We pull zero timing, in fact we ADD timing in first and second gear in the Vette. I did in the Savoy because the tires are 7 years old and track temp was 155, and its a bracket car which is a different animal.I used those two examples to show why dont get hung up on a "magic" SLR number, there is not one every car is unique. Wanna really throw a wrench in the works our dragster is 7.38:1 and has been 1.03 60'(dont pull timing there even with a torque monster of an engine, good shocks control the housing and tire)
IMO ramping timing in on an NA deal is a crutch at best to cover up a poor working chassis or chassis issue. Make the chassis work and leave the timing alone, unless you have some huge torque monster on an engine like some we run with in NA 10.5, they go up to 700"+ or maybe a leaf spring car as I don't have much experience there so wont comment. NA engines generally don't recover very well when you pull timing in them and in some cases can be a significant amount of power lost. if and when I can get new tires on the tank I don't plan to be pulling timing for sure.
We had AFCO's on the Vette for a very long time up front. But the car basically has no front end travel, at most its 1/2" of travel. The travel simply is not needed in this case we let the ladder bars do the work. The single biggest gain we have seen was going to a shock built specifically for this car and its intended purpose. Our shock guy is Adam Drzayich and the shocks are custom Penskes. FWIW the Vette is 100% factory Chebbie stuff, sans the shocks obviously. Stock A Arms, stock steering box, stock steering with the addition of a steering stabilizer for the bumpsteer the stock front gets us.
in the end it is a give and take. The only way to find what works for you is try different stuff. IMO learn to make the car work with full timing. Ultimately adding it in low and second gear will make the car faster. It will help burn the excess fuel off from being on the chip at the hit and will benefit in second gear from the multiplication of the gear set. Get it back to base in high gear. But if you have a box that cannot make that happen for sure quit pulling timing. Learn to make the car work with all the power. Video is your friend for sure as well as info, Not sure if you have any data logging capability but alot can be learned there.
Al , adding timing instead of pulling more is how a lot of nitrous cars are picking up the last few years now. and yes Data logging is key to making smart choices. The data logger pays for itself in Converter , Gears, and trips to the track, wear and tear on the car. It cost a lot to make a lot of passes, Data logger is the cheaper route in the long run.
I recently helped some guys go faster than they have been with a progressive VS no progressive and a tiny bit more timing while progressing....but thats another topic LOL
