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#1
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Progression Ignition Distributor Installation
Hi Folks,
To my knowledge, no one I know of has actually tried one of the electronic distributors from Progression Ignition. These are the ones that you you can program via Bluetooth from your Apple or Android smartphone or tablet. Long story short, I found myself in need of a new distributor and took the plunge, documenting the experience along the way. Instead of a long post and many pictures, I wrote it up as a PDF document. At almost 1.5MB, it's too big too upload here, so I have it available from my family web site I'm working on. Here's the link: Progression Ignition PDF I hope people find it helpful. Stay Safe.
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Larry |
#2
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Oh awesome. Im glad someone is using one of those. I wish I knew someone who had one in the car for a few years so we know the mechanics are trustworthy long term.
Apparently the dept of defense doesn't like your link, so Ill have to look at it when I get home. Looking forward to it.
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1967 Firebird 462 580hp/590ftlbs 1962 Pontiac Catalina Safari Swapped in Turd of an Olds 455 Owner/Creator Catfish Motorsports https://www.youtube.com/@CatfishMotorsports |
#3
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I've never seen these, but very cool!
Had I not just purchased a small cap billet distributor for timing control I'd seriously consider this, even considering the pricing difference.
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-Jason 1969 Pontiac Firebird |
#4
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As far as long term goes, we'll see. Looks like I'm the default guinea pig Oh, another thing - I did say in the article that all the instructions are free downloadable PDFs, but I had also gone out an downloaded the smartphone app too (free also). It has an offline mode so you can generate any number of tunes for practice. I did both the PDFs and app to play with before deciding to buy - very helpful.
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Larry Last edited by LKLusza; 07-09-2020 at 01:57 PM. Reason: Grammer, always the grammer ;-) |
#5
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How much drive time do you have on the distributor?
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1967 Firebird 462 580hp/590ftlbs 1962 Pontiac Catalina Safari Swapped in Turd of an Olds 455 Owner/Creator Catfish Motorsports https://www.youtube.com/@CatfishMotorsports |
#6
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No worries - especially about things I have no control over. That's what beer's for.
I only have about a week on it so far. I also had some carb issues so it was a bit of a chore to diagnose where the problem actually was. Now that the ignition is ironed out, it's back to thrashing on the carb. At least now I can start the thing up and move it around, which is good as it goes in for inspection on Monday.
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Larry |
#7
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Thanks for the PDF. I'd seen the website for those distributors months ago, and thought it would be something cool to have. Thanks for being the guinea pig .
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Steve F. |
#8
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Your PDF writeup is excellent. If I wasn't a luddite who uses a flip-phone, it would be a good choice based only on your enthused write-up on it. Thanks for enlightening me as to whats out there. If it would interface with my old laptop, I'd consider it. Thanks for the info.
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"No replacement for displacement!" GTOAA--https://www.gtoaa.org/ |
#9
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Thank you, I appreciate it. Before retiring, I was a program coordinator for an Adult-Ed Vo-Tech and spent many years creating curriculum as well as support materials for the various classes. It drives me nuts when I come across the usual multi-language instructions common to all the foreign products we have today. You know the ones. Instead of saying "switch the unit on now", it'll say something like "Please to be pressing button to experience maximum joy".
However, as I said in my article, the instructions included with the product really are very clear and concise. I just thought people might like to hear it directly from someone who actually did it themselves.
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Larry |
The Following User Says Thank You to LKLusza For This Useful Post: | ||
#10
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I also took the leap and just installed my new progressive distributor yesterday. I've only done a couple of 2 mile highway tests so far (my driveway leads to a small, winding, busy highway,) but I loved how quickly I could make adjustments that made big differences.
I also had downloaded the app before ordering and preloaded some profiles but my tablet won't connect to it for some reason, so I had to start over on my phone once it was installed. With the Pontiac 400 high compression, lower timing preferences, I expect it will be a while before I really get it tuned in for all circumstances. I think I'm going to have to take my wife with me so she can film the real time chart and I can yell to mark places that I want to change As I stated in another thread, I wish that the app would record the real time runs so you could watch them after getting back. I would like to propose that those of us who do have them installed start sharing our setups to make it easier for someone to do a quick tune start, as well as finding opportunities to do fine tune improvements. |
The Following User Says Thank You to thatguy2001 For This Useful Post: | ||
#11
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I really like the concept of this and would appreciate any more reviews on further use. I'd probably already have one if our dollar wasn't so weak these days but it's very tempting.
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#12
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Put a Capacitive discharge box on the stock points and your well ahead of the game.. I like the Vertex Z6 box.. This way you will actually end up with something better then the stock points system. This system or a magneto are the only two ignitions that would be better then the stock single points system..
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#13
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My engine is turbocharged and has a mechanically locked out hei with operational vacuum advance for cruise conditions. It performs flawlessly.
This distributor seems ideal for setting up different fuels and/or boost levels without messing around with the timing light and stuff. |
#14
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I emailed Progressive Ignitions with my thoughts on improving the app and got a response that has me happy and wanted to pass it along.
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to thatguy2001 For This Useful Post: | ||
#15
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Timing sample setup page.
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Anyhoo, I made a webpage devoted to my Progressive Ignition setup. I have a curve that I like for now (based on one 2 mile highway run), but welcome feedback https://www.iguanatravelnow.com/personal/ This is my current setup: |
#16
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I am not sure if my post didn't save correctly or if it was deleted for some reason, but I had a summary with a timing chart and a link to my writeup on setting it up.
My writeup is on my personal business page because that's where I have access to upload images and such. https://www.iguanatravelnow.com/personal/ - it has the timing chart on it. I'd love to see what you think and where you have yours set. |
#17
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Anyway, I did have a question about your Progressive tune. What are your specs set at currently that you really like? I've tinkered with 14 to 16 initial and anywhere from 8 to 10 on the vacuum with the "all in " mech at 32 deg @ 3k rpm. This would give 32 @ WOT and up to 42max on cruise. It seemed to run OK , but the carb was surging so I'm still in the dark.
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Larry |
#18
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That's crazy - I pulled up tha thread at least a dozen times different ways and was not seeing. But now it's there. Go figure.
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I do have the initial set at 25 and I like it, but may drop to 20 with a big jump when it goes to 1100rpm. My settings allow 34° at 4,000 but it's at 32° by 3k. Right now it's at 44° max, but that's with very high vacuum, so really only going real fast going downhill and letting off the gas. I may bump the cruise range (67kPA/1800rpm-49kPa/2250rpm) up a little though. I need to check my mileage from today's 80 mile drive. I think it actually is lower even though it's running so smooth. All I can think is that there is room for more advance at cruise on the highway. |
#19
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Someone, somewhere asked about any mileage increase. Before installing the Progressive Ignition, I had a highway/city mix (30+ miles each way,) and usually averaged about 12mpg.
Now I have evacuated my home due to forest fires and am in town, I ran one tank of gas with minimal highway and got 13.5mpg. Today I had a 320 mile round trip up a windy mountain highway with a 4,500' elevation climb. She handled it great and I ended up with 17.5mpg for the tank. (92 premium). Definitely an improvement. I don't have all the power I want yet (pushing 70 to 80 going up the mountain was not as easy as I wanted) but she's definitely a strong beast. One of my favorite things is pulling off the highway at the top of the mountain and just having the engine purr at an idle as if you had just been driving it for 10 minutes.
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Seth |
#20
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Sounds like a great product as long as it turns out to be reliable but I can't justify the price for me $529.00 is a serious chunk of change for a distributor when I already have one that works great.
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Tim Corcoran |
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