Timing question

[damighty5.0]

HI. I was wondering if advancing the timing from 10* to 12 would help get better mpg. If I understand correctly timing advance helps burn the fuel mixture more thorougly giving more energy and power,but burning fuel more efficiently should translate into better mpg's right? I was at 10* timing running 87octane and got 13mpg 100% city & and 22mpg 100% highway. Could I possibly get a little bit more fuel range with 12* because I just advanced it the other day and was wanting to know what to expect, like if anyone else had better fuel mileage after timing advance? Thanks.

[snake99bite]

You might but it probably wo'nt be really noticeable! I used to run mine @ 14* total w/104 vp race gas! I'd run a little higher octane w/ advanced timing! You will notice a little more power! I'm guessing you don't run nitrous or a blower right?

[Tbird232ci]

Quote: Originally Posted by snake99bite You might but it probably wo'nt be really noticeable! I used to run mine @ 14* total w/104 vp race gas! I'd run a little higher octane w/ advanced timing! You will notice a little more power! I'm guessing you don't run nitrous or a blower right?

Whats the point of running race gas? Race gas on a rather stock 5.0 is pointless. Even if you have heads/cam/intake, race gas is pointless unless your running over 10:1 compression, or youre running some serious boost. I doubt youre doing either.

To answer the question, timing wont do much to your fuel economy. It also wont do too much for your power. Try advancing the timing little by little untill it either spark knocks on 87 octane, or you reach 14*, i wouldnt go above 14*.

[Zim]

I have my timing at 13*, have an aftermarket ignition, and get the exact milage you do. It sucks. The thing with advancing your timing is you might end up having to run a higher octane fuel to prevent pinging. Bump it up to 12* and see how it goes, its worth a shot and wont hurt anything.

[snake99bite]

See,this is the problem with forums! You get a few really educated people who really want to just help others out w/ their knowledge and save people from the hassle of trial and error,then you have the **sholes who open their big mouths b/c they think they know everything about everything just to bicker w/ you b/c they have nothing better to do! Nobody said anything about it being necessary to run race gas on a stock 5.0! For the record it worked quite well on my old car with ported afr heads and 10.5 to1 compression,ported cobra intake,and a z cam!The question was answered! Some people just need to take their fingers off the keyboard and stop to actually READ what in front of them!!! I didn't know everyone else was an expert on what I had done to MY car!!!

[Tbird232ci]

Quote: Originally Posted by snake99bite For the record it worked quite well on my old car with ported afr heads and 10.5 to1 compression

And if you read...I said:

Quote: Originally Posted by Tbird232ci race gas is pointless unless your running over 10:1 compression

Quote: Originally Posted by snake99bite I didn't know everyone else was an expert on what I had done to MY car!!!

I guess im just the shit.

[bbunt302]

He didn't ask if bumping the timing would help on a highly modified motor. Hell, I run 17-18* of timing on my car with 93 octane. Go back and read his post again. From the sound of it, his car is stock or very close to it.

He is obviously asking if a little timing will help his fuel economy (most likely due to today's high gas prices), yet you are recommending he go out and spend ten to twenty more cents a gallon (around here) on higher octane gas. Notice the emphasis in his post on mileaege.

So to the original poster, like Tbird232ci said, a slight bump in your timing can indeed help fuel efficiency. The norm for maximum efficiency on the 5.0s is between 10 and 14 degrees. However, every car is different. Obviously if you bump your timing so much that you require a higher octane fuel, you are being counter productive as far as saving money on gas goes, although you may pick up a little power. I personally would try 12 degrees. Listen closely for any detonation, which will sound sort of like marbles bouncing around in your intake, at all RPMs and under a load. By under a load, I mean like climbing a steep hill or getting out and giving it a little throttle, which BTW is the more fun way of testing...

If you do have any pinging, back it down to 10 or 11. If you don't, you may wanna try going up to 13 or 14, although most stock 5.0s don't get away with quite that much without going to a higher octane. So don't be surprised if you do hear some pinging then. Just back it down to where it was and you'll be fine though.

Quote: Originally Posted by snake99bite You get a few really educated people who really want to just help others out w/ their knowledge and save people from the hassle of trial and error,then you have the **sholes who open their big mouths b/c they think they know everything about everything just to bicker w/ you b/c they have nothing better to do!

You are absolutely right here. What's even worse is the assholes who get all pissy when someone disagrees with them.

Oh yeah, I forgot to put the daily recommended number of exclamation points in this post so here you go: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Scut95]

I have my timing set at 12 degrees but i had to start running 89 octane because my car started pinging. But like most people have said, every car is different. I would play around with it and figure out where you want it depending if you want to run higher octane or not.

[damighty5.0]

I am at 12* timing on 87 gas. So far no pinging at least that I can hear. My car is mostly stock except for 3.90 gears, headers,h-pipe,flows,accel ignition coil,ford racing cap&rotor,accel superstock 4000 wires, bbk/moroso fenderwell intake tube, re-built AOD with tranny cooler. No engine work has been done except head gasket change.......My primary question was timing help for fuel economy, and then only as a secondary as a result of fuel efficiency that slight performance pick-up. Like I said I have no engine work done and I'm not trying to lift the front of the car off the ground with overwhelming power & torque. Just looking for ideas for more efficient daily driver with better mpg's and little bit of get-up-and-go. Thanks.

[Tbird232ci]

You can pick up milage with some mods. If you dont touch the heads or cam, fuel milage can be increased with things like a throttle body, larger MAF, and intake manifold, because there is less work to bring the air in the engine. Now, the issue is, if youre anything like me, this new found power will bring you the new found need to exploit it, and that kills your milage.

[damighty5.0]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tbird232ci You can pick up milage with some mods. If you dont touch the heads or cam, fuel milage can be increased with things like a throttle body, larger MAF, and intake manifold, because there is less work to bring the air in the engine. Now, the issue is, if youre anything like me, this new found power will bring you the new found need to exploit it, and that kills your milage.

My car is speed density so heads and cam aren't in my future. I might get a 65mm t-body, and a better intake manifold if I can get it dirt cheap. Thanks for the replies.

[bbunt302]

You can get away with some head and cam work even with speed density. There are some guys out there that really love speed density (for whatever reason) and have done a lot of experimenting to find out what works and what doesn't. If I'm not mistaken a lot of them used to post over at www.hardcore50.com. I could be wrong though, because it's been a while since I've read about it.

It's pretty interesting to see what can be done with SD since most people just automatically get rid of it for mass air setups.

[Tbird232ci]

As long as you keep your cam stock, you can get away with a lot. There are a few speed density friendly cams, but theyre more money than theyre worth.