Ignition timing is like seasoning: some is good, but too much ruins the results. Bumping up the ignition timing on pushrod 5.0s is a time-honored trick to wake up the under-hood lump. The EFI system ...

In a perfect world there would be no need for ignition advance curves. As soon as the piston in your vintage Vette reached top dead center and the engine built maximum compression, you'd be able to ...

Older vehicles with distributor-based ignition systems need their timing checked on a regular basis, otherwise you can have a host of problems. Starting becomes difficult, idling will be rough, ...

“Runs good!” You’ve seen that a lot of times looking at Craigslist ads for cars and motorcycles, especially older ones. But what does that even mean? Why wouldn’t it “run good,” anyways Shouldn’t ...

If you're a follower of the "How It Works" series, you've been learning the principles of what makes a car run. You've boned up on the four-stroke cycle, valvetrains, cooling, lubrication, and ...

Q:I have been a longtime subscriber and only recently I was finally able to purchase my dream car, a 1970 Corvette convertible. I drive my Corvette most every weekend and have enjoyed every minute ...

When it comes to the many variables of combustion inside an engine, engineers measure the timing of key events in degrees of crankshaft rotation, a relative frame of reference that remains constant ...

Q: A question from your August 2007 issue got me thinking. A guy with a Kia Sportage asked where the spark plugs and spark plug wires on this car were, and was told that this car did not have a ...

underway before tdc is reached. This gives a maximum cylinder pressure (and work output). This ignition timingcondition is about 20 degrees of crank rotation before tdc, i.e. 20 degrees btdc. From, ...