Miata Mailing List: March 1998, Message #97

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>At 09:35 PM 2/28/98 +0000, SWool45901 wrote:
>>i'm thinking of having my timing adjusted. I read somewhere that 14deg was
>>preferable. Can anyone give me some help on this subject?
>
>Thank goodness - a breath of fresh air!
>Gary Fischman replied:
>14 degrees BTDC timing will give you better performance. There is a cost,
>but it won't be noticable. Basically the cost is in emissions. It still
>falls well within the limit, however. You could go to 18, which would give
>you slightly better low end torque at the expense of high end, and you
>might have to use premium fuel.
>
>Personally, I like running 14 as do most people.


Just a data point here.  I've been running 18 degrees BTDC timing for the
last day and I'm really impressed with the improvement in performance.
Subjectively, I would say there is more improvement in engine performance
associated with going from 14 to 18 than there is going from the stock 10
degrees to 14.  Combined with my JR CAI, the car has *a lot* more torque and
pulls harder at all rpm levels.  I drove it hard today and noticed no
decrease in high-end power.  The engine sounds different and feels stronger.
I'm running 89 octane with no pinging as of yet (75-80 degrees F, 70-80%
humidity).  If you're at 14 and have never tried 18, give it a try.

Kevin Morrison and Spider '94R+
Tampa, Florida, and other places...
kevin@sunriders.com
http://www.sunriders.com