Engine readings, notice anything odd?

[wilson4]

just got my scan guage 2 in the mail today and decided to test it out.. the following readings were taking with the car at idle, and warm, it is around 14*F outside. wanted to see what people thought and make sure everything looks ok..

Water temp - 195-200*F
Voltage - 13.5
Intake Air Temp - 66*F
Gallon per hour - 0.30
Ignition Timing - -17 to -20 (seems really low, is this bad? )
mainfold air pressure - 5.4 psi
Rpm - 690 - 720

Thanks

[curtis73]

Sounds right to me. My ignition is locked at 36* initial. All the other numbers look normal

[GreyGoose006]

what about the low idle

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by GreyGoose006

what about the low idle

700rpm is pretty much a universal constant for idle speed

[wilson4]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Sounds right to me. My ignition is locked at 36* initial. All the other numbers look normal

when its -17 to -20 what does that mean? and is it better for power/gas to have a lower number or higher

[curtis73]

Nothing at idle. Doesn't matter a hill of beans what it is at idle. If you think about older cars that had vacuum advance on a full vacuum source, you set the timing to something like 8*, and then hook up with vacuum and it gives full vacuum at idle.

Initial timing settings on engines are there to make it run right at idle, but they rarely have anything to do with the rest of the curve which is where the really critical settings are.

My 36* initial gets ported vacuum, so at part throttle cruise I'm getting as much as 50* total lead, but it would idle at anywhere from 8* to 40* or so. That's also old-school heads that require a lot of lead.