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...

Can you change the RPM #'s on the bottom row ?

Not all engines need the same curve, but, this is mine, it cruises in the 63kpa range, so I am in the 40's timing, all my just cruising around would be in the middle area of the timing map 56 to 75 kpa @ 750rpm to 2800 rpm

Yes, It will show the RPM that you have set your changes at for a given saved table. They remain there even if you change the timing in that table. In other words, if you build a new table and make changes to certain timing events, those new RPM tabs will be updated.

Good info. I'm still learning. Thanks for posting.

I forget, does it support a 'cranking timing setting' or would you just set 750rpm down to 10* if you wanted to improve a hard hot start condition?

It always cranks at 10* below 300 rpm. You can also adjust the idle rpm timing and everywhere on up.

Sounds like a great setup for people who aren't ready yet to move to EFI. I looked at your table and I think you should use a slope rather than a ledge for your vacuum advance. You go from 35 to 45 in one cell which means the timing will jump 10 degrees with a very small change in throttle position. You should use at least three cells to make that transition so something like 35, 38, 42, 45. I'm also not sure that you'll want 10 degrees of vacuum advance. You might want to start out with 5 or 7 and work your way up. 10 is fairly aggressive.

Great review!

I have to question why they didn't make the length of them the same as stock?

Thanks for the information, Andy. I'll build a new table with these changes. I appreciate your time.

Cool! Good to see a review of this and it seems like it works well.

how would this couple with say a fitech that doesn't have ignition control? or would it be better to get an all in one efi controller that does both? I understand the fitech unit doesn't play nice with the mopar distributors.

I can't answer that question about the fitech but if it were mine I would use something like the Holley setup that can do timing and fuel. It is nice to have everything in one spot.