http://racingarticles.com/article_racing-56.html7.) Glowing headers mean the engine is lean – This
wives’ tale is starting to lose steam, but still believed more often than not. Headers glow red for only one reason, there’s fuel burning inside. The two main reasons are a rich mixture and late ignition timing - which doesn’t give the fuel enough time to burn inside the combustion chamber. Test it for yourself, let your engine idle and crank the ignition timing back to the point where it barely runs, then get out the marshmallows.
You'd think Holley would know.........
http://www.holley.com/TechService/FAQ.asp?category=BlowerQUESTION I have installed one of your superchargers and my engine seems to run hot and my headers glow at idle. What could cause this?
ANSWER Usually an issue with glowing headers and a hot running engine are caused by two basic things. Either incorrect timing or the engine is extremely lean. There are others, but these two are the main cause. Blower engines like timing advance. If the initial timing advance is not enough it will cause these issues. Most blower engines will run between 12-20 degrees of intial timing and a total of 30-32 degrees. You do want a fairly fast timing curve. All the timing should be in by 2500-2800RPM.This is just a guideline. All engines are different. The other main cause is a lean running engine. Make sure the carbs are tuned correctly for the setup and there are no vacuum leaks. Remember the blower moves a lot more air through the engine so it needs more fuel as well!
