Why so much inital timing???

I've been playing with the tune on my 340 and it seems this engine for some reason likes a ton of initial timing. I've got it set at 28* now and it starts fine when hot. I've verified TDC on the balancer as well and have the total limited to 36* (which may or may not be too much).

Why does this particular engine like so much initial timing and is that an indicator of something that may be wrong? I've got the idle set at 800 in gear and it pulls 11" of vacuum.

Engine is a .030 over 340, 9.6 SCR, RHS heads, 231* @ .050"/.561" lift/108 LSA hydraulic flat tappet.

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