Progression Ignition tunes
 

This can be the place to talk about Progression Distributor(s) and to share your ignition tables that work for you and your combination.

I just got my HEI setup and running and would love to see what others have done and would like to share.

A lot of what can be done hinges on these details that you should post up about your car.
1) CID.
2) compression.
3) Cam.
4) rear gears.

Very good point. My combo: 455/TH400, 9.2:1 compression, Comp xe268h cam, 3.08 rear.

I don’t have one yet but I may pick one up in the next month or two. I’ll be following this regardless

Can we add:

Carb) brand & size

Intake)

Look forward to the progression and the trends/differences with builds.

Sent from my SM-G988U1 using Tapatalk

461/9.7 static comp
6X4 approx. flow 250cfm
850 MD w/annular
T2 w/1” tapered 4 hole spacer
700R4 w/lockup
3:42
Crower solid flat tappet approx. spec w/1.65:
244/252@50
0.525/0.551
112 LSA
91 Octane/ 0% ethanol

After a lot of testing (still not done though) heres the best map so far with my combo.

What cylinder heads?

I edited my original post to add head info (keep it all together).

Thanks, my timing requirements changed dramatically when I switched from 6X to Kauffman D ports.

Thanks for sharing this table. I have copied it to my car and made some changes to add a little more timing at low speed, medium vacuum. So far it is working well. Still needs some more tweaking. But I like it.

Has anyone used the Aggressive mode when creating a table? it seems to move all the timing numbers up quite a bit.

New guy here. My Progression distributor arrives Friday and I'm looking forward to putting it on. Been doing a lot of reading on timing for this car, just trying to come up with a base curve for starters. Here's my specs...

461 (original block)
Eagle forged rotating assembly, balanced
9.75:1 compression (verified by builder)
Original #12 heads, completely rebuilt but not ported or worked over heavily, screw in studs.
Original iron intake
XE284 cam. I know it's not well loved here, but my builder (Rick Johnson in Crete, IL) swears by it so I trusted him. I do run high ZDDP oil (Lucas Hot Rod).
Quadrajet built to the engine specs (supposedly)
3.55 rear gear
M20
no AC
I can only get 91 octane here, so I've been mixing to get 93 or so. Would love to be able to run pump 91.
Car currently makes about 9 inches of vacuum at idle. and likes about 20 degrees initial advance. I had to back that off to 16 due to hard starting. Yeah, that's an electric vacuum pump for the brakes.

Any suggestions for a base curve , or some tips would be most welcome!

Currently shooting for 20 initial and 34 total, all in at 3200rpm. I'll bring the total up and RPM down if it seems to tolerate that. Car seems to like to idle around 650-750, and I like the lumpy idle down there, so win win I guess.

This is a street driven weekend fair weather car, will probably never see a track. It was a full rotisserie restoration so I just have too much money into it, and it's sentimental to my wife (her dad's car).

My first suggestion would be to set the idle at 850 to 950 rpm..to get the vacuum higher, I personally like a cleaner higher idle then a blubbering low idle especially with any sort of cam. Also remember timing and fuel mixtures go hand in hand adjust both. Does the ignition have a start retard? That may help you run a higher initial advance. A good idle in my books is one that can sit at a stoplight for minutes with zero issues..not one in park at a Dairy Queen that sounds good.
Good luck..report back on the progress!

You're right about the idle. For some reason I had it in my head that it should be around 650, but that is low. It will idle there all day long without loading up. Part of the reason I've had it there is because with the current dist, the idle hangs once the car is warmed up. It will go back to normal once it's shut off and restarted, but I have not been able to track the problem down. I think that the center shaft in the current distributor is hanging up at just the last bit of travel, and not resetting the timing all the way. It was gone through and still does it. Anyway, I'll likely set it around 750-800 once I have the new distributor in.

Start retard capability is built into the Progression distributor.

I would start off with 32 total in light of your 9.75 comp/ iron heads and the fast cylinder pressure rise of the 4.210" stroke.

I got my distributor installed this afternoon, started up, and sent a table. I think I've been consuming way too much internet and overthinking everything.

Given the details on my engine above, thoughts on this curve/map as a start? Idling at 800, but it doesn't just stay there rock steady, moves around within maybe 30rpm of 800 up and down or thereabouts. Unfortunately due to weather I can't take it out for a test drive right now but she seems to start up and idle nice.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BfjiidcdfuW46NVA6

Got my distributor installed, idle set, table created and sent. Thoughts on the below table for the build I listed above? It's idling at 800, not steady which I think I should expect due to the cam, but between maybe 770-820 or so.

Any advise or feedback is welcome. I can't take it for a test drive right now due to weather unfortunately.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BfjiidcdfuW46NVA6

Just ordered the HEI version of this. I'm wondering if I should talk to my engine builder about using it for break in and dyno pulls/tuning or just have him use my current dist and then I would install this myself. My concern is if he hasn't used one before is it going to complicate things for him vs just let him do his normal process?

