beware the dreaded idle tip-in hesitation that takes extra pump-shot to overcome, and maybe you run out of shot 1/2 second later.....
I gotta repeat;
with an automatic, who cares about the timing below stall..... even 10 degrees short will not be missed.
But if you hit stall at WOT, with even 1* too much, over time, you are probably gonna detonate the plugs to pieces. And those ceramic bits are about three times as hard as steel..... 2200rpm is one revolution every .0273 seconds, which on a V8 is 4 firings. When you hear the detonation, IF you hear it, it might take you .5 second to lift off the throttle. In that time, your engine has fired 73 times................. where are the bits, and what are they doing?
At 2200 and cruising, your engine might want 56* of timing, for best fuel-economy.
If you run 12 mechanical at idle, and an additional 12 in the can, what happens at 2200 and cruising?
I'll tell you
Your max Power-Timing with a lo-compression 318 might be 36* at 3400rpm. To get to 36 from 12 is 24 degrees. And if your curve begins at 1000, then you have 2400 degrees to get there. This maths out to 1.0 degree per 100 rpm.
Therefore, at 2200 the mechanical timing will be 12+12=24. And in this case, the Vcan is bringing 12 to the table so 24+12=36 at 2200 and cruising.
But your engine might want 56*! so you are 20* short, and no wonder the thing is a pig on gas.
