jbc426
Well-Known Member
I installed the new distributor from Progression Ignition in my RB based stroker motor a few days ago, and wanted to post a bit of feedback on my results with it. I had been running an MSD Pro-billet locked out and set at 35*. My 10.2 to 1 aluminum headed motor loved that setting, never hard started hot or cold and ran very well like that.
I wanted to run vacuum advance to enhance my steady state cruising efficiency on the open road. I'm running a Passon & 4.10's and 28" tall Nitto Drag Radials. I was a bit surprised at how often the vacuum advance kicks in around town too.
Their distributor looks high quality and incorporates a MAP sensor that can also be used on boosted engines. It has the GM style spring loaded "L" shaped arms that hold the cap down. I opted for the male style terminals, so my MSD wires would plug right back on. The flattened, drive tab that fits into the intermediate shaft at the bottom of the main shaft is at least twice as long as the stock or MSD distributor. I run a lock ring on mine to limit the intermediate shaft's drive gears up and down movement, so I only got about 1/5th of that collar onto the round portion of the shaft. The rest is on the flattened drive tang. I loctited it and think it will never move anyway.
Their distributor is also about 1/2" longer overall. That puts one of the spark plug wires up into my Shaker base plate. I had to do a little massaging to get the base to sit flat on the top of the carbs again. No big deal, as It can be reversed if needed.
Translating the kPa readings to actual vacuum readings takes a minute to adjust to because you have to add in the actual barometric pressure and subtract engine vacuum from it to get a reading. My set-up idles at just over 10" of vacuum and has 23-24* vacuum at cruise rpm.
I used their app to generate a few initial tables, but per their tech guy, they are rather conservative as one might imagine. Better to reduce the risk of engine damage for the masses. I have since modified that timing table to better match what I had been running with the MSD. You have to look carefully as the RPM graph is not linear, but it is very easy to get used to their interface. The numbers on the left side column are the kPa readings.
So far I have not heard any detonation, and I am using a bit less gas pedal to cruise than I was using before. I' still have some fine tuning to do, and I will check my mileage again to see if it has improved. So far, I like it a lot, and recommend it to guys who are not taking advantage of a vacuum advance feature on their mostly street driven Mopars.
I have my idle set at 950 by the way. When the motor is running, a highlighted ball travels around the table below to show you where it is running in real time. It's a helpful guide in learning how to manipulate the table. I've also noticed I'm getting a bit more wheel spin in 2nd gear, which may very well mean I'm getting a bit more torque out of the motor. It usually is hooked up hard in that gear.
More to follow for the longer term...
I wanted to run vacuum advance to enhance my steady state cruising efficiency on the open road. I'm running a Passon & 4.10's and 28" tall Nitto Drag Radials. I was a bit surprised at how often the vacuum advance kicks in around town too.
Their distributor looks high quality and incorporates a MAP sensor that can also be used on boosted engines. It has the GM style spring loaded "L" shaped arms that hold the cap down. I opted for the male style terminals, so my MSD wires would plug right back on. The flattened, drive tab that fits into the intermediate shaft at the bottom of the main shaft is at least twice as long as the stock or MSD distributor. I run a lock ring on mine to limit the intermediate shaft's drive gears up and down movement, so I only got about 1/5th of that collar onto the round portion of the shaft. The rest is on the flattened drive tang. I loctited it and think it will never move anyway.
Their distributor is also about 1/2" longer overall. That puts one of the spark plug wires up into my Shaker base plate. I had to do a little massaging to get the base to sit flat on the top of the carbs again. No big deal, as It can be reversed if needed.
Translating the kPa readings to actual vacuum readings takes a minute to adjust to because you have to add in the actual barometric pressure and subtract engine vacuum from it to get a reading. My set-up idles at just over 10" of vacuum and has 23-24* vacuum at cruise rpm.
I used their app to generate a few initial tables, but per their tech guy, they are rather conservative as one might imagine. Better to reduce the risk of engine damage for the masses. I have since modified that timing table to better match what I had been running with the MSD. You have to look carefully as the RPM graph is not linear, but it is very easy to get used to their interface. The numbers on the left side column are the kPa readings.
So far I have not heard any detonation, and I am using a bit less gas pedal to cruise than I was using before. I' still have some fine tuning to do, and I will check my mileage again to see if it has improved. So far, I like it a lot, and recommend it to guys who are not taking advantage of a vacuum advance feature on their mostly street driven Mopars.
I have my idle set at 950 by the way. When the motor is running, a highlighted ball travels around the table below to show you where it is running in real time. It's a helpful guide in learning how to manipulate the table. I've also noticed I'm getting a bit more wheel spin in 2nd gear, which may very well mean I'm getting a bit more torque out of the motor. It usually is hooked up hard in that gear.
More to follow for the longer term...
