Re: I hate feeling stupid
Poodie said:
What does 16 degrees before TDC mean?
So I would have to have a JR map controller to run it with stock settings?
When I retard the timing, what am I preventing from dentonating?
Do you have to take your car into a shop to have them retard it or is it something you can do at home?
Thanks
16 degrees before TDC is where the spark plug in your engine will fire. TDC is "Top Dead Center" which basically means the piston has moved up as far as it will go in the cylinder before it starts going back down. So if your car stock is firing sparks as 16 degrees BEFORE TDC, then that should tell you that it's firing BEFORE the piston is all the way up.
People who boost their cars in any way usually end up retarding the ignition timing, meaning they move the Degrees of before TDC down, so for instance it might be 10 degrees before TDC. The reason they do this is because there is less chance that the engine will detonate.
Now you need a description of detonation, and it basically ties in with the TDC above. Picture two cylinders in an engine, both functional and working perfectly. Now picture adding more air (boost) into both cylinders before they close off the intake valves, compress the air/fuel mixture and fire the spark plug. Lets say one of the cylinders is set at 16 degrees before TDC, and another one is set at 10 degrees. We'll say the cylinder at 10 degrees before TDC is still working fine with the addition of boost, you can picture the air come in, the ignition of air/fuel, and the exhaust perfectly. Now lets say the the cylinder with 16 degrees before TDC is detonating with the addition of boost. What this means is that the spark plug is firing too early, and the air/fuel mixture is getting burned up and trying to force the piston down, but the piston isn't ready to go down yet, it's still going up. When those two opposite forces occur at the same time, it's called detonation, and you can usually but not always hear it... It sounds like knocking or pinging in your engine. It's very damaging to your engine, and is a good way to be replacing it very soon. Most engines can handle a little of it here and there, but any length of it for any prolonged periods of time, and something has to give, and it's usually the rod connecting the piston to the crank, which will usually go through a side of your engine... Just imagine your engine falling apart like your favorite lego toy falling to the ground from 4 feet. That's why we say detonation is bad, and we try and tell everyone how to avoid it at all costs. Another way to avoid detonation is to use high octane gas, and add more fuel to the detonating engine.
You don't NEED to use the JR map controller to run stock timing, unless you want your engine possibly detonating, even at tip-in (tip in detonation is the point in between vacuum and boost where the engine can detonate because of lack of proper amount of fuel and you'll probably never hear it). JR should put the map controller in with their kits and not sell them seperately, but otherwise it is a good idea to have, but it will also make your car run pretty rich. if you don't get the map controller, just retard the timing and everything will be cool.
You can retard the timing on your own, or you can have just about any shop do it. Hell, the dudes down at Checkers/Kragen0 could probably do it for you. It's pretty easy, but I'd suggest having someone do it for you when you get the JRSC installed by them... I mean they are right there anyways and the instructions with the JRSC tell them to do it, so it will be more a matter of finding out how well they follow instructions, eh?
You've got a lot of good questions and I know you're trying to learn as much about it as possible, and that's good too. Don't feel stupid either, as we all started the same place you are starting at one point in time. Check out this link for more information on supercharging hondas and acuras and tuning them:
http://www.hondavision.com/showthread.php?threadid=1335
