I am running 8 pounds of boost on a b18c1 with a MSD Digital 6 Plus and Blaster SS coil. How much ignition retard should I be running?

 

i was told 1 degree per 2psi....

so for 8psi.... 4 degrees retard

 

you didnt say what octane gas you were using, however i run 6psi on 93 octane and i use .8 degrees per pound of boost to be on the safe side. you never know when you might get a bad tank of gas.

 

my buddy uses .5 degree per pound of boost

 

The problem I am having is that at high rpm 6500 to 8000 rpm my car (integra gsr) is missing and the power cuts out dramatically and wont rev any higher. The wierd thing is that it started doing this when I installed my MSD Digital 6 plus. I already had a Blaster ss coil, MSD wires with ngk cold range plugs and MSD cap on the car and it was fine. I have sent the box back to MSD and they said it is fine. I run 93 octane gas and spark plug gap is .31. I have been troubleshooting the electrical system (ground kit, replaced the rotor, changed plugs), but now I am going to check the ignition timing. I am not exactly sure what I am at now. My car is also running rich, so I guess I am needing even more retard because rich mixtures burn faster. I am planning on going 1 degree per psi to start out with. One more question: Which direction do you turn the dist to retard the ignition? Also if anyone has any ideas about the missfire it would be appreciated? Thanks

 

What are you using for fuel management?

I had the same problem you are experiencing when it was overly rich. I was about 20% rich to be exact.

 

I am using a vortech fmu. My car has run rich since before the turbo. I have two check engine lights for the two O2 sensor heaters. This has made my ecu run in safe mode which is rich. I have an OBD1 ecu (my car is 96 - OBD2) on the way and it only uses one O2 sensor. I also have a SX fuel pressure regulator and STR fuel rail that I haven't installed yet. Once I get it on I can turn down the fuel pressure and maybe that would fix it.

Last night my friend brought over his timing gun and we hooked it up. When we pulled the trigger the strobe wasn't consistant, it would pulse five or so times the skip a few. He said it was a cheap gun. Another friend of mine has a snap-on gun so I will try to get a hold of it.

 

I've got a similar question, but what is a good base timing... apx. 16* right?

 

 

Make sure you jump the diagnostics plug under the glove box otherwise the ECU will compensate for every change you make to the timing.

If you're boosting I would suggest that you not set it 16 degrees especially with no standalone. You'll need to retard the timing.

 

im runnin .8 degrees for 6psi on my turbo setup...

 

when i jump the plug under the dash, do i only do that while setting it, or do i leave it in at all times? Thanks for the tip...

For basetiming how much should i retard from 16*?

 

it depends on how much your boosting..

and on what motor..

on my D our base stock timing is 12-14

b series are 14-16

i would say going past 8 degrees base timing would be too much... plus if you pushing enough boost to have to be more than 8 degrees retarded... then you need standalone..

 

Well i'm running LS/Vtec, JE 9:1, Eagle Rods, block guard, PNP head, etc. @ 10-11 lbs. You think that apx 8* bastiming is the way to go... and appx .5* retarded per pound of boost... Thanks for the help

 

8-10 degrees....

if .5 per psi is good..... every car is different....

start with 8.... if you want go to 10... and listen to the motor.. if it detonates go back to 8