Really need help with timing???
 

ok when i took my car to the shop to get my 4.10's put in when i came to pick it up he said that my car was pinging at 4000rpm so the guy uped my timing and told me that i had to use 93octane well that $HIT costs a lot of money (well to much money for me right now).
Any ways if i bring my timing back down to stock what should it be at? and about how much power will i lose?
Oh my friend put his new edlebrock 5.0 intake on and said that he had to bump up his timing for the intake to show any power gains is this true for his intake or any intake?
Can i run 13.7's on 87octane or not cause thats my goal if i have to keep my timing bumped up to get those times than i will.

Stock timing is around 10 deg. or so. I run 18 deg. of timing on 87 octane and run 12.9's with no problems. Bump the timing back down and you can use the lower gas. You shouldn't notice a HUGE power lose but will notice a differance. I don't think he knows what he's talking about on the intake thing.

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87 GT, 4 inch cowl hood,17x9 Cobra R's/255/45's,GT-40 heads,long tubes headers,h-pipe,Flows,BBK cold air, Mass air,70mm MAF, 1.7's, 1" spacer,underdrive pulleys,Pro 5.0, King Cobra, Adj. fuel Reg., Lakewood Lift Bars,50/50's,subframes, 4.10's.
Best time 12.96
Best MPH 103.42
Best 60' 1.695

Visit my site at:
http://www.geocities.com/cobrar93_2000/MyPage.html

I'd set it by ear. Loosen the bolt on your distributor put a mark on the manifold and base of distributor (just so you don't lose your current position) Take it out on a lonely stretch of road and tramp on it holding it through the upper end of your power range. If you hear an extended ping, retard your timing. Repeat until you hear a slight very short ping at the upper end of your power range. Tighten the bolt up and your done. If you prefer, put a timing light on it after just to see what degree of timing you are at and adjust with a light from there if necessary.

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91LX 5.0 ragtop, K&N, Mac Pullies, Centerforce, Full Dynomax, 3.27r

Just set it to 14-15 degrees. Any more is usually wasted and generally shows no benefit on a dyno.

I agree with exgmguy. Although my car liked 18* with the TW's, it felt a lot stronger than with 16* or less, but the dyno only showed around a 2 hp difference.

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Dustin
89 GT(Saleen Clone) 392 rwhp UNTUNED(TFS Intake, spacer,Heads and #2 cam, BD-11A 9#(only boosting 6???WTF),1.6 rr's,BBK 70mm TB,FMS 70mm MAF,MSD 6BTM,FMS 9mm wires,BBK longtubes and H-Pipe,American Thunder cat back,3.55 lots more...

12.564@118.49 on street tires is my best so far. Still untuned

about the intake, if adding a new intake is all you do than your not going to notice much difference regardless of timing. the cylinder heads are the real bottleneck of the mustang engine. you would notice the difference if you added an intake and already had good heads.
asking about timing is like asking about what color you prefer on here. everyone will have an opinion. i think MUSTNUT said it pretty well, although i wouldnt personally want 'any' pinging in mine. his advice is the general conception of how to check/set it though. bump it a little, rev it out in second and see if it pings. most people get it as high as they can w\o ping and then set it there. 14 should be a good round # though if you just want to set it and be done with it.
not to be a dick, but if you cant afford 92 octane, you probably shouldnt be driving a mustang for performance. and with the current economy recession, i doubt you will see prices get better any time soon.
Q

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Quin, 87 GT,306,forged pistons,edelbrock head\intak,steeda#18cam,1.7rr,MSD Blaster tfi coil,A9L,pro-m75mm,24#inj,accufab65mm,2.5"pipes,hooker headers,dynomax exhaust,3.73 gr,110 lph fp,180*therm,moroso cold air,ASP pullies, weld rims

The beast has awoken!

I see your shwartz is as big as mine, now lets see how well you handle it!

QUIN has a good point - think about it. If 93 costs $0.15 more a gallon, that's $1.50 a tank. I drive 90 miles each day to work and back, so I use 3 tanks a week. That's $4.50 a week, or $234 a year. I just spent over $3000 on engine and rear end stuff last year, $234 is a drop in the bucket.