Hey guys, I'm starting to dial in my WOT on the spare engine that's in my car. I'm sure that there's additional HP in the timing, but I'm not sure how high I can go before its a problem. What do you guys run??

My setup is a stock LT1 with Iron heads and a 230/236 113 cam, 58mmTB, 3.45's and 2500-3000 stall converter, and a Aftermarket CPU

I'm hoping to be back into the mid-low 13's with this setup, but I know I'll have to have to timing right to do it. Heading to the track on the 24th. Thanks for the help guys

 

The easiest way to find your best timing is start at about 30*. Increase the timing 2* at a time paying attention to 2 things at the track.

1. Is your MPH. This will increase with timing the motor likes.

2. is your interval through the last 1/2 of the track. Take your 1/4 mile ET minus your 1/8 mile ET and you will get a time interval you traveled through the last 1/2 of the track. Quicker is better.

Between those two you should be able to find what timing your car likes best. Try to keep shift points and other things as close as possible to the same. Leave it in drive if possible and the car should shift pretty close to the same (assuming auto).

I change the timing via the distributer. Unless you have capabilities to do it via the ECM. Either way its the same results.

As far as how much timing. I ran my 406 with over 40* of totol timing for best results. Unless YOU took TONs of time making sure your pointer is dead nuts on your zero mark with the balancer relative to TDC of the #1 piston, timing is merely a reference point. If the above items were not taking into consideration and carefully measured you could be off as much as 4* without even knowing. Perhaps even more! Give the motor what it likes. If it keeps gaining keep adding. It will fall off on performance when you start going too far. Then just back it down to where it liked it.

Keep it simple.

 

Is there any good way to figure out where I should be ahead of time. I'm only garenteed 4 runs at the track when I go. I'd like to have it somewhat close before hand. I've got the timing set at 30* right now. Using my timing light the timing is pretty darn close, but I'm not the greatest expert either.

I've got a datalogging of my Accel DFI system. Could I do a few highway runs and actually check how long it took the rpm's to move? Assuming I take the same streach of road each time. I would think this would eliminate the shifting aspect (manual valve body) and give me a chance to do it more than just 4 times. And possibly set up different timing for different rpm's. But I don't think the top timing will vary at all really.

 

Well, I took some time during my lunch hour today and started datalogging and adding timing. I did second gear blasts from 4000-6000 rpm's.

By going from 30 to 36 degrees of timing I picked up around 7 tenths of a second just in second gear. I didn't have time to go beyond that, but I'm pretty impressed with the improvement. Hopefully that will help pull close to a second off my et at the track.

 

You have a track you can go to at LUNCH!

Damn that is the place I call "Heaven!"

Your probably best to do this at the track, while I have heard of others using marked sections of "unused" roads with a stopwatch to determine gains, I think its going to be hard to see incrimental gains without a REAL good way to measure time.

Good luck at the track. As long as the last run is quicker than the first or you learned where to put it to get a quicker ET, that is the name of the game!

It takes LOTS of time and small fine tuning to dial a car into its max performance. Anyone that thinks they can eek every ounce out of a setup instantly is not being realistic..small steps small incriments are what get it done.

Our 406 setups when first implimented started at high 11s and when done went high 10s with no real major changes just tweaking on different items.

The 434 last year went 10.3s in great air, and this year I just went the same ET on the brakes in MUCH MUCH worse air.

Moral is/: Keep pluggin away and you will reach the goal.