jimmysauter

I have a 1991 z28 with a tpi 350 It has an accel ignition and coil. I put the distributor in,(disconnected the wire above the right front wheel) ,set the timing for some reason to 6 deg and the car ran great. after A while I looked up to see what it was actually supposede to be at and some sources said 14 deg (not sure now of atc or btc but I had it right at the time) it ran very poorly at that setting, hardly any power and very doggy off the line. any suggestionsof where to start? Im used to timing by ear on my older cars but Id like to do this one right. also I have been getting 13 mpg all the time could the timing being off be causing that?

8Mike9

Welcome to thirdgen.org

You should be at 6* BTDC. Start there, and see what happens with the MPG's

You need to disconnect the EST bypass before setting/adjusting/checking basetiming.

kfoley

14* is way too much for a stock motor. I generally go about 6-8* initial advance. Change it back and it'll be much more responsive and get better mileage.

ede

6 to 10 degrees is usually good. every engine is differant and likes a slightly differant amount of timing. i rebuilt a 4.3 for a chevy truck several years ago and the timng was suspose to be at 0* and i couldn't get it to idle good at 0 and finially got it to idle around 8*. seemed like a big differance but that's where it ran good.

rsc350

LOL my 2.8 liked to idle at 28*... thats when i started lookin to build a nice new 350

SSC

Some of these setups are very touchy and picky. 6* BTDC should be factory setting. Most will benifit by addign a little advance 8* sounds about right but it might not be for your setup. I had one the reverse of Ede's it wouldent run worth beans unless it was set to 0*.