I am not retarded. Should I be?

I am talking about my ignition, of course! :laugh:

On my KZ1000 M2, I have 1135 10.25 Wiseco pistons and '84 GPz cams.

When I twist the throttle and put a load on it, the engine seems to always ping quite a bit until the load is reduced.

I know that some pinging is normal, but how much is too much?

Would it be a good idea to retard my ignition some? If so, how much?

From what I understand, this is done by rotating the igintion pickup plate, correct? Do I rotate the plate clockwise or counter-clockwise to retard the ignition? I'm guessing clockwise, right?

My pickup plate does not have slots to adjust the plate, so I will need to cut them. Any advise would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks.

Yes, clockwise retards the ignition. I had Wiseco 10.25-1 pistons in a GPZ1100 and it was too high for pump gas and this was 1983 when octane was higher than now. Good luck.

Retarding your timing will soften up your bottom end some but will pick up your top end also. Let us know...

Hi Steve,

Not suggesting this is a long term solution but have you tried adding some octane booster?

KZCSI

KZCSI wrote:

Hi Steve,

Not suggesting this is a long term solution but have you tried adding some octane booster?

KZCSI

No, I haven't tried that. I guess I could give it a try. But as you said, this is not a good long-term solution. I don't want to have to use it all the time.

For sure not! But it would define you're issue.

Or at least let you taste what's available!:woohoo:

KZCSI

Imo, zero pinging is best.
Probably already done or considered,
but besides timing, am thinking:
Running high octane (pump) gas?
Compression psi too high (beyond factory specs)?
Carbon build-up in combustion chamber?
Correct spark plugs and gaps? Plug reading?
Perhaps try one step colder range plug?
Feasibility of using two base gaskets
to slightly lower compression?

Good Luck!

sorry,not that i do it but why is octain boost not good to use all the time

It would not hurt to use it long term, problem is that how much could you carry with you on a long Sunday afternoon cruise? You would need to play chemist every time you put gas in. It's a real pain in the arse! I had a '69 AMC Javelin with a built 390 that I had to use octane booster and to play chemist while putting in $5,$10, or $20 of gas (back in the 80's when gas was $1.00 a gallon) and figuring out the gas to booster ratio was a pain. Not to mention having 5-6 cans in the trunk at $5 a can! Not worth it long term.

Bluemeanie wrote:

It would not hurt to use it long term, problem is that how much could you carry with you on a long Sunday afternoon cruise? You would need to play chemist every time you put gas in. It's a real pain in the arse! I had a '69 AMC Javelin with a built 390 that I had to use octane booster and to play chemist while putting in $5,$10, or $20 of gas (back in the 80's when gas was $1.00 a gallon) and figuring out the gas to booster ratio was a pain. Not to mention having 5-6 cans in the trunk at $5 a can! Not worth it long term.

What he said.

aaaaahhhhh

Patton wrote:

Imo, zero pinging is best.
Probably already done or considered,
but besides timing, am thinking:
Running high octane (pump) gas?
Compression psi too high (beyond factory specs)?
Carbon build-up in combustion chamber?
Correct spark plugs and gaps? Plug reading?
Perhaps try one step colder range plug?
Feasibility of using two base gaskets
to slightly lower compression?

Good Luck!

Thanks for all the good suggestions.

FYI, compression is 155-165-155-165.

Plugs are B8ES. All read tan now (I was previously getting soot in #1 only, but fiddling with the carbs, I think I finally got that problem solved). I guess I could try B9s.

Two base gaskets? [sigh] I guess I COULD try that. Just not too excited about tearing down the top end again. Maybe over the winter.

Thanks again.