After having run my car forever on 18 degress BTDC I have become quite used to the feel of the engine, willingness to rev etc. however after recently being setup my mechanic has reduced the timing to 14 degress BTDC, he reckons the fuel is a lot worse than what was in their when he original setup it for 13psi (spikes to a bit around 14.5) and 18 degress timing. I am not happy with the car as it is with this retarded timing and will probably get it setup with less boost and more advanced timing next time. car still pulls hard but lag seems to be a bit worse. Anyway to my questions. 1) What would be the major factor contributing to pre-ignition, adv timing or too much boost? 2) What would make more power, high boost & retarded timing or low boost and more advanced timing? (I know what feels better, i guess its to personal preference) 3) Would a chip company (chiptorque etc) be able to rewrite ecu with retarded timing only at high revs when engine is "pinging" 4) And finally, what timing setups do you guys run and are you happy with the off boost feel of the car? any help on any questions appreciated.

Tell me you are running a cooler......? :?

No but before you start saying how stupid I am. Car has a larger turbo = cooler intake air car has modified head with slightly lower compression ratio so it can run as above safely, was setup both times on a dyno.

What you ideally need is an ecu remap, so they can add various amounts of timing advance throughtout the rev range where it is needed, and not needed etc. Just changing the base timing up is a crude way of doing things, but may work somewhat never the less... The gain will be considerable and have alot smoother power curve especially if mapped for 98 ron fuel. Mick

The standard timing setting has worked for me I tried stuffing around by advancing and retarding but now leave it on the standard setting, I reckon I get more go out of it on the factory setting with no problems either.

would love to get a proper ECU remap and agree this would be the best solution, base timing adjustment does work, but it is crude, my setup definately has a better part throttle response with advanced timing. Car still feels as if it pulls as hard once up it is just the transition period towards boost thats feels a bit different. cant really fiddle with engine too much ATM, us still under warranty for another 11 months. thanks for the replies, keep em coming

1. Set the timing to 15deg. 2. Go and get a cooler and your car will run better and faster.

hey jetcalais, did PWR do your cooler pipes also, what did they cost? what did it cost you all up? when I do get a cooler, like you, I want to do it properly, not worth wasting my time and money on something inferior right now. if (when) I get I cooler timing will definately be advanced up to 20 deg BTDC if safe, car just feels that much better

luke when the time comes for u to get a cooler , give me a yell . i have a very good mate in the business , many ppl like his work including names such as rob vickery and todd wilkes. i will be able to geta special sort of price. hopefully

thanks andy will do, just gotta get this warranty out of the way first Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

turboluke..... I did the plumping myself. 2.25' from turbo to cooler. 2.5' cooler to TB. Costs: cooler: $935 tubing: $150 Silicon hose: $30 T clamps: $35 Paint: $15 misc: $15 TOTAL: $1170 plus about 1.5 days of muckin around.

ta, that works out pretty economical 4 what you got!

Yeah I'm pretty happy with it..... just hangs a little low.