I have the MSD adjustable timing control on my Fury. It is set in the middle and timed as the FSM specs. This gives me 7 degrees advance and retard to play with. In the spring my temps had been great, but now they do good as long as I keep above 35 mph. Any slower and it heads for 220 degress. I have been playing with the timing also. I know advancing the timing can increase temps, but how much? I advance it with the control just till I hear a ping and then back it off till it goes away. This also seems to make it a bit harder to start. Should I back the timing off if I know I am going to be idling or creeping?
And right now I am running 87 octane with the timing set just a couple degrees beyond what the FSM specs. If I run 91 octane, I can crank the timing up the whole 7 degrees with no ping.
Just wondering if I was going about this wrong? I am running the MSD 6AL, Blaster 2 coil, and Mopar Performance distributor.
Joined: Sun Oct 09 2005, 05:02PM
Location: ALLEN PARK, MI.
Posts: 2007
Scott, I think you have answered your own question! 87 octane...more so the winter blends (if you get those) are crap! Octane means EVERYTHING for timing. Better octane rating.....better tolerance to timing advances. Too much advance on poor octane.....DING...DA..DING...PING! OUCH! Heat sucks! Tony P.
Sounds like not enough air flow throug the rad. If it cools above 35mph, the rad capacity is sufficient, but when the air slows down, the temps go up. What kind of fan are you using?
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
I agree with Clair. There's an air flow problem. Refresh my memory. Isn't there a stock filler between the rad support and the front valance? That needs to be there. Also, I assume you had a rad shroud and a good working fan? <span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Fri Jun 09 2006, 09:13AM ]</span>
I think it running way to rich actually. I have no thermostat, the plastic tray at the bottom is in place, so is the fan shroud. It is using a 26" rad from a small block that I had boiled and flow tested, also using the matching 7 blade fan and clutch.
Edit: the carb is a Eddy 800 Thunder AVS, and has a noticable raw fuel smell when behind car idling. Stock heads and RV cam. [ Edited Fri Jun 09 2006, 09:45PM ]
Joined: Thu Nov 24 2005, 07:29PM
Location: So Cal.
Posts: 1111
I have read that running w/o a thermostat can sometimes increase your temps, too, since the water flowing through the rad. goes too quickly and doesn't cool off. *shrug* Any merit to that idea? I just run 180 degree thermostats in all my cars and have been fine.