I'd ask him; tell him what it is. If I were a builder I'd be pretty stoked to be able to input exactly what I want for a curve in, rather than dealing with weights and vacuum stuff. Plus I'd get to try out the tech for free. The interface is super easy. Or maybe he's old school and isn't interested, which is fine too.

He's definitely old school. But, he builds a lot of motors and has all kinds of customers so maybe he's done them before. But I think you're right. It would be a lot easier to make adjustments with this rather than changing springs and weights. I'll give him a call and talk it over.

Personally I would let the builder do what he wants, he may want to keep it simple, use the original distributor and do a few pulls..you aren't going to find any magic horsepower with the new distributor.Time is money. But after is time to play with the tune in the car on the road and set it up for drivability, power etc..that may take a while to really dial it in.

So I just installed the small cap version on my 65 GTO 389 4 speed no A/C car with 4:11 rear gears. Cam is an 068 grind running Tri-Power. Still need to do tuning with it but install went smooth and startup was quick and easy. Question for those who have used this distributor is running a factory tach. It’s off by approx 200 rpm. Worked correctly with points. I have the tach currently connected to the - neg side of coil just like when I was using points. I know it has something to do with how the factory rally gauge was manufactured and is not compatible with modern units. Question is can a Tach Adapter work to correct the issue? Something like this

https://www.allzim.com/store/tach-ad...e-adapter.html


Thanks for any help.

Was there a resistor wire in the original points setup? It can cause some weird issues if you use it on the Progression distributor, if I recall there is a special note in the installation instructions not to use a resistor wire for power to the dist.

Or alternatively contact Theodore at Progression he quickly resolved an issue I had and another my brother had, great customer service.

I ran a new dedicated 12v power wire. The distributor is the only part tied into the new power feed.

My tach is also off by a couple hundred RPM at 3k or so. Definitely less so at idle. No resistor in wire, new wiring harness was installed in the car that was built for HEI, so full 12v.

So I called progression ignition and their answer was that the tach was off and that the grey wire off the dizzy wouldn’t have enough power to run the factory tach. So I guess I need to have the tach refurbished to have the “guts” installed to make it work.

Thanks for a great start as my combo was close
461
6X4 heads
770 Avenger
1/2 inch spacer
Super T10 4 speed
3:55
XE268H camshaft
94 Octane

Table
 

After getting some time to continue playing have added a few changes

To assist in the tuning I like to do a screen recording of the table on my iphone while driving. The key is to drive the same route and same throttle pattern each time so your not scratching your head when comparing screen recordings.

Imlern02, as requested sent you a couple of tables.

I just ordered one today, it will aid with my street/strip testing and tuning.I'm still trying to fine tune my combo..driveability, mileage and power

I just sent maps to those couple of members that pm’d me.

Would you mind sending me a timing map as well? [email protected]

Thanks

Ok, sent.

So has Progression addressed this issue yet?

Sending a perfectly good working factory tach out to be modified is not really an option.

Nothing received... I clicked the "Saved Tables" then the "Cloud" icon, but no recent shares. Maybe it takes a while.

Not to my knowledge. Guess I’ll just live with it.

Shucks. I would think they could do something to correct it that isn't overly complicated. With todays tech and electronic gadgetry it should be solvable without sending the tach out to be modified in some way.

I've had (and still have) these factory tachs work fine and read very accurately with MSD stuff and older Accel stuff and even aftermarket EFI systems. So not sure what Progression Ignition is doing to make the tach read incorrectly.

wb, I resent the map.

Thank you Formula_jg. For whatever reason, I did not receive the map from you. To date, I have received one table from someone else. I'd like to try to send you one as a test if you let me have your email address.

Other updates, I have the app on my computer and phone, but they don't sync. So, it's important that people make the timing maps that they want to use on their phone.

My cold to hot idle increase is more than before, but besides that, the ignition is great. I would recommend this product.

Installed mine today , pretty easy install. One thing I can say is not to fuss with the required 10 degree setting on the balancer while installing. Just stab it in like normal then set the 10 degree requirement.
Everything seems user friendly so far.

For those of you who picked one of these up, what was the reason behind it? I’d love to have one but at the price, given my car is a street cruiser, I wonder if it would be more of a toy than beneficial.

In theory you should be able to give your engine exactly what it wants for timing for idle, cruise ,power etc..and also make changes very quickly.

Also time will tell how it works..I have disconnected my MSD and coil, which many car enthusiasts just have for looks.

You mean it doesn't work with an MSD box?

I'm trying mine without the MSD..Sure cleans up the engine compartment.

Oh okay, gotchya.

I hide that stuff, so I assumed maybe it wasn't functional with the new distributor.

I didn't have a distributor with vacuum advance. Only mechanical. Since my car is a street car, I wanted that, and this seemed like the best option.

Also, the car is a hobby. I frequently make expensive, unnecessary upgrades to it.

Is Progression a brand or a software package?

https://progressionignition.com/

The sell distributors that allow for timing maps to be created and use via one's smartphone. You can makes all sort of adjustments to timing that would be very challenging with a standard set up. And you can change on the go.