......https://progressionignition.com/contact

 

I’ve never heard of this product til I saw this thread. Just ordered one! Going to make life much more simpler at the track. Very cool idea

 

I was on the fence but after two days of battling weights and springs i ordered SBC HEI version for my 1980 L48. I’ll report back how it goes but all I’ve seen on the internet are positive reviews.

 

Looking forward to hearing y'alls reviews! It's on my tall list of mods to buy! lol

 

Got mine installed today, it is legit awesome.
super neat seeing the gauges from the phone and the flexibility of timing is awesome.
it great that you can add timing when rpm drops from park to drive.
Now at the track I can just push a button and upload NOS timing table.

 

Hello All,

Got the distributor today and installed it per the instructions and car started right up. Here are the settings I set.
idle timing: 18
idle RPM: 800
All in timing: 36
All in RPM: 2750
Vaccum advance: 10

The car started right up and I set the table above to the distributor. The car runs very smooth in idle and runs strong above 2500RPM but I'm getting a stumble and a little backfire when taking off at low RPM's. I did confirm that my TDC was correct on the balancer which is less than two years old. I also confirmed the timing advance on the app matches timing light perfectly.

Any suggestions?

 

Try idle timing at 16

 

Your idle RPM seems low for the amount of timing you have. Very little curve, setting is for a high duration cam.

 

I'll try those recomendations as well but I was looking at wires and discovered one of my wire has exposed braiding from rubbing next too header. I'll replace it tomorrow and report back.

 

The issue I was having was due to insulation on spark plug boot. Looks like this distributor has a hotter spark that factory HEI and it was arcing through cracked insulation and heat protector to the header. Replaced with new boot and car is running great although new boot only lasted a few hours so I ordered ceracmic boot to deal with header clearence. Love this distributor

 

So you currently have a lot of mechanical advance at 2000, with only 10 vacuum on top of that.
You will need to experiment with your engine, and listen for light ping, at very light throttle tip-in, from a cruising setting.
Try this at various speeds, rpms, and see what your engine likes. Every engine/combo is different.
Alternatively you may get some surging or "trailer-hitching" at some speed / throttle setting combo.
Either of those symptoms means you have to much advance. But it may only be at one rpm, and one throttle setting.

But as easy as this distributor is to adjust, you could do a lot of testing/experimenting, on just one test-drive!

 

I have been keeping an eye on this distributor for some time now.
They claim over 5 years and Zero heat related failures. So seems to be reliable.
The super easy tuning, in car, at speed, are just incredible.
Thinking of buying one just for ease of tuning.
Anyone else have one?

Vac advance hooks directly to distributor. Also has GPS speedo. Sends it all to your phone.
Completely customizable timing table, including vacuum, while on the fly!
Also a security kill mode, launch TQ control, rpm limit, etc.
It basically acts just like an EFI computer controlled timing curve, but you can use it with a carb.

I want to use it to test my engine, to determine how much advance it likes, at all rpms.
Especially light load cruise situations, for max economy.
You can do that, according to Vizard, by achieving max vacuum, at each rpm, as you vary the timing.
This device would make that testing SO easy.

Here is a dyno chart of one of these run on a 383 SBC, vs a very Decent Davis HEI distributor.
30 ft-lb TQ increase below 4000 rpm.
That just shows how much improvement can be had, when you get the timing "just right"

Several places including Vizard, mention the possibility of 20%+ MPG & TQ improvements just by getting the timing optimized, especially at part-throttle.
Seems like this could help with that testing, and still keep carb, and look pretty original.

383 SBC Progression vs Davis HEI

 

Here is another version. This one adds on to your existing distributor, even a points tach drive, and adds the electronic timing table capability.
This one needs a cable and laptop to tune, but is half the price, and you can keep the C3 distrib & Ignition shield.
CB Programmable Black Box

 

Im a huge fan of mine, I wish I had bought it earlier. It is beyond easy to make changes to the timing table.
running 93 octane, no nitrous- upload table 1
93 octane, 125 shot? Table 2
110 octane no nos? Table 3
110 octane 175 shot? Table 4
You get the idea. Before I’d have to sit there with a timing light making sure it was just right. Now just push a button. If it did ever fail, I’d buy another.

 

The resolution on this distributor is like EFI and a conventional distributor can't get close! I can't wait to put one of these on my car (when it's back together) and start dialing in the tables and playing with it.

Get you one and start posting your results Leigh, we know you're going to get scientific and do some cool write ups that we want

 

I would like to do the Power Tour. And a very long road trip.

I could see a:

• 93 Octane tune optimized for gas mileage
• 87 Octane tune for when I get caught in the boonies with bad gas
• 110 Octane Tune for the drag strip
• Drag Strip tune with torque limiting in 1st gear cause I have a BB and I'm chicken!

Maybe then I won't have to carry a half-shaft or axle as spare parts!