johny Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Anyone tried one of these yet? Not necessary I know but for those gadgetophiles amongst us something rather nice to play with. Does all your centrifugal and vacuum advance for you in a plug in an electronic box with no external interface needed. Only negative I can see is that its best mounted inside the car so will need the vac pipe rerouting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 It looks interesting and cheaper the Pertronix 1 or 2 which aren't programmable. Once synced to your engine it seems pretty easy to use but I can't see what advance/rpm increments are available. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 The video of the set up is quite good and I think a different advance is available every 500rpm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 I've fitted the Aldon Amethyst, which gives programmable advance with rpm and vacuum, similar to the Accuspark box you're considering. I've found that with modern 99 octane fuel (Tesco Momentum or Shell V-Power) the engine can take a bit more advance than the factory curve. This kind of fine tuning really needs to be done on a rolling road, by an experienced operator. Too much advance and pre-ignition can wreck the engine. The GT6 runs very well with the Amethyst, and the extra advance gave a few more bhp on the rolling road. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 Thanks Nigel. The other advantage over a mechanical distributor would of course be that youre certain the advance is as per the manual for a given rpm or vacuum and not off because of wear, lack of maintenance or incorrect components... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 51 minutes ago, Nigel Clark said: I've fitted the Aldon Amethyst When I inquired 1-2 years ago they didn't have any and weren't making a batch as it used an archaic software system. It seems they have a new revised product? Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 1 hour ago, Iain T said: When I inquired 1-2 years ago they didn't have any and weren't making a batch as it used an archaic software system. It seems they have a new revised product? Iain That's interesting. It was over 5 years since I fitted the Amethyst and had the engine set up on the Aldon rolling road. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 yes I see theyve now offer a software update for Win 10... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Foster Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 (edited) 15 hours ago, Nigel Clark said: I've found that with modern 99 octane fuel (Tesco Momentum or Shell V-Power) the engine can take a bit more advance than the factory curve. Nigel Is that more static (idle) advance or a steeper advance curve. I'm running a Pertronix 2 with a Flamethrower coil, currently set to 12 deg by strobe, which works ok without any pinking. Other threads are also suggesting modern fuels can take slightly more advance. Ian Edited January 26 by Ian Foster update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ian Foster said: I'm running a Pertronix 2 with a Flamethrower coil, currently set to 12 deg by strobe, which works ok without any pinking. I have the same ignition set up and using 17 deg with no pinking. My distributor advance is according to the graph supplied by Distributor Doctor is 9 deg at 2000rpm then flat lines. This setting results in 9x2+17=35 total advance at 2000rpm and higher. Iain Edited January 26 by Iain T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 1 hour ago, Ian Foster said: Nigel Is that more static (idle) advance or a steeper advance curve. I'm running a Pertronix 2 with a Flamethrower coil, currently set to 12 deg by strobe, which works ok without any pinking. Other threads are also suggesting modern fuels can take slightly more advance. Ian I meant a steeper advance curve. When it comes to static timing, I take the workshop manual setting as a starting point then advance a bit further, until it's almost linking under load at about 2,000 rpm. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 26 Author Report Share Posted January 26 Unfortunately just because we can advance our timing beyond the manual setting and still not get pinking above 2000rpm when hard accelerating in 4th on the flat doesnt necessarily mean we're getting anymore power😒 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted January 27 Report Share Posted January 27 23 hours ago, johny said: Unfortunately just because we can advance our timing beyond the manual setting and still not get pinking above 2000rpm when hard accelerating in 4th on the flat doesnt necessarily mean we're getting anymore power😒 That's one reason why I said on Thursday that fine tuning of ignition advance really needs to be done on a rolling road. The other reason is that too much advance will cause pre-ignition and possibly serious engine damage. On a rolling road, the drop in power with excess advance can be seen, even if pinking cannot be heard. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted January 27 Report Share Posted January 27 53 minutes ago, Nigel Clark said: The other reason is that too much advance will cause pre-ignition and possibly serious engine damage It is a worry as at 35 deg I'm at the top end of safe. The advance curve on my DD tweeked distributor is steeper than standard. Do you know your advance curve? Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 27 Author Report Share Posted January 27 On 26/01/2024 at 11:27, Nigel Clark said: I meant a steeper advance curve. When it comes to static timing, I take the workshop manual setting as a starting point then advance a bit further, until it's almost linking under load at about 2,000 rpm. Nigel I dont understand then, you found the best setting on the rolling road but now set it up using the pinking method? Maybe fuel has changed sufficiently since the original set up that now further adjustment is needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 On 27/01/2024 at 12:47, johny said: I dont understand then, you found the best setting on the rolling road but now set it up using the pinking method? Maybe fuel has changed sufficiently since the original set up that now further adjustment is needed? Perhaps I should has been clearer. The static ignition timing and advance curve in my GT6 were optimised on a rolling road. Previously I have found by trial and error that our engines usually run a little better with slightly more static advance than the workshop manual states. The trial and error method for ignition timing has been mentioned in this forum before. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 30 Author Report Share Posted January 30 Ah ok, as you say best on a rolling road as its so difficult to impartially (the mind can play tricks) judge slight performance improvements. Out of interest what static timing and curve did the rolling road show as best in your case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 36 minutes ago, johny said: Ah ok, as you say best on a rolling road as its so difficult to impartially (the mind can play tricks) judge slight performance improvements. Out of interest what static timing and curve did the rolling road show as best in your case? Sorry, I can't access the advance curve right now as the car, workshop manual and my notes are about 100 miles away! From memory, static advance was 12deg BTDC. The workshop manual quotes a range of acceptable advance at different rpm, defining the advance curve for the distributor within tolerance limits. The ideal rolling road setup was very similar to the maximum advance specified in the WSM. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted January 30 Author Report Share Posted January 30 Thanks so if I go for the Black Box and set timing standard but with upper limit of the curve values I shouldnt be far wrong👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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